Reasonable car to replace a 120d E82 - M Sport - looking for something that will handle high milage - good engine

DJMK4

DJMK4

DJMK4

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S.Wales
Hi all,

the last few cars iv owned are

Current - BMW 120D E82 - 2010 - M Sport

Last - BMW 320D E92

one before - VW Golf MK5 2004 (2.0 TDI)

One before VW Golf MK4 (1.9 TDI)



I am looking out for a reliable car i can again pick up on say 50-60k miles

Main key points for me is, reliable engine, no gotchas! like for example the 120D N47 engine, whilst its still ticking over, i regulaly oil service it every 7k, touch wood i havnt had any timing chain issues, and it was around 2010 that BMW apparently "improved" take that with a pinch of salt, the timing chain, lets see,


What i want from a potential new car? for it to be reliable in the engine department, i will service it frequntly, but i want it to be able to last nearer 200k or above if i buy it with say 60k on, i don't want it to be expensive in high re-occuring maintenance, but normal maintenance is fine, something that has performance, something that has style and good quality with as many features available, and something that will hold value.


Still unsure about diesel vs petrol, iv been a diesel driver a long time as i used to do longer commutes, these days, not so much as the office is nearby, but saying that, i don't know if circumstances change at some point to which point it may need to adjust.

Been looking at some small Merc AMG but have no experience with them, also audi, also Seat and also back to BMW


I dont have a specific budget in mind at the moment, but possibly something between £4-7k, I also dont know when i would be looking to buy yet, just thinking of future options, or if i see something i will buy and keep it on the drive whilst i still run my current car for a bit
 
DJMK4 said:
I dont have a specific budget in mind at the moment, but possibly something between £4-7k,
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What's wrong with your existing car? - with that budget and the current market, I can't imagine you getting anything that's an "upgrade" on what you have
 
Armageus said:
What's wrong with your existing car? - with that budget and the current market, I can't imagine you getting anything that's an "upgrade" on what you have
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Nothing at the moment, but my concern was that i thought the same thing about the BMW 320D i had at the time, it was running ok, then on boxing day (dec 26th) for those of you that dont know, i was travelling up to my dads when the car was at 160k and the engine died with bottom end bearing failure. and i was stuck not having thought about what i would potentially buy as another car at that point.

This is someone who looked after and serviced it quite often, not only that but when it was on 120K i had the clutch completely fail,

I am trying to avoid the same thing happening, by keeping to what i have always had on BMW's , 7k oil changes, and something i didnt do on the 320d which im going to on the 120D is change the gearbox/transmission fluids to try and get more life out of it.


Your probably right though i will keep running what i have, but wanted to see what else would be a suitable fit should i get nearer to the end of life of this one which i could easily probably squeeze more out of, otherwise if it gets to a random failure i would probably revert back to what i know for a quick buy.
 
I think you'd struggle to even get into a sub 10 year old Skoda Octavia vRS TDI for that sort of budget these days, almost certainly not with mileage as low as 60k.
 
DJMK4 said:
Nothing at the moment, but my concern was that i thought the same thing about the BMW 320D i had at the time, it was running ok, then on boxing day (dec 26th) for those of you that dont know, i was travelling up to my dads when the car was at 160k and the engine died with bottom end bearing failure. and i was stuck not having thought about what i would potentially buy as another car at that point.
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So why buy another N47 engined car? :confused:

DJMK4 said:
This is someone who looked after and serviced it quite often, not only that but when it was on 120K i had the clutch completely fail,
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Clutch can fail at any mileage - especially if it's a used car that you don't know how it was driven before you own it. A sub <60k mile car could have been used for lots of short journeys putting extra stress on the clutch.
Ultimately though a clutch is a consumable, especially if you are considering running a car into high mileage territory.

DJMK4 said:
I am trying to avoid the same thing happening, by keeping to what i have always had on BMW's , 7k oil changes,
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But why? Why not stick to BMW's recommendations? It clearly didn't help the engine last any longer.

DJMK4 said:
and something i didnt do on the 320d which im going to on the 120D is change the gearbox/transmission fluids to try and get more life out of it.
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Is it an Autobox where there is a proven benefit, if not then why?
 
Armageus said:
So why buy another N47 engined car? :confused:


Clutch can fail at any mileage - especially if it's a used car that you don't know how it was driven before you own it. A sub <60k mile car could have been used for lots of short journeys putting extra stress on the clutch.
Ultimately though a clutch is a consumable, especially if you are considering running a car into high mileage territory.


But why? Why not stick to BMW's recommendations? It clearly didn't help the engine last any longer.


Is it an Autobox where there is a proven benefit, if not then why?
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The timing chain failure or premature engine failures are usually seen because people stick to servicing on 15k - 20k intervals, way too long

TBH i dont mind servicing at 7k-8k intervals (oil/filter) thats fine,

i think the issue with the 320D i had was that something didnt quite sit right on its history before i had it,

the 120d feels like its probably going to give me less hassle, but i still worry about the timing chain.


I wouldnt stick to BMW reccomendation of oil change @ 20k, no way.


Is it an Autobox where there is a proven benefit, if not then why?
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No its not an autobox, standard manual , and the benifit is because over the last 20-30k the gear changing is stiffer and sometimes hassles, read online that people who have changed it have noticed a major difference and much smoother, plus its providing what i would assume preventative maintenance.
 
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Timing chain failure on the N47 has nothing to do with longer service intervals. The old fella has repaired loads, its just a weak spot with the chain/guides.

If you want bullet proof get a petrol Toyota and be bored senseless for the rest of your days :p
 
As someone who's family loves Toyota, trust me, they are duller than a very very dull thing. The 1 series chassis is pretty good and the x20d isnt bad for a smelly oily lump.
 
I remember why I never chat in here much these days :D

The body shape of the e82 isn't bad, and yes get past the engine n47 worries and it's not bad.

Tbh I may move over from diesel to petrol when ever the time comes
 
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With the way the current used market is you won’t end up with either newer and certainly not 60K miles, more like 160K I’d guess!

When my old Focus hit me with a series of imminent largish bills I went down the perhaps odd route of getting an older car with higher mileage than the Focus, an 05 plate Volvo V70 163 bhp D5 with about 165k on the clock (the 61 plate Focus was around 140K) that said, bar changing the water pump and timing belt as a preventative measure, nothing broke in my ownership and it was still running fine when I changed it @190K for another D5 Manual, this one being a 185 bhp variant, again it was around 160K when I bought it, it’s nearing 190K now and again it’s proven to be utterly reliable is extremely well built (I’d argue better than any of my previous e Series BMW’s even the two e38 7’s that I’ve owned) and most surprisingly it’s good to drive (albeit the turning circle is crap :D) with more than enough go.

I specifically opted for an older D5 Volvo as they have a pretty good reputation for reliability - which is what made me decide to get another, the initial 05 car was supposed to be a stop gap whilst I found something else and to my surprise I found myself being very impressed with it, I have no plans to change my current car and it’s predecessor is still on the roads also.

The thing with me was my Focus was about to cost me pretty much it’s value in repairs which is why I changed it but other than you seeming to be expecting problems on the horizon with your 1 Series rather than actually having them unless I’m missing something here, if the former is the reason for change then frankly until it does present you with a large bill it’s arguably better the devil you know especially given what a few years back would have been a £500 shed seems to command three or more times that price these days, I can see you very easily ending up with a far bigger potential liability than what you have now.

As for the engine in your 120d, yes it has a reputation for problems equally though scouring the advertisements there’s plenty of x20d BMW’s out there with way north of 200k under their wheels, I have a neighbour who’s 2010 f10 520d is on 280k with no problems, and know a few other people with 120 and 320d’s of similar vintages again with way more than 200k….

I’d strongly advise you sit on your budget and wait for the market to settle down which it arguably is starting to do a little before taking the plunge especially if your current car is running fine and your looking after it, whilst it could go pop at any time you’ll have that very same possibility with any other used car so why take the chance unless you particularly need or just plan want to. :)
 
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Yeh I didn't immediately say I was looking to buy now. It was more options on what I could look out for when the markets calmed. Although I don't fully believe that there are no cars now unless it would have 160k on the clock..I have spotted a few with around 60-70k miles around 6-7k but not looked in to it further tbh..

I'd say this 120d e82 is doing a little better than the previous 320d I had..

The current car is on 114.5k now. On the previous BM at this stage , well, I had turbo failure at 70k (luckily warrentied at the time) , clutch failure at 110k, lots of issues with power loss , engine failure at 160k.

Hopefully this one I can run much longer :)
 
Tinders said:
As someone who's family loves Toyota, trust me, they are duller than a very very dull thing. The 1 series chassis is pretty good and the x20d isnt bad for a smelly oily lump.
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They are buying the wrong ones, I've had oh... 8 of them? :p

But I was mostly just joking around. A 1 series even in diesel form is a decent car to drive.

Something like a Corolla Verso on the other hand...
 
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