F30's Lines - Are they really worth it?

Originally Posted by rpilot

THERE IS A DISCERNABLE DIFFERENCE in the INTERIOR ambience of the car when you step into a luxury line or the base. The door panels are different. The trim materials look "cheaper". For instance in the 335i base only the wood trim is available but looks cheaper than the 328i luxury line because the metallic finishers are not there and the wood trim itself is either thinner or cheaper because it had a slight give kinda like what you would find in a econo chevy box. The iDrive controls felt cheaper too.

To me it was night and day (interior only).. Stepping into the luxury line felt no different than stepping into a 5 or maybe a 7 (cant be sure of the latter because I have not stepped into one in a while) . Stepping into a base felt like stepping into.. you got it.. a chevy.

You are confusing the lines with the options. The door panels are the same with the exception of the door pull and the padded insert which has a double stitch down the middle is the car has leather or is the Sprot line. The iDrive controls have nothing to do with the line. You get the nicer one if you have nav. You get the basic (cheaper looking) one w/o nav. The only other differences in the interiors are some silver trim on the dash and steering wheel and whatever color wood/metal finish you pick.

Originally Posted by micknugget

You are confusing the lines with the options. The door panels are the same with the exception of the door pull and the padded insert which has a double stitch down the middle is the car has leather or is the Sprot line. The iDrive controls have nothing to do with the line. You get the nicer one if you have nav. You get the basic (cheaper looking) one w/o nav. The only other differences in the interiors are some silver trim on the dash and steering wheel and whatever color wood/metal finish you pick.

You may be right in the fact that the nav system gives better contols. I did not drive the car.. just sat in it for a few minutes right after sitting in sport and before luxury and I do not remember if it had the nav, just the screen. The door panels, the metallic trim around the wood and there may be other things that I did not catch.. do give a better ambience overall...

IMO, this is a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

If you do not percieve the value in overall asthetics then perhaps it is not worth it to get the luxury line. To me the difference is somewhat akin to feeling a luxury good in your hand and a good knockoff. The difference may not be apparent to some but to those who buy finer things for their own enjoyment, the difference does matter.

I do not care for the larger wheels (but like the look of the 18 on luxury better) as I like more rubber on the road and thought the exterior of the base version was sufficient for my needs without being "showy", but I for one instantly knew when I climbed into the luxury line .. there is no way I am getting the base model.

I know I may be in the minority since most of you posting here are more into the sport factor and I did acknowledge that... but then you would be getting the sport version.

People buy BMWs for various reasons. To some it is the driving experience. To some it is having something solid & nice. To some it is prestige. To some it is .. why not. Either way for most cases people will gravitate to one or the other line. Also, if you want to save a few bucks, realize that some of the electronic doodads are not really necessary.

One final thing.. and you heard it here first : THE F30 is a $44,000 car , not a $34,000 one. Think of getting the extreme base as subtracting options instead of adding them since the luxury feel should be a given at the price point. So feel free to subtract the luxury feel and stay for the driving experience if you must, but then again in all likelihood you will probably get the sport line. Personally if I could not afford or did not want to spend anything beyond the base price, I would get a different car.

YMMW

I was looking at my local dealers inventory in Miami most of the inventory was no line with a lot of premium packages.

On this topic, I was wandering around my local dealership yesterday looking at colors and interior options. I currently have a 328i ordered for ED on June 25th and just wanted to be sure I was happy with my color choices.

Some of us BMW owners will occasionally take our cars to BMW CCA Driver's Schools. Some will autocross them. I'm not saying I am one of THOSE owners, just making a note

Is the Sport Line worth the extra $2,500? Well if you plan to engage in any of those shenanigans, the answer is ABSOLUTELY! Not only can you option up the Adaptive Suspension (which, if I read correctly may come with larger sway bars), but I noticed something interesting yesterday.

On the non-Sport 328i's, there is no external oil cooler However on Sport cars there is a cooler in the front passenger corner of the engine bay. I double-checked a bunch of times and confirmed that the non-sport cars do not have external oil coolers (I even stuck my hand in there just to be sure the coolers were not covered with plastic).

So to anybody who would ever consider driving their 328i on a track (at a driver's education event obviously) that external oil cooler is a MUST. Not only will it hopefully prevent overheating of the oil, but if it doesn't accomplish the task it is easier to upgrade a cooler than it is to install one from scratch. It does make one wonder why some cars have the cooler and others don't, doesn't it? Is there a need but BMW made a marketing decision that non-Sport drivers won't even uncover the cooling limitations?

Those of us who were involved with the e90 when they first came out clearly remember the oil cooler debacle. In that regard it surprises me that BMW brought out another forced induction motor without an oil cooler standard on all models. You'd think they would learn...Oh well. I'm just glad I ordered the Sport Line.

This is the first that i heard about models other then the Sport Line not having the oil cooler. I've never seen that in any literature but I don't think it would bother me. I'd still take it to the track and not worry.....too much.

Does the sport-line also have the plastic oil pan?

Originally Posted by rclarke

Does the sport-line also have the plastic oil pan?

Why wouldn't it have the plastic oil pan? The engine is exactly the same.

Regarding the post that discusses the price of the car, I paid $36K for my 328i - sportline and the sport transmission with paddle shifters. For me the option packages are not worth it. I understand that to many they are. I have more features in my 2012 SLK350 and 2012 C63. But for the 328i I like it like that............

Tom

I have done several BMW and Porche driving schools (driving events as they are officially known) (which are great, BTW) in a variety of cars, including BMW's, CTS-V, C6 Vette. I think that the 328i would be a very good car for a DE. While it is too big to really be a dedicated track car, for a DE it would be a lot of fun. It is predictable, turns in easily and all the controls feel good.

Tom

Originally Posted by The X Men

$2500 for the sport line is a bit high. Last year's sport package cost $2000, the only difference is the addition of the anthracite headliner.

Similar to how the wheels cost the same price to produce, is black fabric more expensive than grey fabric?

Originally Posted by Snareman

... is black fabric more expensive than grey fabric?

Yes as it has more pigmentation in it and you need to pay for the additional pigments...


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Originally Posted by micknugget

This is the first that i heard about models other then the Sport Line not having the oil cooler. I've never seen that in any literature but I don't think it would bother me. I'd still take it to the track and not worry.....too much.

I would still take it to the track also, but would be mentally braced for not being able to complete a full 30 minute session without some cool-down laps thrown-in. Heck the e9x series 335i's overheat at the track even with the oil cooler. But it appears as if the oil on the F30 is cooled both by air and by water. Hopefully this will be better.

I was halfway planning on ordering a no line until I checked them all out in person.

While the No Line certainly isn't bad, the Sports line is worth the extra almost for the better rims alone. The Sport accents are what really sealed the deal for me.

Originally Posted by SwamiV

I would skip ordering Luxury line if I could get a wood trim in the interior base model. I do not mind spending on a BMW, but the Luxury/Modern lines are pretty pathetic.

This is my dilemma. I want the wood trim but it is not available in the base model. The base model only comes that silver plastic trim. To get wood you need to get be either in luxury or modern.

I do like the textured trim in the modern line. but it comes at a hefty price tag. With all those additions, its almost the same price as a 528i

Originally Posted by EC7

To get wood you need to get either in luxury or modern.

Or you could pop a pill...