# CPO 335d?



## Maybe335d (Apr 24, 2012)

As the name is meant to suggest, I'm considering getting a 335d, ideally a 2011. And I'm leaning very heavily to a CPO. Odd that I can still find some new 335ds - if the CPO is what I like, any downside to it vs. a new car? 

Are there any things that you'd be careful with re making such a decision? Things you wish you had known when you bought yours? Issues with the 335d that you've discovered after owning one? Shortcomings of the CPO program? 

I'm pretty accommodating re colors - other than not really wanting black. Good looking, but too much work. And I've heard that they tend to command premium pricing!

Option-wise, I really want the Nav and cold weather packages. Is it still the case that the cold weather package gets you the fold-down rear seat? Would like the sport package, but not a deal breaker. Prefer under 20k miles. 

First BMW - currently driving a Mini Countryman All4.

Look forward to your comments! 

: popcorn:


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## 831Doug (Dec 20, 2011)

You'll probably find that many of the CPO 335ds are going to be previous loaner cars. Some people may have concerns that the loaners get beat on, but a BMW service tech posted on one of the forums that the loaners are well cared for and they see fewer problems with them. Don't know if that's true, but my car has been great so far. Bought it with 15K miles and and now have 30K miles on it.


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

As Doug said the loaner cars are well cared for. I picked a previous loaner 2011 D with 8K miles, have 16K now and not a single issue. I was able to check the service records and could tell every little thing done to it or that it needed. Yes a few of the drivers will push their loaner car hard for a minute or two to see what it can do, but after that expect it will be drven no differently than you would drive it. As it turned out my car was driven by less than 20 different people. One person had it about 1/4 the time (guess a major problem with their own car). Heck even a brand new car is probably driven by 10 different people by the time you get it. 

May be one of the best daily drivers BMW has sold in years. The mileage on mine was too low to cost effectively CPO. And remember standard CPO only covers the drivetrain. I'm not so worried about the engine and trans as I am all the electroncis inside the car. For that reason I purchased the BMW plantium extended warranty which covers all that (7 years 100K).


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

The only thing I'd worry about in a loaner is the interior and so long as you can see the car in person before buying it then you'd know if it were an issue or not. Simple fact exists that most detailers will be able to get rid of any damage done to the interior so it should not be a worry. I even had the manager of the used car department at one dealer tell me they will get the interior painted if they can't get a stain out. Not sure if that is a good thing or not for long term ownership but known plenty of people who did it in their driveways and lasted many years. The reason I mention this is because every dealer loaner car I have gotten into has had it's fair share of interior stains, usually from coffee or some other type of dark drinks.

Depending on costs of cars I'd maybe consider a non CPO car and buying the extended warranty and maybe even maintenance for it. You can always pay for a PPI on a non CPO car to help with any confidence feelings about is it in good shape or not. My reasoning here is perhaps a non CPO car is significantly cheaper and the difference that you save will pay for the better warranty(like that plantium mentioned above).


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Do you know if it is in fact a loaner or not? I had a chance to buy a loaner that had 10k miles on it.. and in the end I decided against it. I assumed each person it was loaned out to put 100 miles on it.. that would mean 100 different people drove that car. Or if you break it down to 200 miles per person, that is 50 people who drove it. That is just too much for me. Now if it were a loaner with under 5k miles, I would consider it. 

Also, for me the non sport package is a deal breaker. The sport package seats are WAY better than the non sport package seats. I'm talking night and day difference. Also, the car handles lot better with the sport package and the 18" rims look better as well. Car is much tighter with this package. 

Nav was a necessity to me. Not so much for the Navigation but for all the other things it does. 

Cold weather package is pretty nice. (Heated Seats, split folding rear seats, headlamp washers) I don't care about the headlamp washers but I do like the heated seats and real folding seats. 

Harmon Kardon stero is extremely nice. Certainly worth the upgrade price. 

Convenience package. This is nicer than you would think. Comfort access keyless entry, Power rear sunshade, side sunshades, and park distance control. I really like the park distance control, It comes in very handy. I never cared about this package but ended up getting one that had it and I really enjoy it.


I guess if I had to give up one package, it would be the convenience package, but with that said I REALLY like it. 

The one MAJOR necessity package for me would be the Sport Package. 

I also wanted black interior because some of the other lighter colors show dirt and stains much quicker. That is just me personally though.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

test


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> I also wanted black interior because some of the other lighter colors show dirt and stains much quicker. That is just me personally though.


I have beige interior in mine and was worried before I got it that it might be an issue. Turned out to be a much bigger issue than I ever imagine. Many things bleed into it and it is a constant cleaning process. Now I have gotten great at cleaning and found a product that wold wonders but still annoying because I never wanted the color in the first place.


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Go for it. I have a new, well not new anymore June will be its birthday and I have put close to 13k miles on it and NO PROBLEMOS as of yet and that is with the RENNtech Flash!! Welcome to our and your DIESEL Forum!!!


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Snipe656 said:


> I have beige interior in mine and was worried before I got it that it might be an issue. Turned out to be a much bigger issue than I ever imagine. Many things bleed into it and it is a constant cleaning process. Now I have gotten great at cleaning and found a product that wold wonders but still annoying because I never wanted the color in the first place.


Yeah, I went to test drive one that had beige interior and it had black marks all over it and I told my wife that would drive me crazy. The black is absolutely perfect though. Hides everything. There were many times I considered the beige anyway, just because the black in my area was harder to find. In the end I found one in California that was a 9.9 out of a 10. Couldn't be happier.


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

ufcrules1 said:


> Also, for me the non sport package is a deal breaker. The sport package seats are WAY better than the non sport package seats. I'm talking night and day difference. Also, the car handles lot better with the sport package and the 18" rims look better as well. Car is much tighter with this package.


I agree with the seats, but many people find the ride too harsh with the sports package and RFT's. Also with the 18" wheels, you will give up 2-3 MPG by what I have read. I have all options except sports and convienence and am very happy with the car. If sports seats are really that important, I sure there will be some available from a wreck to swap with. Any E90 should have seats that would fit.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> Yeah, I went to test drive one that had beige interior and it had black marks all over it and I told my wife that would drive me crazy. The black is absolutely perfect though. Hides everything. There were many times I considered the beige anyway, just because the black in my area was harder to find. In the end I found one in California that was a 9.9 out of a 10. Couldn't be happier.


Beige seems to be a very common color in the loaner cars here. The black marks you are speaking of are very manageable actually. It is the bleeding of clothes into the seats that is quite annoying. Heck one time I left a Netflix envelope on the passenger seat for a couple hours in covered parking and had some red marks on my seat afterwards. Simple enough to clean off via the proper cleaner but still just plain annoying to deal with. If I am driving the car then I have to clean the interior at least once a week to keep up with the bleeding and marking of the beige interior and I am far from a neat freak.

What kind of baffles me is why they made some of the trim pieces beige too, black would looked just fine and then not show scuff marks from shoes. I absolutely dread taking the car in for tires or some other service because it always results in marks to clean up.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

KeithS said:


> I agree with the seats, but many people find the ride too harsh with the sports package and RFT's. Also with the 18" wheels, you will give up 2-3 MPG by what I have read. I have all options except sports and convienence and am very happy with the car. If sports seats are really that important, I sure there will be some available from a wreck to swap with. Any E90 should have seats that would fit.


I only drove one non sports package and couldn't wait to get out of it because of the seats. The steering is loser too. I don't think the ride in the sports version is rough at all, but that is just my opinion. I've seen some people complain but they also say that once they changed their tires from run flat to normal, it is fine. I have the run flats and it still doesn't bother me though.

I'm not sure on the MPG, my MPG appears to be normal.

I guess to each his own. Just drive both and see which you like the best.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

KeithS said:


> I agree with the seats, but many people find the ride too harsh with the sports package and RFT's. Also with the 18" wheels, you will give up 2-3 MPG by what I have read. I have all options except sports and convienence and am very happy with the car. If sports seats are really that important, I sure there will be some available from a wreck to swap with. Any E90 should have seats that would fit.


Other than lack of added lumbar support I do not find the non sports seats bad at all. The most time I probably have spent solid in them is 4-5 hours so perhaps I am just not in them long enough to realize something. Now if I were going to be tossing the car around a track then I'd probably want something different. Would have to agree though that finding some used ones from a wrecked car should be a simple enough task if the seats mean that much to someone. I know many people have said they ordered the sports package specifically to get the seats.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> I'm not sure on the MPG, my MPG appears to be normal.


The MPG will be different to some degree because of the heavier rotational mass of the 18" rims/tires. Swapping just off the RFTs would help but ultimately different wheels would help even more.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Snipe656 said:


> Beige seems to be a very common color in the loaner cars here. The black marks you are speaking of are very manageable actually. It is the bleeding of clothes into the seats that is quite annoying. Heck one time I left a Netflix envelope on the passenger seat for a couple hours in covered parking and had some red marks on my seat afterwards. Simple enough to clean off via the proper cleaner but still just plain annoying to deal with. If I am driving the car then I have to clean the interior at least once a week to keep up with the bleeding and marking of the beige interior and I am far from a neat freak.
> 
> What kind of baffles me is why they made some of the trim pieces beige too, black would looked just fine and then not show scuff marks from shoes. I absolutely dread taking the car in for tires or some other service because it always results in marks to clean up.


That sounds very frustrating. Even though it sounds easy to clean, it's still a pain that you are having to constantly clean it. I agree about the accents, they could have just made them all black and it would have looked fine. I think the the white'ish color interior (I can't remember the name of it) but it has black accents.


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

I have the NON sport suspension and trust me I dont regret it, since you live in Tenn. I believe your roads are better than the ones we have here in Puerto Rico. Currently Im planning in getting the Koni FSD shocks whom I am very familiar with and used it on my former 02 MCS with sport Suspension and it rode better than the stock MINIS!!!. I suggest you test drive any sport and non sport 335 and you can decide what suits you!


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Snipe656 said:


> Other than lack of added lumbar support I do not find the non sports seats bad at all. The most time I probably have spent solid in them is 4-5 hours so perhaps I am just not in them long enough to realize something. Now if I were going to be tossing the car around a track then I'd probably want something different. Would have to agree though that finding some used ones from a wrecked car should be a simple enough task if the seats mean that much to someone. I know many people have said they ordered the sports package specifically to get the seats.


Yeah, it just comes down to personal preference. In the first 5 minutes of driving the car I didn't like the non sports seats. I had driven 2 sports package versions before though, so maybe that tainted my opinion a bit. The sports seats are freaking awesome! Hard to explain, they are just snug and fit you perfectly.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> Yeah, it just comes down to personal preference. In the first 5 minutes of driving the car I didn't like the non sports seats. I had driven 2 sports package versions before though, so maybe that tainted my opinion a bit. The sports seats are freaking awesome! Hard to explain, they are just snug and fit you perfectly.


I must admit though, I never have been in a 3 series with the sports package. It along with the iPod integration were the two options I wanted when I looked at these cars. Unfortunately I was led to believe the only way I could get the Eco credit was if I bought something on a lot and that left me with basically what I got to pick from. I wanted the sports package though just because it had the higher top end speed limiter but I am sure I'd enjoyed the other things it offers. From what I have learned since my purchase though, I'd probably regretted the sports package with our wagon trail quality roads here in Houston.

I should do as some other people have done on here and get some Koni FSDs and different springs. But trying to resist any temptation to sink more money into this car and just enjoy it for what it is.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Yeah, just enjoy it for what it is. Even without sports package, it's a very nice car that gets amazing MPG and is awesome all the way around.


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## dThree35 (Mar 23, 2012)

My non-sport has lumbar adjustment?

I am not thrilled with the non-sport seats however. They are fine once you get them adjusted *perfectly*. This will require some experimentation.

Everything else about non sport I like for my driving style. Little bit quieter smoother ride with less fear of a bent wheel resulting from these trails we call streets (cities should spend revenue for what it was intended, instead of buying votes by building museums and insulating shacks).

Steering is slower true but I don't drive it super aggressively. A shame you are forced to buy sports to get premium seats.



Snipe656 said:


> Other than lack of added lumbar support I do not find the non sports seats bad at all. The most time I probably have spent solid in them is 4-5 hours so perhaps I am just not in them long enough to realize something. Now if I were going to be tossing the car around a track then I'd probably want something different. Would have to agree though that finding some used ones from a wrecked car should be a simple enough task if the seats mean that much to someone. I know many people have said they ordered the sports package specifically to get the seats.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Bimmer App


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

dThree35 said:


> My non-sport has lumbar adjustment?


It might just be part of an option package my car lacks or I just don't know how to adjust it. How do you adjust yours? When I took my car on a road trip a couple weeks back was the first time I thought I'd add some lumbar support. I reached down with my left hand searching for a control for it but found nothing for that. Guess that shows how little I'd even need the support if took putting 26k miles on my car before even looking for the feature.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Snipe656 said:


> It might just be part of an option package my car lacks or I just don't know how to adjust it. How do you adjust yours? When I took my car on a road trip a couple weeks back was the first time I thought I'd add some lumbar support. I reached down with my left hand searching for a control for it but found nothing for that. Guess that shows how little I'd even need the support if took putting 26k miles on my car before even looking for the feature.


The lumbar is a round circular button that is about the size of a nickel. You have to have the premium package to have it.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> The lumbar is a round circular button that is about the size of a nickel. You have to have the premium package to have it.


Thanks, then that explains why I lack it.


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

I have the premium pkg and I love it but would of prefered the sport seats but pay the price for an "M" badge when its NOT an "M" car could not be my way instead I invested the "M" logo on performance Flash!! at half the price. On the other side if you decide on the koni FSDs trust me u wont go wrong that is why I am leaning on them AGAIN!!


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## Maybe335d (Apr 24, 2012)

You guys are killing me. All the discussions about the beige interior and the cleaning required - what's one of the leading contenders? A car with beige interior! But it does have the other options I'm interested in. However, it's a dark blue exterior. Not bad looking, just not my favorite. There is a white one with the black interior, but no NAV. So close!


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Maybe335d said:


> You guys are killing me. All the discussions about the beige interior and the cleaning required - what's one of the leading contenders? A car with beige interior! But it does have the other options I'm interested in. However, it's a dark blue exterior. Not bad looking, just not my favorite. There is a white one with the black interior, but no NAV. So close!


Well as a beige owner all I can say is if you care one bit about your interior and are not willing to clean quite often then stay very far away.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Maybe335d said:


> You guys are killing me. All the discussions about the beige interior and the cleaning required - what's one of the leading contenders? A car with beige interior! But it does have the other options I'm interested in. However, it's a dark blue exterior. Not bad looking, just not my favorite. There is a white one with the black interior, but no NAV. So close!


Don't settle man. Get exactly what you want. If they don't have it locally, then go on Auto trader and find it in another state. That is what I did. I bought a 2011 with just about every bell and whistle you can think of, and it was from a very reputable dealer. It was a one owner and still under warranty until 2014. In fact now that I think of it, he has another 2011 model which is silver and black, with sport package, Nav, heated seats, etc. for around 36k. I had to pay $600 to have it shipped to my door but it was painless and my car is a 9.9 out of a 10. Same with the other one he has for sale too which is a one owner that was leased. Let me know if you want his info.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> Don't settle man. Get exactly what you want. If they don't have it locally, then go on Auto trader and find it in another state. That is what I did. I bought a 2011 with just about every bell and whistle you can think of, and it was from a very reputable dealer. It was a one owner and still under warranty until 2014. In fact now that I think of it, he has another 2011 model which is silver and black, with sport package, Nav, heated seats, etc. for around 36k. I had to pay $600 to have it shipped to my door but it was painless and my car is a 9.9 out of a 10. Same with the other one he has for sale too which is a one owner that was leased. Let me know if you want his info.


$600 to ship from where? Just wondering because last car I had shipped was from Maryland to Houston area and cost me $1200 and that was just a couple months ago. It was in one of the nice enclosed haulers though and parked among Bentleys and other mightier cars than mine.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

It was from California to TX. I had quotes anywhere from $575 to $800.00. I picked a place in the middle at $600.00. They picked it up in 2 days, and then it took 2 days to get delivered right in front of my house. Pretty much what you see in the picture below.

About 3 years ago I moved from MD to Dallas TX and I had one of our cars shipped and it was $700.00. 

Snipe, 
Did you have it shipped in a normal car freighter? Or was it inclosed? That can make a different. it costs a few hundred more if you have the car completely inclosed in a truck vs. a standard one that hauls several cars at a time.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

It was a giant enclosed trailer, not sure how many cars were in it total. It might have been less than I remembered, I think initially I was told $1200 and said sure since diesel in my truck would cost me that much doing it myself. I think the total bill was $2300 for both cars but one was not running and had at least a $200 upcharge for it.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Wow.. I just spelled enclosed wrong twice. Ha.. yeah, if it was completely enclosed then it would surely be more. $1200 still seems high by a few hundred though. I did mine on a normal car freighter and it was fine. If you don't want it to be exposed to possible rain storms etc. then enclosed is the way to go. California to TX is a pretty safe route as far as weather though. Nothing but sunshine!


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> Wow.. I just spelled enclosed wrong twice. Ha.. yeah, if it was completely enclosed then it would surely be more. $1200 still seems high by a few hundred though. I did mine on a normal car freighter and it was fine. If you don't want it to be exposed to possible rain storms etc. then enclosed is the way to go. California to TX is a pretty safe route as far as weather though. Nothing but sunshine!


Found the check, was $1156 for my share of it. That was for a 45ish year old car so preferred to do enclosed. Interesting enough though the other guy, who was getting the non running car, uses shipping places all the time so surprised he appears to not shop the things. I simply assumed he shopped them when I decided to split things with him. Oh well, at least it was cheaper than doing it myself once factoring in fuel, food, motels, and my time.


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Yeah, it's still not a bad deal. You know next time you can save a few hundred though. If you go open it would be a lot cheaper.


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## Maybe335d (Apr 24, 2012)

ufcrules1 said:


> Don't settle man... In fact now that I think of it, he has another 2011 model which is silver and black, with sport package, Nav, heated seats, etc. for around 36k. I had to pay $600 to have it shipped to my door but it was painless and my car is a 9.9 out of a 10. Same with the other one he has for sale too which is a one owner that was leased. Let me know if you want his info.


would be very interested in that information - is it in Texas? That combination is an excellent one.

PM me.

Thanks,

Greg


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## JAPearson (Sep 9, 2011)

My only advice is to make sure everything works. If later they can wiggle out of any unforseen issue BMW and the dealers will do it. I bought CPO and it happened to me. It basically is the cost of an extended warranty form an after market provider. If that is not worth it don't bother and get one under 50k and get a warranty yourself. and buy you wife dinner with the money you saved


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## ufcrules1 (Apr 6, 2012)

Maybe335d said:


> would be very interested in that information - is it in Texas? That combination is an excellent one.
> 
> PM me.
> 
> ...


Greg, 
He is in California. It would take about 3-4 days for the car to get to you once picked up if you end up going with it.

FYI.. the CPO basically makes sure the car has tires that are 80% or better, and same with brakes, as well as cover you for 2 extra years or up to 100k miles. You can always buy that extended warranty at any time before your current warranty runs out which is 4 years or 50k miles. I've spoken with people who really know the warranties well and they say the extended warranty isn't worth it. You can buy a 3rd party warranty that is just as good and a lot cheaper. Also on the CPO they just include the price of the warranty into the price of the car.

So basically, just buy one that has low miles and the tires and brakes are already 80% and then buy the extended warranty if you really want it later on.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ufcrules1 said:


> So basically, just buy one that has low miles and the tires and brakes are already 80% and then buy the extended warranty if you really want it later on.


The CPO does do essentially what a PPI is and if anything is found then it is fixed/replaced. This is why I'd just shop a non CPO car and have a PPI done to it or heck pay to have the CPO inspection done. I realize that does not make it CPO but it will be a clear indicator on if the car needs anything. I'd not be surprised if all sub 50k mile 335d cars would need new rear brakes to be at 80%, assuming the brakes are original.


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## bigjack (May 7, 2012)

Snipe656 said:


> Well as a beige owner all I can say is if you care one bit about your interior and are not willing to clean quite often then stay very far away.


Snipe,

What is the cleaning product that's been working for you on the beige leather...? Just bought a new 2011 White/Beige M Sport d from Momentum here in H-town. The black headliner in the M Sport really looks great with the Beige. But you are "spot" on about the color bleeds.

Maybe that gets better with time as the leather is conditioned...? Anyway, what a great car.

Thanks...

-Jack


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## 831Doug (Dec 20, 2011)

bigjack said:


> Snipe,
> 
> What is the cleaning product that's been working for you on the beige leather...? Just bought a new 2011 White/Beige M Sport d from Momentum here in H-town. The black headliner in the M Sport really looks great with the Beige. But you are "spot" on about the color bleeds.
> 
> ...


I bought the leather care kit from the dealer parts counter and it works great on my grey interior. It doesn't take much and comes with a couple of sponges.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

bigjack said:


> Snipe,
> 
> What is the cleaning product that's been working for you on the beige leather...? Just bought a new 2011 White/Beige M Sport d from Momentum here in H-town. The black headliner in the M Sport really looks great with the Beige. But you are "spot" on about the color bleeds.
> 
> ...


I have beige vinyls so would be different.

But I used to own a Porsche with tan leather and with that I used some Zaino leather care products that were left over from something else. It worked great in that car.


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## 831Doug (Dec 20, 2011)

Lately, I've been using the factory stuff for whatever interior I have. Works perfect vs. trial and error. My wife has a MBZ, so I bought the factory leather care for her car as well. Worked perfect on her MBZ but didn't do a a good job at all on the Acura that I had. I've got Zaino paint and interior products for my Superformance Cobra and all of of their products are awesome.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

I'd used factory BMW vinyl products had they had any when I was there back when I was searching for something. All they had was leather stuff though. The Zaino stuff I used because had it left over from my old Saleen and still have some left over but needs to be trashed. Considering buying some new Zaino products for the old Fastback but been using Meguiars products exclusively on the BMW and for the seats their M40 product(which I also use on all of the rubber seals on the car).


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## bigjack (May 7, 2012)

Thanks Snipe and Doug, good tips. I'll try these products. I'll buy plenty, cause I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this car, so the d gets a bath about 3 x /week whether she needs it or not. Dang, the bugs in the area are just horrible right now...


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

bigjack said:


> Thanks Snipe and Doug, good tips. I'll try these products. I'll buy plenty, cause I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this car, so the d gets a bath about 3 x /week whether she needs it or not. *Dang, the bugs in the area are just horrible right now...*


Front end of my "d" is still pretty bad from all the bugs it hit going up to Grapevine and back 2-3 weeks ago. I washed it once and helped out some but still over all not so great. I need to really address the hood with my not so great detailing skills after that. Wish I knew of a really good auto detailer up here on the NE side. I am actually avoiding driving my Fastback solely because of the bugs lately although as it is heating up outside I will begin to use that as the new excuse.


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## bigjack (May 7, 2012)

Snipe656 said:


> Front end of my "d" is still pretty bad from all the bugs it hit going up to Grapevine and back 2-3 weeks ago. I washed it once and helped out some but still over all not so great. *I need to really address the hood with my not so great detailing skills after that.* Wish I knew of a really good auto detailer up here on the NE side. I am actually avoiding driving my Fastback solely because of the bugs lately although as it is heating up outside I will begin to use that as the new excuse.


I had my front end clear-bra'd at Momentum when I picked it up 3 weeks ago. I'm not totally thrilled with the job the guy there did, but it was only $350 and it's nice to just spray and wipe a day's worth of bugs off of the front end. The drought last year and the mild winter seem to have created a perfect storm for bugs this year...as bad as I've ever seen here.

OT - Appreciate your time and input on this board, I've seen your posts on some of the other threads regarding tuning, you know your diesels. I had a 2002 F-250 Super Duty back in the day...these new clean diesels are really light years ahead of that technology. My wife hated that truck because of the noise and the smell and used to carp constantly about it. I haven't even told her yet that the new bimmer in the garage is a diesel...and may not ever! :rofl::rofl:


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

bigjack said:


> I had my front end clear-bra'd at Momentum when I picked it up 3 weeks ago. I'm not totally thrilled with the job the guy there did, but it was only $350 and it's nice to just spray and wipe a day's worth of bugs off of the front end. The drought last year and the mild winter seem to have created a perfect storm for bugs this year...as bad as I've ever seen here.
> 
> OT - Appreciate your time and input on this board, I've seen your posts on some of the other threads regarding tuning, you know your diesels. I had a 2002 F-250 Super Duty back in the day...these new clean diesels are really light years ahead of that technology. My wife hated that truck because of the noise and the smell and used to carp constantly about it. I haven't even told her yet that the new bimmer in the garage is a diesel...and may not ever! :rofl::rofl:


My front bumper cover does not bug me near as much as the hood. I guess because anything that happens is not as noticeable there. I have a couple tiny spots on my hood that need to be dealt with via some clay barring and perhaps even a little polish. As much as I try over the years, I am just not all that great at detailing the exterior of a car. I know of a great detail person but he is way up in Dallas, yet to find out of one in Houston and always fear I will pay someone who is not really any better than myself. I should find one of those workshop/classes to attend that explains how to do such things.

When I first got my car I wanted an actual bra but never could find any made for these. I did not invest a lot of effort into my searches. For some reason the clear bras do not appeal to me. I once met a mobile car detailer down near Meyerland who explained the whole clear bra business to me. He outsourced it to someone who normally does things like vinyl graphics on ambulances. Sounded like he would be a good guy to go to if anyone was in the market for some plastic wrapping on their car. I kind of wish I had had my side view mirrors and the spot outside the trunk(where a suitcase might hit) done.

My wife only harps about our truck when she needs to park it in close quarters. For example in their downtown parking garage. I personally prefer the louder diesels with their smells and smoke. Especially after learning years back that one of my neighbors(who drives me nuts) does not like it


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