Bye-Bye Tacoma...

[drcollie]

For those of you that come to my store you usually have seen this parked outside the past few years.



My Tacoma has been a Mighty Truck, used to haul countless truckloads of cardboard to the dumpster around back and the occasional furniture home delivery on sunny days when I was on the way home. But after three years of going to work in this every day, I decided i wanted something more fun to drive and less 'trucky'. Also, since the commute is a bore, a convertible might be really nice. I decided to get a BMW 135i Convertible. I couldn't pull the trigger on a new one though, $ 53,000 by the time it was out the door! Much late night internet browsing finally found me the right one and the right price at an independent dealership in Atlanta at a price I could tolerate. A 2012 with 4,100 miles on it for $ 34,500. I had a buddy in Atlanta go by and look at it for me, and he said its clean-clean-clean and drives like a new car. That was good enough for me and the dealer found a carrier for me to haul it to N. VA for just $ 300, so the first time I will have laid eyes on it will be when it rolls off the transporter (my wife cannot understand how I can buy a car sight unseen....lol). Supposed to be here this Friday, and this is what you'll see parked in front. I'm jazzed!

[Judyg951]

Sweet ride. We are huge BMW fans here and have a 328i vert. You are going to love it.

[artielange]

Very nice, and the convertible will come in handy for furniture deliveries. I am a fan of buying the late model with low mileage BMW. SO much better than taking that initial hit!

[drcollie]

The reason this was such a good price is it was a BMW Lemon Buy-Back, where the dealer and BMW NA took the car back from the original customer who was upset because it kept throwing check engine lights. Of course this would scare the bejessuz out of of most people - but not me! For $ 19,000 difference from new, I think that's the deal of the year on that car. I've had a 535i, M3, 740i, 330i, X5, and 323i in the garage over the past 18 years, so I'm pretty comfortable around the brand. And if a really need a truck, I have the store delivery Isuzu with the Power lift gate on the back which I tend to use for bigger project than the pickup anyways.

[artielange]

Similar history. I've had a 525i, 528i, 330i and an X5, and each one was bought with under 5K miles. I'm feeling the pain of new now while contemplating trading my '10 Cayenne.

[drcollie]

On another note, see the photo of my Tacoma at the top of this thread? That's what my truck normally looks like, it was not freshly washed when I took that shot. There's a reason it looks like that, and I'll share my secret because this is a product that is flat out incredible and I use it on all my cars and motorcycles. It's called Opti-Seal, and it was recommended to be by a professional detailer. I had my doubts, but ordered some.

http://www.optimumcarcare.com/oseal.php

For years I have used high-tech professional grade waxes on my vehicles, and they deliver great results but even a fine carnuba wax like Zymol only lasts 2 to 3 weeks. Since my Tacoma is outside in the driveway and not privy to the garage, I needed something better. After claying the Tacoma to make sure all the contaminants were off it, I used the Opti-seal on it and am shocked at how superior it is to car wax for shine, slickness and longevity. I'm getting 4 to 6 months before re-coating and road grime and dirt don't stick to it. Truly a great find. Try a bottle, but don't put it on too thick - it has to go on thin-thin-thin. No buffing required, just walk away after the coating. You can wax over the top of it if you like after 24 hours cure time, but frankly I don't see the need to. I even use it on my two college kid's cars as they are on campus with no access to water and soap to wash them (as if they would).

So here's a shameless plug for Opti-seal. It's as good as its advertised to be.

[bubbaonline]

I'm a big BMW fan, as well...

Currently with an E46 330Ci ZHP.. previously, '67 2000CS, '03 325i, 05 330Cic, and '08 X3...

Just sold my son's '87 325iS, last night...

I love the 1-series.. was looking at a coupe, before I found my ZHP..

[artielange]

Thanks for the tip, Duane. We're always looking for the next great thing in detailing

[crunchysue]

What is "claying?"

[drcollie]

"Claying" a car finish is how you remove contaminants from the paint finish, which is necessary before putting anything over the paint. Never wax over dirt! Most people - by far - won't invest the time to put on a proper finish on their cars, but for those of us that are fanantical about our cars we do that sort of thing

You get a clay bar and a lubricant (Quick Detailing Spray works well) and flatten out the clay in your hand, spray the lube on the surface and then go over it with the clay. It will remove all the dirt and crud from the car and leave the finish as pure as the day the vehicle was new. You will feel the difference when you run your hand over it. Then, you follow with your choice of Polish, Sealant, or Wax (or a combination of those products) depending on what you want to do. For my daily driver cars, I'll clay them, use Opti-Seal, the a spray wax the next day and that car or truck is then done for 6 months. For my "show" car, I will use clay, polish, sealant and then a paste wax on top.

Another neat little trick is to do your wheels with a product called ReJex or Opti-Seal. It makes brake dust come off amazing easy with just a quick bit of soap and water.