APRIL 2019 81OUR CARS
had its fi rst service. To be
honest, the service didn’t go
entirely without a hitch. While
the oil change went smoothly
enough, the reprogramming
of the dashboard that was
apparently on the ‘update/
recall list’, meant the battery
must have been reset, which
resulted in every single
memory setting on the car
being lost.
Annoyingly the service desk
failed to mention this, so we
had no idea anything was
amiss until after we’d driven
off , shortly after which the
tyre pressure monitor system
chimed up to notify me the
tyre pressures were an issue.
It certainly wasn’t exactly the
slick experience you would
expect when having your car
looked after.
To be honest, the whole
experience was pretty
lacklustre. I remember the
days when taking your car in
for a service was a pleasurable
experience, and you felt
genuinely valued. It seems
to me that the BMW dealer
network has grown to such
a point that we’re all just
numbers now. The premises
were nice, the staff courteous
enough, but it was all a touch
conveyor belt-esque.
We drove the car back
into the dealership and a
representative managed to
get the phone paired to the
car (although it has since
struggled to pair with a new
phone), and explained the
tyre pressure system warning
could be ignored because it
was something to do with the
cluster update not quite working
correctly when it was uploaded.
I doubt that somehow,
because the system is still
reporting that all four tyres
each have a diff erent pressure.
I’ll check them manually to
see what’s what but, really, I
shouldn’t have to do this when
the car was fi ne before it went
in for its dose of ‘TLC’.
One other nagging hangover
from the service is that the
sat nav is now performing
terribly. You’ll know I’ve said
very positive things about it
in the past – particularly the
voice activation function. But
now it won’t recognise any
spoken postcode, and very few
spoken addresses. Whatever
this update to the instrument
cluster is, it’s left its mark.
Bowker Preston will need to
investigate this issue when we
can do without the car for a
day or so.
As far as the 2002 is
concerned, I’ve nearly settled
on a colour. I really wanted
to paint the car in Chestnut
Bronze (see pic of the Alpina
B7), because I think it’s a great
balance of retro fun with a
decent dash of modernity.
But, on refl ection, it’s a very
‘marmite’ colour and, given that
the ‘02 will be worth serious
money once it’s fi nished, I really
do need to keep one eye on itsYEAR: 1983
TOTAL MILEAGE: 138,520
MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 0
MPG: n/a
TOTAL COST: NoneYEAR: 2017
TOTAL MILEAGE: 23,086
MILEAGE THIS MONTH: 2,188
MPG THIS MONTH: 38.5
TOTAL COST: NoneAlpina B9 3.5 (E28)Alpina B9 3.5 (E28) F22 230i Coupé
Left: It’s been another tough month for the 230i, with another 2,000 miles being added to the car’s total. Right: The car ‘benefi tted’ from a dashboard
re-programme while at the dealership for its recent service. But, since then, I’ve experienced a number of niggling problems, and it’ll have to go back.
resale value.
So, it’s going to be painted
black, and it’s a choice between
Schwarz (the original colour),
Carbon Black (E46 M3),
Diamond Black (E34 M5) or
Ruby Black (a BMW Individual
colour). Part of the reasoning
behind the choice will hinge
on my bodyshop being able to
secure the exact paints, so they
are off looking at that now.
The other thing I’m
pondering, is what to do with
the seats. At the moment,
there are a pair of diamond-
quilted buckets up front, and
an original E10 bench in the
back that’s been trimmed in
E30 M3 cloth. The cloth must
be worth a small fortune, so
I’m tempted to remove it andlet someone have it for their
own M3, and then maybe
fi t some E24 6 Series rear
bucket seats.
I’ll do some research and
see how easy that would be to
achieve. The really good thing
about this particular example is
that, because I’m not chasing
complete OEM originality, I
can choose the best bits from
the BMW range to make the
ultimate ‘02. I’ll keep you
posted with how things are
progressing.
I’m also hoping to snare
an appointment with an auto
electrician to come and have a
nosey at the Alpina, and get it
back up and running. I can feel
a busy month ahead.
Elliott StilingI did consider this beautifully rich Chestnut Bronze as the paint colour for my
2002, but think I’ll be opting for a more resale-friendly black, instead.