BMW and M Power Owners

tamzzy said:
I'm pretty sure most M140i cars are/were poverty specced PCP rides
I'd be very surprised if you found many with semi-decent specs
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The later shadow line ones came with most the stuff you need as standard. Only things missing from mine is a sunroof and electric folding mirrors
 
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BallisticGT3 said:
I've just taken delivery of my new 530d saloon and it's missing the adaptive suspension that I had specified.
The supplying dealer has found out that since I placed my order at Christmas time, BMW has stopped fitting adaptive suspension to all 5 series cars, due to the chip shortage.
No one told me my car wasn't to spec and it was left to me to spot and raise the issue.
The dealer is going to try and find an alternative car to the same spec as my order, or refund me £500 for my loss.
The thing is I've never tried a car with adaptive suspension. Does it make a big difference to the way the car handles and is it a must have? Car is on 20" rims.
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i would insist on more than £500. Bmw paid out £500 on x5s being delivered without a touchscreen without telling the customer beforehand as compo. At the end of the day you are perfectly within your rights to cancel your order and hand the car back.
 
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BallisticGT3 said:
I've just taken delivery of my new 530d saloon and it's missing the adaptive suspension that I had specified.
The supplying dealer has found out that since I placed my order at Christmas time, BMW has stopped fitting adaptive suspension to all 5 series cars, due to the chip shortage.
No one told me my car wasn't to spec and it was left to me to spot and raise the issue.
The dealer is going to try and find an alternative car to the same spec as my order, or refund me £500 for my loss.
The thing is I've never tried a car with adaptive suspension. Does it make a big difference to the way the car handles and is it a must have? Car is on 20" rims.
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Don't accept £500 - they will lose a lot more if you reject the car. I had a Polo delivered years ago with a missing USB port in the glovebox and got £2000 + £200 John Lewis vouchers back as I said I would reject the car if they could not offer a reasonable partial refund. £500 on a car like that is the dealer trying it on.
 
MrRockliffe said:
The B&O in the MK8 fiesta isn’t proper B&O (not that the one in an A5 is either, but they are at least B&O speakers).

I believe it’s just the DSP which is B&O, hence the “B&O Play” branding - their budget range.



I’ve just bought a MK8 fiesta with B&O and it’s fine, but nowhere near as good as the HK system in a BMW.
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Interesting, thank you for that. How are you finding the Mk 8?
 
tamzzy said:
I'm pretty sure most M140i cars are/were poverty specced PCP rides
I'd be very surprised if you found many with semi-decent specs
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XeNoN89 said:
The later shadow line ones came with most the stuff you need as standard. Only things missing from mine is a sunroof and electric folding mirrors
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Yeah I'm only looking at the Shadow editions; it still sucks that many of them have the poverty Sat nav, though.
 
jpaul said:
Doesn't a BMW vin decoder show definitively what options are installed on any car you are potentially buying.
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Draeger said:
Yup. Chuck your VIN into places like https://www.mdecoder.com/ and it will list off everything the car has spec wise.
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@jpaul & @Draeger: I've tried this and the car definitely doesn't have the adaptive suspension and it can't be retrofitted.
Greebo said:
i would insist on more than £500. Bmw paid out £500 on x5s being delivered without a touchscreen without telling the customer beforehand as compo. At the end of the day you are perfectly within your rights to cancel your order and hand the car back.
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disfunktion said:
Don't accept £500 - they will lose a lot more if you reject the car. I had a Polo delivered years ago with a missing USB port in the glovebox and got £2000 + £200 John Lewis vouchers back as I said I would reject the car if they could not offer a reasonable partial refund. £500 on a car like that is the dealer trying it on.
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@Greebo & @disfunktion: If you were in my shoes, what would you consider reasonable compensation for my loss?

I don't want to reject the car, as I really like it and I'll be left with nothing. The dealer is trying to find another physical car, but my thoughts are that it will be a slightly used one or a demo, neither of which will be on a 23 plate. BMW don't make the 530d anymore, so mine must be one of the last off the line and it runs perfectly. It's my ideal spec and a great colour - Skyscraper grey.

I've had a long drive in it today, trying both comfort and sport suspension settings. Sport seems more sorted and I can live with it. Again, I've never tried a car with the adaptive suspension, so I don't know what I'm missing and whether it's any better.

I purchased a 5 year service plan with the car, so I suppose I could try for an extended warranty as well as cash compensation.

I'll post a pic tomorrow.
 
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XeNoN89 said:
Shadow edition 2 all have pro nav as far as I know. I think these are from 2018 onwards
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Shadow Editions came in mid to late 2017 (67 plate), only standard Shadow specs are

18" Orbit Grey wheels (although could be spec'd with with the black double-spoke wheels)
Cruise control with braking function
Darkened rear lights
Gloss black kidney grilles
LED Headlights with darkened surround
Harman Kardon
Rear parking sensors
Sun protection (tinted) glass

Everything else was an additional extra including Pro-Nav
 
NooBish AbbZ said:
Interesting, thank you for that. How are you finding the Mk 8?
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The Mk8 is a great car, but a very different value proposition to the BMW.

The interior quality is MUCH improved over the Mk7 (having owned both now), but it just isn’t quite as good as the BMW.


That being said, the main thing I notice with the build is just the extra road noise. You don’t really interact that much with the plastics, and things like the indicators and steering wheel are equally nice compared to the BMW.



If you want a pure drivers car, the Fiesta will be a better car, and put a smile on your face more often.


The BMW is a more refined driving experience for day to day, but I could never again have a torque converter in a sporty car. The ZF8 is a fantastic box, but when driving a car hard, it doesn’t feel snappy and engaging enough.


I remember having a discussion with @Simon about manual vs dual clutch in the M3, and I was team manual due to the experience I’d had with the ZF8 and normal dual clutches.

Now that I’ve driven a very well calibrated dual clutch in a Porsche, I’ve no doubt that the M3 would really suit a dual clutch.

But I would NOT have a torque converter in car which I intended to be fun and sporty. Upshifts are fine, but downshifts just felt sloppy by comparison.



Highly recommend you drive both on a road you know and love.




Back to the original point - Mk8 fiesta is a great car for the money.

Would struggle to spend 20k on one though.



Main thing which caught me out is LED headlights aren’t standard. The DRL is on some models, but not the dipped beam - you’ll definitely want this.
 
MrRockliffe said:
The Mk8 is a great car, but a very different value proposition to the BMW.

The interior quality is MUCH improved over the Mk7 (having owned both now), but it just isn’t quite as good as the BMW.


That being said, the main thing I notice with the build is just the extra road noise. You don’t really interact that much with the plastics, and things like the indicators and steering wheel are equally nice compared to the BMW.



If you want a pure drivers car, the Fiesta will be a better car, and put a smile on your face more often.


The BMW is a more refined driving experience for day to day, but I could never again have a torque converter in a sporty car. The ZF8 is a fantastic box, but when driving a car hard, it doesn’t feel snappy and engaging enough.


I remember having a discussion with @Simon about manual vs dual clutch in the M3, and I was team manual due to the experience I’d had with the ZF8 and normal dual clutches.

Now that I’ve driven a very well calibrated dual clutch in a Porsche, I’ve no doubt that the M3 would really suit a dual clutch.

But I would NOT have a torque converter in car which I intended to be fun and sporty. Upshifts are fine, but downshifts just felt sloppy by comparison.



Highly recommend you drive both on a road you know and love.




Back to the original point - Mk8 fiesta is a great car for the money.

Would struggle to spend 20k on one though.



Main thing which caught me out is LED headlights aren’t standard. The DRL is on some models, but not the dipped beam - you’ll definitely want this.
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Yeah, when I see car reviewers pressing on the car dashboard saying 'the materials are great' or the opposite, I couldn't care less if it's somewhere I'm not going to touch.

My thoughts are with you on the Mk 8 being the drivers car over a 140i, but as you say.. close to £18k for a Fiesta?

I am looking to test drive a 140i (driven a mates pretty often but those have only been motorway miles) and go from there.

I feel like a 6 cylinder 3litre rear wheel drive car is going to be the last of it's kind in the future, even though Ford are no longer making any new Fiesta ST's (what an awful decision)
 
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My new 530d
 
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NooBish AbbZ said:
Looking for an M140i, I guess :p
Seems to be lots available, but not many with Pro nav, sunroof, HK and Shadow Edition with relatively low mileage. No rush though; not desperate to change so I can keep on waiting.
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Sounds like you’re describing my old car (which I sadly sold 6 months ago due to getting a company car) minus the sun roof. Wasn’t low mileage mind having just nudged 50k…. anyway I still miss it to this day - good luck with your hunt they are really really fun little cars!
 
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Does anyone have any experiences to share with G29 Z4s, particularly in M40i guise? It would be a 2nd car to go alongside my daily M340i and I'm wondering whether they will perhaps be a little too similar although the familiarity may also something of a plus point. It's also hard to find another package that is similar that comes it around the same price point. I'm not looking for anything too hardcore as I like my creature comforts and a certain degree of practicality (ie, enough boot space for more than just a set of golf clubs) £40k seems to put a reasonable number of AUC into range. Any other alternatives I should be looking at? I would prefer to stick to convertible options. Thanks!
 
BallisticGT3 said:
I don't want to reject the car, as I really like it and I'll be left with nothing. The dealer is trying to find another physical car, but my thoughts are that it will be a slightly used one or a demo, neither of which will be on a 23 plate. BMW don't make the 530d anymore, so mine must be one of the last off the line and it runs perfectly. It's my ideal spec and a great colour - Skyscraper grey.

I've had a long drive in it today, trying both comfort and sport suspension settings. Sport seems more sorted and I can live with it. Again, I've never tried a car with the adaptive suspension, so I don't know what I'm missing and whether it's any better.

I purchased a 5 year service plan with the car, so I suppose I could try for an extended warranty as well as cash compensation.

I'll post a pic tomorrow.
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Not sure I understand this

Were you driving your car over a long distance or another? If your car doesn't have adaptive suspension, you won't have been able to change it on the drive.


You can still change the driving profile from comfort to sport, but this won't have changed the suspension, just steering/throttle response/gearbox :-)
 
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