Ever since I sold the M Coupe, I’ve been thinking about getting a slightly nicer daily driver to have as a single-car solution—that is, one car that’s interesting enough to satisfy the enthusiast in me while having enough utility to serve my daily driving, dog-hauling needs. My current daily driver, the 2011 E90 335d, is one of the best cars I’ve ever owned, so the new car would have tall shoes to fill. Furthermore, the 335d is set up just the way I like it since the article above, with a heated steering wheel, aluminum cube trim, BBS wheels with summer tires wheels, OEM wheels with winter tires, bike trays, and the roof box from my last E46 wagon.
After several years, I had the 2011 335d outfitted to my liking.
The F31 wagon looks fantastic in Melbourne Red in M Sport trim. Photo and car credit: Al Mancuso.
To make it worth giving up the E90, the new car must be a wagon, retain the diesel qualities that make the 335d so good, and be interesting enough to hold my attention. That would mean the only BMW diesel wagon we’ve ever got in the U.S., an F31 328d. The four-cylinder N47 engine would be a downgrade from the tuned M57 in my E90, but the wagon’s utility would compensate for it. My original criteria were a post-life-cycle-update 328d (2016-2018 model years) with the M Sport package. I wanted a color other than black or silver and a heated steering wheel (maybe I’m getting soft, but once you’ve had a heated steering wheel, it’s hard to go back). My budget was as close to $25K as possible, which was a tall ask. I got really close on a 2017 Melbourne Red 328d M Sport that popped at a Nissan dealer in Arizona for $28K, but the timing was poor, and I’d have to retrofit the heated steering wheel.
I knew I had to move fast when this Estoril Blue 328d M Sport wagon popped up.
Then, a few weeks later, an Estoril Blue 2014 328d M Sport was posted on a Facebook group. I saw it six minutes after the owner listed it and called immediately. Other than being a pre-life-cycle (pre-LCI) model year, it had everything I wanted, plus a ton of extras. Those included upgraded blue M Sport brakes, H&R lowering springs, a front splitter, a rear hatch spoiler, and a rear diffuser with dual exhaust tips. Inside was a digital Euro instrument cluster, upgraded Bang & Olufsen sound retrofit, folding rear headrests, and larger paddle shifters. Two sets of wheels were included: color-matched blue and black style 437M wheels from the F8X M3/4 and generic Y-spoke 20-inch wheels with blue accents. On the roof were factory cross bars with a BMW roof box that was also colored to match—that synched the deal for me!
The wagon when it was sold on Cars & Bids.
With just over 100K miles, the asking price was $24.5K. The Melbourne Red wagon—with half the mileage for just a few grand more—was a better buy, but clearly, someone had spent a lot of time and money to make the Estoril Blue wagon unique. That also made it interesting enough to satisfy my single-car mission. The current owner had purchased it on Cars & Bids and hadn’t changed a thing in her few years of ownership. Previously, it was also featured on BMW Blog in 2020. Now I really wanted it. I sent her a deposit and just needed to find a way to get to Western Minnesota to see it in person.
We were able to find some nice actual instrument conditions on the way out.
Since I’ve downsized Glen Shelly and closed the service business, I’ve backfilled that time with some casual flight instruction. I happened to have a buddy who was working on adding an instrument rating to his pilot’s license, and the owner of the Piper Saratoga I share my hangar with had just put a fancy glass-screen panel in. All I needed was another friend to drive the wagon back if it checked out. That wasn’t a hard ask, so a few days later, we took off and headed east. The flight out was great, delivering the actual instrument conditions for the latter half. The glass panel made instrument flying laughably easier than the steam gauges I learned on (said in the most curmudgeonly voice possible). When we landed, the wagon was as described, so we closed the deal, and my friend headed out on a road trip home while we took off into the sunset. For the next 24 hours, I savored the anticipation of my new single-car solution.
We enjoyed a nice sunset on the flight home, but the car ran into trouble.
The tires were corded by Omaha, Nebraska, and the EGR valve also failed.
The second set of wheels got it home, but they were corded by then as well.
The first order of business was an initial cleaning.
By Omaha, Nebraska, the rear tires were too corded to drive on, and a check engine light appeared for a failed EGR valve. No surprises here, as I had planned on needing to do some recon. Fortunately, he had the extra set of wheels and tires, and the EGR wouldn’t strand him. He swapped wheels in a cold AutoZone parking lot and pressed on to Colorado. The second set of wheels’ tires were corded by the time he got here, but at least they got the wagon home! I liked the slammed look of the H&R lowering springs, but they rode too rough for asphalt trails that we call roads in Colorado. I swapped those out with the original springs, replaced the EGR valve, and swapped in the correct battery. The Euro cluster wouldn’t let me re-enable the EDC, but for now, that’s a trade-off I’m happy to keep. Then, I needed to replace the tires, which meant finding a set of wheels.
Some may hate me for returning it to the stock ride height, but that’s the best option for Colorado roads.
The look of the generic Y-spoke 20-inch wheels grew on me, but they rode terribly, and the rear tire was absurdly stretched to keep the diameter the same as the front (a requirement for the xDrive). The 437M wheels are a popular upgrade for the F31, with a similar pattern as the OEM 400M M Sport wheels, but I prefer a square setup for more neutral cornering. I had a set of 19-inch BBS CH wheels with fat snow tires sitting on the shelf, but they looked like tractor tires when I test-fitted them to my wife’s F31. I could fix that with narrower-profile tires, but the offset was too high for the stock ride height. That left me with the E90’s summer BBS wheels. They fit perfectly at 18 x 8.5 inches, but the 235/40 tires were too small for the F31 (it looks like a skateboard with the stock ride height). I ordered a set of 235/45 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S4 tires, which will give me an inch more sidewall and work for the time being.
The 19-inch BBS wheels were just a little too fat, while the E90’s BBS wheels were too small with the current tires.
As I settle in with the car, I may lower it on coilovers to split the difference between the factory ride height and the slammed look of the H&R springs. The next thing on the list is a proper detail, paint correction, and protective film. Inside, I ordered a custom-fitted dog protector for the hatch, and I’d like to update the iDrive to an NBT Evo unit so I can enable Apple CarPlay (but not if it means losing the Bang & Olufsen).
Outside of the shop truck, the F31 is the newest car I’ve ever personally owned. In the few weeks I’ve owned it, it seems like the perfect fit for my single-car solution. The F31 community is vibrant and filled with wagon-loving enthusiasts. It’s not as fast or as crisp as the E90, but I still look forward to driving it, and I can’t help but steal a glance over my shoulder as I walk away—both essential criteria for any enthusiast BMW owner. —Alex McCulloch
