New Purchase: Glossy Black Front Hood Grills

After I purchased my car, Hubs noticed that the front hood grills were slightly cracked. It took me awhile to decide what to replace them with (chrome or black). When I saw the photo of this car, I made up my mind. Definitely black.

Glossy Black Kidney Style Front Hood Bumper Grill BMW E82 - $61.99

New Purchases: Nav Fitting Kit & JB4 Stage 3

 Today I received the fitting kit for my navigation unit. The original kit that we purchased didn't fit so I had to order a new one from the UK. It took a week to arrive. I have to drive to LA next week so Hubs will have the Nav installed this weekend. I miss listening to Sirius Radio.

After having a frustrating week at work, I purchased the JB4 Stage 3 BMW Performance Tuner. I hope it will arrive this weekend, otherwise I have to install it after Hubs comes back from his business trip to Seattle.

MPG and New Purchases

A few weeks ago, I drove to Beverly Hills to attend a focus group for work. Since I got this car, I haven't been able to hit the proposed MPG 25/hwy. So far the closest I've gotten was 22.4 combined. We plan to take a road trip to Vegas in a few weeks so maybe I'll get a little closer with more driving distance.

During my LA trip, I had a navigation fail. This car didn't come with a nav system as I never really liked BMW's iDrive. I figured I'll use my iPhone for navigation since I haven't had any trouble with it. What I failed to overcome when I got into Beverly Hills, specifically on Beverly Drive, was dropped cell signals. I had full bars but Google Maps totally died on me. Damn AT&T. Luckily I sort of knew what direction I had to go toward but I had no idea where the focus group facility was. I ended up parking in a residential area and rebooting my phone. When my phone recovered cell signal, I was a few blocks away from where I needed to be.

When I got home, I told Hubs I needed to install a nav system in the car. To reduce costs, we're removing the nav system from the M3 and reinstalling it in my car since it's already hooked up to my SiriusXM radio subscription.

JVC KW-NT1 Navigation Receiver

I had to buy the following items to retrofit the nav system into my car.

Metra Axxess BMRC-01 BMW/Mini Cooper 2011 ACC Wire with Chime Speaker - Price: $99.00

Antenna Adapter - Price: $4.95

Metra 95-9306B 08-10 BMW without Nav Dash Kit - Price: $27.26

Pre-order CA Legacy Plates

As of January 1, 2013, the California Legacy Licence Plate Program went into effect. California residents can apply to the DMW for one of three vintage plates from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. More information about the program can be found on the DMV website.

I definitely like the vintage black plate with yellow lettering. As soon as I receive my personalized license plates, I will probably apply for the vintage ones. Unfortunately, there is a minimum 7,500 threshold before each plate goes into production. This threshold needs to be met by January 1, 2015 or the plates will not be produced.

I always considered the BMW 1 series a successor to the BMW 2002 Turbo due to its mod appeal and race car history. I think the legacy plates on my E82 would give the modern car a vintage feel.

I hope the plates go into production soon. Pre-order the plates here.

Additional details: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/legacyplates/faqs.htm

Füllgewicht

   

The LCI LED tail lights arrived. I was surprised it came in a big box. Once I saw the word Füllgewicht, I knew it was for my car. More installs later this week.

Füllgewicht = net weight

Personalized License Plate

When I bought my car, I didn't bother checking if it had two license plates. I knew the registration was valid until February 2013.

In case I ever got pulled over by the cops, I figured I should have two license plates for the front and rear. Rather than ordering a duplicate plate, I decided to order personalized plates. It didn't take long to come up with what my plate number should be. I need to make sure the car lives up to its name (I didn't use my surname btw).

I hope the plates come in before my registration expires. It's already been three weeks and it's supposed to arrive within 8-12 weeks.

Recent Purchases: Lights and Mirrors

Below are recent purchases for my car. The 1 series received a facelift in 2011 which included minor changes to the headlights and taillights. I'm still contemplating purchasing the headlights. It looks cool but I'm not sure if it's a need or a want.

New Purchases:

BMW E82 LCI LED Tail Lights - Price: $312.04

BMW 135i Smoke White LED Light Bar Side Marker Lights - Price: $38.95

BMW 10w Cree-IC Angel Eyes E82 LED Marker Light - Price: $56.95

BMW Factory Interior Rear View Mirror with Homelink - Price: $65.00

Retrofit Wire ES#161804 for Rear View Mirror - Price: $27.53

One of the options that didn't come standard with my car was BMW's Homelink (integrated garage door opener) on the interior rear view mirror. These factory mirrors are expensive but Hub's found a used one on eBay. I had to buy a retrofit wire to connect it to the car. So far the lights have arrived and I'm waiting for the mirror to ship. I can't wait to get them installed.