New Daily Driver and Mika's new sister

[RPiM5]

I haven't posted much in a while, been super busy with life, but I thought I'd take a moment and share something fun.

So I have a friend that is a CA at a local dealership and utilizing the "personal friend" discount combined with the special deals running for Labor Day weekend I decided to go shopping for a daily driver. Mika as awesome as she is, is approaching 80,000 miles on the odometer, and I'm starting a new job soon which will require a commute. So a new daily driver was in order. I wanted something lower tier than the M5, with good fuel economy, and stylish looks that still had ample utility.

I was initially looking at at 2016 528i as the current F10 chassis is ending production this month or next. Therefore the residuals on pretty much all F10's (including the M5) are crazy stupid high right now. We're talking up to 71% on some models. Dealers want to clear the inventory before the new G30's arrive soon so I was shopping for a 528i for a bit until my CA made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so to speak.

So I started looking at other models with high residuals right now and found that the 3-Series and 4-Series both are high due to the new 2017's getting the refresh for both cars. I saw a 4-Series Gran Coupe and I asked what the residuals were and the prices and even though the residuals were lower than the 5-Series it had a lower MSRP.

So long story short, I leased a 2016 428i Gran Coupe for what can be considered pennies compared to other models. I combined a high residual of 63%, lower MSRP, huge discounts off of the MSRP from being friends with the salesman and the Labor Day bonuses and a 7 factor MSD deposit, and my payments are crazy stupid low. Lol! Plus she's got a couple of options that my M5 doesn't have like the Drivers Assistance Package and LED Headlights, so it's nice enjoying those bits of tech in another car.

So far I love it! Just got her yesterday and I checked the curb weight and she's about a full 1,000lbs lighter than the M5. The low end torque from the N20 engine is really fantastic and in ECO PRO mode I was getting nearly 40mpg on my way home last night.

Her name is Alexandra and not much for mods planned for her but I think I am just going to upgrade the center speaker channel with a BavSound speaker upgrade to enhance the sound system a bit. I don't think I'll even black out the kidney grills. It's nice to drive a quiet comfortable BMW again as I have had Mika straightpiped for the past 3 years now. But so far I love Alexandra. I really like the size of the car compared to the F10 chassis size. I put Alexandra in Sport Mode on a curvy road near my house last night and I was extremely impressed with her handling despite not having the M Sports Package. I also played with Auto LED Headlights and I think it's a neat feature.

The only other new BMW I see in my future is the next generation M6, provided they make it a 911-Fighter.

Here are some rudimentary iPhone pictures I took this morning. Hope you guys enjoy.

[mwlmd]

Did you consider a 2016 i3?

Talk about crazy lease deals.

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by mwlmd

Did you consider a 2016 i3?

Talk about crazy lease deals.

I did for a minute, but I needed more range. I do like the i3's though. My sales guy told me they were doing $200/month leases on i3's. Lol!

[M5essex]

nice one Dave. and welcome Alexandra! did you consider any of the 35d x drive models bearing in mind you are doing more miles? quicker than the 28i too.. or does diesel make your saliva curdle?

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by M5essex

nice one Dave. and welcome Alexandra! did you consider any of the 35d x drive models bearing in mind you are doing more miles? quicker than the 28i too.. or does diesel make your saliva curdle?

No I had 535d for 3 weeks once when my M5 was at the dealer for repairs. It was a great engine, but that car has a smaller fuel tank than the M5, even still I was able to get nearly 500 miles to a tank. The 328d is a good one too. In Southern California, there is no need for xDrive and they get worse fuel economy. With my 428i GC I can get about 425-450 miles per tank. It's perfect for what I was looking for.

[Blackraven]

Nice

P.S.
Btw, did you ever consider going with another brand?

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Nice

P.S.
Btw, did you ever consider going with another brand?

Yes I shopped around for a bit. Even considered Audi, Mercedes, the Mazda 3, Chrysler 200, and Hyundai Elantra. Audi just announced their answer to the 4-Series Gran Coupe, with the new 4-door Audi A5 and S5 but they are not going to out for a while. Mercedes has the CLA but it's too small and is dynamically unbalanced. No one really has a competing product to the 4-Series Gran Coupe at the moment, where I can get a sleek 4-door car that's RWD and a 2.0L engine for good fuel economy.