BMW and M Power Owners

Greebo · 27 Aug 2021 at 08:19

roadie said:
I would have thought that the ability of the B58 to get such good MPG is enhanced by the 8 speed auto allowing ultra low revs at motorway speeds.

My N52 powered manual 130i will average 35MPG when cruising at GPS 70mph on long motorway journeys. I think revs are up around 2,750 at that speed.

Yeah that definitely helps. I know on my v6 diesel with the 9 speed auto box that at 70mph with ACC on the engine is barely ticking over, i think its 1500 rpm at that speed.

Old 5 speed or even 6 speed gearboxes count have kept the car at 70mph and revs under 1500.

ChrisD. · 27 Aug 2021 at 15:36

Just picked this up, late 2018 M3 Competition. Very happy with it compared to my M140i. Sure, the interior is getting on a little compared to the newer cars but for a drivers' package it's an amazing machine and I'm looking forward to getting to know it.

Jez · 27 Aug 2021 at 16:22

Greebo said:
Yeah that definitely helps. I know on my v6 diesel with the 9 speed auto box that at 70mph with ACC on the engine is barely ticking over, i think its 1500 rpm at that speed.

Old 5 speed or even 6 speed gearboxes count have kept the car at 70mph and revs under 1500.

A lot of the older gearboxes were still very long, I can’t quite recall but the 5g tronic in my old S Class (V8 petrol) was similarly long. They just have much larger gaps between the ratios, bad for fuel economy obviously…

skaif · 28 Aug 2021 at 06:57

Hi guys, I have the opportunity to get into an F80 M3 pretty soon and just wanted some feedback on anything I need to look out for.

The car looks immaculate and is in jas marina Blue with a whole host of options. Comes with service pack etc. I have driven it and had a look around but is there anything specific to check? I am led to believe its a 2017 model with around 80,000kms on the clock.

It's definitely a heart over head decision so want to make sure it's a good!

ChrisD. · 28 Aug 2021 at 07:09

Stone chips on the rear arches, bolster wear on the seat, running in service completed. They suffer from a few issues which are the first couple of results on Google but if it’s being dealer serviced they should pick up on that.

mjt · 28 Aug 2021 at 07:52

[TW]Fox said:
The last E46 330Ci were 6 speed.

Yes I thought that just as I made the post.

Point still stands though. ZF box is brilliant. I still remember the first time I drove an F10. I was up to motorway speeds but couldn’t understand why it was revving so high in 6th

Simon · 28 Aug 2021 at 08:34

skaif said:
Hi guys, I have the opportunity to get into an F80 M3 pretty soon and just wanted some feedback on anything I need to look out for.

The car looks immaculate and is in jas marina Blue with a whole host of options. Comes with service pack etc. I have driven it and had a look around but is there anything specific to check? I am led to believe its a 2017 model with around 80,000kms on the clock.

It's definitely a heart over head decision so want to make sure it's a good!

Crank hub issues

skaif · 28 Aug 2021 at 11:13

ChrisD. said:
Stone chips on the rear arches, bolster wear on the seat, running in service completed. They suffer from a few issues which are the first couple of results on Google but if it’s being dealer serviced they should pick up on that.

Thanks, car is near mint and has ppf on it so outside is immaculate. Inside is pretty good too with the red? leather and what look like ventilated seats. Has hud, 360cameras etc. It's only been serviced by main dealer and has the extended service pack until 2025.

Simon said:
Crank hub issues

Cheers I looked into this and from what I can tell mainly affects modified cars and worst case scenario should be covered under warranty on a stock car? In order for me to extend the warranty past 2022 the dealer wants £1600. Would it be something that would be covered under warranty?

[TW]Fox · 28 Aug 2021 at 11:15

skaif said:
extended service pack until 2025.

Interesting. The days of the really good service inclusive packs have long gone and it was replaced a while back with Pay Monthly Service plans. Additionally, even when it was around it would never have lasted long enough to expire in 2025 on a car that is 3 years old at the newest. I'd look a bit further into this if its important to you...

skaif · 28 Aug 2021 at 11:58

[TW]Fox said:
Interesting. The days of the really good service inclusive packs have long gone and it was replaced a while back with Pay Monthly Service plans. Additionally, even when it was around it would never have lasted long enough to expire in 2025 on a car that is 3 years old at the newest. I'd look a bit further into this if its important to you...

Cheers Fox, I'm just going off what I've been told to be honest. Will have to dig deeper into it. For context I am based in Qatar so not sure if it'd different here.

[TW]Fox · 28 Aug 2021 at 12:16

skaif said:
Cheers Fox, I'm just going off what I've been told to be honest. Will have to dig deeper into it. For context I am based in Qatar so not sure if it'd different here.

Yea that changes things quite a bit

Service packs etc are down to each individual country, so it'll be totally different there. My comments were based on the UK situation

skaif · 28 Aug 2021 at 12:43

[TW]Fox said:
Yea that changes things quite a bit Service packs etc are down to each individual country, so it'll be totally different there. My comments were based on the UK situation

Haha OK cool, makes sense. Will get in touch with the dealer and see what's what.

Thanks for the advice chaps

MrRockliffe · 28 Aug 2021 at 16:16

Any good third party warranties for an F31? I looked at the BMW one but getting quoted £750 a year, which seems quite excessive. I’m guessing it’s because it’s a 2014 model.

Thanks in advance

[TW]Fox · 28 Aug 2021 at 16:44

MrRockliffe said:
Any good third party warranties for an F31? I looked at the BMW one but getting quoted £750 a year

For a 7 year old car it's difficult to imagine there being a better product than the BMW one.

MrRockliffe · 28 Aug 2021 at 17:35

[TW]Fox said:
For a 7 year old car it's difficult to imagine there being a better product than the BMW one.

Not sure if it’s really worth it - 320D with 60k miles?

mattyg · 28 Aug 2021 at 17:56

@60k is it run in yet

MissChief · 28 Aug 2021 at 18:42

Take off the breakdown and put the excess up to £250 and what’s the quote?

jpaul · 28 Aug 2021 at 21:23

mattyg said:
@60k is it run in yet

to wit - instructive video - clinical garage/mechanic.

How bad are the 152,000 mile old Rod Bearings in our E92 M3?

MrRockliffe · 29 Aug 2021 at 09:04

MissChief said:
Take off the breakdown and put the excess up to £250 and what’s the quote?

That was with the higher excess and no roadside

[TW]Fox · 29 Aug 2021 at 11:08

MrRockliffe said:
That was with the higher excess and no roadside

Because the car has over 60k miles. You need one with less for the warranty to be a sensible price.

But then I have to ask - what is it you're trying to get from a car here? The fact you've picked 320d suggests you're after low running costs, but then you pick a 7 year old 3 Series. What do you actually want? Because if you want low ownership costs then older cars are worth avoiding and if you're not that concerned about low ownership costs then the 320d is worth avoiding - there are far better engines in the range than the old 2 litre diesel.