What made you choose 1 over others?

[jinger]

Pretty simple and straight forward. I want to hear you guys' opinions!

[Mitch1er]

overall balance, performance, and ease of mods.

[titancrusher1]

Best car for the price, BMW long term reliability (minus the russian roulette with the HPFP), Modability after warranty expiration...

[jinger]

I agree with you guys
Lighter car + 335i engine = monster!

[ncarter124]

For me personally? I have wanted a BMW since I was a child and am just now getting around to affording one. I will be 30 in July btw.

So, coming out of a 350z, naturally I gravitated toward a G37s because I wanted a sunroof, wanted a back seat, and honestly I wanted a car that was more at home in the parking lot of a fancy restaurant or something akin to that. A more adult car if you will.

But after driving it I was just utterly disappointed, mainly with the handling. Power was ok but nothing great, basically the 3.7 liter upgrade was null due to the added weight, and we are right back to square one (being about as quick as my 350z), except with an almost boaty feel. It just didn't handle well at all. I realize it is a coupe but it was flat out bad IMO. That and on top it off the auto on headlights didn't turn on, on a VERY overcast day, I said screw them and went to test drive a 135i. That was all she wrote. I fell in love and am hopefully taking delivery on one soon.

[plasar]

It's got the BMW D-N-A for the least amount of doh-rei-mi.

[jinger]

Originally Posted by ncarter124

For me personally? I have wanted a BMW since I was a child and am just now getting around to affording one. I will be 30 in July btw.

So, coming out of a 350z, naturally I gravitated toward a G37s because I wanted a sunroof, wanted a back seat, and honestly I wanted a car that was more at home in the parking lot of a fancy restaurant or something akin to that. A more adult car if you will.

But after driving it I was just utterly disappointed, mainly with the handling. Power was ok but nothing great, basically the 3.7 liter upgrade was null due to the added weight, and we are right back to square one (being about as quick as my 350z), except with an almost boaty feel. It just didn't handle well at all. I realize it is a coupe but it was flat out bad IMO. That and on top it off the auto on headlights didn't turn on, on a VERY overcast day, I said screw them and went to test drive a 135i. That was all she wrote. I fell in love and am hopefully taking delivery on one soon.

Yeah, I drove a G35 once; never liked it. There is just something missing in G coupe

[ncarter124]

Originally Posted by jinger

Yeah, I drove a G35 once; never liked it. There is just something missing in G coupe

Yeah that's exactly how I felt. I got out and the salesman was all antsy and asked if I was impressed with it, and I gave him my honest answer...

"Not really. I'm going to go drive a BMW and see how that goes."

[jinger]

Originally Posted by ncarter124

"Not really. I'm going to go drive a BMW and see how that goes."

Haha this literally made me laugh

[thez99]

Originally Posted by ncarter124

Yeah that's exactly how I felt. I got out and the salesman was all antsy and asked if I was impressed with it, and I gave him my honest answer...

"Not really. I'm going to go drive a BMW and see how that goes."

Funny you said that cuz i felt the same way bout when I went and test drove a 370Z before settling on the 1er. I thought the car was alright, prob the thing that impressed me the most obviously was the power, that 3.7l 6er made some good power, but other then that it was a meh car, very little space, the interior felt like every other nissan id ever seen, the shifter (auto) felt and looked like shit, and did I mention NO space, yes its a coupe but so is the 1er and its space was doubled if not more.
Anyways, the "salesman" I had at the dealership was a total loss. I know enough about cars to ask the right questions, the whole time he was taking me for a drive, etc. I was asking him stuff about the cars simple mechanics, power, handling, etc. etc. Basically everything a SA for a car should know and 90% of the time his answer was "uh, I really dont know" or something similar. So really, even if I was more impressed by the Z, the service and the SA alone wouldve still thrown me off. That and they really just seemed like they just wanted sales, and that was it, they didnt know squat about the car or anything, just trying to sell me the car right off the bat like I was some other retarded idiot 18 year old kid with his father, well, they lost. BMW won

[banglemangle]

The N54 engine for (relatively) not much money. Having said that, car is less than a year old and has had HVFP, lighting, exhaust, rattles, window noise problems. So for me, first and last BMW.

[Noer]

I wanted a sportier car to replace my 525i E60 and had my eyes on the 135i for quite a while. And suddenly one day one became available with all the BMW Performance equipment and I was sold.

[wkndracr]

My buddy wanted me to get an STi (he has an '08), but not having a sunroof is a deal breaker for me, plus I was not impressed with the cheapness of the interior. That being said, it's an awesome performing car, but I prefer the day to day comfort of the Bimmer.

[Feyd]

After my Z4 was totaled I knew that I wanted another bimmer, but didn't want a 3 series because they are so common (part of the reason I liked the Z).

I liked the 135s, but never thought in a million years I'd find one that I liked (basically stripped down). In 2008 most of the 135s in LA were opted to the gills and there was no way I was going to pay $45k + for a car the size of a civic coupe no matter how cool it was.

After several days of looking my dealer found a black one with only auto/ipod at a dealer in Arizona and I bought it on the spot.

For me It was perfect because it was the right size, easy to park, etc. but had a back seat that if for nothing else I could use for tossing a jacket/bag back there (something I really missed with the Z).

Plus they are really uncommon which is a huge + for me.

[BrokenVert]

I went back and forth between a few cars over the course of about a year. It started with a lighty used Daytona grey rs4. The car had 6500 miles, was loaded to the gills, and was owned by a guy who loved it and detailed it often. The car was spotless, to bad the guy that owned it had knocked up his wife. She was forcing him to do a quick sale cause she didn't want a sports car if she was having a baby. I talked that guy down to 50k but I couldn't see myself making the monthly payment on the loan. Too bad. I test drove that car and absolutly loved it. Maybe I have something to shoot for in the future?

Then I test drove a mustang gt cs vert. The clutch feel sucks and the thing rattled like crazy. And then I got the magic thought, "I'm about to buy a cute chick car aren't I?

I also realized that part of the fun o the rs4 was the fact that nobody knew what it was. So I went back to the Audi dealer and speced out a 2.0t quattro a3. 39k! And on top of that Audi doesn't lease the a3 so my monthly finance rat was something like 650? I couldn't justify it no matter how much I like hatches.

So here comes the good part. On the way back home from denying my audi dealer I passed the BMW dealer and my eye insantly caught the bsm 135i vert being taken off of the truck. This was in early July 08 and I had no idea what it was. I test drove one that night and was instantly sold.

The 135i isthe best impulse purchase that I will ever make.

[tgxmike]

I was originally going to save some money and go for either a Mazda Speed3 or VW GTI.... Just before graduation I went to the BMW ultimate Drive. It was a complete down pour. I drove all the BMWs and just loved how fast, comfortable and agile the 135 and 128 were. They only had automatics at the event...

Fast forward 5 months....

Got my first job and did better than I expected salary and cost of living wise.

Went to drive the Mazda and VW again.... impressed with the speed and agility, but not the comfort level. I also did not want the young punk teen vibe from my car. The sales guys were complete jerks too...

Went to my local BMW dealer, they just happened to have a 128i w/ man trans. Before the sales guy let me drive the one he had me drive a slightly used Mini CooperS w ~8k miles.

I liked the mini, but still wanted to drive the 128i. WOW the manual 128i was so much better that the Auto 128i I drove months prior, and nothing beat rear wheel drive. I've loved the car ever since.

After owning the 128i for <1 year now, I don't ever want to get rid of it (well maybe for the same car in 135i, but I never get a chance to use all the power any way). The heated seats / steering wheel, residual heat, comfort of the non-sport seats, etc, etc make this car awesome.

I've also had the best sales and service agents ever!!! Loaner cars, free part/labor (that is def not covered), and after I referred a few other customers to them I even got a gift certificate to a local fancy restaurant.

[RaceTime]

It was between the 135i and a Porsche Cayman S...I chose the 135i because it has more than one cup holder (a must back and forth to the race track!) Actually it was because I could get a used Porsche for same price as the new 135i, 135i has more potental and easier to work on/modify! I am very happy with my choice!

[Tom K.]

Getting on in years and wanted something a bit more comfortable for long distance touring than my Z4 without sacrificing handling.

Tom

[m_thompson]

The 3-series has grown too much over the last 10 years.

[sdpauly]

I have 2 cars, a daily driver that I drive to work everyday and I dont really care about that much, and a 'fun' car to keep in my garage for weekend duty and road trips.

My previous fun car was a 2004 VW R32 that I bought new and took meticulous care of. The car was a lot of fun, handled like it was on rails, and had a decent amount of power. But, I had owned it for nearly 6 years and I was wanting an upgrade. I had three basic criteria that the car had to fit into for me to even consider it.

#1 it absolutely had to fit in my garage.

#2 it had to be an upgrade over the R32 (faster, nice inside, etc...)

#3 it had to be available in a manual gearbox (preferably a 6-sp)

#4 price was something to consider, but not a major factor. I wanted to keep it in the mid-to-low 40's range.

Based on the size and transmission requirements that narrowed down my search quite a bit. Originally, I was interested in an M Coupe (Z4 M) or a slightly used 2008 RS4 but then I decided I wanted to get something brand new and not used. And the RS4 might have been a touch too big for my garage anyway...

So, then I looked at the Audi TT-S, but I was extremely disappointed at the fact that it only came in an auto/DSG. (If only Audi had brought over the TT-RS, then I might have been singing another tune.) And the price on the Audi was about $10k more than the 135.

I also briefly looked at the Evo X and the STi, but honestly those are just a little too "boy racer" for me and I wanted something a bit more grown up.

It wasn't until I talked to a buddy who owned a 135i and told me about it that I decided to check them out. I honestly didn't know much about them and hadn't even really considered. So, I did some research and found a lot of praise for this car performance-wise. So, I popped by the BMW dealer, arranged a test drive, and was absolutely blown away. It took them a bit of searching to find me a manual with M-sport in the color I wanted, but it all came together a few weeks ago and I couldnt be happier.

Already clocked just over 1k miles on it and it runs like a dream. This car is exactly what I was looking for.

[otterdoc]

I'd already driven a 135i a couple of times before my 330ci (which I loved) fragged its step trans. That totally turned me off BMW.

Drove a preproduction Camaro SS. Loved the exterior, the engine, and the handling wasn't bad for a big beast of a car. The interior sucked, though. No factory Nav, either.

Drove a G8 GT. Not nearly as cool as the Camaro. The interior still didn't meet my needs. Also has 4 doors, which I do not want at all. (My buddy got a G8 GXP. I'd probably have caved had I driven that first.)

Looked at a Caddy CTS. Didn't bother to drive. 4 doors, too heavy, just not enough pep. Couldn't afford a CTS-V.

Drove a G37. Really swanky and nice, but ... something was just missing in the experience. Too soft, or padded, or refined or something. Meh.

Drove a 370Z. Loved it nose to pipes except for the noise level. Decided it had too many compromises for a daily driver (lack of back seats, wasn't going to be workable so much as a year-round daily driver).

Went back and drove the 135i. Talked extensively to my dealer. Read obsessively here on 1-addicts. Hemmed and hawed. Drove the 370 again. Drove the 135i again.

Ultimately what sold me on another BMW was my dealer. Erhard BMW in Bloomfield Hills is, hands down, utterly deserving of their Center of Excellence awards. What sold me on the 135i was that I could make it a year-round daily driver with confidence and still have a kickass little coupe.

I'm coming up on 10,000 miles pretty quick. I love the car more every day. Got an appointment to put my summer rims and tires back on this Thursday and I'm dying to get the car out on the road in good weather.

My 135 is making me a HELL of a lot happier than any of my other crappy cars has, and so far it's holding value better than my house.

[fwmcb]

I got it because I loved the e92, but couldn't afford another when I went back to school. So I got a 128i and actually like it better than the e92.