BMW and M Power Owners

Simon · 20 Jun 2017 at 10:10

Did you make anything on the M3 CS ?

Talking of aircon. The aircon on mine is very good, was looking forward to the airport run on Sunday just to cool down

Done 4,000 miles in it now. Still need to get a bit more noise from it I think

panthro · 20 Jun 2017 at 10:21

Simon said:
Did you make anything on the M3 CS ?

Talking of aircon. The aircon on mine is very good, was looking forward to the airport run on Sunday just to cool down

Done 4,000 miles in it now. Still need to get a bit more noise from it I think

I put 4k into it and still walked away with 2.5k profit. Was very surprised as I forecasted that when I bought it, I'd make at least what I put into it back in 2 years.

panthro · 20 Jun 2017 at 10:41

[TW]Fox said:
Yes it does.

Thanks Fox. From what I've seen, the gap between 525d's and 530d's are narrowing so struggling to see the value in a 525d unless I find a well specced model significantly less than a 530d.

There was a white F11 535i on the AUC site recently and I nearly went for it but I couldn't live with a white car. Shame really as I only do about 6k miles a year at the moment.

Daaaveee · 20 Jun 2017 at 11:38

panthro said:
There was a white F11 535i on the AUC site recently and I nearly went for it but I couldn't live with a white car. Shame really as I only do about 6k miles a year at the moment.

Hi again panthro, its a small world isn't it

We're looking forward to collecting it later, the wife is a big fan of the white, I'm a little unsure but there aren't many F11 535i to pick from so we'll have to see what its like to live with! Hopefully we'll be getting a refund on the 520d we rejected today. 4 recoveries in 12 days since we collected it, not what you expect from an AUC!

mjt · 20 Jun 2017 at 12:08

Daaaveee said:
Hi again panthro, its a small world isn't it We're looking forward to collecting it later, the wife is a big fan of the white, I'm a little unsure but there aren't many F11 535i to pick from so we'll have to see what its like to live with! Hopefully we'll be getting a refund on the 520d we rejected today. 4 recoveries in 12 days since we collected it, not what you expect from an AUC!

How did you go from a 520d to a 535i ?

Engine is a cracker. Just did 1500 miles in a 535i GT over the weekend and I'll be sad to see my dad sell it. For such a big, heavy car it handles surprisingly well and the grip is immense. Enjoy the Touring!

theone8181 · 20 Jun 2017 at 13:05

Whats the consensus on paying for warranty's on low milage, newer M series of cars? And whats the best bmw forum? (sorry mods and i know thats a subjective question).

Rilot · 20 Jun 2017 at 13:24

theone8181 said:
Whats the consensus on paying for warranty's on low milage, newer M series of cars? And whats the best bmw forum? (sorry mods and i know thats a subjective question).

If you can get it on the BMW warranty then do it. It's the best in the business.
And OcUK Motors is the best BMW forum on the internet of course.

I'm banned from most BMW specific forums now for pointing out when people make a nice BMW look **** by adding tat. They don't like that.

ChrisD. · 20 Jun 2017 at 13:27

Most people I know with M3's etc seem to be on M3 cutters.

Jonnycoupe · 20 Jun 2017 at 16:35

mr tommo said:
Now we've finally had some hot weather it's become apparent that the AC in my 63 plate f10 is knackered!
In mild weather it seems to have enough power to send a nice breeze through the vents but it's struggling in anything like warm weather.

Car has done 75k miles so it's had some time on the road and I always have the AC on auto at 20c. I've never had AC 'recharged' before, how long does it usually last on cars nowadays?

You sure pollen filter has been changed at service?

[TW]Fox · 20 Jun 2017 at 17:53

mr tommo said:
Now we've finally had some hot weather it's become apparent that the AC in my 63 plate f10 is knackered!
In mild weather it seems to have enough power to send a nice breeze through the vents but it's struggling in anything like warm weather.

Car has done 75k miles so it's had some time on the road and I always have the AC on auto at 20c. I've never had AC 'recharged' before, how long does it usually last on cars nowadays?

There was an issue with F10 air-conditioning at this age which was addressed through a 'quality enhancement' which is a bit like a recall but not really a recall.

If you phone a dealer with the chassis number they'll tell you if it covers your car and if it's been done.

mr tommo · 21 Jun 2017 at 12:51

[TW]Fox said:
There was an issue with F10 air-conditioning at this age which was addressed through a 'quality enhancement' which is a bit like a recall but not really a recall.

If you phone a dealer with the chassis number they'll tell you if it covers your car and if it's been done.

Brill thank you :cool:

It's dues a service soon too so will try get it all done together if not already done.

Scania · 21 Jun 2017 at 13:02

Anybody with any experience with A1 Motor Services in Stafford? They are supposedly an independent BMW specialist but their website states VW/Audi specialist without specific mention of BMW, they do have BMW listed on the building itself on Wolverhampton Rd - I've had a quote of £385 for an inspection II on my e38 from them (not that it needs one for a good while yet) which seems rather better than the "around £700" figure Knights BMW Stoke rather disinterestedly gave me over the phone, yes they'd wash the car (I'd expect it licked clean for that price!) and he mentioned a courtesy car subject to my license which I found a tad patronising...

I'm just exploring options ATM, I'd like to keep its FBMWSH intact but not at their prices!

[TW]Fox · 21 Jun 2017 at 14:59

List price for a BMW value service inspection 2 on an E39 V8 is 479.

I would be surprised if they wouldn't do an E38 at the same money at the least.

It would be a shame to spend bonkers money on an FBMWSH E38 and then ruin that within the first month.

TS7 · 21 Jun 2017 at 15:53

[TW]Fox said:
It would be a shame to spend bonkers money on an FBMWSH E38 and then ruin that within the first month.

This! A book full of BMW stamps and paperwork followed by A1 Motor Services Watford

Scania · 21 Jun 2017 at 21:14

[TW]Fox said:
List price for a BMW value service inspection 2 on an E39 V8 is 479.

I would be surprised if they wouldn't do an E38 at the same money at the least.

It would be a shame to spend bonkers money on an FBMWSH E38 and then ruin that within the first month.

Agreed, I think I'll just find a BMW dealer who actually shows interest (unlike Knights) it'll be a while before it gets its next service mind you, I've just reinsured my V70 and am going to keep it for my daily hack and the e38 is going to stay at my partners address through the week for a bit of occasional weekend use.

MichaelAwkward · 21 Jun 2017 at 21:48

So that 10 year old automatic 630i that my mum's partner bought for £12k last year...

MichaelAwkward said:
My mum and her partner have just put down a deposit on this...

http://www.rixmotorcompany.co.uk/bmw-630i-sport-finance-specialists-in-warrington-cheshire-5941054

Besides the fact that it's a totally unsuitable car for them (relatively low earners, never owned such a class of car, no real budget for running costs), is there anything to suggest that it's a good buy? Prices on these seem to be all over the place depending on location.

Taken away on a recovery truck today from my mum's work with a gearbox failure. Sigh. I told them to buy something sensible like a Focus. They took it to BMW who wouldn't look at it properly without charging £100+ so the garage they bought it from took it to one of their garages that they use for warranty work and are now saying it's wear and tear. My mum's partner took the warranty option when they bought it, but I'm guessing it was some third party deal that isn't worth the paper it was written on, and of course doesn't cover wear and tear (which on a 10 year old car is basically everything, isn't it?).

They've been given two options by the dealer:

Pay £6000 for a new gearbox, or swap it for a car of the same original value from their stock... which seems suspicious to me. I would've thought they meant £6000.

I've said I'll look to see if there are any reputable BMW specialist locally that could possibly help out? Not sure what else to suggest to them. Mum is currently hiring a Fiesta out of her own pocket.

Django x2 · 21 Jun 2017 at 21:52

If it's the ZF6HP unit, then to be fair I'm not overly sure you shouldn't be getting it looked at by a proper BMW Indy. It could be as simple as the mechatronic unit seized, not entirely uncommon especially if the "lifetime" oil wasn't changed. They change over dead easy and you'll be on your way.

If it's seen a lot of town driving, then it's possible the issue is more pressing, but again, I would be surprised if it couldn't be solved by an Indy BMW or a good ZF dealer.

MichaelAwkward · 21 Jun 2017 at 22:22

I've told her to ring this place http://davidpaulofwarrington.co.uk/ and explain what's happened. If it's as simple as a gearbox oil change, then hopefully it'll be easy to sort.

It just sounds like nobody has done any proper diagnosis on it yet. They took it to BMW initially who probably just sat in it and then told my mum's partner not to drive it and wouldn't do anything else without charging labour. Rix have probably just done the first thing that they say when any customer comes back with a car that's broken.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jun 2017 at 22:23

It's not a cheap fix at all and is something people really need to bear in mind when buying old BMW's but it's nothing like £6k to fix - putting a brand new factory transmission into an 11 year old car is foolish.

There are numerous used gearboxes and reconditioned gearboxes available on places like Ebay. I'd imagine you could get the car repaired with something like this for well under £2000.

Scania said:
Agreed, I think I'll just find a BMW dealer who actually shows interest (unlike Knights) it'll be a while before it gets its next service mind you, I've just reinsured my V70 and am going to keep it for my daily hack and the e38 is going to stay at my partners address through the week for a bit of occasional weekend use.

A 7 Series for... occasional weekend use?! :confused:

Stick the V70 in the bin and use the E38. Otherwise what was the point?

Dis86 · 21 Jun 2017 at 22:39

Contemplating changing my wheel colour. Bit mixed on whether to do it though. Whilst I initially couldn't stand the black it's definitely grown on me and plenty of other people love it on the car. However - dark grey would just seem so much less drug dealer to me!