Buying a used M135i

[TW]Fox · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:05

Havana_UK said:
This means that I'll need to buy a warranty sooner, pay for services sooner, put new tyres on sooner, MOT it sooner, and sell it sooner.

This is a rubbish reason not to buy new, an MOT is 30 quid, the service pack lasts 5 years, the warranty is cheap.

Timing works out nicely as the LCI launches on March 28th and I'll be getting mine mid April, so no more ugly nose

This however is an absolutely brilliant reason to buy new - the LCI on the 1 Series is excellent, I cant remember the last time an LCI made such a big difference. It's really transformed the look of the car and it now looks really good.

Basher · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:06

Havana_UK said:
Sooooooooo...

...I looked at some of the AUC cars with the spec I wanted and while they're all very nice they are mostly around a year old. This means that I'll need to buy a warranty sooner, pay for services sooner, put new tyres on sooner, MOT it sooner, and sell it sooner.

I also found that some of the sales guys selling the used cars are utter rude words. Because I wasn't in a position to buy that very day they weren't interested in talking to me, let alone giving me a test drive.

For almost the same money I can buy one brand new.

So I have.

I have gone for the M135i 5 door hatch

White with red leather

Sports auto

Pro media pack

Driver comfort pack + front PDC

Adaptive full LED headlights with high beam assist

Heated seats

Folding auto dimming mirrors

Advanced loudspeaker system

No badges

Timing works out nicely as the LCI launches on March 28th and I'll be getting mine mid April, so no more ugly nose, although I'm not sure about the back but I'll wait to see it in the flesh to judge it properly.

The dealership gave me an M235i to play with for 4 days on Friday, but I'm now back in my lowly 320d Looking forward to April though!

Nice one. What sort of price did it end up at?

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:19

[TW]Fox;27537629 said:
This is a rubbish reason not to buy new, an MOT is 30 quid, the service pack lasts 5 years, the warranty is cheap.

MOT is only £30 as long as nothing needs doing (which, I concede, it shouldn't regardless of whether the car is bought new or used), but it all contributes towards the savings.

Service pack will last only 2 years for me (I do 25k miles per year).

These things are really just fringe benefits of buying new, but benefits nevertheless.

The major factor is that I get to keep it for a year longer, allowing me to amortise the cost over a longer period (my company dictates that the car must be no more than 5 years old).

[TW]Fox;27537629 said:
This however is an absolutely brilliant reason to buy new - the LCI on the 1 Series is excellent, I cant remember the last time an LCI made such a big difference. It's really transformed the look of the car and it now looks really good.

I agree, though as I said I'm unsure about the back as yet.

thewanted said:
Fair enough, it's obviously a personal choice and it's not as if the car comes standard with runflats.

You did the right thing by upgrading the base stereo system Is adaptive cruise control included as part of the driver comfort pack, or is it an extra?

I don't think that adaptive cruise is available, but yet get cruise control with the brake function (which keeps you at cruise speed even if going steeply downhill).

thewanted · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:22

Looks like it is available as per the press release:

there’s the option of Active Cruise Control system with Stop & Go function.

Link

gobbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:23

Havana_UK said:
I don't think that adaptive cruise is available, but yet get cruise control with the brake function (which keeps you at cruise speed even if going steeply downhill).

Adaptive cruise is available as an option on the LCI, however, it's not available on the M135i at all. I *think* this is due to the bumper design and the lack of a flat area

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:24

Basher said:
Nice one. What sort of price did it end up at?

A shade over £31k.

panthro · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:24

Congrats! Look forward to seeing some pictures. Not a fan of white unless it's got some nice carbon bits attached but v cool anyway.

Maccy · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:50

Nice one, the LCI looks great!

Should've added harmon/kardon sound upgrade though

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 08:56

Maccy said:
Nice one, the LCI looks great!

Should've added harmon/kardon sound upgrade though

I'm not much of an audiophile tbh, and the M235i had the Harmon/Kardon speakers and I couldn't really tell things apart. I mainly listen to the radio, so I'm not too fussed, plus it would all contribute to that creeping cost.

gobbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 09:29

Havana_UK said:
I'm not much of an audiophile tbh, and the M235i had the Harmon/Kardon speakers and I couldn't really tell things apart. I mainly listen to the radio, so I'm not too fussed, plus it would all contribute to that creeping cost.

What real world figures did you see from the 235i?

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 09:48

gobbo said:
What real world figures did you see from the 235i?

31mpg over 500 miles. That included a couple of regular work-type journeys, plus some hoonery, I guess in terms of distance travelled it was about 300 miles work, 200 miles hoon. Based on what I saw from my regular driving style I expect to see more like 35mpg, once the novelty wears off!

In normal, sensible, everyday use the engine is incredibly efficient, but it does drink fuel when you plant your right foot!

gobbo · 27 Jan 2015 at 09:55

Sounds good. I'll be in the same position as you in around September/October time and am considering a similar course.

Did you end up buying through Tony or local?

thewanted · 27 Jan 2015 at 09:59

It's not great around town. In city traffic I can just about scrape 20MPG, but I've done a 160mile trip from Wales with a mountain bike on the roof and achieved 35MPG which I was very impressed with.

My long term average over 6000 miles is 26.7MPG.

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:15

gobbo said:
Sounds good. I'll be in the same position as you in around September/October time and am considering a similar course.

Did you end up buying through Tony or local?

I bought locally. I've used the same dealer since I got my company car from them 4 years ago, and I'm very impressed. Their corporate sales manager even recognised me after 4 years and came over to say hello.

thewanted said:
It's not great around town. In city traffic I can just about scrape 20MPG, but I've done a 160mile trip from Wales with a mountain bike on the roof and achieved 35MPG which I was very impressed with.

My long term average over 6000 miles is 26.7MPG.

The vast majority of my driving is on the motorways, and business fuel will be reimbursed anyway. I was impressed with Eco Pro mode, it makes a really tangible difference to both fuel economy and performance.

nam · 27 Jan 2015 at 10:57

better to wait for the price drops or deals as the new 135i can't be that far away.., still think the Golf R is better spec'd and a better car

thewanted · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:03

nam said:
better to wait for the price drops or deals as the new 135i can't be that far away.., still think the Golf R is better spec'd and a better car

The LCI was launched on 16 Jan and that's the one the OP has ordered.

I like the fact that the Golf R includes things like folding mirrors and adaptive cruise control as standard, but the BMW has leather seats so it's swings and roundabouts really.

MeAnBoY · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:04

Havana_UK said:
I bought locally. I've used the same dealer since I got my company car from them 4 years ago, and I'm very impressed. Their corporate sales manager even recognised me after 4 years and came over to say hello.

The vast majority of my driving is on the motorways, and business fuel will be reimbursed anyway. I was impressed with Eco Pro mode, it makes a really tangible difference to both fuel economy and performance.

How much difference does it really make though? I kept the eco mode on for about 40miles and economy was up maybe about 7%, but my god it did my head in! Reminded me of my Pug 106 all those years ago

That being said, this is on the manual box. Perhaps in the auto it was a different story?

Havana_UK · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:16

MeAnBoY said:
How much difference does it really make though? I kept the eco mode on for about 40miles and economy was up maybe about 7%, but my god it did my head in! Reminded me of my Pug 106 all those years ago That being said, this is on the manual box. Perhaps in the auto it was a different story?

In Comfort mode with the autobox I found the car is quite prone to changing down a gear with a slight prod on the throttle, which with so much torque across the rev range it simply doesn't need to do. Eco Pro stifles this tendency and keeps you in a higher gear and just lets the revs build slowly. It also makes changes to the climate control (although I'm not sure exactly what changes).

7% is a big change in efficiency!

nam said:
better to wait for the price drops or deals as the new 135i can't be that far away.., still think the Golf R is better spec'd and a better car

I've got the LCI coming, no way I'd buy the outgoing model brand new now!

I've not driven the Golf, so I can't comment, but I absolutely love the way that BMWs, generally, drive. The driving position is excellent, and there's no mistaking that it's RWD. The handling and steering response is so good. I also think BMW have one of the best user interfaces with iDrive that you can get. I personally don't like touch screens in cars.

MeAnBoY · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:44

Havana_UK said:
In Comfort mode with the autobox I found the car is quite prone to changing down a gear with a slight prod on the throttle, which with so much torque across the rev range it simply doesn't need to do. Eco Pro stifles this tendency and keeps you in a higher gear and just lets the revs build slowly. It also makes changes to the climate control (although I'm not sure exactly what changes).

7% is a big change in efficiency!

I had to drive like an absolute saint to achieve that! Given that you will be doing 25k over a year and comparatively I do about a quarter of that it's going to skew my perspective just a wee bit

But surely even with the mileage you do, it's worth spending a couple hundred quid to keep it at least in normal (comfort I think it's called?) rather than driving a 320bhp 1 series like it's a 118d!

Jano · 27 Jan 2015 at 12:05

Lovely car, but not getting it in Estoril Blue does not compute.