[Damaskus325]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

Audio? I rarely use mine because I'm too busy listening to the engine.

There are times for that kind of spirited driving, for sure. I have a few choice roads that I will take and carve up the corners of a crisp fall day. There are other days though, when I want to crank up some Tears for Fears and hear Roland and Curt in all their glory. Or some Tool. Or Clutch. Or Daft Punk. Or Ludovico Einaudi. Or.....well crap, I guess I have too many albums.

[Serf27]

The logic 7 system is just nice. Not too much or too little.

[POBEP]

until one of those events
- I total it
- parts become unavailable
- gas/diesel fuel become unavailable
- CA outlaw ICE cars
- I die

[hassmaschine]

I honestly don't really care about cars like I used to. I'll never sell the E30, of course. But I'll drive the E90 until the wheels fall off.

The idea of having a $800/month car payment for 5 years of my life - nah. I'd rather skip that and retire when I'm 52 instead. I've really started thinking about purchases in terms of - how many years of my life will I have to waste working to own that thing? is it really worth it? most of the time, it's not.

If the E90 died, I could ride a bike instead of driving, because I won't need to go to work anyway. I don't want to retire when I'm already half dead and unable to enjoy my life, and things like fancy cars, boats, SUVs, etc. get in the way of that.

[Bmw1939]

At 85k miles at least 20 years. It is serviceable and the amount of information on maintenance is huge. Plus my wife's X3 has the same N52 and gm transmission. Is the E90 the highest selling luxury sports car in history? Pretty close I'm sure.

[dmatre]

The original plan was to keep the '11 E90 for 8 years. The wife and I normally got new cars on an 8-year cycle, offset by 4 years. Financing for 4 years meant we never had more than one car payment.

I got the '11 E90, the wife got a '14 W212 E350 Benz.

After 10yrs8months, the BMW looks, feels & drives like new. After 6 years the wife's car is the same.

These may end up being the last cars we buy.

They have time/mileage, but they don't show evidence of it like Asian/American cars. Plus, there's nothing on the market (other than P-cars and exotics) that have a similar, driver-rewarding, driving experience.

[Damaskus325]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I honestly don't really care about cars like I used to. I'll never sell the E30, of course. But I'll drive the E90 until the wheels fall off.

The idea of having a $800/month car payment for 5 years of my life - nah. I'd rather skip that and retire when I'm 52 instead. I've really started thinking about purchases in terms of - how many years of my life will I have to waste working to own that thing? is it really worth it? most of the time, it's not.

If the E90 died, I could ride a bike instead of driving, because I won't need to go to work anyway. I don't want to retire when I'm already half dead and unable to enjoy my life, and things like fancy cars, boats, SUVs, etc. get in the way of that.

I second that. I miss my E30 of years ago. It was my first BMW experience. As much as I have loved my E36, E39 and E92 cars, the E30 is just....special. It was so analog and simple. The car was like a road legal go kart. The nimbleness and road connection were second to none. I even remember the sunroof had a hand crank. That kind of stuff is gone in cars of today. Its a shame really.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I honestly don't really care about cars like I used to. I'll never sell the E30, of course. But I'll drive the E90 until the wheels fall off.

The idea of having a $800/month car payment for 5 years of my life - nah. I'd rather skip that and retire when I'm 52 instead. I've really started thinking about purchases in terms of - how many years of my life will I have to waste working to own that thing? is it really worth it? most of the time, it's not.

If the E90 died, I could ride a bike instead of driving, because I won't need to go to work anyway. I don't want to retire when I'm already half dead and unable to enjoy my life, and things like fancy cars, boats, SUVs, etc. get in the way of that.

Good plan and all, but... I'm convinced the E90's wheels do not have the capability of "falling off", ever

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Damaskus325

I second that. I miss my E30 of years ago. It was my first BMW experience. As much as I have loved my E36, E39 and E92 cars, the E30 is just....special. It was so analog and simple. The car was like a road legal go kart. The nimbleness and road connection were second to none. I even remember the sunroof had a hand crank. That kind of stuff is gone in cars of today. Its a shame really.

I owned a 1989 E30 from new. We had the 325i for 18 years. It even spent 18 months of it's life in Manhattan, NYC (which can easily kill any car). All told it racked up 256,000 miles.

I now years later routinely kick myself squarely in the ass for selling it. The 1989 version is the sweet spot for the E30 IMO, because it was the first year of the American version of the small bumpers, which drastically improved the styling. It also was pre-air bag, which let the car have the last of the classic and attractive non-bag BMW steering wheels with the four thumb-activated horn buttons. And best, it came with the "si" M20B25 with the upgraded head. And of course the E30 has the best ergonomic interior design of any car before or since (you can quote me on that). It was sparse before the Tesla Model 3 made "sparse interiors" cool again.

But I did let the E30 go because the E90 was that good. I had an E30 2-door sedan (that's how BMW described it) and wanted a 4-door sedan. We have to admit the E30 is small. I dove my E90 and E30 back to back for several months and while different in a lot of respects, they were similar in many others. The E30 chassis I'd say danced on the back roads a bit better than the E90, but the E90 was a bit more refined while giving up nothing in capability to the E30. The E90's N52, while separated by the M52/54 in design, is IMO the kindred spirit of the M20. But nothing BMW since the M20 sounds so mechanically good as the M20's valve train; that I really miss the most.

Just wanted to share for no other real reason than continuation of my therapy.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I honestly don't really care about cars like I used to. I'll never sell the E30, of course. But I'll drive the E90 until the wheels fall off.

The idea of having a $800/month car payment for 5 years of my life - nah. I'd rather skip that and retire when I'm 52 instead. I've really started thinking about purchases in terms of - how many years of my life will I have to waste working to own that thing? is it really worth it? most of the time, it's not.

If the E90 died, I could ride a bike instead of driving, because I won't need to go to work anyway. I don't want to retire when I'm already half dead and unable to enjoy my life, and things like fancy cars, boats, SUVs, etc. get in the way of that.

I'm back again now at the precipice of selling one or more of my BMWs. I hate this. I have too many cars. I justified it because I had the long commute and "needed" to spread the daily drive among a few cars, which will be ending in a few weeks. I fear I will have seller's remorse as I do with my E30 as mentioned above. I've got to enjoy my life so far with a fleet of 4 BMWs. I'm looking forward to enjoying life with a New Bronco.

1st world problems. Maybe I should find a well-kept E30 and drop an N52 in it...

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I honestly don't really care about cars like I used to. I'll never sell the E30, of course. But I'll drive the E90 until the wheels fall off.

The idea of having a $800/month car payment for 5 years of my life - nah. I'd rather skip that and retire when I'm 52 instead. I've really started thinking about purchases in terms of - how many years of my life will I have to waste working to own that thing? is it really worth it? most of the time, it's not.

If the E90 died, I could ride a bike instead of driving, because I won't need to go to work anyway. I don't want to retire when I'm already half dead and unable to enjoy my life, and things like fancy cars, boats, SUVs, etc. get in the way of that.

If you play your cards right, you could both buy new cars AND retire young.

But the problem for me is the distinct lack of new cars I have any interest in buying, and the couple I do kind of want are too expensive for my cheap Yankee brain to let my heart do it.

And being 52 and loving what I do for a living, I would be bored out of my tree if I retired now.

Of course, the way things are going the 128i coupe that I want to go with my convertible is going to cost me new car money anyway. But no payments, I refuse to owe money on a car with no warranty.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I owned a 1989 E30 from new. We had the 325i for 18 years. It even spent 18 months of it's life in Manhattan, NYC (which can easily kill any car). All told it racked up 256,000 miles.

I now years later routinely kick myself squarely in the ass for selling it. The 1989 version is the sweet spot for the E30 IMO, because it was the first year of the American version of the small bumpers, which drastically improved the styling. It also was pre-air bag, which let the car have the last of the classic and attractive non-bag BMW steering wheels with the four thumb-activated horn buttons. And best, it came with the "si" M20B25 with the upgraded head. And of course the E30 has the best ergonomic interior design of any car before or since (you can quote me on that). It was sparse before the Tesla Model 3 made "sparse interiors" cool again.

But I did let the E30 go because the E90 was that good. I had an E30 2-door sedan (that's how BMW described it) and wanted a 4-door sedan. We have to admit the E30 is small. I dove my E90 and E30 back to back for several months and while different in a lot of respects, they were similar in many others. The E30 chassis I'd say danced on the back roads a bit better than the E90, but the E90 was a bit more refined while giving up nothing in capability to the E30. The E90's N52, while separated by the M52/54 in design, is IMO the kindred spirit of the M20. But nothing BMW since the M20 sounds so mechanically good as the M20's valve train; that I really miss the most.

Just wanted to share for no other real reason than continuation of my therapy.

Well said. My first two BMWs were both '91 318is's, and if ever there was a car that was FAR more than the sum of it's parts, it was that car. And I too kick myself for selling the second one (first one became a parts donor to the second due to rust). I'm finding the 1-series is the real successor to those cars. Similar refinement to the 3-series, but a little smaller and more willing to play.

BMW interiors back in the day were sparse because it was all that was needed for perfect functionality. Telsa interiors are sparse to save cost and are ergonomic nightmares, IMHO...

I look forward to hearing how you get on with the new Bronco. It's on my VERY short list of new cars I might actually buy, but I am too cheap to pay the price to get one now. Once they are available with a decent discount, maybe my Rover finds a new home.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

Well said. My first two BMWs were both '91 318is's, and if ever there was a car that was FAR more than the sum of it's parts, it was that car. And I too kick myself for selling the second one (first one became a parts donor to the second due to rust). I'm finding the 1-series is the real successor to those cars. Similar refinement to the 3-series, but a little smaller and more willing to play.

BMW interiors back in the day were sparse because it was all that was needed for perfect functionality. Telsa interiors are sparse to save cost and are ergonomic nightmares, IMHO...

I look forward to hearing how you get on with the new Bronco. It's on my VERY short list of new cars I might actually buy, but I am too cheap to pay the price to get one now. Once they are available with a decent discount, maybe my Rover finds a new home.

My Bronco is scheduled for production in late January 2022. I'm figuring a few weeks transport time, so mid to late February delivery. I will provide a full driving report, of course.

100% agree on the Tesla assessment. Honestly, who needs a giant map on the dash constantly showing position when 90% of the time they know where they are going. When an EV manufacturer ever figures out that a good idea would be to have a integrated plug-in mount so the driver could mount the TV screen when it is needed for a map function, but otherwise leave it off the dash as a choice, I'd consider an EV. I love the Mach E other than the dash screen. The California model has the big battery and RWD for a 300-mile range; the sweet spot for me other than the giant screen.

[TheCatMan]

Well just bought it, but this is my 2nd BMW, so I kind of like the idea of jumping to another model in a few years. But then again I might just keep this one, as Bimmer_Engineer said by that time, I will know it inside out, and might be a good car for wife, kids (although kids probably will want something meaner )

[RnmEvo9]

Originally Posted by POBEP

until one of those events
- I total it
- parts become unavailable
- gas/diesel fuel become unavailable
- I die

Same here.

I also do not want a car note even if I can afford it.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by ctuna

There is a stereo sub forum here and there is a sticky on L7 settings
there.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=27

L7 does not have enough power per channel for most aftermarket speakers.

Originally Posted by ctuna

There is a stereo sub forum here and there is a sticky on L7 settings
there.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=27

L7 does not have enough power per channel for most aftermarket speakers.

Can you provide the link as if just takes me to the sub forum

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'm back again now at the precipice of selling one or more of my BMWs. I hate this. I have too many cars. I justified it because I had the long commute and "needed" to spread the daily drive among a few cars, which will be ending in a few weeks. I fear I will have seller's remorse as I do with my E30 as mentioned above. I've got to enjoy my life so far with a fleet of 4 BMWs. I'm looking forward to enjoying life with a New Bronco.

1st world problems. Maybe I should find a well-kept E30 and drop an N52 in it...

I'll buy your E46 or your Z (3 or 4, I don't remember offhand what you have.) My daughter starts driving next year and already has her mind made up that she wants a manual transmission. Bonus points for a convertible. I am shopping for a E93 328i but would gladly take a E46 or a Z3/4 especially one owned by you. Imagine a fly and drive across the country in one of efthreeoh's cars, would make a very uneventful and boring YouTube documentary!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

I'll buy your E46 or your Z (3 or 4, I don't remember offhand what you have.) My daughter starts driving next year and already has her mind made up that she wants a manual transmission. Bonus points for a convertible. I am shopping for a E93 328i but would gladly take a E46 or a Z3/4 especially one owned by you. Imagine a fly and drive across the country in one of efthreeoh's cars, would make a very uneventful and boring YouTube documentary!

I have both a Z4 Coupe E86 and a Z3 Roadster. The Z3 is my wife's car and you'd have to pry her dead hands from the steering wheel. Z4 is my keeper car, when my time is up on this earth... well maybe I'll direct them to bury me in it.

How do you get rid of an E90 that has served you so well for 400K+? It is truly the last of the breed. And the E46 Cabrio, again last of the breed too.

Ugh!

[Brian86]

At about 312k miles I plan to be the last owner and keep driving it until rust claims it. It has a long way to go for that as the body is quite good, probably ten more salty winters.

If the engine scatters itself in the next few years I'll probably throw a replacement in. Beyond that it's a race between body rust and N52 catastrophic failure.

(what am I saying, of course I'll be the last owner. I don't think it's possible to give away a 300k+ BMW)

[09Monaco335i]

I plan on keeping my E90 (134K miles currently) for perhaps the next 5 years. I still love driving my 2009 335i E90 xDrive with manual transmission 12 years after I purchased it new, which is pretty amazing. I just run my car stock, with no performance mods. I spent a good amount of money this year fixing the oil pan gasket leak, replaced the coolant pump, replaced the front shocks/struts... to keep my E90 for the long-term. No other cars (in my price range) on the market really interest me currently as a replacement for my E90.

The one new car under development I'm keeping my eye on is the new Mazda 6, that hopefully will include the new inline 6 engine Mazda is developing. If Mazda comes out with an inline 6 sedan with a manual transmission option, that might tempt me to sell my E90. A car with BMW-like performance with Japanese reliability would be pretty enticing.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by 09Monaco335i

I plan on keeping my E90 (134K miles currently) for perhaps the next 5 years. I still love driving my 2009 335i E90 xDrive with manual transmission 12 years after I purchased it new, which is pretty amazing. I just run my car stock, with no performance mods. I spent a good amount of money this year fixing the oil pan gasket leak, replaced the coolant pump, replaced the front shocks/struts... to keep my E90 for the long-term. No other cars (in my price range) on the market really interest me currently as a replacement for my E90.

The one new car under development I'm keeping my eye on is the new Mazda 6, that hopefully will include the new inline 6 engine Mazda is developing. If Mazda comes out with an inline 6 sedan with a manual transmission option, that might tempt me to sell my E90. A car with BMW-like performance with Japanese reliability would be pretty enticing.

I had a 2015 Mazda6, it was the first new car I had bought in 15 years and I liked it a lot. I had it for less than a year before a deer wrecked itself on it at 70mph I was going to replace it but by that time the 6MT was already discontinued (I had a hard time finding one the first time even when they were being produced). I ended up replacing it with an '08 Accord with the 5MT and have been happy with that ever since, it's still my foul-weather ride. If they would put a MT into the upcoming RWD inline 6 version of the Mazda6 due out soon I would consider replacing my Accord, but I would be (pleasantly) surprised if the 6MT will be an option and that will make it a non-starter. There's no way I'll trade my E90s for ANYTHING new, they won't ever produce a "drivers car" like those again.

[3PedalJake]

Originally Posted by Brian86

At about 312k miles I plan to be the last owner and keep driving it until rust claims it. It has a long way to go for that as the body is quite good, probably ten more salty winters.

If the engine scatters itself in the next few years I'll probably throw a replacement in. Beyond that it's a race between body rust and N52 catastrophic failure.

(what am I saying, of course I'll be the last owner. I don't think it's possible to give away a 300k+ BMW)

I'm willing to help you test that theory