BMW 428 impression

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:29 pm

I had to take my e90 to the stealer to have the rear drive shaft seal at the diff replaced. (enter VK and Hans comment....) Since the car is still under warranty, they were kind enough to let me use a loaner car for the evening. BTW Chuck, I appreciate your recommendation of Jason, great guy and good to deal with.

So I was handed the keys to a very nice f30 428i w/ the M package. Red on black. Nice color combo and I really dig the upgraded seats w/ the side supports. Really kept you in the set. The car presented well and is nicely appointed, but I don't think I'll own one. Why? Glad you asked.

> that 4 banger turbo. While there is virtually no turbo lag, it simply doesn't have the unique BMW in line 6 sound that I've grown to enjoy. Engine also sounds harsh and transmits a small amount of vibration into the cabin.
> electric power steering. I don't know, jury is still out on that one. Makes the car feel "light" and not as planted as my e90.
> sport transmission. I don't know if they have it programed this way being a loaner, but putting the car in to sport mode, it shifted at 4k w/ out my touching anything. No fun...
> head room. Yeah, you were waiting for that one weren't you. My freaking hair rubbed the headliner. Damn frustrating. I actually gained about a 1/4" in my e90 by removing some of the block spacers under the rear seat rails. Surprising how much that helped.

On the upside, the car drove very well and responded to steering inputs w/ quick action. The heads up speedo display was nice and the LED lights give you plenty of candle power for the road.

If it wasn't for the head room and 4 cylinder, I'd consider it. Wonder if the 4 door 328 has any more head room? Guess I need to wait for my car to break again.... VK?

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 9:44 am

RodneyWright wrote:

I had to take my e90 to the stealer to have the rear drive shaft seal at the diff replaced. (enter VK and Hans comment....) Since the car is still under warranty, they were kind enough to let me use a loaner car for the evening.

Even the great Dave Davis has been quoted as saying "Don't buy any BMW newer than an E36, unless it is under warranty". Translation: Once the warranty is up, run like hell.

RodneyWright wrote:

Guess I need to wait for my car to break again.... VK?

You won't have to wait long. BTW, Mike Westerfield has a ZHP for sale. I'm sure he'd trade you straight up for the Bullitt. He's found Hans not to his liking...shocker!

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:55 am

Off topic sort of. I find it interesting when electric power steering is compared to hydraulic with hydraulic being considered good. It wasn't all that many decades ago when the same criticisms were being applied to hydraulic compared to manual. Assuming many years of development improved the hydraulic hopefully the electric assist systems will improve as needed.

FYI I prefer the Mustang electric power (2012 and 2015) over the previous hydraulic assisted Mustang power steering. I suspect there is more involved (i.e. suspension/steering geometry, etc.) than only the assist system but ????

I cannot compare with BWM's since not going there. :lol:

Dick

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:04 pm

I'm surprised it's taken BMW this long to go electric. My 07 Chevy Cobalt had electric power steering. The Camaros have been electric since '12 and I haven't heard anybody complain about it. Actually considering after one run in autocross my PS pump was screaming in pain I would rather have electric too lol.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:21 pm

Chad Culbertson wrote:

My 07 Chevy Cobalt had electric power steering. The Camaros have been electric since '12 and I haven't heard anybody complain about it. Actually considering after one run in autocross my PS pump was screaming in pain I would rather have electric too lol.

My co-worker had a HHR and they never were able to fix her electric P/S issue so she traded it on a Honda Accord.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:35 pm

I took the 428 to the dentist and then lunch today. I sorta found myself trapped in it in regard to config of the interior. W/ the seat all the way down and the seat back set to where I minimized rubbing what's left of my hair on the headliner, I found my right arm up further than I liked due to the center console. When my arm was on the console, it was across the console and into the passenger seat. I also couldn't drop my arm comfortably into my lap, frustrating to find a good seating position. Couple that w/ the fact I was leaning towards the center of the car to keep my head from rubbing, I couldn't find a good compromise.

This is also a small thing, but once you're in the car and start it, there's a small arm in the B pillar that pushes the seat belt towards the front of the car to present you the belt so it's easier to grab. I thought that was pretty cool at first, but once you have the buckle in your right hand and you lean to the left to engage the belt, well now your left shoulder gets stabbed by that little arm. It finally goes back to the park position when you buckle in the belt.

I don't know about this one, little things get in the way of the driver experience, so I have to say that this one is not on my list to buy, but it does drive nice.

Oh, as for the sport mode, there's also the manual mode for the SMG. Once I found that it would rev up higher so you could play w/ it. Mileage seems to be good as well. Around town was showing ~25mpg and that was w/ me getting on it occasionally.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:44 pm

RodneyWright wrote:

This is also a small thing, but once you're in the car and start it, there's a small arm in the B pillar that pushes the seat belt towards the front of the car to present you the belt so it's easier to grab. I thought that was pretty cool at first, but once you have the buckle in your right hand and you lean to the left to engage the belt, well now your left shoulder gets stabbed by that little arm. It finally goes back to the park position when you buckle in the belt.

BMW seems to have yet another solution looking for a problem.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:11 pm

RodneyWright wrote:

I had to take my e90 to the stealer to have the rear drive shaft seal at the diff replaced. (enter VK and Hans comment....) Since the car is still under warranty, they were kind enough to let me use a loaner car for the evening. BTW Chuck, I appreciate your recommendation of Jason, great guy and good to deal with.

I would have recommended Charles as I've dealt with him since he started there...great guy.

Zero issues with the diff on our E90 330i...it's got 130k miles now, and the warranty ran out 80k miles ago.

Profoundly reliable car to date (will have owned it nine years next week).

I'm still waiting for my E90 M3 to explode like VK is assured it will. After all it went through its entire 4 year warranty period without a single warranty claim, single issue of any sort since new. Clearly it's a horrifically unreliable car also. :lol:

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