[BenFenner]

Table of Contents:

Sister threads:
BenFenner's 2008 White Wagon (SR20-Forum, must be signed in to view)


Facebook Groups updated with select progress:
Manual Rear-Wheel-Drive Hatchback Club
MWEJ | Manual Wagon Elitist Jerks
Wagon Elitist Jerks
Wagon Mafia
Manual Elitist Jerks
Obsessed Garage
Ultimate Klasse Gruppe



1) Introduction

2) Up-to-date price record
3) Up-to-date fuel economy record
4) Up-to-date maintenance/modification record

5) Original sale listing
6) "Taking delivery"
7) Save the stick
8) Coupe and wagon
9) Parked at Eggs Up Grill
10) In profile
11) Hauling firewood
12) Replace ignition coils and related
13) Wash car before front brake job
14) Replace front brake pads and rotors
15) Meteor shower
16) Replace low-beam headlight bulb
17) Replace brake booster hose retaining clip
18) New Apex SM-10 wheels arrive
19) New wheel center caps arrive
20) New Autel TPMS sensors and coder arrive
21) New Nitto NT555 G2 tires arrive
22) Mount Nitto tires on Apex wheels
23) Wash car before installing new wheels
24) Install new Apex SM-10 wheels and Nitto NT555 G2 tires
25) A couple pics in Asheville, NC
26) Hauling firewood
27) New battery
28) New wagon mafia sticker
29) First oil change
30) Curbed a wheel
31) Install new starter
32) Car wash
33) 100,000 miles
34) Hauling pallets
35) Bypass rear brake pad wear sensor
36) Fix exhaust leak by O2 sensors
37) New rear hatch roundel
38) Wash car
39) At Charleston house
40) Wash car
41) Perform outstanding factory recalls
42) Replace DME fan
43) Replace crankshaft position sensor
44) Replace water pump and thermostat
45) Perform oil change
46) Replace rear wiper blade
47) Rolling on the freeway
48) Flat tire on the freeway
49) Drive with brother to purchase 2004 Silver BMW E53 in PA
50) Re-torque spark plugs, repair cowl holes
51) Pics with SUV
52) Pics with Coupe and SUV
53) Highway drive back from Charlotte, NC
54) Recharge air conditioning refrigerant
55) Adjust parking brake
56) Replace rear brake pads and rotors
57) New tire repair kit
58) Replace front passenger side door pull

[BenFenner]

Introduction:

Facebook album permalink (in case the images don't show up in the future).

2008 BMW 328i Touring


Original listing: 2008 BMW 328i Wagon Sport 6MT Alpine White/Terra (original was deleted, so see it copied here)
VIN: WBAVS13598FV95160

Technically this is my wife's car. This replaces her manual 2003 VW Beetle (she still has it and will sell it soon). We were thinking we needed a 4-door car, and were looking at new 2015 (3rd-gen) Mazda3 hatches (we also test drove a manual turbo Kia Forte5 hatch) but just didn't love the dealership experience and weren't sure we wanted to spend the $25k for the top-spec model we convinced ourselves we wanted. For a lot less, we could get a whole lot more used car. We settled on looking for a manual RWD wagon, and this was tough. The easiest things to find were the BMWs, so we focused on those. We saw a few in California that might work, but nothing perfect.

We wanted a white car if possible, with non-tan interior, RWD, manual transmission (obviously), no navigation/iDrive if possible, heated seats, and less than 100k miles. Stretch goals were sports seats, sports suspension, non-wood interior trim, and maybe a few other things I can't remember.

It took 12 months, but we found our unicorn. For reference, it only took 9 months to find my Coupe. We found an E91 that ticked every single box we could have ever imagined (except for the wood, but it looks great with the leather color), and it was pretty close to us. There was one other car like it in the country, but they were asking $45k for it, and at one point went as low as ~$35k or so but they turned down an offer for $28k from what I was told. This other car we found however was listed for $21k and it was probably worth about $18k. I wrote to the seller telling them what I thought it was worth, but that the absolute top of our budget was a little less at $17k, and hoped for the best. We had been scooped on other East coast cars in the recent past so we wanted to give it our best shot . We didn't end up coming to a deal, so my wife and I kept looking. A month went by and the car was still for sale, and the owner had lowered their price a bit to $19,995. We'd saved some more money and I reached out again with an offer for the $18,000 I thought the car was worth. I believe the seller realized this was the best offer they were going to get any time soon, and they accepted. I'm sure it helped that I'd primed them a month earlier.

My wife having driven the Beetle for so long was a bit worried the car would be difficult to drive, or too big, or not great in some way. After driving it home on the highway she was in love. It is just as easy to shift as her Beetle, and it is quieter and more stable on the highway so she is extremely happy with it. :bigthumbup:

The good:

• Manual transmission
• Rear-wheel-drive
• White exterior
• Milk chocolate brown interior (Terra Dakota)
• No navigation/iDrive
• Built-in compass! (I use it all the time)
• Under 100k miles (85,555 miles in fact)
• Aux input for audio
• Heated seats (cold weather package)
• Sport seats
• Sport suspension
• ZHP shift knob
• Comfort package (key-less entry, etc.)
• All components like the tonneau cover, dog net, floor mats, tool kit, etc. are all present
• OEM roof racks included by seller
• Aftermarket black grill trim (not a fan of the factory chrome)
• Memory settings for seats/mirrors
• Hill-assist is not obnoxious
• My wife loves it!

The neutral:

• Debadged by a previous owner

The bad:

• The rear hatch BMW badge is fading.
• There are a few tiny rock chips all around the car, some already filled in with touch-up paint.
• The front bumper is sagging at the bottom a little.
• There is a small crack in the wood-trim of the center console.
• BMW's idiotic contemporary turn signal stalk operation.
• Turning off traction/stability control and adaptive steering takes a 3-second button press every damn time I get into the car.
• Cruise control will not engage with traction control off.
• The fuel economy is not great, and really no better than my Coupe around town.

The ugly:

• No engine oil dip stick
• No coolant temp gauge
• The stock wheels it came with are hideous. (Plans to fix that are underway.)
• The left-upper side of the black aftermarket grill looks warped/melted. (The plan is to replace it eventually.)

Driving impressions:
Not much to say other than that it is excellent to drive under all conditions. The clutch/shifter action is great and the pedal placement is typical BMW making heel-toe action effortless. The car eats up the miles on the highway and tucks nicely into sharp corners with way more confidence than it should. The sport suspension must really help here, as I've driven some boat-like BMW wagons in the past. The brakes probably wouldn't hold up on the track, and the open differential is a big problem when trying to put the power down with the current tires. I think the only room for improvement right now would be better brake pads, a limited slip diff, and a better wheel/tire package. The wheels and tires are coming soon, but the rest may or may not happen.
I guess one could also ask for more power. The 335i swap is pretty common, but since this is Katie's car it will likely remain stock power.


Future plans:
As mentioned already, wheels and tires are probably number one priority. Then I'll eventually want to replace the melty-looking grill piece and mount the lower bumper cover a bit better. We'll see what ends up happening when it needs brakes, if I go with something more aggressive or not.
There isn't much else realistic, but dream plans would be a limited slip diff, and then eventually an entire M3 front and rear bodywork conversion. Who knows... We'll see.

[BenFenner]

Up-to-date price record:

Begin 2016 below.

$18,000.00 - Used 2008 BMW E91 (Link)
$339.00 - Sales tax (capped in SC at $300) plus misc fees
$240.00 - Property tax (estimate, can't find records)

$159.84 - Delphi ignition coil (×6) (Link)
$35.64 - NGX Iridium spark plug at OEM heat range (×6) (Link)
$17.41 - Victor Reinz valve cover gasket (Link)
$7.01 - OEM oil filter cap gasket (Link)
$11.52 - Victor Reinz camshaft adjuster gasket (Link)
$3.09 - Elring eccentric shaft sensor seal (Link)
$250.09 - VDO eccentric shaft sensor (Link)
$19.68 - Mann cabin air filter (Link)

Begin 2017 below.

$48.35 - OEM (Textar) front brake pad set (Link)
$111.92 - OEM (Zimmerman) front brake rotor (×2) (Link)
$4.35 - OEM (Meyle) front brake pad wear sensor (Link)
$2.30 - OEM front brake rotor retaining bolt (×2) (Link)
$18.00 - Philips VisionPlus low-beam headlight bulb (×2) (Link)
$0.99 - OEM brake booster hose retaining clip (Link)
$1,201.00 - Apex SM-10 wheels (Link)
$48.60 - OEM wheel center cap (×4) (Link)
$109.08 - Autel tire pressure monitoring system sensor (×4) (Link)
$75.95 - Autel TMPS sensor programmer/coder (Link)
$698.00 - Nitto NT555 G2 tire (×4) (Link)
$82.59 - Mount and balance tire on 18" wheel (×4) (Link)
$220.63 - Deka AGM Exact Fit Battery (Link)
$7.92 - Turnerco (eBay) sourced E91 silhouette "Wagon Mafia" sticker (Link)

Begin 2018 below.

$10.00 - Mann Oil Filter for BMW E91 (N52 engine) (Link)
$45.65 - Amsoil 5w40 Classic European Formula Engine Oil, 1 quart (×7) (Link)
$15.69 - OEM aluminum starter motor mounting bolts (Link)
$22.91 - OEM intake manifold gasket set (Link)
$14.01 - OEM throttle body gasket (Link)
$41.71 - OEM exhaust gaskets for between the lead-pipes and the mid-pipes (set of 2) (Link)
$8.05 - OEM exhaust bolt (×4) (Link)
$5.97 - OEM copper exhaust nut (×4) (Link)
$3.55 - Dorman 9.5mm (M10) stainless steel washers (Link)
$6.17 - OEM heat shield retainer (×5) (Link)
$3.45 - OEM exhaust hanger flange nut (Link)
$34.78 - OEM roundel for E91 hatch (Link)
$2.51 - OEM roundel grommet (×2) (Link)

Begin 2019 below.

$148.92 - OEM DME/ECU cooling fan (Link)
$106.30 - OEM crankshaft position sensor (Link)
$5.12 - OEM crankshaft position sensor o-ring (Link)
$4.46 - OEM crankshaft position sensor torx bolt (Link)
$289.00 - OEM electric water pump (Link)
$111.65 - OEM thermostat (Link)
$11.28 - Set of 3 OEM aluminum water pump mounting bolts (Link)
$4.91 - Water-pump-to-thermostat mounting bolt (×2) (Link)
$13.80 - Mann Oil Filter for BMW E91 (N52 engine) (Link)
$45.65 - Amsoil 5w40 Classic European Formula Engine Oil, 1 quart (×7) (Link)
$16.47 - OEM (Bosch) 340mm rear wiper blade (Link)
$213.00 - New replacement Nitto NT555 G2 255/35/18 tire (Link)

Begin 2020 below.

$100.00 - Recharge air conditioning refrigerant (Link)
$165.73 - Replace rear brake pads and rotors (Link)
$40.92 - New tire repair kit (Link)
$115.21 - Replace front passenger side door pull (Link)
---------------

Total: $23,452.54

[BenFenner]

Up-to-date fuel economy record:

x.xx mpg - Worst track economy
xx.xx mpg - Average track economy (Raw - xx.xx/x)
xx.xx mpg - Best track economy

14.97 mpg - Worst city economy
16.49 mpg - Average city economy (Raw - 49.46/3)
17.52 mpg - Best city economy

xx.xx mpg - Worst mixed economy
xx.xx mpg - Average mixed economy (Raw - xx.xx/x)
xx.xx mpg - Best mixed economy

25.87 mpg - Worst highway economy
25.87 mpg - Average highway economy (Raw - 25.87/1)
25.87 mpg - Best highway economy

[BenFenner]

Up-to-date maintenance/modification record:

Previous owner's maintenance history records:



My maintenance history records:
2016-09-03 ...... 85,555 ...... Purchase car from Matthew in Chapel Hill, NC
2016-12-17 ...... 87,xxx ....... Replace ignition coils, spark plugs, eccentric shaft sensor and gasket, and cabin air filter (Link)
2016-12-17 ...... 87,xxx ....... Replace valve cover gasket, camshaft adjuster gasket, and oil filter cap gasket (Link)
2017-02-18 ...... 88,xxx ....... Replace front brake pads, rotors, pad wear sensor, rotor retaining bolts (Link)
2017-04-30 ...... 89,xxx ....... Replace low-beam headlight bulb (Link)
2017-06-28 ...... 90,xxx ....... Replace brake booster hose retaining clip (Link)
2017-07-03 ...... 91,xxx ....... Install new Apex SM-10 wheels, Nitto NT555 G2 tires, Autel TPMS sensors, and OEM BMW wheel center caps (Link)
2017-12-02 ...... 95,528 ...... Install new Deka AGM battery (Link)
2018-01-20 ...... 96,391 ...... Perform first oil change (Link)
2018-04-09 ...... 97,558 ...... Install new starter motor, with new bolts (Link)
2018-04-09 ...... 97,558 ...... Replace throttle body and intake manifold gaskets (Link)
2018-08-24 .... 100,184 ...... Bypass rear brake pad wear sensor (Link)
2018-09-03 .... 100,184 ...... Replace exhaust gaskets and hardware between the lead-pipes and the mid-pipes (Link)
2018-09-03 .... 100,184 ...... Replace rear hatch roundel (Link)
2018-09-17 .... 100,430 ...... Perform outstanding factory recalls (Link)
2019-07-02 .... 105,514 ...... Replace DME fan (Link)
2019-07-04 .... 105,514 ...... Replace crankshaft position sensor (Link)
2019-07-06 .... 105,514 ...... Replace water pump and thermostat (Link)
2019-07-06 .... 105,514 ...... Perform oil change (Link)
2019-10-04 .... 106,xxx ....... Replace rear wiper blade (Link)
2019-12-28 .... 107,xxx ....... Replace driver's side rear tire (Link)
2020-05-11 .... 114,391 ....... Re-torque spark plugs (Link)
2020-05-11 .... 114,391 ....... Repair cowl holes (Link)
2020-06-26 .... 115,204 ...... Recharge air conditioning refrigerant (Link)
2020-07-12 .... 115,596 ...... Adjust parking brake (Link)
2020-07-15 .... 115,633 ...... Replace rear brake pads and rotors (Link)
2020-09-27 .... 116,370 ...... Replace front passenger side door pull (Link)

[BenFenner]

Original sale listing:

Note that the Style 189 wheels in the last picture were not included for the price we settled on.
Facebook album permalink (in case the images don't show up in the future).

I am selling my 2008 BMW 328i 6MT RWD Sport Touring in Alpine White over Terra Leather. The car has 85,000 miles on it and I purchased it from the original owner in Massachusetts. It does have the front license plate mounting holes. I bought the car with 70,000 miles on it as it concluded the factory extended warranty. I searched for this car for close to 12 months and bought it with the intention of daily driving it for many years to come. It truly is the perfect car in the best color combination in my opinion. My upcoming move to a city setting forced me to buy an automatic transmission vehicle instead. I am not looking for trades. The car is located in Chapel Hill, NC.

The car was a euro delivery car optioned with the cold weather package, premium package, sport package, comfort access, and park distance control. I have included the original window sticker in the pictures. The only modifications are a ZHP shift knob and black kidney grilles (I have the originals). The car also comes with BMW roof racks and 16in Ronal wheels on snow tires with tire carriers.

I have included the original maintenance records from the time the car was bought until I purchased it. It was dealer maintained and I have changed the oil with Mobil 1 synthetic every 5000 miles since I have had the car. I have faced no issues whatsoever with the vehicle.

I am asking $20,995 obo. The values for E91s range significantly depending on options and transmission and I think this is a competitive price considering the rarity of this car. This car checks all the right boxes for what many people want in the wagon market and I am looking forward to finding the right buyer. I have tried to represent the car in the best way possible but if you need additional pictures feel free to ask. I look forward to speaking with anyone interested in the car. Please PM me for questions.

Needs:
Needs tires soon, will include Style 189s with tires if my asking price is met
Hairline crack on center console trim


















Some additional pictures can be seen here.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1...lZaeDQzV2hpY28

[BenFenner]

"Taking delivery" | Album

Since the wagon was only ~60 minutes away, the trip to pick it up wasn't very eventful. The seller was very nice, accommodating, and easy to deal with. We went to a branch of our bank and had a certified check drawn with the sellers in attendance. I think NC is a notary title-swap state and the seller had that worked out for us.

My wife (Katie) really enjoyed getting to know the car on the highway drive home. She was a little worried it would not be as easy to drive as her 2003 manual VW Beetle, but she found the clutch and shifter just as workable, and really enjoyed the extra stability the wagon has over the Beetle on the highway. She will be a bit sad to see the Beetle go but she is over the moon about her new wagon.

Pics (more in the album linked above):

[MPOWER5266]

Looks awesome and I love the spec.

[BenFenner]

Thanks man. It is not wasted on us. We love it.

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by BenFenner

Thanks man. It is not wasted on us. We love it.

I didnt know you were in SC, I am up in Greer/Greenville/Clemson often.

[BenFenner]

[hassmaschine]

Dude, I remember you from E30tech. Nice wagon - I wish we still had hours, instead of the stupid POS X5.

[BenFenner]

Ha! Wasn't expecting someone to recognize me from e30tech.

I still have the Coupe (linked in signature, but must be a member of that forum to see).

Funny you mention it... While I'm posting about us getting this wagon, we are looking hard at manual X5s now.

How's life been treating you since the e30tech shutdown?

[hassmaschine]

E53? The V8 is nice (power, torque, etc), but the fuel economy really sucks, and it's literally almost always broken (we have the E70 4.8is). It's a huge nightmare in contrast to my 330i, which hasn't needed much other than a coil and a waterpump since I bought it in 2014. I guess with $2 gas it's not that big of a deal, but we spent like $500 a month on gas when we were taking the X5 skiing every weekend, lol.

I still have my E30, but it's under a very dusty cover on a trickle charger 99% of the time. I drive it once in a while but really don't have much time for it unfortunately. Losing all the stuff we posted over there really left a bad taste in my mouth..

[BenFenner]

Yes, E53 since they are the only ones with manual transmissions. The manual E53s only came in the 3.0L straight 6, so that's what it'll be. They are also dirt cheap. Fuel economy is still shit though.

The idea is that it will play MTB hauling duty, and lumber runs. But not get used much at all so fuel costs shouldn't be too bad. I'm not going to daily this thing, or take it on long trips if I can avoid it. Just use it as a truck essentially, and a 4-door car if/when I need one and the wife has taken the wagon to work/etc.
I still have the coupe I can daily with no worries. I prefer it.

Losing the records on the forum it a huge blow. That nearly happened to the SR20 Forum, but I actually ended up saving it by writing new forum software from scratch and taking over ownership...

[BenFenner]

Save the stick | Album

Katie has had the wagon for 12 days and it is time to make it her own with some flair. Sure the sticker is a 5-speed and the car is a 6, but the overall design was the best option. She also ordered a t-shirt with the same design.
No stickers on paint obviously, so it got turned into a magnet and now the virtue signalling can begin.

Only 36 more pieces to go.

Pics:

[tlow98]

Super clean wagon. Love the color combo!

M3forums went down, too. Basically, that makes buying and self maintaining an e46 M3 a pretty daunting proposition :-/

What was the e30 tech issue? I believe with m3forums they’re still can’t get ahold of the original owner...

[BenFenner]

So many forums dying of bit rot and neglect. Google insisting on SSL everywhere did a number on some. And obviously FB is not helping.

I had to rescue my home forum by taking over ownership and writing entirely new forum software from scratch. It was down for 3 months but I got it all back with improvements and fixed a few dozen bugs in the process. It still needs work on features, but I've been busy with other things right now.

The E30tech owner just slowly ghosted the forum over the years and didn't care to fix it the last time it ran into trouble. At least that's what it looked like from where I was. Same thing happened to the SR20 Forum. No succession plan or upgrade path to deal with the changing landscape. I had to manually resurrect it, which took a superhuman effort and years off my life.

[BenFenner]

Coupe and wagon | Album

Since Katie picked up her new wagon, I wanted to make sure I got some pictures of the cars together. Mainly because I regret not getting more pics of the Coupe with the SE-R. I think I have one such picture, and it's not very good.
So I set out to document these two together. I did a horrible job. I will do better.

Pic:

[olz_e91]

It looks nice and tidy. I bet it sounds nice as well
I've found with the e91, it seems to shrink around me when driving it. Even on tight back roads, I find I can squeeze past things without too much worry. I hope your other half enjoys it

[BenFenner]

I agree with you there olz_e91 about it feeling smaller than it is. And in the world of SUVs it is certainly narrower than most things out there.

No worries, my wife really loves it.

[BenFenner]

Parked at Eggs Up Grill | Album

Bear with me while I try to catch up on updates. I know it's been a lot lately, and mostly boring. I promise you things will slow down and the updates will get more interesting.
While at breakfast I took a few pics of the wagon in the sun.

Pic: