My First Bmw... Now What?

[ant]

I just grabbed my first ever BMW earlier today. I got it around 5 pm and didn't learn how to drive it until like 9 (I've never driven a standard before, but I heard it was fun... first gear seems a lil too frustrating though).

anyways, its a white 1999 328i, 4 Door Sedan, 58K miles.... 1 owner and she kept it in top notch condition. I got it for $17k. seems like a good deal to me but I can't be too sure. I just know I'm happy cuz i've been dreaming of a 3 series for like 4 years now.

now that I have it, I'm at a lost on what I should do. any suggestions?
I'm not really into speed that much so performance won't be the top of my agenda. I'm mostly into the visual look.

-I'm thinking 18x9.5s in the rear and 18x8.5s in the front if they fit
-Clear corners, red/white tails, dilated eyes (angel/demon eyes to you guys)
-A body kit of some sort. I'm really digging the front bumper on the '03 330s I believe.

... any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks. ;]

['89 635 csi]

Once you get a hang of the stick, you'll never want to drive an auto again (until rush hour in Houston)!

[EnvyM3]

Some quick cheap mods would be clears all around and paint the damn black moldings to match the car. I don't know why BMW made them black, they should all be the same color as the car.

[ant]

Originally posted by EnvyM3@Feb 25 2005, 07:09 AM
Some quick cheap mods would be clears all around and paint the damn black moldings to match the car. I don't know why BMW made them black, they should all be the same color as the car.

[snapback]299060[/snapback]

yeah i was wondering if i should do that? what's the procedure on doing that? what kinda paint, etc?

[EnvyM3]

Originally posted by ant+Feb 25 2005, 09:00 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ant @ Feb 25 2005, 09:00 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-EnvyM3@Feb 25 2005, 07:09 AM
Some quick cheap mods would be clears all around and paint the damn black moldings to match the car. I don't know why BMW made them black, they should all be the same color as the car.

[snapback]299060[/snapback]

yeah i was wondering if i should do that? what's the procedure on doing that? what kinda paint, etc?

[snapback]299095[/snapback]

[/b][/quote]
Go to a local body shop and they will take the moldings off and match the paint to the paint code on your car for an exact match. Nice car though, the painted moldings will add a classy touch. I can't see the back from the pic but another couple cheap mods that I think look good are the M3 lip style spoiler and the chrome exhaust tip covers. See my pics attached. Get the spoile before you have the moldings painted so they can do it at the same time. You can find the spoilers unpainted on ebay for about $120 if I recall.

[Hootie361]

IMHO, I would stick with the orange corners and side markers. Clear markers look good on cars with some color where the orange clashes (for example, red). Clear markers on a white car... eh, just doesn't seem right. If you can, take your pic and put it into Photoshop/MS Paint and see what the car would look like with clears before ordering them. I was going to put clear corners on my steel grey 328i, but I actually like the look of the orange with the grey.

I would also recommend some minor touches such as a window tint (looks great on white cars), vinyl quadrant colors for the roundels (see Bavarian Auto or M3 Motorwerks for these), the painted moldings mentioned above, chrome on the wheels and exhaust tips, a lip spoiler on the rear, and, if the car doesn't have xenon headlights, some StarWhite bulbs from either PIAA or Sylvania (Sylvania is cheaper). The angel eyes are a nice touch, but make sure to upgrade the headlight bulbs to match the Kelvin color. A Euro license plate would look sweet too (if your state allows it).