JDM BMW E84 X1
Discussion
My wife's venerable Zafira B had a succession of bills, mostly consumables but enough for her to decide it was new car time.
I showed her this JDM BMW X1
...and she said 'eurgh - white BMW? Absolutely not. No thanks.'
After silently pondering her response, I concluded it was ambiguous at best and decided the only sensible course of action was to go and view it the very next day without her.
I met the dealer, small time indie importer but pleasant enough and he passed the vibe-check. Car was better in person than the photos, very clean including underneath. Test drive went without drama, final chat to check the auction sheet and then the inevitable question: 'So, what do you think?'
With my wife's cryptic message still in my head, I considered my next move. If only she had just given me some clear indication how she felt about this car.
After a duration of silence passing from being a negotiating tactic to just being an awkward silence, I blurted out an offer loosely associated with the asking price.
Which the seller declined.
But he countered and being the hard-bargainer I am, I rejoined with... 'yeah go on then'.
I returned home triumphant with my shrewd bargaining skills and told my wife of my endeavours.
And that is how I became the registered keeper and sole owner of a BMW X1 X25i, which I'll be using to take my wife to view a Skoda Karoq, which she has confusingly described as 'the car I told you I wanted in the first place'.
Despite not being an SUV admirer, I really like this. I'm about 700k in and still really enjoy driving it, more so than my Octavia II VRS. The roads around here are utter s
te. I know everyone says that these days, but pop over to Northamptonshire sometime to see where the roads are paved with the fillings that rattle free of people's teeth. In any case, this handles them with ease whilst still being a decent to drive quickly.
It's got the N52 which was the only engine I'd consider (though the USDM cars had the option of the N55) and the hydraulic steering rack. Basically an E91 underneath.
Came with some nice rare Kelleners wheels, quite a pricey JDM aftermarket option by all accounts, although they are shod with Dunlop Winter Maxx which are a bit noisy and vague feeling so I'll prob swap them out for something else come the Summer.
Few little jobs to do in coming posts, but the Skoda is going and this is staying.
I showed her this JDM BMW X1
...and she said 'eurgh - white BMW? Absolutely not. No thanks.'
After silently pondering her response, I concluded it was ambiguous at best and decided the only sensible course of action was to go and view it the very next day without her.
I met the dealer, small time indie importer but pleasant enough and he passed the vibe-check. Car was better in person than the photos, very clean including underneath. Test drive went without drama, final chat to check the auction sheet and then the inevitable question: 'So, what do you think?'
With my wife's cryptic message still in my head, I considered my next move. If only she had just given me some clear indication how she felt about this car.
After a duration of silence passing from being a negotiating tactic to just being an awkward silence, I blurted out an offer loosely associated with the asking price.
Which the seller declined.
But he countered and being the hard-bargainer I am, I rejoined with... 'yeah go on then'.
I returned home triumphant with my shrewd bargaining skills and told my wife of my endeavours.
And that is how I became the registered keeper and sole owner of a BMW X1 X25i, which I'll be using to take my wife to view a Skoda Karoq, which she has confusingly described as 'the car I told you I wanted in the first place'.
Despite not being an SUV admirer, I really like this. I'm about 700k in and still really enjoy driving it, more so than my Octavia II VRS. The roads around here are utter s
te. I know everyone says that these days, but pop over to Northamptonshire sometime to see where the roads are paved with the fillings that rattle free of people's teeth. In any case, this handles them with ease whilst still being a decent to drive quickly.It's got the N52 which was the only engine I'd consider (though the USDM cars had the option of the N55) and the hydraulic steering rack. Basically an E91 underneath.
Came with some nice rare Kelleners wheels, quite a pricey JDM aftermarket option by all accounts, although they are shod with Dunlop Winter Maxx which are a bit noisy and vague feeling so I'll prob swap them out for something else come the Summer.
Few little jobs to do in coming posts, but the Skoda is going and this is staying.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff