[Motorsport.Nick]

Hey E90Post -

I'm back!


Just picked up our new baby, just in time for our new baby (which hasn't arrived yet). Very excited to have a wagon. Its a first for us and I think its going to be a good car for road trips, hauling dog & kid stuff and it will be my daily commuter.


2008 328i
Sport Package
Premium Package
Auto
RWD

98,000 miles
Clean title
Originally a Texas car before coming to Portland in September of 2016. It was a CPO BMW car for its second owner.

Alpine white
Beige interior


Here she is right upon bring her home and starting the cleaning process.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



Pulled the mats, vacuumed every inch top to bottom and scrubbed the all weather mats.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


The leather hadn't been cleaned in years and it showed. The light color shows dirt pretty easily. Luckily, nothing was stained and most of the marring and grim came right off with lots of scrubbing.

I spent 4 hours in the interior non-stop.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Steering wheels need attention too.

Before
Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



After
Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

No more shine (which is grime). It should have a matte finish.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



Putting it all back together and feeling good.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


$41,000 back in 2008!

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr





Then I took a break before starting on the exterior. The motor was first.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



Add in some elbow grease + lots of degreaser =

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



Alright! Thats where I'll leave you guys for my day 1 of wagon ownership. I'll keep this thread updated from now on as things happen with the car.

Things it needs:
Blacklines (ASAP!!!)
Passenger side front door pull. Found a new piece on ECStuning for pretty cheap. Thoughts?
PDR, it has a dent in the hatch I'd like popped out.
Oil change



I'll be in the garage all day today working on the exterior. A full paint correction is starting now. Pics later.

Let me know what you guys think!

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Motorsport.Nick

...
Let me know what you guys think!

I think I want you to clean my beige interior. I'm going to be in Vancouver this week... I'll even drive it across to Portland to make it easy for you.

[jeddo45]

I've always wished that the BMW wagons were more mainstream. Such a beautiful looking car! Congrats OP!

[NiNeTyOne]

Welcome to the club!

What product did you use to clean your seats? It looks to have done a great job.

[tlow98]

Nice revival! My e91 was in similar shape and I had to bust out the horse hair brush, as well. Your leather looks great as a result. Also, Alpine with sport package is a great combo. Sharp looking wagon!

Regarding the door pull on ECS - that's an easy swap and if the price is on par with market I'd say go for it. ECS tends to be on the high side, ime, price-wise shop around.

I think I see a leak on your oil pump housing gasket - very typical. If you pick up the Snap-On 1/4" swivel (iirc) it will make the job a 30 minute swap and only cost about $60 for the tool, gasket and fluid. This will help keep your engine bay nice and clean! Check out the tutorial and don't bother disconnecting the water pump hose. It's a waste of time and could possibly introduce a leak.

[Motorsport.Nick]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

I think I want you to clean my beige interior. I'm going to be in Vancouver this week... I'll even drive it across to Portland to make it easy for you.

I only detail my own cars. I'm flattered you'd let me work on your car. Thanks

Originally Posted by jeddo45

I've always wished that the BMW wagons were more mainstream. Such a beautiful looking car! Congrats OP!

Agreed. Thanks!

Originally Posted by NiNeTyOne

Welcome to the club!

What product did you use to clean your seats? It looks to have done a great job.

Thanks, glad to be in the club. I've loved the E91 since they first debuted. Griots leather products. All of their products are great.

Originally Posted by tlow98

Nice revival! My e91 was in similar shape and I had to bust out the horse hair brush, as well. Your leather looks great as a result. Also, Alpine with sport package is a great combo. Sharp looking wagon!

Regarding the door pull on ECS - that's an easy swap and if the price is on par with market I'd say go for it. ECS tends to be on the high side, ime, price-wise shop around.

I think I see a leak on your oil pump housing gasket - very typical. If you pick up the Snap-On 1/4" swivel (iirc) it will make the job a 30 minute swap and only cost about $60 for the tool, gasket and fluid. This will help keep your engine bay nice and clean! Check out the tutorial and don't bother disconnecting the water pump hose. It's a waste of time and could possibly introduce a leak.

Thanks. The oil housing gasket was done recently which is where the seep probably came from. Good to know its an easy job if I have to do it. I'll keep an eye on it.

Just placed my order on ECS - they were a few bucks cheaper than the other sites I found it on.

[07lilredwagon]

great looking ride!....just did my front seats like you did and was amazed at the difference...mine now has 175 on it and with enough upkeep is (knock on wood) running pretty smooth these days!

JP

PS...I too saw the weeping at the OFHG...they go every 30-50,000 or so...

[Motorsport.Nick]

Day 2 - exterior detailing


Washed her really well spending extra time to go over all the trim to body pieces a few times. Pulled the front plate and bracket.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5 lurking

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Now moving on to the real stuff.

First step was to clay bar the whole car.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Spent a while going over all the body to trim rubber pieces.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Ahhh

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Had to massage all the grime out from the door jams.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



Finally time for the orbital. I was too busy to photo-document each step.

1. Swirl remover x2 applications
2. Polish
3. Sealant

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Not bad. Definitely came a long way from yesterday.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



The nice weather lasted for a few hours. At least the paint is ready for it now.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Alright! Well, there she is. Feeling pretty good.

Cheers.

[floydarogers]

1st mod: replace halogens with Xenon!

[tlow98]

Looks fantastic! I love detailing, so cathartic.

I agree about the Griot's garage stuff, too. Always been happy with it.

I think I've read your e34 revival thread...you used to have a 335i at one point as well? Great work on the e34, if that was you. Good to have you on here, as well.

EDIT: Errr, good to have you back!

[sleepydinosaur]

Thank you for making the world a better place by keeping a clean BMW wagon on the road, and congratulations on the baby!

[F22_Raptor]

Wow this really inspires me to detail my E91, nice work!

I would highly recommend a shift knob upgrade.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Motorsport.Nick]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Looks fantastic! I love detailing, so cathartic.

I agree about the Griot's garage stuff, too. Always been happy with it.

I think I've read your e34 revival thread...you used to have a 335i at one point as well? Great work on the e34, if that was you. Good to have you on here, as well.

EDIT: Errr, good to have you back!

Yea dude, thats me!

Originally Posted by sleepydinosaur

Thank you for making the world a better place by keeping a clean BMW wagon on the road, and congratulations on the baby!

Yes sir! Thanks

Originally Posted by F22_Raptor

Wow this really inspires me to detail my E91, nice work!

I would highly recommend a shift knob upgrade.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Great! I hope I can inspire others to go crazy detailing their cars

Didn't know there was a performance shift knob for the auto cars. Another great way to spend a $100 lol

[tlow98]

Looking back at this, becuz addicted to detailing.

Those halogens look so fresh!

[dave4]

Congrats to the new ride. What product and tool did you use on the steering wheel?

[Motorsport.Nick]

Oh man - so bummed. I just figured out that E91s and E90s DONT share the same blacklines! D:

Anyone have some E91 backlines for sale?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats!

[CSBM5]

Car looks great, and I imagine it's very happy you found it.

[Motorsport.Nick]

thanks for the comments guys.

Originally Posted by CSBM5

Car looks great, and I imagine it's very happy you found it.

Ha, were both happy.




Anyone else notice the wind noise on the freeway? Seems a lot louder than my E90 was. I suppose from the double sunroof..?

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by Motorsport.Nick

thanks for the comments guys.




Ha, were both happy.




Anyone else notice the wind noise on the freeway? Seems a lot louder than my E90 was. I suppose from the double sunroof..?

Yep, the monster sunroof is unfortunate in the E91. Mine is louder in addition to also making noise on bumps compared to the E90 330i with sunroof. I wish the car had a slicktop.

[slupie]

Originally Posted by Motorsport.Nick

thanks for the comments guys.




Ha, were both happy.




Anyone else notice the wind noise on the freeway? Seems a lot louder than my E90 was. I suppose from the double sunroof..?

Check the alignment of the sunroof leading edges and adjust them properly. Mine was loud also but it got much better when the dealer lowered the leading edges just a hair. Leading edge is just slightly lower then the edge before it. It's still slightly louder then the E90 we had but not as loud as it was when I bought the car.

[NiNeTyOne]

Originally Posted by Motorsport.Nick

Thanks, glad to be in the club. I've loved the E91 since they first debuted. Griots leather products. All of their products are great.

Yeah I've used their products a lot over the years, though I've switched to Gtechniq for paint recently and am done with waxes now that I've figured out the new nano coatings. Can't imagine life without them.

Which leather product did you clean with, the standard Griots' interior cleaner?