TMA: c-class, 4 series

Amleto · 8 Jun 2018 at 20:00

Hey. I've had the mondeo for 11+ years now (05 plate) and it's about time for a change.

Would like to know more about these lines - where's the value sweetspot, service + warranty costs etc. I'm only doing about 8k miles so I'm not interested in diesels. The other factors are that performance must at least match what I'm used to (st220), and 4-5 doors is much preferred over 2-3.

Dav4 · 8 Jun 2018 at 20:10

What’s your budget? The ST220 is such a hard car to replace when you break it down into wanting 200+bhp, a nice petrol engine, biggish car and boot while still having superb handling and fun to drive. Nice leather interior with heated seats, cruise control, auto lights and wipers and possibly Sat Nav etc. When you think you have all that on a 2-3k car and start looking for similar on a newish car your talking 10k+. I replaced my first 220 with a newer Focus ST for more power but just wasn’t as good. I then had a 7-8k cash budget and ended up saving my money and spending 2.7k on another 220

Amleto · 8 Jun 2018 at 23:57

I purposefully left budget out to see what people would say about a wide range. However, I'm preferably looking at ~£15k but could increase that by a lot as well.

LiE · 9 Jun 2018 at 08:53

I picked up a 428i from a main dealer for £17k. 2013, 35k miles. Cost me 15k + 2k from the part ex.

The 428i M Sport is where I would go, it's the sweet spot in terms of BMW petrol engines. 245bhp 0-60 in 5.8s (mine is an auto which I'd suggest).

They are 2 door, and there is the 4 door gran coupe but your budget would need to go up.

Warranty is about £550pa under 60k miles, you can pay it monthly.

Gran Coupe example:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201804155567513?atmobcid=soc3

Coupe example:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201805146505305?atmobcid=soc3

Some pics of mine.

rG-tom · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:07

LiE said:
The 428i M Sport is where I would go, it's the sweet spot in terms of BMW petrol engines. 245bhp 0-60 in 5.8s (mine is an auto which I'd suggest).

Given he's used to the awful fuel economy of the st220, unless theres a huge jump in price then the 435i/440i is a much better engine and still better on fuel. Imo

LiE · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:09

rG-tom said:
Given he's used to the awful fuel economy of the st220, unless theres a huge jump in price then the 435i/440i is a much better engine and still better on fuel. Imo

For a 435i you would be looking at 22k as a starting point. 440i are newer so again more.

The 28i is a very capable engine and decent economy, it is the sweet spot.

rG-tom · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:11

LiE said:
For a 435i you would be looking at 22k as a starting point. 440i are newer so again more.

The 28i is a very capable engine and decent economy, it is the sweet spot.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201805016079309

Well worth the extra 3k (colour is cool but normal colours are out there too

)

LiE · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:14

Yes but we are now talking 17k for a 428i from a main dealer Vs 4k more for a private 435i .

rG-tom · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:15

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803274977755

Since he said he wanted 4 or 5 doors anyway...

LiE · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:16

I'm not saying it's not doable but the ask was for the sweet spot within the engines.

rG-tom · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:17

LiE said:
Yes but we are now talking 17k for a 428i from a main dealer Vs 4k more for a private 435i .

You linked to a coupe at 18k from a non main dealer...would rather private than a dodgy non-bmw

LiE said:
I'm not saying it's not doable but the ask was for the sweet spot within the engines.

Which is the 335i..m3 being the best engine, 335i being the sweet spot for vfm.

LiE · 9 Jun 2018 at 14:18

rG-tom said:
You linked to a coupe at 18k from a non main dealer...would rather private than a dodgy non-bmw

I did as an example, but I would go main dealer.

rG-tom said:
Which is the 335i..m3 being the best engine, 335i being the sweet spot for vfm.

I have never seen the 35i refered to as the sweet spot. There is a trade off in terms of economy, running costs and initial purchase price.

[TW]Fox · 9 Jun 2018 at 15:40

I would agree that it is the 428 rather than the 435 that wins from a vfm perspective. It's quick yet can be astonishingly efficient. I wouldn't pick one as it's a 4 cylinder but if you are not hung up on that it's a better compromise than a 435. The extra performance over the already strong 428i is of dubious benefit on the road anyway.

rG-tom · 9 Jun 2018 at 16:22

[TW]Fox said:
I would agree that it is the 428 rather than the 435 that wins from a vfm perspective. It's quick yet can be astonishingly efficient. I wouldn't pick one as it's a 4 cylinder but if you are not hung up on that it's a better compromise than a 435. The extra performance over the already strong 428i is of dubious benefit on the road anyway.

I'd agree for someone doing 20k a year and looking to swap from a 2l diesel, but 8k and coming from an inefficient but quite smooth duratec V6 the downside of the x35i vs x28i is still going to be an upgrade, and the 4 potness will still be a downgrade from the V6 in terms of smoothness.

[TW]Fox · 9 Jun 2018 at 16:31

I don't think there is much that's still smooth on a 15 year old Mondeo to be fair

LiE · 9 Jun 2018 at 17:06

rG-tom said:
I'd agree for someone doing 20k a year and looking to swap from a 2l diesel, but 8k and coming from an inefficient but quite smooth duratec V6 the downside of the x35i vs x28i is still going to be an upgrade, and the 4 potness will still be a downgrade from the V6 in terms of smoothness.

Both are viable options for the OP at the end of the day. One may be better depending on priorities and budget.

tamzzy · 9 Jun 2018 at 17:16

Another owner of a 428i. Was in the same boat when deciding getting a 435i and 428i.
If just doing city miles and some motorway miles, there isn't much difference in the way of a 28i Vs 35i (on paper, for me anyway)
Ofc for bragging rights, the 435i would win overall though...but i'd suggest driving both and seeing which one suits you better (stupidly, I didn't. But coming from a 150hp e90 320i, the jump to a 428i was impressive enough for me).
What I needed to have was sports brakes, adaptive suspension, adaptive xenons, pro nav and reverse camera tho...so it took some time to find. (Harman kardon speakers specced with those options are rare, so I settled for one without)

[TW]Fox · 9 Jun 2018 at 18:15

tamzzy said:
(Harman kardon speakers specced with those options are rare, so I settled for one without)

They are actually really common because they come in the M Sport plus package along with the brakes?

tamzzy · 9 Jun 2018 at 23:18

[TW]Fox said:
They are actually really common because they come in the M Sport plus package along with the brakes?

The first production models didn't have msport plus packs, was individually specced...at least for the 63/14 years. 64 onwards did...
(Didn't wanna spend extra on a newer reg, so I settled on a 63 reg)

EdwardTeach · 9 Jun 2018 at 23:21

I paid just over 19k for a 335i msport. 14plate with ~35k miles. I think this was a good price for a used approved 335i,with the spec and mileage. You could certainly get a non used approved for a bit less though.
It is an amazing car, and I have been loving it! I think I would have been satisfied with a 328i, but this one had the nicest spec (msport plus, HK speakers, sunroof, tinted windows, parking camera) of the cars available with my requirements (petrol +manual).
I think the 4 series look a bit nicer, but wouldn't have been very practical for me (2kids). I actually drove LiE's car at the dealership, and it is a lovely car! The cream leather is the nicest interior imo (mine is black).
I drove several 3 and 4 series autos when I was out looking. The auto's are excellent, but obviously slightly less involving. I would have been very happy with an auto, however a manual was one of my wife's only requests. Something I wasn't going to bother arguing about, seeing as she agreed to everything else!

Edit: should add, obviously a 35 or 40 sounds nicer than a 28i.