Soldato
I'll just leave this here
And wait for the abuse
And wait for the abuse
BMW and M Power Owners
- Thread starter panthro
- Start date
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Other than the awful looking grille which has been covered about a million times it's a 2 door version of probably one of the best cars BMW have made for a while - the 3 series - so I bet it's brilliant.
However... Is that a 420i?! You've gone from an 840i to a... 420i? Surprising choice given the 430i is pretty much exactly as efficient yet considerably more powerful and not really a huge amount more money.
Soldato
Don;t like the nostrils and dont like the wheels, they look too big IMO. happy now?
Yes thanks
Its a 5 door rather than a 2 door and yes 420i. The 430i is 5K more expensive than the 420i and I was trying to reduce the cost as well as having something more practical.
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Yes thanks
Its a 5 door rather than a 2 door and yes 420i. The 430i is 5K more expensive than the 420i and I was trying to reduce the cost as well as having something more practical.
Personally I would have dumped the wheels and paid more for the 430i. You would get more enjoyment from that, only other people look at the wheels. Plus the 430i is only £4k not £5k more expensive.
Soldato
It was a pre-built car so I didn't get a choice on the spec, this one I got a good deal on, including the px of the 840i. It had enough kit on to not feel like a catastrophic downgrade from the 840i, and looked good, so went with it. I was also looking for something more practical and which would save me some cash as I'm doing a lot less mileage than before and the 840i is not a cheap car to buy let alone run.
I drove it home last night and whilst it's clearly not a 333 BHP straight 6 it's not a bad drive and the ride is more compliant than the 840i was. I can also get my kids easily in the back, rather than just about get them in the back, and its got an easily accessible boot, which when you have a wheelchair to get in is important.
Fair enough and we all have a price we wont go over, I say the say to people who ask me why i didnt pay £1350 extra for the laser lights on mine..............
Thought I had a coolant leak and needed my car done quick so took it to BMW this morning who have come back with a list of issues.
Annoyingly it doesn't look like there's a leak at this point, but they're doing some more testing.
I'm not greatly mechanically minded, would anyone mind telling me how inflated these prices are (appreciate some of the issues aren't explained that much, this is from BMW)...
All for a 2006 E92 330i:
Annoyingly it doesn't look like there's a leak at this point, but they're doing some more testing.
I'm not greatly mechanically minded, would anyone mind telling me how inflated these prices are (appreciate some of the issues aren't explained that much, this is from BMW)...
All for a 2006 E92 330i:
£60 for wiper blades... £231 for a washer hose. Yeah, go elsewhere
100% on those two things, they're being jokers on the wiper blades - I just have no idea on the diff leak, rear axle pipe corrosion...
Diff leak after quick google on E90s, people had them both replaced by BMW for £170, so getting shafted there
Shock absorbers you'll be able to get decent cheaper pattern parts
Bushes, the starting to perish probably could ignore but if having dampers replaced then could get the indy to replace at the same time
Brake hoses not entirely sure how much work that is myself... maybe someone else can advise...
Overall would recommend getting some quotes from independents, not worth BMW dealer prices for a 15 year old 3 series
Associate
Many thanks mate, appreciate the write up and advice. I've now picked it up since they couldn't find a coolant leak, so it's been topped up and I'll monitor for now and get the other stuff sorted at an indy.
I replaced the boot struts about two years ago and to be honest I'd forgotten how much I paid for them, but just eBayed the price of two bonnet struts and they're £17.99 delivered for the pair...
Just checked my orders and I paid £17 each for the boot struts, so a bit more expensive but practically the same thing.
Soldato
Are these prices include fitting as well, given their hourly rates it isn't really a big surprise at all. I don't know if some BMW owners wish to maintain their vehicles on a shoestring budget but genuine parts from a dealership are always more expensive. Yes cheaper versions can be purchased from the Internet, such as fleabay, but if they're not genuine then they will be of dubious quality...
Yeah that includes fitting and I suspect you're right in most of the mark up here is labour.
I really only took it to BMW due to the timeframe and knowing I could just get it booked in and looked at, a lot of local garages have let me down in recent years and find it difficult to get an answer out of them. Despite their price, at least a main dealer BMW will actually look at it.
Despite knowing you should only use BMW screenwash fluid, in my infinite wisdom I bought the RainX screenwash fluid and it appears to have affected the sensor. So it now says the washer fluid is low. I've read about this, the fluid coats the sensor so it always thinks it's low on fluid/empty. It all still works fine.
So I suppose the plan should be to drain it somehow and try to flush it out? Car is an F01 730d. Is it easy to drain it? Any thoughts appreciated...
So I suppose the plan should be to drain it somehow and try to flush it out? Car is an F01 730d. Is it easy to drain it? Any thoughts appreciated...