BMW and M Power Owners

Soldato
Joined
1 Dec 2011
Posts
21,227
Location
SW3
Most cars have risen in price but premium cars have seemed to have higher rises. You should still be able to get something decent for £20k though.

It is mostly the state of the market. To maximise your value look at the 3 Series - it is exactly the same car as the 4 Series but is the 4 door saloon version. The specification can vary inside, mind. But really now is about the worst time to buy a used BMW as there has ever been. You really get very little for your money.

Thank you both, what are the options that are a must?

I know Pro nav is the better option as you get the wider screen, auto gearbox, adaptive suspension, cruise control, heads up display. Anything else is a nice extra?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,619
Pro Nav and auto are the only two 'must have' options, the rest should be 'nice to have' or you'll never find a car. You will find it hard enough to find a large amount of pro nav fitted cars. If the car is a pre facelift then Xenon headlights should be a must as well. One of the benefits of the 4 Series GranCoupe in M Sport trim is that it has Pro Nav as standard so you can buy a zero option 4 Series GC M Sport auto and it has everything you'd have on the must have list. With the 3 Series, you'll need to find one with the right spec.

Adaptive suspension, not a fan and it's ultra rare anyway. HUD is very cool but again very uncommon on the 3 Series.

It is worth noting that IMHO the 5 Series is a better car in every way except for two things:

a) Minor handling tradeoff, but lets face it, neither of them are a Lotus Elise
b) Significantly increased warranty cost

The rest of the bits that matter are either exactly the same (Engine, gearbox, options) or better (Interior!!!).
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,619
Have a look at a 6 series as well, quite a lot of car for your money compared to a 4 series

Actually yes, definitely this. If you can find a 6 Series that works it makes the 3/4 series look absolutely rubbish.

However it is likely to be quite old for the budget which is why I left it out. The 6 Series range starts where the 4 Series range ends - the entry level model is the 640 (Which is equivalent roughly to the 435). There is no 620d or 630d available which also accounts for its higher price.

But age aside its unquestionably the best car (All of these cars are of the same generation, so the 3/4 Series are not more modern cars, they are inferior cars as would be expected given their lower price new).
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Jul 2010
Posts
25,741
Pro Nav and auto are the only two 'must have' options, the rest should be 'nice to have' or you'll never find a car. You will find it hard enough to find a large amount of pro nav fitted cars. If the car is a pre facelift then Xenon headlights should be a must as well. One of the benefits of the 4 Series GranCoupe in M Sport trim is that it has Pro Nav as standard so you can buy a zero option 4 Series GC M Sport auto and it has everything you'd have on the must have list. With the 3 Series, you'll need to find one with the right spec.

Adaptive suspension, not a fan and it's ultra rare anyway. HUD is very cool but again very uncommon on the 3 Series.

It is worth noting that IMHO the 5 Series is a better car in every way except for two things:

a) Minor handling tradeoff, but lets face it, neither of them are a Lotus Elise
b) Significantly increased warranty cost

The rest of the bits that matter are either exactly the same (Engine, gearbox, options) or better (Interior!!!).
When I was looking for a 4 series GC very few had HUD, in fact I’m struggling to think of even one that had it I don’t think I saw one with active cruise either. There also weren’t many with H&K audio tbh.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Dec 2011
Posts
21,227
Location
SW3
Pro Nav and auto are the only two 'must have' options, the rest should be 'nice to have' or you'll never find a car. You will find it hard enough to find a large amount of pro nav fitted cars. If the car is a pre facelift then Xenon headlights should be a must as well. One of the benefits of the 4 Series GranCoupe in M Sport trim is that it has Pro Nav as standard so you can buy a zero option 4 Series GC M Sport auto and it has everything you'd have on the must have list. With the 3 Series, you'll need to find one with the right spec.

Adaptive suspension, not a fan and it's ultra rare anyway. HUD is very cool but again very uncommon on the 3 Series.

It is worth noting that IMHO the 5 Series is a better car in every way except for two things:

a) Minor handling tradeoff, but lets face it, neither of them are a Lotus Elise
b) Significantly increased warranty cost

The rest of the bits that matter are either exactly the same (Engine, gearbox, options) or better (Interior!!!).
Cheers, looking around, the Adaptive suspension and HUD are ultra rare as you said, can't find any in my price range with those options fitted, but no issues anyway.

Have a look at a 6 series as well, quite a lot of car for your money compared to a 4 series

I did look at 6 series but finding one under 20k that has the options, colour and mileage i want is proving difficult :p I also do prefer the looks of the 4 series so i think i'll stick with that.
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Dec 2003
Posts
5,683
I did look at 6 series but finding one under 20k that has the options, colour and mileage i want is proving difficult :p I also do prefer the looks of the 4 series so i think i'll stick with that.
Fair enough!

Only thing I'd say is for whatever car you go for don't get too stuck up on mileage - condition is far more important
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,619
I did look at 6 series but finding one under 20k that has the options, colour and mileage i want is proving difficult :p I also do prefer the looks of the 4 series so i think i'll stick with that.

Why would you need a single option on a 6 Series? Everything you need is standard and the stuff that isn't will be even harder to find on a 4 Series. I take your point with mileage etc though, this is the issue, they are far more car so therefore far more money.

The 4 Series is just a 3 Series hatchback. Don't lose sight of this and pay silly money for one.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
26 May 2012
Posts
16,469
When I was looking for a 4 series GC very few had HUD, in fact I’m struggling to think of even one that had it I don’t think I saw one with active cruise either. There also weren’t many with H&K audio tbh.
Maybe on the pre-LCI and lower engine specced (20i/d, 28i, and 30d) but when I looked, a lot of the 35d/40i LCIs had them specced. But yes, active cruise is very rare and mostly specced on diesel models.
 
Associate
Joined
18 Apr 2010
Posts
1,320
Location
West Midlands
Had the 335i on the dyno yesterday. Rather happy with the results. The torque is just epic. Next job is all m3 control arms and some bilstien shocks and springs and then I'm done with the mods haha.

a>

view.php

CMSYGV3
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2011
Posts
5,692
All this talk of £30k F Series is making me dizzy.

Here's my 15 year old E92 330i worth its weight in dog biscuits. Hoping I can keep her going well enough until there's some sort of price correction on the market, quite fancy the new M135i but as discussed well in depth above, not right now...

Freshly MoT'd the other day too, chuffed with that.

k41G7KS.jpg
 
Associate
Joined
3 Nov 2015
Posts
120
All this talk of £30k F Series is making me dizzy.

Here's my 15 year old E92 330i worth its weight in dog biscuits. Hoping I can keep her going well enough until there's some sort of price correction on the market, quite fancy the new M135i but as discussed well in depth above, not right now...

Freshly MoT'd the other day too, chuffed with that.

Have you had to change the injectors on it yet?
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Nov 2004
Posts
10,296
Location
North Beds
When I was looking for a 4 series GC very few had HUD, in fact I’m struggling to think of even one that had it I don’t think I saw one with active cruise either. There also weren’t many with H&K audio tbh.

My 440i f36 has HUD, and a fair few of the ones i was considering did too...way more than had active cruise.
 
Back
Top Bottom