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      01-15-2016, 08:36 AM   #1
RVExotics
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Drives: 2017 i3 REx
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Dardanelle, AR

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Finally saying hello

Hi everyone. Not exactly a new member here at Bimmerpost, but I haven't been active on this particular forum. However, I have benefited greatly from the information here. The lease on my F30 328i M Sport sedan was coming to an end and I was waffling on what I wanted to replace it with. We are a joint BMW-Porsche family, and we have on order (due to arrive next month!) a 2017 Macan S we're going to use to replace a 981 Boxster. Alas, practicality won out over fun, so we decided that we'd get the most fun to practicality ratio we could possibly afford, hence the Macan.

Long story short-ish, knowing I am about to say goodbye to one hell of a sports car, I decided that replacing the F30 necessitated something fun and sporty. I started looking at the 2 series, mainly the 228i. The engine in the larger 328i was always impressive to me, even if it sounded slightly clattery at idle. So as one does, I spent time on the builder spec'ing out a 228 to the way I would want it - M Sport, Tech, Premium, Lighting, Cold Weather, Driver Assistance - thus watching the MSRP quickly climb to $40k and beyond.

Then, as luck/fate/whatever would have it, a local Chevy dealer had an M235i show up used on their lot. This caused me to make two "mistakes":
1. Realizing that lightly used M235is were in the same financial ballpark as my 228i build.
2. Test driving it. Oops.

The rest is, how you say, history. I started stalking Autotrader and reading threads here at 2addicts. Thoughts of the 228i vanished, and I set my sights on a car a little over 500 mi away in Atlanta. 2015 M235i, CPO w/6k mi, Mineral White with Coral Red Interior, Technology, Premium, Cold Weather, Driver Assistance. Original MSRP was over $51,000, came to an agreed price of $41,500 including their ridiculous $699 doc fee. Being a CPO sold at a BMW dealership was important to me, because it allowed the car to both retain its maintenance plan and come with an extended warranty.

So, a few days after Christmas, we loaded up early in the still-dark hours of the morning, and set out. 8 hours later, we were there. Heavy Atlanta traffic made the test drive frustrating, but it was everything and more I remembered from the local car. There was a small rock chip on the kidneys that the dealer failed to mention, so they decided to throw in black kidneys free and pay to have them installed at my local dealer.

It's a couple of weeks later am I am absolutely loving this car. Simply put, there is absolutely no reason a car this size needs this much power. Right, I'm sure you're saying. But seriously, I find that even 1/2 to 3/4 down on the accelerator travel, it's already bordering on losing traction from the rear wheels while throwing you back into the seat. I have always wanted an M car, and have lusted after the E92 M3 for many years, but could never justify it. The cost to purchase, the horrendous fuel economy...just never in the cards. I am finding the M235i, though not a 'true' M car, fits that in-between niche very, very well. It is compliant and peaceful when you want it to be, it can get over 30 mpg on the highway (important to me because I commute to work), and when you ask, even politely, if it can give you just a little more - it responds with a ferocity that its otherwise compliant nature belies. It's almost too much fun for a daily driver.

I fear between it and the Macan, I'll never be able to go back to a 'sensible' car again.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I was going to close with some pictures but this forum has tighter restrictions on the file size so I'll have to resize them and add them later.
Appreciate 4