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      09-07-2017, 11:27 AM   #1
ERW
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Drives: 2015 328i xDrive Gran Turismo
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: PA, USA

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I just got my 328 GT! And it's better than I ever expected!

(Apologies in advance for rambling, but here goes my first "real" post)

I've been looking on and off for a used Gran Turismo for about two years, and in the last few months l started searching to definitely buy, and just a few weeks ago I finally found one with everything I wanted in a color that I liked, and flew to Virginia to buy it, then drove it home to Pennsylvania.

All I can say is that I'm in love with my car! When I get up in the morning I look out the window and admire it. Long drives are now a pleasure instead of a chore. The car's abilities and features amaze me.

My search started when it was time to replace my wife's 2003 5 Series at the end of 2015. We both looked and drove a pre-owned 328 GT at that time but I never found one that had all the features that we wanted, and my wife perceived the 3 GT to be a "step down" from her 5 Series, so she was not a fan. I ended up getting her a new 2016 Mercedes C300 which she is very happy with, but I still longed for the Gran Turismo.

Finding a GT for me with all the options that I wanted was going to be the challenge. I knew that I wanted Xenon headlights because to me without the halo headlights it just isn't a BMW. For that same reason I wanted the Luxury package for the interior and exterior chrome.

I had the Harman/Kardon stereo in a 2006 MINI Cooper and it was amazing, probably the best aftermarket stereo ever, so I wanted HK in the GT as well.

My wife has blind spot warning in the MB C300, and misses it if she drives my Chevy, so I wanted the Drivers Assistance Plus package too. For her I also wanted the Cold Weather package for the heated steering wheel.

I wanted the Adaptive Headlights, Head Up Display and Surround Cameras also.

Finding a car with the above combination of packages and options wasn't easy, plus I made it extra difficult on myself by wanting to avoid any 2014s since I felt any first year lessons learned would have been corrected in the 2015s and onward. Also I think the foot kick to open/close the hatch was not available until 2015 onward.

I made my search even more difficult by wanting to avoid certain colors. I knew that I didn't want Black because I've had black before and it gets hot and looks dirty too easily. I didn't want either Mineral or Alpine White because I've already had white and on GTs the front and rear bumper paint never looks like it matches the body color on the White cars. Same goes for Mineral Gray, the plastic painted parts are a different color than the metal parts. (I'm not sure why BMW can't get this right on an expensive car, but I've seen it all the time in my searches).

I also didn't want Imperial Blue, because it's almost the same color as my wife's Lunar Blue C300, and just a little too purple looking for me. I did like the Midnight Blue because of it's green highlights, and I would have taken that color if I found it.

My neighbor has a Glacier Silver, and so I didn't want to get the same color as his. I would have taken Sparkling Brown, but those are few and far between.

I also of course was fussy about the interior color, wanting to avoid Black because it's just too dark, and wanting to avoid Venetian Beige because we already had that on the old 5 Series. I would have taken Saddle Brown but really wanted Oyster.

One night I was looking over all the usual used car sites and on the Carmax site I was shocked to find a car that had every option that I wanted, and was Kalahari Beige, a color that I wanted because it was unique.

Now I've bought a lot of cars used, and I've NEVER bought from one of these places like Carmax, and frankly was suspicious that they were some kind of rip off. But the car had literally every option and more, and it was a 2015 with only 10,000 miles. The price was a little higher than what I wanted to pay when I started this search, it was $31,998. They don't "allow" negotiations on the price, and I wasn't thrilled with that, so I tried to talk them down a little bit, but they don't budge. One salesman said in all the years he's worked there he's never seen them move on a price. Maybe if I had a trade in I could have worked from that angle to get more on the trade, but I wasn't driving my trade in all the way to Virginia just to test that out.

(I should mention I'm not an ad for Carmax. But I really can't say anything bad about them, they treated me fine. They are no better or worse than any other dealership. They do seem to get a lot of off-lease cars in good shape, and this GT was an example of a low mileage off lease car.)

I had been looking long enough to know that my combination of options and the low mileage made this a fair price. I had recently missed out on another 2015 a few states away with the exact same equipment, a few thousand less miles, but which was CPO and was priced around $35,000, so I knew this price was right since it was minus the CPO.

The car was in Virginia, which was a little far, but not too bad. I had been searching across the entire country because of all the options and color requirements that I had. So I had to be willing to travel.

I'll make my long story shorter by saying that I talked a lot to the dealer on the phone, emailed and txted to verify the condition of the car, and then bought a plane ticket, (with a return ticket too, just in case the car proved to be misrepresented when I got there), flew to the dealership, inspected and tested the car, and then drove it home that day, about five hours to home in Pennsylvania!

The condition of the car is amazing. It's literally "like new". I would rate it at 98 points out of 100, maybe even 99. All it needed was a little interior polishing. The exterior is virtually immaculate, with perfect paint, and there are no leaves or dirt in between the hood and hatch, so it appears the car was garage kept.

And Kalahari Beige is so much better in person that I ever imagined! It is one of those metallics that takes on a different color depending on the light and time of day. It can take on an almost green like olive drab during sunrise, looks metallic gold in the sunshine, and like a grayish silver with an opaque coating in the evening.

I've included the only picture that I've taken so far, showing the car parked when I stopped for lunch during the long ride home.

I must say that the Gran Turismo is an amazing design. It has everything that I want in a car, including unbeatable rear passenger room, and amazingly practical hatchback storage. I packed the car for a return trip from the NJ Shore and easily fit everything in without having to fold the rear seats down. And my eight year old son loves the Power and Torque display!

Here is my list of relevant packages and options:
Colour KALAHARIBEIGE METALLIC (481)
Upholstery LED. DAKOTA/OYSTER/ AKZENT OYSTER D (LCOM)
Prod. Date 2015-04-08

P7S2A Luxury Line
S563A Light package
S493A Storage compartment package
S610A Head-up display
S688A Harman/Kardon Surround Sound system
S522A Xenon Light
S524A Adaptive Headlights
S5ACA High-beam assistant
S5AGA Lane-change warning
S5APA Decode, anti-glare FLA high-beam assist
S5ASA Driving Assistant
S5DFA Active cruise control+Stop&Go function
S5DLA Surround View
S609A Navigation system Professional
S8THA Road sign detection
S508A Park Distance Control (PDC)
S216A HYDRO STEERING-SERVOTRONIC
S248A Steering wheel heater
S249A Multifunction f steering wheel
S255A Sports leather steering wheel
S2H2A BMW LA wheel, Multispoke 416
S2TBA Sport automatic transmission
S2VBA Tire pressure display
S319A Integrated universal remote control
S322A Comfort access
S3AGA Reversing camera
S402A Electric panoramic roof
S423A Floor mats, velours
S430A Interior/outside mirror with auto dip
S431A Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S459A Seat adjuster, electric, with memory
S488A Lumbar support, driver and passenger
S494A Seat heating driver/passenger
S496A Seat heating, rear
S4B8A Fine woodgrain, nutwood/inlays
S4DMA Accent strips, pearl-gloss, chrome
S502A Headlight cleaning system
S521A Rain sensor
S655A Satellite tuner
S6ACA Intelligent emergency SOS call
S6AEA Teleservices
S6AKA Connected Drive Services
S6AMA Real-Time Traffic Information
S6APA Remote Services
S6NSA Convenience phone, expanded Smartphone
S6WAA Instrument cluster, expanded equipment
S6WAA Instrument cluster, expanded equipment
S823A Hot-climate version
S8S4A Decoding variable light distribution
S8TNA Daytime run.lights adjus.via light menu
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