BMW and M Power Owners

mjt

mjt

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able to comment on this as been driving an estate version for a few weeks. seats aint too bad depending on how you usually sit but I do miss the lumbar support on longer journeys. im lead to believe its not hard to retrofit full electric. interiors are cheap over here in uk don't know about Netherlands.
engine wise im lead to believe its fairly bullet proof. one thing I would say that, is ive driven both the 328i & 528i and in the 5 series the engine does feel more underpowered as well as being worse on fuel. im hoping a tune at somepoint would solve this so unless your getting a good deal id bear this in mind as if its not a big difference id go for a 535i
I really need lumbar support, so that's good feedback thx. Also good to know that retrofitting isn't too much hassle. 535i would be great, but annual tax is €900 instead of €400 and registration is €1150 instead of €300. And then insurance is a killer as well. Yay Belgium.
There is nothing bulletproof about the 2 litre turbo engine!
I've been out of the BMW game for ages now. My last one was an M54B30. What's the deal with the current ones?
 
Man of Honour
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Camchain issues iirc.

I once thought a 528i was my way out of a diesel but it just drove like a less refined, slower and more thirsty 530d :(

I really can't get on with 4 cylinder engines in a 5 series.
 
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Whenever I buy a second hand car. I care more about previous maintenance even if the car is in pristine nick. As with BMW’s the only major concern I ever have is how many oil leaks are there, and how many of the modules are working/throwing codes.

There hasn’t been a bmw I’ve owned which hasn’t needed minor niggly work. Though I’m handy with a spanner and always budget for it, so I never really come across major surprises. I do miss my e90 335d what a brilliant engine that is once fettled with.
 

mjt

mjt

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Camchain issues iirc.

I once thought a 528i was my way out of a diesel but it just drove like a less refined, slower and more thirsty 530d :(

I really can't get on with 4 cylinder engines in a 5 series.
Great. I'll stick with Audi then :p
Whenever I buy a second hand car. I care more about previous maintenance even if the car is in pristine nick. As with BMW’s the only major concern I ever have is how many oil leaks are there, and how many of the modules are working/throwing codes.

There hasn’t been a bmw I’ve owned which hasn’t needed minor niggly work. Though I’m handy with a spanner and always budget for it, so I never really come across major surprises. I do miss my e90 335d what a brilliant engine that is once fettled with.
My dad's 535i GT was pretty much faultless in the 5 years he had it, but it spent most of the time sitting on the drive.
I always budget for niggly things when I buy a car, but I've been pleasantly surprised with my A6. Other than a £100 fuel pressure sensor, nothing has gone wrong in 5 years and 60,000 miles.
 
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Great. I'll stick with Audi then :p

My dad's 535i GT was pretty much faultless in the 5 years he had it, but it spent most of the time sitting on the drive.
I always budget for niggly things when I buy a car, but I've been pleasantly surprised with my A6. Other than a £100 fuel pressure sensor, nothing has gone wrong in 5 years and 60,000 miles.

The 335d. 11 years old, 7th owner. Only 1 advisory in its whole mot life and stacks of paperwork. Condition was good but not what I would describe as mint. In its life it had, the gearbox rebuilt due to the clutch packs wearing, which was a bonus as most are getting to that stage where they’re slipping/banging gears.

I replaced red boost pipe seals/inter cooler/ swirl flap gaskets and egr seals, glow plug module and coolant pipe to the head which had a very minute crack so leaked coolant just a very small amount. There wasn’t really anything wrong, that I would consider to make the car underivable and most people wouldn’t even realise these things.

Mapped the box, mapped the car and it wasn’t a slouch. Great engine, really impressed by it.
 
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On a secondhand car you do not pay based on previous maintenance but condition based on other available vehicles...

It sounds like you really like it, I suggest you go see it with a mechanically inclined friend who doesn't get too excited....


Think I'll go see this tomorrow with a friend who isn't a full on mechanic but likes to work on his own cars.
 
Associate
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Camchain issues iirc.

I once thought a 528i was my way out of a diesel but it just drove like a less refined, slower and more thirsty 530d :(

I really can't get on with 4 cylinder engines in a 5 series.

thank you. never heard of this before and now gonna have to keep an eye on mine
 

DRZ

DRZ

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I used BE bearings, but that's largely irrelevant as it was the main that went and not the rod bearings. Just a kick in the teeth that I did *everything* viable in terms of maintenance and I got unlucky :(

@Gaygle, the pics you saw are indeed mine :(
 
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Firstly sorry to hear about the engine troubles. Always a bit of a worry with these M engines.

However the bearing choice is not irrelevant. The BE bearings concern for me was always about the fact they had more clearance would mean there is more oil loss in the journal. A result of this could be main bearing starving. Especially on high revving engines when the oil is flung out.

The S65 oil pump was specced for a 10W-60 and it’s clearances.

I have many discussion on M3 cutters with people about the bearings and oil. And have never recommended bigger clearances due to the above. :(

I’m on 55k now but don’t plan doing them until I hear a hint of rod knock on start up. At the moment it’s ok even after a week, timing chain tensioner is the noisy bit !
 

DRZ

DRZ

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Jim Colley has posted extensively about the same things and his conclusions are the opposite due to the way the oil pump is designed. In any case, what's done is done :)
 
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Ahh man thats **** DRZ, sorry to hear that! It seems you can get a used engine fitted for around £5k from the bay, A bit of an unknown it is.. but its not £9k+ at least.

I've taken my e92 from 40-65k over 2 years without a single issue but seriously considering an oem bearing replacement as I cant be sure how the car was treated in its first 40k before my ownership.

edit: £4k fitted with 6 month warranty.. ebay item num: 303116670669
 

DRZ

DRZ

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Those places are almost all scammers sadly - lots of horror stories and best avoided. A lot of those engines on ebay at £5k are on an exchange basis (so £5500+) and my engine is scrap thanks to the block and the amount of swarf generated getting into all the blind galleries and so on. The going rate for a decent used engine through "contacts" is £5k, plus I need a new oil cooler (to be sure there's no remaining swarf) and I'm going to service the rod bearings of the engine going in. Then the remaining cost is oil, filter and the cash I've already spent diagnosing the issue plus obv the labour of getting it fitted. The costs other than the engine itself do add up quickly.
 
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Oh wow sounds terrible.

A good warning to everyone not to bother with an M car these days, it's just not worth it. After owning an F10 M5, E39 M5 and an E92 M3. I'd never own another BMW never mind M car.
 
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They're old fashioned now using dated technology with no clear roadmap for the future.

I'm also fairly sure that they won't last another 10 years. They are the Nokia of the car industry unless they manage to pull something spectacular in the next few years.

Their cars have usually been with fault, some major. Rod bearings on my E39, luckily I can DIY. The F10 had a transmission fault or characteristic but I couldn't get it diagnosed or find another to drive at the local dealer to see if it was a fault or not. Essentially Tesla and potentially Chinese carmakers will finish BMW off.
 
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