BMW and M Power Owners

[DJMK4]

The Vehicle Check service is part of the service schedule on a Condition Based Servicing BMW. It isn't optional - it is part of the schedule. Many years ago it was included in the Inspection servicing system on the older cars, but with the move to Condition based servicing it was made a seperate service element. It is often due around the same time as the more major of the two oil services, but not always.

There is a second service element which people often confuse with this - the Statutory Vehicle Inspection. This is actually the MOT - not a service.

You need to check whether the car is asking for the Vehicle Check service or just telling you that the MOT is due. If in doubt, ask the dealer for advice.

The MOT is next Feb so it's not that . Ita just the vehicle check

 

[[TW]Fox]

If its due, then it's due and should be carried out on time if you are trying to maintain the manufacturers service schedule.

The iDrive system will tell you when its due. If it says June 2025, then it's time to book it in.

 

[DJMK4]

If its due, then it's due and should be carried out on time if you are trying to maintain the manufacturers service schedule.

The iDrive system will tell you when its due. If it says June 2025, then it's time to book it in.

It's saying June yes..so I may aswel get my oil/ filter / air filter service done around the same time . Which is around 5k.since it was last done .

 

[[TW]Fox]

This doesn't seem to make much sense.

The big oil service with the air and fuel filter is every other oil service - so it should be around every 40,000 miles or every 4 years if the the car covers a low mileage. If it was last done 5000 miles ago and is asking for it again has the car only covered 4000 miles in the last 4 years?

 

[muon]

Probably mistaking for microfilter. The air filter is done along with spark plugs in the "major" service which coincides with vehicle check.

The MOT is next Feb so it's not that . Ita just the vehicle check

Have you told the car when an MOT is due? So it has the correct date for vehicle inspections?

 

[IC3]

I am amazed at how expensive these are. Mine is newer than that - and I bought it over 2 years ago - with lower mileage and better specification and wasn't much more. They do seem to hold value very well but I'd not want to be spending £35k on an M340i that was one of the original cars without mild hybrid. Not that there is anything wrong with the originals, but you don't need to spend £35k if you want one and if you do want to spend £35k on one then you can do better than one with only one options pack. I'd have rejected that car as too expensive when I was looking and that was in early 2023!

That's the thing, we want a non hybrid car and its proving really difficult to find something, they also seem to fetch a higher price...

It either a 530d or m340i, prefrably 2019-2020 with no Mild Hybrid.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I don't think its true that the hybrid ones are cheaper - there is only a year of production before they became available anyway so its just natural price variation - some will be overpriced, some will be underpriced. Why is it that you want to avoid the hybrid ones anyway?

You should be able to get a reasonably well optioned 2020 M340i for about £32k.

 

[DJMK4]

People don't realise here that I don't stick to BMWs.reccomended.service.intervals! No way am I doing the reccomended 20k oil servicing .


That's when issues happen

Usually it's 7-8k I do an oil filter/ air filter service...as I want clean oil around the engine and chains. And I want decent air going in to the turbo.. given an airfilter costs what £20. It's a cheap service item ..

I was going to leave the oil another 1.5-2k before getting it done..as it was done on 41k when I bought it. Now it's coming up to 45k.almost..

If BMW lights are telling me to come in for an inspection where there not actually going to do anything other than pick my pocket of £90. Then I may aswel this once to stay within Warrenty guidelines take it in to get the oil / filter / air filter service which I was going to do in 1.5k time anyway. And get the In inspection included .

Otherwise it's £256 for the oil / oil filter and air filter service
Plus £90 for a separate inspection

 

[MrRockliffe]

Drove my old red 135i yesterday. Really miss it


Such a great value car and I should never have sold it. As good as the 981 Boxster was, it just didn’t have this raw feel that the BMW has. It’s overly refined and the steering too numb.


N55 is also a killer engine. Nicer than the B58 IMO which is still excellent.

 

[mjt]

Drove my old red 135i yesterday. Really miss it


Such a great value car and I should never have sold it. As good as the 981 Boxster was, it just didn’t have this raw feel that the BMW has. It’s overly refined and the steering too numb.


N55 is also a killer engine. Nicer than the B58 IMO which is still excellent.

The N55 sounds better than the B58 for sure, but I can't think of much else that's better tbh. The B58 is a beast.
How come you drove it? Did you sell it to a friend?

 

[[TW]Fox]

If BMW lights are telling me to come in for an inspection where there not actually going to do anything other than pick my pocket of £90. Then I may aswel this once to stay within Warrenty guidelines take it in to get the oil / filter / air filter service which I was going to do in 1.5k time anyway. And get the In inspection included .

The vehicle check is not included in the price of the oil service. There is a saving on the standard charge of £20-30 if you do them at the same time, so it might be worth doing this, but they are seperate service elements. They don't do nothing - it does what the name suggests. It's a check of the vehicle, the inspection element of the previous inspection service scheme that ended 20 years ago. Now, you can argue if you wish that this doesn't offer any value to you, but a service is more than just changing the oil, its a check of the vehicle and various parts of it to identify any components that may present an issue before the cars next scheduled workshop visit.

 

[MrRockliffe]

The N55 sounds better than the B58 for sure, but I can't think of much else that's better tbh. The B58 is a beast.
How come you drove it? Did you sell it to a friend?

Yeah family friend.


N55 has noticeably less turbo lag and feels less aspirated at the top end.


Did I mention the sound? Even with the MPPSK on the 340i, N55 is better.

 

[mjt]

Yeah family friend.


N55 has noticeably less turbo lag and feels less aspirated at the top end.


Did I mention the sound? Even with the MPPSK on the 340i, N55 is better.

Fair enough. Yes sound agree. My LCI M2 N55 is epic. Wouldn't say no to an aftermarket exhaust if a second-hand one popped up locally for a good price, but stock sounds fab for sure
Get a 1M

 

[MrRockliffe]

Fair enough. Yes sound agree. My LCI M2 N55 is epic. Wouldn't say no to an aftermarket exhaust if a second-hand one popped up locally for a good price, but stock sounds fab for sure
Get a 1M

Has to be a convertible!


I feel like with every car I buy there’s something missing from it, except for the 135i. Only reason it went was because the desire to get a Boxster was too strong

 

[IC3]

I don't think its true that the hybrid ones are cheaper - there is only a year of production before they became available anyway so its just natural price variation - some will be overpriced, some will be underpriced. Why is it that you want to avoid the hybrid ones anyway?

You should be able to get a reasonably well optioned 2020 M340i for about £32k.

Well car prices tend to go up late spring/summer time, then they start to dip autumn/winter time, overall I think the best time to buy is end of year beginning of new year. The mild hybrid system puts me off, I just see it as another thing that can go wrong and it'll cost £££'s...

Should is the key word in that sentence.

 

[Scania]

People don't realise here that I don't stick to BMWs.reccomended.service.intervals! No way am I doing the reccomended 20k oil servicing .


That's when issues happen

Probably for another discussion but I often wonder about oil change intervals, especially considering the change intervals on my truck are massively higher than any car I've seen (80,000 to 150,000 kilometers (49,700 to 93,200 miles)

Whilst I'm sure car intervals are set with fleet management and costs as the priority, with an HGV the mileages are generally hugely higher, yet the change intervals are much longer, sure a truck carries vastly more oil than any car (40-48 litres) obviously a truck generally spends the majority of its mileage cruising a motorway where a car most likely doesn't but still it can often spend days indeed weeks on end purely doing town /city driving much more akin to a car...

The oil on my old Volvo V70 is pretty rough now despite 8k since its last change, I'll be doing it this coming week, even though it's recommended interval is apparently 7-10k....

I'd dread to think what state the oil would be in were it to have one of these imo ridiculous 20k intervals!

 

[muon]

The 20k intervals are only that if you drive in free flowing traffic all the time getting a good fuel economy.

The actual interval is based on how many litres of fuel you have used, but obviously that would be confusing to customers to show. CBS makes a mileage prediction largely off that.

 

[Scania]

The 20k intervals are only that if you drive in free flowing traffic all the time getting a good fuel economy.

The actual interval is based on how many litres of fuel you have used, but obviously that would be confusing to customers to show. CBS makes a mileage prediction largely off that.

I believe the same concept applies with trucks too, it depends greatly on fuel used although still, the lower interval is still bloody high! (Nigh on 50k miles) - I wonder why the huge difference?

Yes a truck engine operates at much lower rpm than a car of course (mine is doing about 1400 rpm in overdrive at its cruising speed of 55mph) but still, it's still a huge difference in change intervals and apparently with no ill effects given the massive mileages these things cover as a matter of routine.

 

[DJMK4]

Probably for another discussion but I often wonder about oil change intervals, especially considering the change intervals on my truck are massively higher than any car I've seen (80,000 to 150,000 kilometers (49,700 to 93,200 miles)

Whilst I'm sure car intervals are set with fleet management and costs as the priority, with an HGV the mileages are generally hugely higher, yet the change intervals are much longer, sure a truck carries vastly more oil than any car (40-48 litres) obviously a truck generally spends the majority of its mileage cruising a motorway where a car most likely doesn't but still it can often spend days indeed weeks on end purely doing town /city driving much more akin to a car...

The oil on my old Volvo V70 is pretty rough now despite 8k since its last change, I'll be doing it this coming week, even though it's recommended interval is apparently 7-10k....

I'd dread to think what state the oil would be in were it to have one of these imo ridiculous 20k intervals!

It's more to do with BMW engines and timing chains to be honest.. as there were a spurt of bad engines having timing chain failure.. preventative maintenance on this is having good oil servicing intervals and as people usually would read what the dash is telling them plus maybe abit over that . Which over time can contribute to issues

 

[IC3]

I'm tempted to import M340i, looking at few random cars they seem to be in decent condition and most seem to have laser headlights and either tech or comf packages.