Preet

looks good

nlpamg

I've been a little too lazy and haven't finished up the door handles, but I did get my Taiwan, err... Euro Impact Strips from Gary at Suvneer put in.

HMS/Ed painted them and installed them for me.

Here are the pics:

ROLLNNN

strips look good, they make the car look so much cleaner...

LILBENZ230

Your car looks great.. These cars are aging so well. Looks better than most new cars!

It looks like it has yellow ***** all over it, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

nlpamg

Thanks guys!

Matt, what yellow are you talking about? The reflection of the lights? My foglights?

e1000

AMG DTM BlackSeries antenna ball mod FTMFW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

omg its nate

haha I was going to say something about that!

nlpamg

antenna ball FTW! that's an authentic european DTM edition USC antenna ball that's stuck on there with double sided tape, lol. (I had it on the M3 and the antenna on the M3 left a huge hole in it, so I had to fill it in with tape.)

LILBENZ230

Oh yeah, Phil. It's a bunch of tiny reflections of lights all around. I didn't know it was possible for a black car to be that clean.

Maybe it's just the black 135i that can't be that clean.

nlpamg

the BMW black was sooooo frustrating! my M3 was newer than the C230 and the paint looked older. no matter how well I washed it or waxed it, it would be horrible in a day. it had to be clean 24/7 to look good. I think the MB 040 black holds up better than the BMW black and just has a better shine to it.

this was the M3 after a wax:

LILBENZ230

Gah that is a gorgeous car. Just as the W203, the E46 is aging gracefully and is still beautiful. I never understood all the BMW vs Benz hate - I love them both!

W203E35

Looks good Phil, the impact strips look very clean.

johnand

Looks great Phil Fitment looks good too. So how was fitment on the 2nd passenger side strip? One of these days, I have to paint and install mine.

I am so jealous of you guys in SoCal and how well your paint holds up in the front end. Here in the NW the roads are not kind to paint at all. Mine is so bad after 3 years and 65K, I will probably end up repainting the front end in a year or 2.

nlpamg

Thanks guys!

John, the fitment with the strips on is great. However, getting the passenger side in is somewhat difficult. I watched Ed at HMS do mine and the first time (when it broke) he ended up cutting himself doing it. The second time, he used a nylon panel puller from the top and a small screwdriver from the bottom to bend the clips into place. You just have to take your time, look at where it lines up and not force it. The drivers side fitment was fantastic, it snapped in in seconds.

I'm sure if you saw close-ups of my front-end, you'd beg to differ, lol. I think I need to repaint my front end as well.

I can't wait to see your car with the strips in!

johnand

Thanks for the tips on getting the strips to fit. Once the weather warms up, I will paint the strips and install them. Did you just leave the bulbs in and tape them back?

As for the paint, must be the 040 Black. Yours and Franks paint always appear flawless in pics.

nlpamg

I left the bulbs in, covered them with aluminum foil and taped em back.

Thanks, I think it's just the camera/angles where you really can't see much. If you see mine and Frank's in person, it's not as nice

nlpamg

Matt, check it out... I brought the M5 in for some service and they gave me this loaner:



I'm loving it! Best loaner I've gotten so far.

135i >>>>>>>>>> 335i.

FrankW

pssh...ugly!!!! hahahaha...

W203E35

Damn they gave you a 135i for a loaner? How is the drive on that?

LILBENZ230

Mine has the black interior and tints.. but exterior is identical. I didn't think they would loan out 135i cars. Isn't it fantastic? Obviously it's not a replacement for the M5 but it's a blast to drive. I don't find it to be particularly comfortable and there is some pretty obvious cost cutting in the interior, but oh man.. the thrust, the steering, the handling, the braking.. all the dynamics are superb.

You got the 6-speed auto as a loaner? The 6MT is much, much better.

LILBENZ230

Delivery day:



$38,550 for Sport & Premium packages & dealer installed tints.



These two complement each other very nicely. The C230 is not the athlete that the 135i is, but the 135i isn't as comfortable or the fuel miser that the C230 is. They have 75,600 and 13,500 miles respectively.

nlpamg

yup, yup. this dealer has been pretty cool, they've given me a 335i and Z4 and offered me a 6-speed 550i as well.

I'm loving the 135i.

Nice! Your cars look great

I think it's fantastic. This car feels much better than an E9x 335i hands down. I know it's only 200 or so pounds less, but the dynamics are fantastic. It handles very well (although I would probably put on KW's if I got one). The brakes are on point. The engine seems ideal for the chassis and it has an impressive amount of grunt. I was impressed that the car pulled hard from about 3k rpm to redline. What weirded me out was that I felt that the car pulled harder from 80 - 120 than 0 - 60--it has to be the gearing. The exhaust note is just as fitting as well! (This one has black exhaust tips, is that standard?) I can only imagine how a JB3 would be on it.

The interior isn't bad. I just don't like the wannabe carbon silver trim that they used on this one. Sure, there are some cost-cutting measures, but overall I still think it's better than an E9x! (lol, sorry I just think the E90 328i is one of the ****tiest cars on the planet.) I actually find the 1-series to be comfortable and I'm a big guy. For some odd reason, I feel more comfortable driving this car and I feel that the road view is better than in an E90. Every time I've driven a 328i, I feel really claustrophobic and it just kills me. This car is a joy to drive. (This car also has "Year of the One" on the start/stop button, a nice touch.)

It's an auto, which I think has pretty good shifts for a slushbox. But, there are some limitations such as it will let you downshift as much as you want and it will intervene and upshift while you're in "manual mode" and it's obviously not close to as fast (nor as jerky as) SMG. I bet the 6-MT is better.

As for the fuel, it doesn't come close to the C230, but compared to the M5, every car is cheap on fuel! I've driven it very hard and for about 70 miles today and it looks like it didn't consume THAT much gas, the economy on it seems to be good.

I love the car and if I were in a position to buy a new car, I wouldn't hesitate to get one. It's probably one of the only non-M BMWs that I would consider... I can't wait until the 1-series M comes out.

LILBENZ230

Phil those exhaust tips are standard, yes, and I think they look great. I've not ran into any situation where the 135i doesn't pull like crazy. I can't help but chuckle when C350 owners imply (or even say directly) that they have a snowball's chance in hell against a 135i or 335i. It's a shame that Benz makes absolutely nothing that can compete with the 135i. The V8 AMG cars like the C55 and C63 aren't even remotely interesting to me. No manual transmission options and too nose-heavy & outta control (C63 big offense). I appreciate the dynamics of BMW.

Is it a 2009? Mine too has the "Year One of the 1" on the start button, but it's inaccurate. The 2008 was year one.

FrankW

it's swirl central and I haven't give it a real detail in 2-3 yrs.

LILBENZ230

I'm just not very good at detailing a car. My cars see the automatic washes.. but last time I spent a while detailing the C230, when I got done it didn't really look any cleaner. Like I say, I'm just not good at exterior detailing. I keep the interior spotless, though.