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My 2 month report/review on my F10, the car intended to seek the role of "Perfection"

4K views 31 replies 21 participants last post by  K-A 
#1 · (Edited)
My 2 month report/review on my F10, the car intended to seek the role of "Perfection"

Well, I'm nearing the 2 month and 1,600 mile anniversary with my car, and wanted to post some updated thoughts ("some" in my world is a wall of text, reader beware).

I was seeking out "perfection", to my tastes and desires, of course. What were they? I had a Mercedes W212 E-Class, and I wanted a car MORE refined, more luxurious, more expensive feeling, yet I also was trying to make sense of getting myself into a Porsche 991 911 more than anything.

How could I get those two worlds to meet? Oh, and do it for something that wouldn't cost as much as the Porsche would?

My selection: The F10 535i M Sport, with exactly the Options I wanted, sans any fluff I wouldn't find necessities. Getting it for such a uniquely great deal, from the owner of Bimmerfest himself (Jon Shafer) made it extra sweet, and got me off on the right foot (best car purchasing experience ever so far for me).

I'd been fawning over the N55 as the BMW I6 has always been one of my favorite motors, I loved the addition of a Turbo to fill in the only void I'd found from that historic motor (lack of low end torque for those of us in congested areas), and I couldn't resist it being mated to the revered 8 Speed ZF with the Sport Auto option ticked.

So, the 535i it was, "Perfection seeked".

To date, I can't say I've ever driven a car that impresses me on so many levels. The fact that I can still get into this car and marvel at the state of the art craftsmanship, the beautiful materials, shapes, seating position, seats, design, etc. really says something.... I mean, I didn't come from a 90's Ford, I came from 2 straight brand new Benzes from 2010 and 2011. This is one car that can truly make me feel like "Life is good" on even the worst of days. It really works hard to explain and prove to you that and why you are fortunate to drive it.

It's one of the rare cars that makes me look forward to 5 PM traffic over the hill (my M-B's were good at this as well, though less good), because I can experience the creature comforts, the isolated and coddling-ly luxurious feel. I was out the other night next to some guy playing some generic Rap track bumping out of a custom system.... shockingly I actually couldn't hear ANY of it until I rolled my window down to insert my ticket into the slot to get out of the parking garage. He was bumping it LOUD, which I could hear with even the slightest crack of my window.... however with my window up, I couldn't hear ANY of it. This is almost certainly the quietest car I've ever extensively driven.

At the same time, it's the first car I've ever owned that I just want to get in and drive for the sake of DRIVING ENJOYMENT. I want to get in the car at 5 AM and put it in Sport +, hit some turns and straightaways and experience this impeccable drivetrain mating. Oh, and get over 30 MPG to boot? Pfft. It walks that fine line so damn well. Yes, it's a little cozy on turns, but I accept that as the coziness is wonderful on straightaways.... and the suspension really starts to flatten and balance itself when pushed hard, I feel. I do appreciate the extra firmness in the 2013 M Sports seeming exclusive non-adaptive lower and sportier suspension. As for the chassis, the car itself feels iron-clad in how it treks down the road, hefty and substantial yet without the negative effects that often come with that, truly Germanic with a sporty soul, solid as hell (almost 40,000 nm's of torsional rigidity don't lie), weighted in the way I like a Luxury Car to feel. You can instantly tell this chassis was derived for and from models that are far more expensive than the 5-Series (a big win for us, which IMO is why the F10 feels over-engineered for this segment, yet understandably a key setback to those who want a classical rawer and more connected BMW driving feel).

The car changes characters drastically from Eco to Comfort to Sport/Sport + mode. I even recently found the DS mode, and along with Paddles, the car is an endless amusement park (don't even get me started on the tech, I feel like I've gone into the future coming from even a New Mercedes previously). Putting it in Sport and hitting the pedal even a bit just gives so many great sensations. I think it feels fast, in the most usable way possible (torquey), but not TOO powerful to where you're seeing triple digit speeds in a split second. Speaking of which, the mixture of performance and quietness is so incredible that doing 80 feels like crawling, and the car seems to feel more stable and secure at triple digit speeds (I feel this is actually a dangerous mix, as it can give drivers a feeling of perhaps too-confident invincibility). I got my first speeding ticket in years (how cliche). I now feel like every straightaway with a clear and safe path ahead is an excuse to put it in S and feel a rush in those dynamic ways mentioned above. The best of the best part is how SMOOTH it is, and how uniquely incredible it sounds, both of which my passengers have brought up. Even my Girlfriend who hates cars wants me to give her the "vroom", she even wanted me to race someone (of which I won't do as those days are over and not worth it)! Lol. She genuinely seems like it "turns her on", which is a big catch for this car, let me tell you. Coming from what she's used to, the mixture of isolation and exhilaration, smoothness and sound truly seem like she thinks of this car as some high performance race machine when I give it some gas. Goes to show how potent the balance on this car is.

My Dad is a long time Mercedes "fan" I guess you can say (not a car guy, but likes what he likes), and never cared much for BMW's. He saw my car as I apprehensively thought he might not understand why it was such a big upgrade. Not only was he shocked at the deal I got on it, he was shockingly positively shocked when he saw it. He couldn't get over how nice it looked, felt, and when he got inside? Forget about it, he was in disbelief, stating how the car felt exceptionally higher on the totem pole than my previous M-B's of which he was a fan of.

There are also cool features that come with the M Sport package like ACTUAL brake cooling ducts that feed in from the front bumper lower air dams (I'm used to cars with poseur-ducts/dams in the bumper which give a cheap/phony look while functional ducts always seemed reserved for Exotics and the like), which give an air of a true performance car, a car that doesn't cost cut nor pull any punches, a premium car, etc. I literally was geekily happy when I realized I actually had REAL cooling ducts on my car coming in from those aggressive air dams in the bumper. Very purposefully Germanic.

Finally, the styling. I've been driving such an angular and complex-with-lines, jarringly rigid angles, etc. Mercedes for a while (which I loved dearly), that the smooth and curvy nature of this car has been of a sort of cohesive calming effect to me, yet at the same time gives me a greater impression of visual youth, of "sexiness", sportiness, of sleekness and slickness. The design speaks such calmness, classical timelessness and balance at the same time as sportiness, modernity, youthfulness, aggression and steel-sex-appeal. Coupled with the black exterior and tinted windows and it looks downright sinister without losing its composure and elegance/class. It's truly an epitome of "finesse". I can't get enough of the different character aspects of this base with the M Sport Package, yet how they all come together so seamlessly.

Yes, of course I have some nits to pick, but this is already too long. And they're so far down the totem pole (I have a little rattle in my door which I found is actually the plastic around the door lock rubbing against something and making an annoying "creak" of which should be an easy fix I hope), I can't really even think substantially enough of them.

If you made it to the end of this ramble, I salute you! In closing: I feel my decision to pick this car to take on my "desire to find perfection conforming to my desires" is still a righteous one. :thumbup:
 
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#2 ·
Terrific review.
 
#3 ·
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it!
 
#4 ·
Nice writeup!
 
#9 ·
Nice write up, another 2 weeks and I will be officially a convert from MB and will be able to compare the 2 like you did.
 
#10 ·
K-A,

I'm starting to get the impression that you kind of like this car. ;)
 
#14 · (Edited)
What gave it away? :D

Glad you guys enjoy there review! No battery or RFT issues yet. I can only imagine how smooth and quiet it must be without rft's though.

My overall impression on this car coming from a guy who like I explained wants something that walks such a fine line and doesn't focus on purely sporty dynamics is that it is essentially over engineered for this segment. I think the reason for that is because it's really a smaller 7 Series in so many ways, even the interior is like a carbon copy of the 7's but IMO even more stylish and modernized. The chassis under this car has such a high torsionally rigidity figure which also seems to be factored by being based on a chassis meant for such heavy duty luxury cars like the 7 and RR Ghost.

Yeah the car still truly feels really above and beyond my similarly priced M-B's in literally more or less every substantial way I can think of. It's funny cause I remember when I had my E Class I roamed over to a BMW dealer during a service and noticed the F10 had a sticker that stated its parts content is something like 75% German, 15% USA and 10% Mexico and/or China. While the W212 E and other M-B's had something like 50% German, 10% USA and like 40% mixed between China and/or Mexico (maybe not exact numbers but a gist). It was a bummer at the time for me to see that, especially considering my inherent impression of MB cost cutting certain materials and formerly luxury-oriented details. I don't know how tangibly those figures come across, however experiencing just how much more elegant, plush and refined the materials quality of my F10 feels, especially in those areas which show the care and attention to detail that you'd expect from a premium brand, it seems like it certainly translates.
 
#11 ·
An excellent review, K-A. Especially useful for someone like me with an ED scheduled in April and who has been reading about all the battery and RFT problems. Did you encounter any battery or RFT problems?

Again, thanks for a comprehensive review.
 
#16 ·
KA you rock! I love reading your stuff. It makes me all the more excited to get mine (in Logan, UT for Opticoat 2.0 now, the detailer is taking pics of the whole process from unload to done, so I should have some sweet action pictures for everyone to see when I finally get the vehicle :) )
 
#19 ·
Thanks bud! I appreciate that, and the nice words of those in this thread toward the review and sentiment. :thumbup:

Oh man, Opticoat 2.0 should be nice!

Yeah, I really feel like I couldn't be all the happier with this car, which is always a great thing.

It's kind of made me re-feel the experience I felt when I got my very first personal luxury car (those tingles, butterflies, etc.).

As for the Porsche, oh I will definitely be looking to get a Porsche in the future! The 911 is perhaps the most timeless car of all time. However there were just a some things about it that didn't make sense nor work for me at this moment.

My older Brother who's had tons of cars throughout his life (M-B, BMW's, Porsche 911, etc.) told me when hearing me describing what I want out of a car (at the time being so enamored by the Mercedes "Luxury" but wanting something more spirited, youthful and "sexy" like a 911) that knowing my desires I wouldn't be feeling like I got my money's worth with a 911, therefore telling me "I bet that if you get a Bimmer you'll never turn back". Looks like he called that one on the money.
 
#17 ·
I was seeking out "perfection", to my tastes and desires, of course. What were they? I had a Mercedes W212 E-Class, and I wanted a car MORE refined, more luxurious, more expensive feeling, yet I also was trying to make sense of getting myself into a Porsche 991 911 more than anything.

My Dad is a long time Mercedes "fan" I guess you can say (not a car guy, but likes what he likes), and never cared much for BMW's. He saw my car as I apprehensively thought he might not understand why it was such a big upgrade. Not only was he shocked at the deal I got on it, he was shockingly positively shocked when he saw it. He couldn't get over how nice it looked, felt, and when he got inside? Forget about it, he was in disbelief, stating how the car felt exceptionally higher on the totem pole than my previous M-B's of which he was a fan of.

If. :thumbup:
I too was in the 911 dilemma. I actually had a base 991 on order but for personal reasons I had to cancel when the car arrived. So, I began looking for a 4 door car. Look at all you can imagine. Finally settled on the 550i.

It is a great car. I have owned 4 mercedes and liked them all, but when I went back and looked at the new e class, I was shocked. It is cheap looking and feeling--the standard vinyl (MB Tex is the classy name for the vinyl) is horrific. BMW felt, looked and drove like a luxury car. Mercedes did not.
 
#18 ·
I have owned a couple of 911s in the past including a 997.1 Turbo. I love my 5 series, but I miss my 911 everyday. Looking so forward to getting another P-car again, I simply have to convince the wife to assume the 550xi. A 500 hp sedan makes a great grocery getter, and a wonderful highway cruiser, but it is galaxies away from a 911 in regards to the fun factor.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Okay so I think I found something to complain about. The front bumper of this car is already starting to get littered in small rock chips (soft paint or clear coat on the Jet Black at least). I think I got spoiled by my E-Class in that regard as the majority of that cars front is a big chrome grill which gets VERY pitted up, though you can't really notice it because of the chrome finish (the finish doesn't chip at all but it gets little pits everywhere).

In just under 1,600 miles if I shine an LED light up to my front bumper I can see little pits and chips in various places. The GOOD thing about having a black car is that the "naked" front bumper seems to be of a black material, so these pits don't seem so noticeable on black. On my white M-B, the naked front bumper was black or grey, so when that car would get a chip, you'd see the black core bumper material peeking through. I guess it's a give and take.

I figure if someone cared enough due to the chips annoying them even if they're hard to see unless you're looking straight at and for them in good enough lighting, you'd probably need to invest a little bit to get the front bumper resprayed every year or so.

Considering it's not easy to see with the black core bumper behind it making it seemingly less noticeable, and that I've accepted front bumpers have this happen to them, and the one part of my car I wouldn't totally care to have repainted if need be is the front bumper (to be honest the OEM paint matching isn't anything to write home about with the fenders and hood anyway, considering the different materials being plastic VS metal make it apparent), it doesn't bother me THAT much. I just hope my hood or anything like that don't get any.

Oh, and for another COOL aspect, I added this into O/P:

There are also cool features that come with the M Sport package like ACTUAL brake cooling ducts that feed in from the front bumper lower air dams (I'm used to cars with poseur-ducts/dams in the bumper which give a cheap/phony look while functional ducts always seemed reserved for Exotics and the like), which give an air of a true performance car, a car that doesn't cost cut nor pull any punches, a premium car, etc. I literally was geekily happy when I realized I actually had REAL cooling ducts on my car coming in from those aggressive air dams in the bumper. Very purposefully Germanic.
 
#22 ·
I really like the fact that you mentioned the positive things about the car unlike the majority of other members who constantly complain about the lack of power, grip, space, sportiness, blah blah blah.

I always appreciate when people value what they have and enjoy it to the fullest extent.

There will always be shortcomings depending on from what perspective you look at things and also you get what you pay for. You want more power, switch your 535 for an M5. You want more comfort, go buy a 7 series... In my opinion, the F10 is a great mix of true engineering, modern design, quality craftsmanship, luxury, safety and functionality. It also delivers plenty of power for any driving situation on public roads in the US.

I am glad that someone mentioned how nice it is to own and drive one in a review. :thumbup:
 
#23 ·
I really like the fact that you mentioned the positive things about the car unlike the majority of other members who constantly complain about the lack of power, grip, space, sportiness, blah blah blah.

I always appreciate when people value what they have and enjoy it to the fullest extent.

There will always be shortcomings depending on from what perspective you look at things and also you get what you pay for. You want more power, switch your 535 for an M5. You want more comfort, go buy a 7 series... In my opinion, the F10 is a great mix of true engineering, modern design, quality craftsmanship, luxury, safety and functionality. It also delivers plenty of power for any driving situation on public roads in the US.

I am glad that someone mentioned how nice it is to own and drive one in a review. :thumbup:
:thumbup: Thanks, and very much agreed!
 
#24 · (Edited)
Well, I'm nearing the 2 month and 1,600 mile anniversary with my car, and wanted to post some updated thoughts ("some" in my world is a wall of text, reader beware).

I was seeking out "perfection", to my tastes and desires, of course. What were they? I had a Mercedes W212 E-Class, and I wanted a car MORE refined, more luxurious, more expensive feeling, yet I also was trying to make sense of getting myself into a Porsche 991 911 more than anything.

How could I get those two worlds to meet? Oh, and do it for something that wouldn't cost as much as the Porsche would?

My selection: The F10 535i M Sport, with exactly the Options I wanted, sans any fluff I wouldn't find necessities. Getting it for such a uniquely great deal, from the owner of Bimmerfest himself (Jon Shafer) made it extra sweet, and got me off on the right foot (best car purchasing experience ever so far for me).

I'd been fawning over the N55 as the BMW I6 has always been one of my favorite motors, I loved the addition of a Turbo to fill in the only void I'd found from that historic motor (lack of low end torque for those of us in congested areas), and I couldn't resist it being mated to the revered 8 Speed ZF with the Sport Auto option ticked.

So, the 535i it was, "Perfection seeked".

To date, I can't say I've ever driven a car that impresses me on so many levels. The fact that I can still get into this car and marvel at the state of the art craftsmanship, the beautiful materials, shapes, seating position, seats, design, etc. really says something.... I mean, I didn't come from a 90's Ford, I came from 2 straight brand new Benzes from 2010 and 2011. This is one car that can truly make me feel like "Life is good" on even the worst of days. It really works hard to explain and prove to you that and why you are fortunate to drive it.

It's one of the rare cars that makes me look forward to 5 PM traffic over the hill (my M-B's were good at this as well, though less good), because I can experience the creature comforts, the isolated and coddling-ly luxurious feel. I was out the other night next to some guy playing some generic Rap track bumping out of a custom system.... shockingly I actually couldn't hear ANY of it until I rolled my window down to insert my ticket into the slot to get out of the parking garage. He was bumping it LOUD, which I could hear with even the slightest crack of my window.... however with my window up, I couldn't hear ANY of it. This is almost certainly the quietest car I've ever extensively driven.

At the same time, it's the first car I've ever owned that I just want to get in and drive for the sake of DRIVING ENJOYMENT. I want to get in the car at 5 AM and put it in Sport +, hit some turns and straightaways and experience this impeccable drivetrain mating. Oh, and get over 30 MPG to boot? Pfft. It walks that fine line so damn well. Yes, it's a little cozy on turns, but I accept that as the coziness is wonderful on straightaways.... and the suspension really starts to flatten and balance itself when pushed hard, I feel. I do appreciate the extra firmness in the 2013 M Sports seeming exclusive non-adaptive lower and sportier suspension. As for the chassis, the car itself feels iron-clad in how it treks down the road, hefty and substantial yet without the negative effects that often come with that, truly Germanic with a sporty soul, solid as hell (almost 40,000 nm's of torsional rigidity don't lie), weighted in the way I like a Luxury Car to feel. You can instantly tell this chassis was derived for and from models that are far more expensive than the 5-Series (a big win for us, which IMO is why the F10 feels over-engineered for this segment, yet understandably a key setback to those who want a classical rawer and more connected BMW driving feel).

The car changes characters drastically from Eco to Comfort to Sport/Sport + mode. I even recently found the DS mode, and along with Paddles, the car is an endless amusement park (don't even get me started on the tech, I feel like I've gone into the future coming from even a New Mercedes previously). Putting it in Sport and hitting the pedal even a bit just gives so many great sensations. I think it feels fast, in the most usable way possible (torquey), but not TOO powerful to where you're seeing triple digit speeds in a split second. Speaking of which, the mixture of performance and quietness is so incredible that doing 80 feels like crawling, and the car seems to feel more stable and secure at triple digit speeds (I feel this is actually a dangerous mix, as it can give drivers a feeling of perhaps too-confident invincibility). I got my first speeding ticket in years (how cliche). I now feel like every straightaway with a clear and safe path ahead is an excuse to put it in S and feel a rush in those dynamic ways mentioned above. The best of the best part is how SMOOTH it is, and how uniquely incredible it sounds, both of which my passengers have brought up. Even my Girlfriend who hates cars wants me to give her the "vroom", she even wanted me to race someone (of which I won't do as those days are over and not worth it)! Lol. She genuinely seems like it "turns her on", which is a big catch for this car, let me tell you. Coming from what she's used to, the mixture of isolation and exhilaration, smoothness and sound truly seem like she thinks of this car as some high performance race machine when I give it some gas. Goes to show how potent the balance on this car is.

My Dad is a long time Mercedes "fan" I guess you can say (not a car guy, but likes what he likes), and never cared much for BMW's. He saw my car as I apprehensively thought he might not understand why it was such a big upgrade. Not only was he shocked at the deal I got on it, he was shockingly positively shocked when he saw it. He couldn't get over how nice it looked, felt, and when he got inside? Forget about it, he was in disbelief, stating how the car felt exceptionally higher on the totem pole than my previous M-B's of which he was a fan of.

There are also cool features that come with the M Sport package like ACTUAL brake cooling ducts that feed in from the front bumper lower air dams (I'm used to cars with poseur-ducts/dams in the bumper which give a cheap/phony look while functional ducts always seemed reserved for Exotics and the like), which give an air of a true performance car, a car that doesn't cost cut nor pull any punches, a premium car, etc. I literally was geekily happy when I realized I actually had REAL cooling ducts on my car coming in from those aggressive air dams in the bumper. Very purposefully Germanic.

Finally, the styling. I've been driving such an angular and complex-with-lines, jarringly rigid angles, etc. Mercedes for a while (which I loved dearly), that the smooth and curvy nature of this car has been of a sort of cohesive calming effect to me, yet at the same time gives me a greater impression of visual youth, of "sexiness", sportiness, of sleekness and slickness. The design speaks such calmness, classical timelessness and balance at the same time as sportiness, modernity, youthfulness, aggression and steel-sex-appeal. Coupled with the black exterior and tinted windows and it looks downright sinister without losing its composure and elegance/class. It's truly an epitome of "finesse". I can't get enough of the different character aspects of this base with the M Sport Package, yet how they all come together so seamlessly.

Yes, of course I have some nits to pick, but this is already too long. And they're so far down the totem pole (I have a little rattle in my door which I found is actually the plastic around the door lock rubbing against something and making an annoying "creak" of which should be an easy fix I hope), I can't really even think substantially enough of them.

If you made it to the end of this ramble, I salute you! In closing: I feel my decision to pick this car to take on my "desire to find perfection conforming to my desires" is still a righteous one. :thumbup:
K-A you are preaching to the choir. I remember a similar write up when you bought your MB. For the record, my wife and I traded two BImmers for two MB's in 2010 and 2011. We have not looked back since. My wife will never own another BMW. As for myself, I go with the flavor of the day. I liked my BMW's, but I have never had one that performed like my CLS550. This new 4.6l tt engine is the cat's meow. My problem with the 5 series is that the car is not distinctive. Is it a long 3 series or short 7? There is no problem recognizing a c,e or cls. Oh I almost forgot, there is no hesitation in the MB twin turbo.

PS Don't take me too seriously. I just wanted to be the token dissenting voice.
 
#26 · (Edited)
If there's one regret I have it's that I'm just not up to the task of keeping up this black swirl-free, nor do I think I capable of being careful enough with it to keep it truly swirl free. I just washed it for the first time myself, after spending hundreds on paint corrections, and I swear if I undid the work that those hundreds went toward, I'm just putting this car into "beater mode".... which if one knows me and my OCD extremist ways (I gotta be insanely careful with something or almost reckless with it), they'd think that it actually might be the best thing that can happen to me with this car, because it will allow me to treat it like a true utilitarian tool while exploiting all its virtues (as opposed to constantly stressing about not swirling it, scratching it, driving it too hard, dirtying it, etc.).

As for looks, I think the black on the F10 M Sport is the hottest color it comes with, but I miss the days of being able to rub sandpaper if I wanted on my white car and not be able to see any of the swirls anyway.

Petee: That's the whole point here. As happy as I was with my W212, the F10 gave me exactly what I wanted: More of what the W212 did good, and a piece of that more flavorful sportiness I was seeking from something like a 911, which was too extreme for me (hence the seeking of a middle ground), and catering to some new ground as well.

Yes BMW's designs are very homogenous, however IMO they have perhaps the best design language out there, so it's hard to blame them. M-B has become so confused, lost so much identity as they've tried to copy so many others, mainly BMW, that they've lost their design language, which is why I've warmed up to BMW's (and Audi's, and Porsche's) clear-headed, focused, iconicized homogenous approach these days. M-B is so all-over-the-place they can't even stand behind their own designs, therefore they date their own cars, screwing over owners who entrusted a Premium manufacturer by making such drastic facelifts. IMO it shows poor leadership and a confused or maybe incapable design team. The W212 facelift actually makes it look so much like a wannabe C-Class, it seems like M-B is once again following BMW's and Audi's lead and trying now to copy their homogeny, unfortunately the rest of the W212 is so angular and hard-edged it just doesn't look right to me as it now tries to mashup some rounded/organic elements. As even more clear proof of how M-B has lost their design leadership, just look at how many manufacturers copy them these days: None. Just several years ago, everyone copied M-B, now, everyone, very much including M-B copies BMW and the new darling: Audi. This shows the industry itself doesn't consider M-B a design leader at this point. Of course, M-B's last revolutionary design was the original CLS which everyone still copies to this day, but that was a whole different time of clean and elegant/simple design and lines from them.

Of course everyone has their views but M-B has just lost much of what made me like them in the first place. Having an F10 now I can see what all those people who complained about the W212 being not worth its weight (asking price) considering what you get from it (or don't get from it), whom I argued points with, were on about, however being that I became such a fan of the pre-facelift W212's exterior styling, it was upsetting to see M-B undo every gimmick they used to originally market the car so hard.
 
#27 ·
If there's one regret I have it's that I'm just not up to the task of keeping up this black swirl-free, nor do I think I capable of being careful enough with it to keep it truly swirl free. I just washed it for the first time myself, after spending hundreds on paint corrections, and I swear if I undid the work that those hundreds went toward, I'm just putting this car into "beater mode".... which if one knows me and my OCD extremist ways (I gotta be insanely careful with something or almost reckless with it), they'd think that it actually might be the best thing that can happen to me with this car, because it will allow me to treat it like a true utilitarian tool while exploiting all its virtues (as opposed to constantly stressing about not swirling it, scratching it, driving it too hard, dirtying it, etc.).
I feel your pain K-A when you get your technique down and get it in to a routine system, you'll know what to do and when to do it. It will be easier then. You'll also learn to live with things you can't fix right away. Stay at it man, plenty of people willing to help you on here, and plenty of good info to be found online too. A car this new deserves at least a year before being designated a beater...or at least wait until the first rock chip………:wailing: Chin-up…
 
#28 ·
Budget $200 or so for a Porter Cable 7424 and some pads and compound/polish/wax from Autogeek and use it on your black car every 90 days or so. I keep a 10+ old jet black E46 in decent shape that way swirlwise. The rock chips in the front there is no recipe for except touch up paint. I know some of the Porsche nerds get a clear bra installed when the car is brand new.
 
#30 ·
Couldn't agree more. Just got back from around 10 days of city & highway/country road cruising. had a gr8 mix of windy roads, hills, straight (& windy) expressways, fog, rain, sun - god, it was fun. I'm dying to get back in the car for our next country trip in a week's time. Only had it for 2 weeks & love it to bits.

I intend to stick up a post in a few weeks time with my 1st impressions just to share round.
 
#31 ·
Nice to hear! The car is really something. Just watch those rock chips on those long Highway drives. At least they seem to not show up too well on darker cars (and darker cars show so much debris/dust you could never tell which was a rock chip anyway :D).
 
#32 ·
I'd like to add this little bit in there as it has been yet another NEW feature I've recently found out about this car, therefore increasing my love jone'sing to unspeakable levels.

Copied from the "Features" thread:

Ok so I got one that made me feel giddy as a school kid with candy in his lunchbox.

So I've been trying to find ways to keep my car in Sport/Sport + mode WHILE being able to control the RPM's as I would be in that mode every day for the sportier steering, use of 1st gear and snappier throttle response, but I just don't like how it unnecessarily keeps the revs up even when it's not needed. So I tried using the Paddles to control it, but I find that if I don't click the paddles enough, it just reverts back to "D" on its own, negating my "RPM controlling".

So, today I tried putting it in DS mode WHILE having it in Sport +, and noticed that on the I/C display it had a more serious "S", then "M" mode when I engaged the paddles. I quickly learned that THIS WAY the car knows you want to actually drive with paddles, and not only doesn't get in your way nor second guess you, it actually helps you in a good way, i.e will downshift to the right gear if you press down once. So I can get my Sport Steering, Sport Throttle Response, and be able to control my RPM's (would be nice if the Auto mode could do it on its own though, i.e give me all "Sport" benefits but the unnecessary high RPM's).

I LOVE this car! Learning new things every day. BMW really knows how to make a soft and cuddly luxury car still interesting to drive.

....
Oh, and good news is, looks like my washing method introduced no swirls. :D
 
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