Nothing's perfect...and not to be negative, but what don't you like about your "baby"? I have an '02 525i (see pic) Sport series 5-speed. I absolutely LOVE this car...except for: 1. WOEFULLY inadequate cup holders. Are you kidding me??? Those things are horrible! It took Germany long enough to board the useable-cup-holder train. A few model years later - cup holders all over the place. Lucky for me my mechanic had an after-market (but BMW) solution that fit into the slot above the parking brake. Now I can enjoy the morning cup o' joe without spilling half of it. 2. Not so great interior storage. Before getting the 525 I had a 2000 Infiniti i30t that I've since passed onto my recently licensed daughter. Nice car, and it had cubbies and hiding places and slots to put your shtuff all over the place. (maybe it's good I don't have this in the BMW...keeps the clutter down!). Frank
1. The E39 cup holders are made by Fisher Price. I remember reading an article on BMW's just before the E39 came out spring/summer 96 and it read, "Forget about the cheap cupholders. BMW's are meant to be driven". I am fine with the flimsy cup holders as I don't use them. 2. I beg to differ on the interior storage. It has more storage space than the E34's I had and even more than the E28 I still have. I keep money in the storage right next to the parking brake. Keeping clutter down is my # 1 objective . Besides a radar detector (I don't have) and a I-pod ( I don't have), all I have in my drivers side pocket is my checkbook and shades when not in use.
You said that you have sports package. However, I think I see a chrome strip around your doors. My 01 525i is a poor mans version of sports package. I only have the wheels and the suspension
You're complaining you don't have enough distractions in your car? Drive it! My biggest complaint about my E28 is that it's old and showing the effects. It is not a show car. It is my '3-season' (no salt!) daily driver/autocrosser/track car/playing car games car. I love E28s, no cupholders and all, and especially the 535is/M535i with the M30 engine. I intend to have one for as long as it's reasonable to own one. They all take nicely to some common modifications (suspension, wheels & tires, Saab moonroof, better stereos & lights) but none of these things in stock form really merits a 'complaint' except maybe those now-idiotic TRX wheels & tires.
Not complaining, just a point of discussion...and I do drive it lots!!! I can take the small issues because in my opinion/experience, there's nothing on the road like it. I put brand new tires on it last week and you'd think I drove it off the showroom floor, it's so smooth...
I believe that was added after-market; I can't say since I bought it used this past summer. It has the 3-spoke steering wheel with the "M" emblem at the bottom of it, the sport-package rims, and a wood-grain shifter - also with an "M" emblem on it. I believe those are items that come as part of the sports package...if anyone can confirm it would be great.
Like Mr. Krieger's E28, my E34 M5 came with no cupholders, period!! I had to buy some cheap plastic double soda holder at the dealer that clips over the center console. I don't use it but for long trips, never around town. I didn't buy the M5 for creature comforts, as it was not really designed specifically for that purpose. Storage is adequate with a large Glove box and side pocket space. The center storage console in the rear seat, making it a true 4 passenger car, also offers additional storage. My only complaint is some of the M5 specific replacement parts are becoming NLA (No Longer Available). Guess I will have to wait until Mobil Tradition starts producing some parts like they do for the 2002....bump...bump !!! Now, the X5.....LOTS of door pocket storage and cup holders. The front holders are great, just holes in the console. The rear holders I don't use, but they look pretty weak and flimsy. My dad ended up breaking 3 of the double cup holders in his 99 740 that are just fwd of the shifter, and they were expensive to replace. His new 745 has nicer units. My biggest complaint for the X5 is that even with the DSC off, getting it to drift in the snow is pretty hard to do with the Blizzaks. A group of fellow members got together to go "play" in the fresh snow and I had to go get my wife's Pathfinder to get the back end out and display my mad drifting skills. Seriously, the X-drive is a great system and I am poking fun. Great topic !!!!
Fischer, not Fisher-Price. They may last as long as some toys, but not the same company. There are a number of aftermarket & factory cup holder options, if you must drink & drive.
The 2000 540 eats through tires and spits out radiators like nothing else. I love Tirerack! The cup holders were removed and replaced with the European trim. It is much better looking than broken cup holders, and no matter how many times I ask riders not to poke the button they do and the things never went back in correctly!!
Hmm, let's see... * I can't stand the friggin diving board bumpers! I HATE THEM! And I ESPECIALLY hate the fact that the pre-88 models didn't come with that body piece that comes below the rear bumper, so it looks EMPTY! * I HATE DIVING BOARDS. PERIOD. * Repeat 1 and 2, and 3 * I hate the sheer number of things on my car that were options... mine is... or was... a middle-of-the-road 325 with the essential options but not all of them: power windows, locks, power mirrors, and an LSD are the only options the car had. Missing were the sport seats, the leather on them, the heating elements from them, the 13-button OBC, cruise control, power sunroof, and of course that beloved 325i engine. No, I got exactly the middle-of-the-road one, which isn't bad, but did quite have all the things I want. So, after some serious $$$, I'm at 325es status, which still isn't good enough. * Damned rust in the usual spots is really annoying, such as around the rear license plate lights. Don't care about this one as much though... * No cupholders! No place to accommodate them either, without sacrificing passenger leg room. * Let's face it; it's a small car no matter how you look at it. You can't fit an adult in the back and not have their legs strew across the car just to have a place to put them. I'm starting to feel a bit to big for the car as I feel like I'm sitting quite high up, even with the seat in its lower-to-the-floor setting. * This car is an addiction; I'm trying not to spend any more on unimportant things that I don't need like smiley lights and other various Euro bits and pieces but I just can't stop. I'm addicted... it's a money pit! * Did I mention that I hate diving boards?
Botond it sounds like you are in love!! But the great thing is, as you know, you can add all the features your didn't have pretty easily!!! Except maybe the power sunroof. But hey it is just one less thing to go wrong. Yes the diving board bumpers suck (can I say that?) But, just think of the protection they give you when parallel parking!!! You really don't need to worry about anything. Well except for the fact that our cars are so low that any other cars bumper ( or more likely SUV/giant truck) will smash our head or tail lights!!!
Wow Botond, so much hate. Are you Anikan Skywalker about to join the dark side? Your car is down right great. Enjoy it
Botond, I have never seen a regular E30 with heated seats. Come to think of it, I have not seen an M3 in person with heated seats, either. Basically, you are complaining that your car, which in 1987 was the basest and smallest base model BMW sold in this country at the time, did not come with all the options but did come with ABS, power windows, active check control, sunroof, etc. and is too small? And you bought it for $400? Want some cheese with that whine?
When I was searching for an E30 M3 to buy, I did test drive one with heated seats. The car had been wrecked at one point in it's life and not put back together very well. So I passed on it. I guess this does not count as a regular E30, but my brothers 91 325ix has heated seats.
I can sympathise on the cupholder issue. The ones in my E38 are broken (as are, I think, all E38 cupholders), and would be kind of worthless even if they weren't broken. With all the typical german over-engineering of so much of the car, there are some other places where it seems that they gave the engineering job to the janitor instead. Like plastic tanks on the radiator, that tend to give out every 40-50k miles, on every example, and cheap plastic radiator expansion tanks that crack with even more regularity. (luckily, both parts are cheap and easily replaced in a couple minutes with just a flat blade screwdriver, almost like they expected them to be replaced more often than the brake pads...)
Appropro of nothing and really off-topic... But your post reminded me how, every time I would see the designation "740iL", I would think I was reading "74 oil". Never mind... Anyway - the cup holders are quite sad indeed, esp. in the E39. I tried ONCE to put a cup of coffee in one of them shortly after buying the car...after a very angry 20 minute stop at the side of the road to wipe up the coffee, I vowed never again. Thank god my mechanic hooked me up with a flip-down cup holder that rests where the little slide-down storage area is...
