BMW and M Power Owners

Will let you know tomorrow once all ordered up :)

Not quite as good as the cheapest on there and no ability to spec options, but still a real bargain.

M5 deals were tempting, but I'm saving so I can get on the housing ladder in 12-18months, so wrote those off quickly.
 
Nearside wing mirror glass fell out and smashed over the weekend. Sad times. :(

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Have been left rather more confused after a weekend of test drives, and left somewhat underwhelmed by some of the offers on the table. I've now test driven the new Mazda 3 (2.0 Sport Nav), Honda Civic (1.8 vtec se) Golf (1.4 tsi match) and the BMW (114i Sport). I understand to a point why the BMW salesman asked me to try the 114i first, just to make sure I wouldn't be happy with the power coming from a 1.6 Mazda 3, but it just confirmed what I had already guessed, too slow, and I'm still confused by the trims and packages. The Golf had by far the most fun engine out of all the cars I tested. The BMW was most comfortable.

The BMW had by far the best driving position and is exactly what I'm looking for as far as what I want from my next car (sitting in traffic again for an hour this morning on the M4 has convinced me of that). They also had a used 118i Sport, 2yrs old, supposedly with the driver comfort pack on the forecourt at just under £15000, but no sport seats (which is what I want after comparing the two, far more comfortable), very odd, so it's advertised incorrectly and is actually an SE with sport wheels.

All the dealers were pushing me towards a PCP type deal despite this not sitting well with me and really not what I wanted, but even so the figures don't add up. £350 a month for a 116i Sport with the driver comfort pack? No chance I'm paying that. The dealer is also trying to push the Xenon headlights, but I really can't see why or what the benefit is at the cost? £1100 extra for fancy headlights? no chance, and it's left me thinking I'm missing something.
 
Went and viewed a 52 plate bmw 318 se e46 today as im looking for one as an upgrade from a peugeot 106. It was from a used car garage, says on advert "runs beautifully". Went from Warrington to Hyde in manchester to find out it idles like a dog, and idle pully or somesort isnt working as it screeched and was rev dependant. I was not happy. He insisted he would get it sorted and serviced, but he has lost my trust. Back to the drawing board!

Is 3k a good budget? Saloon or coupe as I aint fussed.
 
£3k for a 2002 318 is an absolute fortune tbh!

If the issue was only a pulley / tensioner then it's no big deal, but at the same time they're cheap and easy to sort so no private or trade seller should be trying to flog a car with that issue really
 
£3k is far too much for a 318 SE unless it is very low mileage, and near perfect condition, with a full comprehensive service history. They go through ebay as low as £1000 now at higher mileages. (i know the market for these now as i was practically given one).
 
Sorry, should have posted the price. I have a budget of £3, but that saloon was up for sale for £2150.

I ain't bothered on if its cloth or leather seats, I just want it to have cruise control, all electric windows and alloys. Some in Warrington at the moment, how ever it doesn't have the cruise control :(

The car I went to see
 
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Lads im in desperate need of some mats for the car as they slide around and are basically totally cheap rubbish ones.

Do bmw still sell genuine all weather mats at the dealers? If not where can they be found?

Car is a e46 coupe 53 plate.
 
Ben-Irvine93 said:
Sorry, should have posted the price. I have a budget of £3, but that saloon was up for sale for £2150.

I ain't bothered on if its cloth or leather seats, I just want it to have cruise control, all electric windows and alloys. Some in Warrington at the moment, how ever it doesn't have the cruise control :(

The car I went to see
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Probably a decent car for around half the asking (squeaks excluded) but I don't really see 2 grand in it when as Jez has pointed out a car not much older is around that tbh. Are you not seeing many 4 cylinders that are a bit newer for that kind of cash?
 
.:SAmSuNG:. said:
Lads im in desperate need of some mats for the car as they slide around and are basically totally cheap rubbish ones.

Do bmw still sell genuine all weather mats at the dealers? If not where can they be found?

Car is a e46 coupe 53 plate.
Click to expand...

No image but

http://www.bmminiparts.co.uk/PartDetails.aspx?InventoryId=6FD1D5BA-0009-4ED9-9CD7-0F5EC2D142B6

I'm assuming "all weather" = rubber?

Equivalent standard mats - slightly different part numbers for different colours

http://www.bmminiparts.co.uk/PartDetails.aspx?InventoryId=0156BC52-0AD9-4F6A-9642-45850FA170D1
 
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rodenal said:
Probably a decent car for around half the asking (squeaks excluded) but I don't really see 2 grand in it when as Jez has pointed out a car not much older is around that tbh. Are you not seeing many 4 cylinders that are a bit newer for that kind of cash?
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I ain't seeing many that are closer to me (within 50 miles) that is younger than say a 03 plate with the spec I want and less that 90k miles.

My heart is set on the 318, despite what others cars you can buy for 3 grand. I've got till 13th Feb to find one. I do plan on keeping the car for a good few years, say a 110k car with full service history worth a sniff?
 
The mileage is largely irrelevant when you're looking at that age of car, fsh and condition would matter more to me.

Check when they upgraded the 318 to give it a bit more power (I'd imagine 2002 would be fine), makes a noticeable difference
 
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Don't know what you can really expect from rubber mats tbh

The carpet one's are decent, buy those and sling cheap rubber efforts over the top for winter
 
How do people even come up with arbitrary mileage requirements? Where did 90k come from? Whats wrong with 91k?

Some mileage requirements are well founded, ie perhaps under 60k for warranty purposes or something but how did you arrive at 90k?
 
[TW]Fox;25701399 said:
How do people even come up with arbitrary mileage requirements? Where did 90k come from? Whats wrong with 91k?

Some mileage requirements are well founded, ie perhaps under 60k for warranty purposes or something but how did you arrive at 90k?
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I pulled it out of a hat I guess. It's my second car, which is only at 50k. Educate me fox? I'm guessing a 110k 318 with fsh would be okay as its been looked after? I just assumed valves etc etc get worn etc at higher mileage? I guess I'm just scared of going with a car with high mileage as my car is low?
 
[TW]Fox;25701399 said:
How do people even come up with arbitrary mileage requirements? Where did 90k come from? Whats wrong with 91k?

Some mileage requirements are well founded, ie perhaps under 60k for warranty purposes or something but how did you arrive at 90k?
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This.

With a car like an E46 318i, in a few years time it'll be pretty much worthless. Buy on condition, not mileage, for a better chance of it costing you the least amount of money during your ownership.
 
Put it this way - if you bought a car at 90k and done 20k in it....would you suddenly be worried about its engine imploding?

Modern engines will last for hundreds of thousands of miles - it's all the ancillary gubbins that tend to start adding up and making a car costly to keep on the road.
 
rodenal said:
Put it this way - if you bought a car at 90k and done 20k in it....would you suddenly be worried about its engine imploding?

Modern engines will last for hundreds of thousands of miles - it's all the ancillary gubbins that tend to start adding up and making a car costly to keep on the road.
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True! WIll have a look at some high mileage cars :)
 
Just put a deposit down on a black 03 330Ci Sport auto. HK, memory leather seats, sat nav. Collecting at the weekend, looking forward to it. Clean car, I looked at two over the weekend which were dogs. One women told me they all nock over speed bumps, I assured her she needed to invest in some suspension.

Any way, I will get some pictures up when I collect it. I'm pleased to be going back to an E46.
 
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