Thursday, June 12, 2008

2008 BMW 128i: The 1-series I'd Buy, But Not At $42K



 
 

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via Car and Driver Blog by Erik Johnson on 5/29/08


I've had the good fortune to spend time in a 128i during the past week—with an automatic slushbox, no less—and I fell in love. The 135i is fast, what with that beastly, 300-horse twin-turbo inline-six under the hood, but the 128i is better balanced, not to mention a fair amount less expensive. Unless, that is, the 128i in question is the press car I was driving, which had a sticker stuck to it that read—no lie—$42,395, an incredible $13,020 over the $29,375 base price. So I set about trimming the fat on our test car's sticker to something a little more appropriate:

  • Cashmere Silver Metallic paint ($475): Boring and ugly—and gone.
  • Cold Weather package (heated seats, ski bag, headlamp washers; $750): See ya.
  • Premium package (garage opener, aluminum or wood interior trim, leather seats, auto-dimming mirrors, power front seats, BMW Assist, adjustable lumbar; $3600): Holy crap, that's a lot of coin—it's gone, too.
  • Automatic tranny with steering wheel paddles ($1275+$100): Are you kidding me?
  • Comfort Access ($500): Tempting, since it keeps you from the having to insert the stupid key before hitting the starter button, but it's out the door.
  • Xenon headlamps ($800): Tossed out like Lindsay Lohan's career.
  • iPod and USB adapter ($400), HD radio ($350), Premium hi-fi system ($875): The 1-series already has an aux-in. What's HD radio? Hi-fi—what is this, the early '60s? Do I get a record player? All gone.
  • Nav system with iDrive ($2100): I'll grab a TomTom for 1/5 the price, and I won't have to deal with iDrive.
That leaves us with two worthwhile options:
  • Sirius satellite radio ($595): Expensive, but I gotta have my Left of Center.
  • Sport package (17-inch wheels, sport seats, sport suspension, Shadowline trim; $1200): Essential.
After having gone to BMW's site and building "my" 128i, I ended up with an Alpine White over black leatherette coupe fitted with Sirius radio, the Sport package, and stand-alone heated seats ($500) for an out-the-door price of $31,670—not too shabby. You're no longer priced over a $39,000 335i sedan, plus you've got plenty of money left over for go-fast goodies and tires. It's the 1-series I'd buy.

 
 

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