Hey everyone-

So as some of you now know either from previous posts here and/or on X5world.com, my X5 is out and my "new" 2004 E46 M3 Cabrio (38K miles) is in!!

It's C-black on black with Ti interior trim, and yes it has SMG and YES I absolutely love it No offense to anyone here, but coming from a guy who's driven stick all his life, I can honestly say I think the only real reason people knock SMG is because they think the only "manly skill" to driving a car is being able to shift well and perfectly execute heel/toe downshifts. Sorry, but if that's what defines driving skills for you, then you have a long way to go Any fool can learn how to shift well. Yes I can execute heel/toe downshifts, but after 10+ years of driving stick, it's not like I even have to think about it anymore. So I really love SMG.

Besides, if a sequential manual is good enough for Schumi, it's good enough for me

ASIDE: I find, however, that even with SMG, heel/toe'ing helps the computer rev-match a lot better than simply braking with no throttle assist. The former rev-matches beautifully, the latter is a bit sluggish. Anyone else notice this?

Anyway the car is amazing, absolutely wonderful. And yes I know the cabrio is nearly 400 lbs heavier than the coupe, but whatever ... I'm not going to be tracking it every weekend, just a couple times a year if I'm lucky. But the joy of driving topless is virtually automotive pr0n

My only issues with the car are:

(1) no alarm?! not even any way to get an audio/visual signal that the doors are locked/unlocked? BMW of SD said there's no way to do it... wtf?!

(2) contrary to the manual's explanation, BMW of SD ALSO says there's no way to press/hold the UNLOCK button on the key fob to drop the top. And sure enough, I cannot get it to work either.

And a maintenance question:

As mentioned above, the car had 38K mile when I picked it up (now, already over 39K!). Should there be any obvious expenses or potential problems that I should be anticipating once I exceed the 50,000 mile point? I extended the service program to 100,000 miles and the car is CPO'd to 100,000 also.

And I think that's about it for now!

Anyway ... I haven't had a chance to take pix with a real digicam yet -- and the weather, even here in SD, has been generally sucking -- but here are some cell phone pix I took the weekend I picked up the car (Feb 23-25).

Cheers!!

 

1) your dealer can enable visual confirmation of locking ... specifically, the parking lights will blink and, when locked, the clown nose will blink (a few seconds after you lock the car).

2) Yup, a liability issue. Check out m3forum.net. Someone picked up a kit in Europe that allows the keyfob to control the vert top.

 

(1) i thought so ......... so why did BMW/SD say no can do?! (lol "clown nose" hahahaha )

(2) heh figures

 

My understanding was that no alarm = no visual confirmation of locking

 

1. I don't seem to have an alarm, but I do have visual confirmation of locking with the lights blinking.
2. I can drop the top by holding down the unlock buttton on the key, you just have to wait a bit, and you have to be standing fairly close. This is the way it came. Enjoy!!

 

You should be able to drop the top 2 ways from outside the car:

1) Insert the key into the lock on the driver's side door, turn to right and hold in that position. The windows and the top should go down.

2) Pressing and holding the unlock button on the key should bring the top down. I consistently had problems with mine but found a little trick that worked every time for me. I know it sounds (and looks) funny but try holding the tip of the key so it is touching the underside of your jaw just under your chin while pressing and holding the button. In my experience, that little move extended the range of my remote unlock and allowed me to consistently drop the top from farther away.

Peace,

Steve

 

i just got done clear braing a M3. these cars are bad ***.

 

^^that's either clear coating or clay baring, try one or the other

Nice M3.

Especially on that m3, i'd black out the BMW roundels (from blue to black).

I'd probably black out the grille too, and get clear reflectors for the bumpers.


great buy man.

 

Is that Bob Smith BMW? Looks like it and I personally would not buy a car from them!

 

hey guys, sorry for the delayed response ...

(1) i have tried dropping the top with the key remote standing AT THE DOOR and it still doesn't work; placing the key in the door lock and twisting works but that of course kinda defeats the purpose

(2) i think he meant "clear bra-ing" as in, a 3M clear bra

(3) yeah the car is amazing, although i hope i made the right color choice ... sometimes i feel a bit enviou when a see an LSB or IR or even the PL ones go by lol ...... but i really fell in love with CB when i saw it ......

(4) your ideas for doing some blackouts sound good .... i was thinking of getting the body paint-colored reflectors, NOT the clear ones ....... you think clear would be better? the blacked out roundels sound kinda cool too, thanks

(5) nope, it's sonnen bmw in san rafael, marin county (norcal) ... we had gotten my x5 from them too .....