New Radiator already...

[mihalis]

I've owned my 2011 128i since November of last year. Last week, the "service engine soon" light came on. During my time of owning it, I put on about 5k miles, so I had a little over 50k on the odometer. Only difference I noticed with the service engine light was that the engine was running hot. Since our cars DO NOT have a temperature gauge, I realized it was running hot when I pulled up to work and it was raining, only to notice the rain steaming off the hood. Regardless, I have the CPO until September, so I brought it in. My BMW center was really nice, they replaced my cabin air filter (which I already had done so they gave the one I put in back), flushed my brake fluid, put on a new set of wipers, and cleaned my car all for free (the previous owner must have had some sort of maintenance package as I know everything expires at 50k). They discovered that the service engine light was caused by a radiator sensor, which was attached to the radiator, so they ended up replacing the whole thing. During this time I had a brand new 328i xdrive as a loaner, therefore I felt very well taken care of, especially for a 1 series owner. I joked with my buddy who has an X5 and told him I didn't know what type of loaner they give to 1 series owners...haha.

I love the car, it is just a blast to drive and it cost me very little, but this little set-back makes me a little nervous. I guess I should not complain too much, I just did not expect it to need repairs this early on.

[BimmerBreaker]

Why would new parts make you feel nervous? This is not a common failure item and you have a whole new radiator now because a sensor went bad. Sounds like a good thing to me!

[mihalis]

Why would new parts make you feel nervous? This is not a common failure item and you have a whole new radiator now because a sensor went bad. Sounds like a good thing to me!

Yes, agree, great deal! It makes me nervous as I had many problems with my last 2002 330ci, and I don't want to have the same problems here. Now granted, I'm in a much better financial position to take care of any issues, but still, a little nervous about what other problems this car will bring me. Don't get me wrong, every vehicle that I have ever owned had given me some sort of problem, across many different brands (Toyota, Ford, Honda, Mazda and Dodge).

Regardless, I love driving the 128, it's true what C&D stated, about how fun it makes the car that you have to work for the power through the manual gear box, instead of having it (power) on demand in the 135. We'll see, my thought is to begin modifying it once the CPO is done with in September. Short list of upgrades:

Short Shifter
CAI
Some sort of chip
New performance brakes
New performance exhaust

I want to get back in DE's, autocross, etc., I miss those days!