What are good accessories for 328i coupe?

[RonNSoCal]

I bought a 2008 328i about two months ago and have a birthday coming up in a few weeks. My wife insists on buying me gift(s), even though I feel I have everything I really need and would be happy getting just a card or going out for a good meal, which I will get either way.

My car has most every option I want including ipod adapter, etc. Any ideas of some accessory I might put on my wish list? About all I can come up with is a BMW car cover or perhaps a custom windshield sun blocker. Window tinting maybe? The car is space gray metallic and might look good in a bra, but they are a bit of a hassle to put on and take off and grit can get under them and wear down the paint. Any ideas? :help

Perhaps my question was wrong. Are there any accessories for the 328i coupe that are worth buying?

[Hollywood D]

I got my windows done a few weeks ago. 30%. It looks good. It cost me $189

[spitpilot]

I bought a 2008 328i about two months ago and have a birthday coming up in a few weeks. My wife insists on buying me gift(s)

My car has most every option I want including ipod adapter, etc. Any ideas of some accessory I might put on my wish list? About all I can come up with is a BMW car cover or perhaps a custom windshield sun blocker. Window tinting maybe? The car is space gray metallic and might look good in a bra, but they are a bit of a hassle to put on and take off and grit can get under them and wear down the paint. Any ideas? :help

Perhaps my question was wrong. Are there any accessories for the 328i coupe that are worth buying?

I just got a 2009 328I...late BD present..hey better late than never!...Anyway..here's what I ordered from Tischer website...(sig cheaper than local dealers...they shipped for free...I guess since my order was $300?..
Set of BMW rubber "all weather" floor mats....we like em since they are ezier to clean than carpet.. $80
BMW all weather trunk mat (really neat...you spill something in the trunk and its not an issue. $60
Wheel locks...I've got M wheels and staggered tires...set of wheels/tires is $4K or so..figgured $60 lock set was a good idea.
BMW offical Sun shade...custom contoured..fits like a glove and comes with neat case..$45
Tischer also has a package including BMW all weather car cover, the mats, wheel locks etc..at a price less than the sum of the parts..I didn't want the cover...I did buy something called a California Pop Top cover than just covers top of car down over windows...my car is Le Mans Blue..very dark..felt this would keep it cooler when parked outside in summer..and of course protect the interior from sun damage...This thing has elastic loops that you hook over mirrors and is ezier to install and remove than full on cover by a long shot...also cheap...I ordered it from Walmart online for $40 total, delivered to local store!...Check out CA Pop Top website for install video...Congrats on new car!:)

[RonNSoCal]

Thanks, you have given me several ideas to consider.

[josh3842]

Another idea is a full "show" detail. My friend has a detail shop and usually charges $150 for a full show detail and it takes a couple hours...but the car looks better than when you first bought it! I know its not an accessory, but a cool gift idea none the less.

[RonNSoCal]

I am reluctant to assume a detail shop would do a substantially better job than I at detailing my car. I do the claying, polish with Klasse and clean under the hood as well. I also shampoo the mats, and use ghumi-phledge on all of the seals. I usually spend even more than two hours detailing my car. I also have a porter cable polisher if I find an area that needs more attention than just hand polishing.

[josh3842]

I am reluctant to assume a detail shop would do a substantially better job than I at detailing my car. I do the claying, polish with Klasse and clean under the hood as well. I also shampoo the mats, and use ghumi-phledge on all of the seals. I usually spend even more than two hours detailing my car. I also have a porter cable polisher if I find an area that needs more attention than just hand polishing.

Like I said, just a suggestion. I understand though! I have about 8 different kinds of towels just for the car.....I use DoDo juice purple haze wax, its amazing.

[RonNSoCal]

Do Do Juice Purple Haze? That is a new one on me!

[josh3842]

The names of their product lines are goofy, but they have different waxes made for specific colors. Both hard and soft wax depending on what your more comfortable with, but the purple wax I use brings the lemans blue to life!

[RonNSoCal]

I doubt any specific wax will make much difference with space gray metallic. While a great color overall, it hides dirt well, it is not a color like red, black, dark blue and green, etc. These colors tend to show dirt and faults, but also shine up beautifully. While on the subject of paint, BMW sure has a lot of orange peel in their factory paint job. For a premium car, I would expect better. My old 2000 Miata had a better paint job.

[Zoraster]

BMS Powerbox

[RonNSoCal]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I am satisfied with the power offered by the car as it is and do not want to second guess BMW's engineers with regards to tuning. I just sold a 315 HP M Roadster to buy this current coupe and did not feel the necessity to get the 335i. Hey, I will be 64 next week and live in an area where there are limited opportunities to race around with immunity. My plan was to move to a more comfortable, quieter, cruiser with ample trunk space and a rear seat that would accommodate a couple of adults. I also hoped for a little better gas mileage as well. I seem to have gotten what I was trying for in the 328i. I even like the wheels that came with the sports option, although they are a pain in the butt to keep clean. As soon as I have to buy new brakes, I will be getting cleaner pads and probably drilled rotors since they look great and work well for regular street duty. I will also paint the hubs to eliminate the rusty look the rotor hubs now display. Ugg! Rusty rotors look like crap. What was BMW thinking? How much would it add to the cost to paint the hubs and edges?

[swtaylor68]

1. clear 3M film kit to protect the first 18 inches in your hood from stone chips, these come in various sizes, and lengths up the front of your hood.
2. custom window shade - as you said.
3. Tischer has a nice leather upgrades for shift knob and leather boot protector
4. New BMW plastic valve stem caps, many logos available
5. Tint - as stated before, would look great with the gray - keep it legal though, no sense in getting pulled over.
6. Full detail with clay bar, cutting compound, and a final compound buff and a wax. Normally $200. It really makes the car look great and good for paint protection.



scott

[RonNSoCal]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I have thought about the 3M film, but already have some small chips from rocks since I bought the car with 17,800 miles on it. Perhaps it would still make sense to touch up the chips and do the film, however. Tinting would probably look good and I know a guy who does a great job installing window tint professionally.

The car had been detailed by the dealer I bought it from prior to purchase, but was not up to my personal standards. I have already clay barred my car and polished with Klasse, even getting out my Porter Cable and working on the rear bumper which appears to have had some respray done to it in one area. I even polished the wheels to reduce the sticking of brake dust, and probably should add some wax to them. Using another coat of Klasse sealer/glaze to the paint would probably be a good idea too, when I need a little project to work on and have some extra time. Oh, and I also treated the leather to some McGuires leather protection and treated all of the rubber seals and cleaned up under the hood.

[Saigon Daze]

+1 on the Clear Bra.

[Jed]

I doubt any specific wax will make much difference with space gray metallic. While a great color overall, it hides dirt well, it is not a color like red, black, dark blue and green, etc. These colors tend to show dirt and faults, but also shine up beautifully. While on the subject of paint, BMW sure has a lot of orange peel in their factory paint job. For a premium car, I would expect better. My old 2000 Miata had a better paint job.

With Space Gray metallic, you might want to try OptiSeal sealant as a final step. It really helps to make the metallic flake pop on a gray car. I use it on my friend's Acura RL which is also a dark metallic gray and it looks really great!

Sounds like you want the little things that help to spruce up the car. Have you considered the BMW performance alcantara shifter and boot with the matching brake handle and boot? They make it for both manual and Steptronic and it's a little touch that makes it a little nicer.

Don't know what your wife's range is, but along those lines are BMW Performance steering wheels. The top of the line one has telemetry readouts on the wheel itself and is made of leather and alcantara. The non-electronic one is all alcantara and you can get a matching alcantara faceplate for it. It also has a yellow centerline on it as well.

[Cir14]

Congrats on the purchase, I just recently purchased a 07 328xi, kinda wish it was a coupe but I couldn't turn it down w/ the 6 speed and sports package. I've added a euro front plate & polished aluminum pedals (similar to the attached link). nothing major but I think these are easy & simple additions.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1483792

[RonNSoCal]

I do like those pedals. I had planned on putting them on my Roadster but never got around to it. They are also a fairly inexpensive upgrade, which appeals to the cheap guy that I basically am.

Apparently the wife has already done some shopping so I guess for the moment I will wait to see what she bought me. Since selling my Roadster two weeks ago, I was able to pay the coupe down to less than $5000! I expect to have it paid off before the end of the year and may wait on any other improvements until it is all mine.

Jed, the OptiSeal sealant sounds interesting, I will have to research it.

[shazzy04]

Congrats on the purchase, I just recently purchased a 07 328xi, kinda wish it was a coupe but I couldn't turn it down w/ the 6 speed and sports package. I've added a euro front plate & polished aluminum pedals (similar to the attached link). nothing major but I think these are easy & simple additions.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1483792

I've been looking for some nice additions to my 07 328 and after reading this, definitely interested in some pedals, thanks for the idea