Finally got a winner, but some questions on my '09 E92 DCT

[Chamberlin]

Well my first foray into M3 land *was* going great...a low mileage 2008 MR, CF roof 6-speed, loaded (minus HD radio and I think extended leather) with '11 ZCP wheels, front CF lip and Eibach springs...a DIY ZCP car. Drove it home from LA no probs (other than the car had NO gas in it, and I had to detour to some nasty part of town to get gas during rush hour traffic in downtown LA on a Friday night). Got the car home, and my other BMW buddy (E36/E46 owner) immediately noticed some interesting marks, scratches, and oil splatter on the underside of the hood...it wasn't too long before we put 2+2 together and realized the car had been super-charged before I bought it...The seller was the former guy from a certain LA BMW tuner house who bought the car specifically for testing intakes and other F/I kits... a bit of research on the good 'ole web, and I had enough evidence and reason to approach the seller and confront him with our findings. Eventually, he agreed to cancel the transaction, but I did loose a bit of cash (and time) on the ordeal, and he is no longer responding to my emails etc... The car probably would have been fine in the long run, but the fact that he didn't disclose to me that the car was bought as a test mule was reason enough to nix the deal in my book. Who knows what the dealership would have done (warranty wise) if they made the same discovery as us. Plus it was a smoked-in car too...another detail left out. Happy he took the car back (I shipped it on my dime), but not impressed with his people skills at all.

ANYWAYS, fast forward a few weeks, blood pressure has returned to normal, and I now have a '09 SG DCT, sunroof, extended black Novillo loaded (minus rear sunshade, and only has 18"s) It has a few more miles, but *normal* one owner history. Just a couple of quick questions for now, I'm sure I will have a few more as time goes on.

I found a loose wire connector under the dash, passenger footwell. Any ideas what it might be for? I did notice that the PO probably had a radar detector, as there is still double sided tape on the front grills (I bought the car from a dealer, so no direct contact with PO unfortunately). Here is a pic, sorry just camera phone for now:



The owners manual was missing, but dealer is getting me a new one. They also bought me a brand new spare key and coded it, since the PO lost one.
Also, the tool holder was raped except for the tow hook... the dealer is going to try to get me the parts. Any of them critical to the ownership of the car/emergency stuff? Or just forget about them?

Here is a pic:



I was happy to get the newer 09+ iDrive with this car, it seems much more refined than the '08 (although I did like the single Al knob). But no A2DP bluetooth streaming unless I go an upgrade to CIC combox? Probably not worth it, and the apps thing really scares me...facebook updating from your car? I don't even have FB, but why. Anybody found a compelling reason to upgrade the '09 iDrive to the '11+?

And because this thread is useless without pics:

M3 #1:


#1 going bye bye (and yes that other car is somebody's '70 Cuda headed to New Zealand, please stay on topic! lol):


M3 #2:

OEM ZCP 359M wheels arrived today, getting some tires from board members here. Going with 255/35 and 275/35. Next is some DIY ZCP lowering springs or other suspension solutions, and some cosmetic bits and pieces to finish off the car...

Thanks all, glad to be here.

[j2m]

Man sorry to hear BUT congrats on the SG, it's prettttttttty! What tuner? Should have had him throw in the SC! Great choice and good luck and most of all happy Moddin!!!

[John Tanglewood]

real glad you were able to get control over the 08'. Although it looks great in Red, you can't go wrong with a car that you actually know the history of. Although it may have some more miles, you can pretty much guarantee the car is in much better shape and therefore will hold up better over the long run.

Congrats, and enjoy in good health!

[ZRODDICK]

so nice！！

[LateBraking]

FYI that toolbox is almost normal OP, it only comes with 2 tools from dealer: screwdriver and tow hook.

[mmm def]

the bottom left spot in the tool kit is for the wheel lock key.

[James T. Kirk]

Congratulations. Now go supercharge it!
.

[jphughan]

Congrats OP! The toolbox is normal, I think the last time it was complete was several years ago -- you should see what came with the E39 5 Series -- they gave you pretty much everything except a lift!

Combox's major improvement is Bluetooth streaming, which is definitely cool, but not worth the retrofit cost IMHO. Facebook and Twitter requires yet another option called BMW Apps, and I agree that's ridiculous. I only use BMW Apps for Pandora. I avoid Facebook and Twitter as much as possible in my life in general, definitely don't want them in my car. Still, Pandora and worldwide Web radio stations are cool.

[M3SQRD]

Sounds like things have worked out for the best - congrats!

[Chamberlin]

Thanks guys for your comments and good words - drove the car to work today for the first time and I am really enjoying the 7 spd DCT vs the 6 speed...can't believe how fast it is. I am used to rowing gears so I tend to use the console shift vs. paddles...and of course the 5 spd triptronic in my 850Ci is console only (just a big slush box). In the 600 or so miles I drove the 6 spd M3, I was just barely starting to appreciate the clutch/shifter, which initially I found kinda mushy and vague at times. All in all, I am glad I switched to the DCT - my brain works great with it

Anyways:

Originally Posted by j2m

Man sorry to hear BUT congrats on the SG, it's prettttttttty! What tuner? Should have had him throw in the SC! Great choice and good luck and most of all happy Moddin!!!

What tuner? well that is a good question indeed... is it Tecknik? is it Rennsport? is it G-power? Got me! This kid was associated with all three. And hell yea, would have probably kept the car had it already had the SC on it! But then it would have also been another $14,000+ too! It was the G-power SK series SC kit BTW, the orange cast Al intake etc....

Originally Posted by John Tanglewood

real glad you were able to get control over the 08'. Although it looks great in Red, you can't go wrong with a car that you actually know the history of. Although it may have some more miles, you can pretty much guarantee the car is in much better shape and therefore will hold up better over the long run.

Congrats, and enjoy in good health!

Thanks much John - yes the MR/CF roof was quite the looker...and only 25K on the clock...but you should have read some of the statements I found, about how hard those miles were...no doubt the S65 is a great motor...but why start off my M3 ownership with a car that has seen boost just for the purpose of seeing how much power the motor can handle. No thanks.

Originally Posted by ZRODDICK

so nice！！

Thank you! FYI, I looked at, bid on or made offers on at least 5 different AW/CF roof E92's in the past 4 weeks... it was my first choice in color after the MR car was gone...but couldn't pass up the deal I got on the SG car I have now.

Originally Posted by LateBraking

FYI that toolbox is almost normal OP, it only comes with 2 tools from dealer: screwdriver and tow hook.

Originally Posted by mmm def

the bottom left spot in the tool kit is for the wheel lock key.

Thanks for that info guys, I will pass that along to the dealer so they don't go on some wild goose chase for nothing. They were going to rape a 335i tool box that they have on the lot for me, but doesn't sound like there is anything to really worry about. Funny mmm, that spot is exactly where I stuck my wheel lock key for the time being!

Originally Posted by James T. Kirk

Congratulations. Now go supercharge it!
.

LOL! I wouldn't have to supercharge it if I got the 1M I wanted originally! Actually I was looking at 135i's for the past couple of years and always said they should have done an M version, but they kept saying they weren't going to...so then I got on the M3 train and here I am today...but I *did* give a quick thought to buying Steve Dinan's 135i which is on eBay right now...but it's hard to get $40,000 financing for a car that books at $23,000....

Originally Posted by jphughan

Congrats OP! The toolbox is normal, I think the last time it was complete was several years ago -- you should see what came with the E39 5 Series -- they gave you pretty much everything except a lift!

Combox's major improvement is Bluetooth streaming, which is definitely cool, but not worth the retrofit cost IMHO. Facebook and Twitter requires yet another option called BMW Apps, and I agree that's ridiculous. I only use BMW Apps for Pandora. I avoid Facebook and Twitter as much as possible in my life in general, definitely don't want them in my car. Still, Pandora and worldwide Web radio stations are cool.

Thank you and I appreciate the feedback on the combox stuff, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear, in a nutshell. I guess A2DP Bluetooth streaming is kind of a moot point, since I do have the Aux jack in the center console, where I charge my phone via USB. What about hard drive storage for music on the iDrive? My buddy says his 997 Turbo has a partition on the HD for music... I guess I can just wait for the manuals to arrive and spend some time with the interface instead of bugging you all about trivialities. I had a full-on CarPC in my last car, a two year project which included an "iDrive like" aluminium rotary encoder knob, touchscreen in a factory housing, XM radio through windows 64 bit Vista and tons more... but I gotta say, I am too old for that crap now...honestly, I did consider buying a single hump M3, but I am still weaning my self off of the techno-goodies! I'll get the 359 wheels installed, drop the car a touch, and start saving for a CSL trunk lid, and then just enjoy the crap out of the car. Sounds like a great enthusiast community here too. That's always a plus.... You definitely need that for the 8 series cars!

[jphughan]

CIC can store music on the hard drive that gets ripped from CDs or transferred off a flash drive (I believe you do that through the glovebox USB port but maybe it's center console). Anyway, you get something like 12GB of storage but the organization is a bit wonky. Rips are organized into folders based on the rip session and can't be reorganized later, which can be a bit of a hassle. I'd recommend just getting an iPod for permanent use in the center console and calling it a day myself.

[Chamberlin]

Originally Posted by jphughan

CIC can store music on the hard drive that gets ripped from CDs or transferred off a flash drive (I believe you do that through the glovebox USB port but maybe it's center console). Anyway, you get something like 12GB of storage but the organization is a bit wonky. Rips are organized into folders based on the rip session and can't be reorganized later, which can be a bit of a hassle. I'd recommend just getting an iPod for permanent use in the center console and calling it a day myself.

Thanks again for the extra info on the CIC - found the port in the glove too, thanks! Seems like a PIA, maybe I can resurrect my old 1st Gen iPhone and just leave it in there like you said! Cheers

Still no clues on that wire harness hanging from the pass. footwell though?