[faz]

Hello fellow E9x fans...

After saying goodbye to my beloved 07 328i (my wife's car, but beloved by me!), and trading it in towards her current 2011 X5 35i, I have been missing having an E90 in the family and always wanted to get one at some point. I owned a new 2011 535i (stick shift) and loved it, but sold it at about 32k miles a couple of years ago. As much as I loved that car, and as much as the larger size definitely worked better for our family of four, the laws of physics meant sub-par handling relative to E90 due to sheer size of the F10 sedan.

I have been in the market and looking for a new used car in the last few months, and in my search, I looked at F10 5 series, E93 convertibles (I love convertibles and owned some before, open top rain or shine type of guy in sunny California, and kids love the idea too), even looked at some newer C class and E class Mercedes, but I found myself lusting after E90 each and every time. I was close to pulling the trigger on an E93 convertible, but decided with two kids it will not be practical. (I might still get one as a third car for weekend fun.)

Back in 2014, as another loaner car, I had a 535d for about a week (recall work done on my F10), and fell in love with the diesel torque. I knew that my next car would be a diesel.

A couple of months ago, my wife's X5 35i (about 98k miles) was in the dealership for oil/coolant mix issue, caused by oil housing gasket, oil heat exchanger gasket and oil heat exchanger itself said to have hairline cracks in it and needed to be replaced), and for few days we had a loaner 2017 330i that we very much loved. But still, given the larger size of the new body style, I *really* missed the old E90 and its handling traits (steering feedback, etc.) and in my new search, didn't want to go with the F30 body either.


So, given all of the above, I am happy to announce that I am a proud owner of a like new, 2011 335d with 60k miles in Platinum Bronze color. The color choice was not our first, but given how clean this car is and the selection of options (has everything except sport), I pulled the trigger on it and I can say that the color has definitely grown on me. I had done some research and knew about the carbon build up issues, and made sure the one I ended up with had this work done (at 54k miles by the dealership itself, under CPO warranty), so that further sealed the deal for me.

Now I need to learn about all things diesel as this is my first car with diesel engine. I have had rental cars in Europe and the above mentioned 535d here before, but never owned one. Even this morning I stopped at the gas station to try and see if the regular gas pump nozzle would fit into the diesel opening, worrying that either my wife or myself will forget and accidentally put in gas instead of diesel... and was relieved to see the mechanism on the car stopped the gas nozzle from entering the hole.


I don't see myself modding the engine, especially since I am in California with strict emission laws, but I have seen the easy install tune that helps with the acceleration from a dead stop (car seems to have a 'lazy' second or two initial response from a complete stop, yes?). I know there is a wealth of knowledge already discussed and documented here on the website, and look forward to (slowly) getting acquainted with it going forward. Meanwhile, any quick feedback from you all about diesel would be appreciated.

[justalilbit]

Nice color for California sun, you'll get to appreciate it every day.

[YasF80_SLO]

Congratz man!!!! What a beautiful car, the E90 is honestly a timeless look, especially the LCI. Really like how platinum bronze looks in that photo. Normally its not my favorite, but that photo really shows it off!

[faz]

Originally Posted by justalilbit

Nice color for California sun, you'll get to appreciate it every day.

Thank you.
(From a fellow Canadian residing in California now.)

[faz]

Originally Posted by 2013_E92

Congratz man!!!! What a beautiful car, the E90 is honestly a timeless look, especially the LCI. Really like how platinum bronze looks in that photo. Normally its not my favorite, but that photo really shows it off!

Thank you.

The color has definitely grown on me. In some lighting conditions, shade, dusk, etc., it looks greyish / silverish... and under the direct sun, it looks gold/champagne. I can definitely see why BMW calls it Platinum Bronze.

In my search I came across a thread here on this site with pictures of Platinum Bronze and that further swayed me to like the color. Frankly, having owned mainly black/white/space grey/siliver cars, I wanted to venture off a little and get a color I have never owned before. This is my first car with this type of champagne color.

The interior is Oyster Dakota leather, which goes very well with this color too.

[rulonger]

Welcome back to the E90 family. And more importantly, welcome to the Dark side - you will love the torque.

[ffyntik]

Get it tinted they said! will look cool they said!)))))
congrats on purchase!

[delmarco]

Nice car!

I picked up my 335 with that same oyster interior exactly a year ago this week!

Time to get some mods in:
http://directory.e46fanatics.com/use...Mod&UcId=20832

Originally Posted by faz

Thank you.

The color has definitely grown on me. In some lighting conditions, shade, dusk, etc., it looks greyish / silverish... and under the direct sun, it looks gold/champagne. I can definitely see why BMW calls it Platinum Bronze.

In my search I came across a thread here on this site with pictures of Platinum Bronze and that further swayed me to like the color. Frankly, having owned mainly black/white/space grey/siliver cars, I wanted to venture off a little and get a color I have never owned before. This is my first car with this type of champagne color.

The interior is Oyster Dakota leather, which goes very well with this color too.

[SHEEDI]

OP, Congrats on your new toy, I will be honest ...my personal taste, No to this color and No to e90 without Sport or M-Sport pkg,

[faz]

Originally Posted by ffyntik

Get it tinted they said! will look cool they said!)))))
congrats on purchase!

Hahaha... Almost all my cars have had tint on them (35% all around, not windshield of course). This one will probably get it too, although the back windows have the shade on them already.

[faz]

Originally Posted by delmarco

Nice car!

I picked up my 335 with that same oyster interior exactly a year ago this week!

Time to get some mods in:
http://directory.e46fanatics.com/use...Mod&UcId=20832

You sir are awesome! Thank you. The steering wheel with heated option ( mine comes with heated steering) is definitely a must. The gear shift also looks awesome ( have it on E70 and love it). The coding too. THANK YOU for putting all those in one page.

[faz]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

OP, Congrats on your new toy, I will be honest ...my personal taste, No to this color and No to e90 without Sport or M-Sport pkg,

Thank you. Color and options are totally personal and isn't it great that different people have different taste?

As for the sport , yes I also wanted it for all the good reasons, but sometimes reality kicks in. For me, with two kids on the car, comfort of the non sport suspension, as well as the roomier seats up front work better. I wish I were 20 years younger and 40 lbs lighter, and I wouldn't touch a regular non-sport car with a stick, never mind buy one.

[tlow98]

Gorgeous 335d! Always wanted one of those and still do. Enjoy!

[Th3Guardian]

Dude, definitely get that chip tune.

[faz]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Gorgeous 335d! Always wanted one of those and still do. Enjoy!

Thank you. The on-ramp accelerations are very exciting now!

[faz]

Originally Posted by Th3Guardian

Dude, definitely get that chip tune.

Thanks. I will investigate it. California emissions implications will play a role in the tunes I will be able to put on this car.

[faz]

Originally Posted by delmarco

Nice car!

I picked up my 335 with that same oyster interior exactly a year ago this week!

Time to get some mods in:
http://directory.e46fanatics.com/use...Mod&UcId=20832

delmarco,
do you have any part numbers for that *heated* steering wheel and the airbag ? perhaps a link to your old thread about that mod? I am VERY interested in replacing the regular steering wheel with an updated sport one, but it needs to be heated (I have that option on the car). Seems like you did it twice? (upgraded a second time later??)

thanks.

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by faz

delmarco,
do you have any part numbers for that *heated* steering wheel and the airbag ? perhaps a link to your old thread about that mod? I am VERY interested in replacing the regular steering wheel with an updated sport one, but it needs to be heated (I have that option on the car). Seems like you did it twice? (upgraded a second time later??)

thanks.

When I first picked up my car I went on eBay and created a 'saved search' for "BMW Heated Steering Wheels" before my Z4 wheel came up.

A lot of steering wheels will come up so you will have to weed out what fits in an E90 (basically most BMW sedans and suv steering wheels are cross compatible for the generation years. So a Z4 or X5 from the E90 production years 2006 - 2011 will have E90 compatible steering wheels. Some older series will overlap and some newer series will not work so if you have doubts you can look at the multifunction buttons to see that they match what you have in your car).

Be wary that steering wheels from the X3, X5 and X6 maybe sized bigger to fit in the SUVs.

Also be careful with overseas steering wheels that come with airbags. European Airbags look the same but are different and won't fit in USA cars.


HEY!

I just ran a search and found this bad boy! $75 and it looks brand new!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-BMW-328...hYj3T1&vxp=mtr

This one is slightly more but has shift paddles

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-BMW-328...JYIl8Z&vxp=mtr