BMW and M Power Owners

BMW data plan costs money - a bolt on one might be cheaper and provide sufficient data for higher resolution music streaming (youtube premium ? Tidal ) via hot-spot,
and the bmw antenna should be more robust than personal phone.
 
BMW data plan costs money - a bolt on one might be cheaper and provide sufficient data for higher resolution music streaming (youtube premium ? Tidal ) via hot-spot,
and the bmw antenna should be more robust than personal phone.
This, basically... Wishful thinking given BMW charge 10 per month for high beam assist :cry: . The SIM tray comment gave me false hope!

Especially useful now android automotive is being deployed and apps will live in the car and not need your own phone for connectivity.
 
Really sat on the fence if I should sell my E46 M3 Convertible..

I've had it 7 years and starting to just see it's flaws.. I spent £6k in parts and if that had full labour charges applied would be over £10k in work done since I've owned it as my plan was to get it in a very decent shape.
I know these are future classics, but I feel its that time to either get it 100% fresh and maybe spend another £5k+ on preemptive stuff, so some paint, rod bolts/bearings, head gasket, vanos rebuilt, a few minor age related niggles and then look if getting the boot floor reinforcement plates is worth it, then keep it for another 7 years.. However, the kicker in my case is I have nerve damage that affects my left leg and its getting worse, so some days I am in a lot of pain with the heavyish clutch and that stops me using it as much.. so even if I get this one spot on, I might not be able to enjoy it as much as I should.

I've put it up on Cutters for a slightly optimistic price (£12k) which maybe is a plea to just get no interest and keep it, but I had a go in an F33 435d XDrive thinking a convertible diesel makes no sense, but just jumped in and already having had the engine/box config in a previous X3 the Mrs had, it was immediately much more refined to drive, the adaptive suspension helped when cruising and the thing is as quick as my M3 in the main, so it made me pause for thought.

This one is up on AT at the moment, right colour, nice Perf styling bits, so is starting to tempt me..

3wdD2cqh.jpg


I did look at an F33 M4 conevertible, but don't do enough miles (approx 2.5k a year) or need the running costs of an M4..

I did think that if I had somewhere I could store the M3 and keep it dry but still use it 2 or 3 times a month, I could just keep it and see what happens with pricing, it's a beautiful classic IMO and it's slightly pinned down price wise by tatty E9x M3s so may stay there a while, or if I spend a bit, you can definitely ask a premium..
 
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sadly yes and is a massive rip off. From memory i think its like £10 per month for a 1gb of data. You can do much much better than that nowadays. Hell I could get unlimited data for that money

I think it's a useless feature - if you want a hotspot in the car then you've got a phone in your pocket which can provide one with far better data availability at a far better price. The value of the integrated data connection is for the cars connected functions, none of which seem to be unfairly priced and there are no data allowance issues.
 
Because it doesn't. The engine is great but is not suited to a convertible - which is all about the experience rather than just the performance. If you want a convertible, get a 440i. If you want a diesel, get a coupe.
Having driven F33 M4s, 435i, 440i and 435d, believe me, I also was convinced that was the case, so I hear you!

I think it's personal and depends on your refernece point..

Jumping from my E46 M3 to an M4 and it's different, but still has that crazy visceral experience, just amped up turbo engine, but definitely an 'experience'..
Jumping in a 440i though and if that's all you know, great, nice engine and you'd be happy, but coming from an M3/M4, it feels so synthetic/numb and dare I say boring.. I've driven the 435i and 440i within a week of each other and just didn't gel with them, hoping the 440i would add a bit more to proceedings, but as soon as I get back in the M3 that same feeling comes back of they are too refined/quiet/linear for a turbo engine.

I then by a freak set of circumstances had a 435d for a few days, driving it to Spa to meet a friend who was racing, it's his cheap continent muncher he uses when touring europe, and so I did a fair whack of mileage over 4 days, roof down etc. I expected to hate it, but was pleasantly surprised, the engine is refined 'enough', still has some noise when revving, but rather than feel a bit too linear/numb, the torque is just that degree more and xDrive just does enough to be a hoot when going over more challenging roads/camber changes full throttle and whilst it moves a bit on all 4 wheels, it keeps forward momentum.

When I got to Spa and mentioned this, immediately a few people chipped in that have driven it and said it's the most surprising car they've driven, and agree, the biggest issue with a 440i is the M4 is just a much better experience on every level.. the 435d has the torque and xDrive that make it 'different'..

Each to their own, everyone tells me the E46 M3 Convertible is wrong on every level, far too much compromise to the handling, yet I enjoy it..
 
Jumping in a 440i though and if that's all you know, great, nice engine and you'd be happy, but coming from an M3/M4, it feels so synthetic/numb and dare I say boring.

There is absolutely no way a diesel will not be even more of this, if that is genuinely what you think of the 440i.

the xDrive adds nothing and compromises the handling because you don't get the M Sport suspension with it.

If you really want a diesel convertible for relaxed cruising then a 4 Series is not a great car anyway, the interior isn't very nice, it isn't very refined and it doesn't suit the nature of the power delivery the diesel offers. You'd be better off looking at a 640d instead - this offers the level of quality and refinement that you could argue (but I'd still not want a diesel convertible) better suits the engine. It's also not xDrive, which is another advantage.

I am not anti diesel and I am not anti xDrive. I spent the last decade driving 3 litre BMW diesels of this generation and my current car has xDrive :D
 
There is absolutely no way a diesel will not be even more of this, if that is genuinely what you think of the 440i.

the xDrive adds nothing and compromises the handling because you don't get the M Sport suspension with it.

If you really want a diesel convertible for relaxed cruising then a 4 Series is not a great car anyway, the interior isn't very nice, it isn't very refined and it doesn't suit the nature of the power delivery the diesel offers. You'd be better off looking at a 640d instead - this offers the level of quality and refinement that you could argue (but I'd still not want a diesel convertible) better suits the engine. It's also not xDrive, which is another advantage.

I am not anti diesel and I am not anti xDrive. I spent the last decade driving 3 litre BMW diesels of this generation and my current car has xDrive :D
I agree, the F3x 4 series is a bit love/hate and needs a good spec to be passable inside..

A well spec'd later 640d is nice, however, it's too long, especially the doors, Our VP of Ops has had a few now, and ended up back in a 5 series because of that. I've also tried the 840d as well, affordable now, but just too much for the miles I do, although I think the styling/interior is a notch up and feels more compact than a 6..

The 435d I drove had adaptive suspension, I was surprised when I popped in the menu and found I could select that under chassis (same as my F25 X3 that had adaptive suspension) and many advertised state "Adaptive M Sport Suspension" and/or "M Sport Suspension", and felt not too bad to me, however, on paper it might compromise certain aspects, but saying xDrive adds nothing is entirely down to your driving style, I will happily push cars to their limit and that extra traction on rough roads/camber changes/tight exits with a nice 4 wheel drift with your foot to the floor gains you big advantages on the roads.. If I was more track focussed and wanted that more subtle sharper experience then sure. In addition, does the 440i come with an LSD? The one I drove can't have had, it was snappy/remote and not remotely as forgiving/flattering as the E46.

But, I hear you, I am not quite sure I can bring myself to get a diesel convertible, or a 4 series even if I've had a good experience.. I'd have to do another round, maybe not with the E46 in tow as that in it's own right is a bumpy, clattery, raw experience that many couldn't handle, so anything modern that is refined feels oddly numb.
 
Could the answer be to swap the E46 M3 for... an E46 M3 that has SMG? Even better if you can get one that has had a lot of your future planned work already done...
 
Could the answer be to swap the E46 M3 for... an E46 M3 that has SMG? Even better if you can get one that has had a lot of your future planned work already done...
:) I Did think of that.
SMG's get a terrible rep for reliability and general clunkiness, after all it's the exact same gearbox as the manual with some hydraulics thrown on top to change gears for you. I had a go in a Phoenix Yellow M3 (odd colour that I used to hate, now looks OK!) with SMG and it was good on the move and pushing it, but slow traffic and cruising around normally and I had quite a few clunky/awkward moments when it would change to first and you are nodding your head or it just didn't seem to know what to do.. That one also went a bit wrong on a hot day and cost a fortune to repair, which was hard to find a speciailist that could deal with it.

But, if I'm not ready for something newer/refined/different, that is always an option..
 
Has anyone had their transmission fluid flushed and renewed on the 8spd auto? Be it the ZF or Aisin unit.

Is it worth doing as preventative maintenance after 7 years and 40K miles?
 
Has anyone had their transmission fluid flushed and renewed on the 8spd auto? Be it the ZF or Aisin unit.

Is it worth doing as preventative maintenance after 7 years and 40K miles?

I had mine done on a 2014 320d with 70k miles.

No metal contaminants were found in the oil.



Need to be done by someone with the tools to actually flush it, not just drain it, otherwise there’ll be a sizeable amount of leftover oil in the box.


Wouldn’t bother doing until 80k miles. If you’re finding it a little bit clunky, do a TCU reset.
 
Really sat on the fence if I should sell my E46 M3 Convertible..

I've had it 7 years and starting to just see it's flaws.. I spent £6k in parts and if that had full labour charges applied would be over £10k in work done since I've owned it as my plan was to get it in a very decent shape.
I know these are future classics, but I feel its that time to either get it 100% fresh and maybe spend another £5k+ on preemptive stuff, so some paint, rod bolts/bearings, head gasket, vanos rebuilt, a few minor age related niggles and then look if getting the boot floor reinforcement plates is worth it, then keep it for another 7 years.. However, the kicker in my case is I have nerve damage that affects my left leg and its getting worse, so some days I am in a lot of pain with the heavyish clutch and that stops me using it as much.. so even if I get this one spot on, I might not be able to enjoy it as much as I should.

I've put it up on Cutters for a slightly optimistic price (£12k) which maybe is a plea to just get no interest and keep it, but I had a go in an F33 435d XDrive thinking a convertible diesel makes no sense, but just jumped in and already having had the engine/box config in a previous X3 the Mrs had, it was immediately much more refined to drive, the adaptive suspension helped when cruising and the thing is as quick as my M3 in the main, so it made me pause for thought.

This one is up on AT at the moment, right colour, nice Perf styling bits, so is starting to tempt me..


I did look at an F33 M4 conevertible, but don't do enough miles (approx 2.5k a year) or need the running costs of an M4..

I did think that if I had somewhere I could store the M3 and keep it dry but still use it 2 or 3 times a month, I could just keep it and see what happens with pricing, it's a beautiful classic IMO and it's slightly pinned down price wise by tatty E9x M3s so may stay there a while, or if I spend a bit, you can definitely ask a premium..

This screams LCI E88 135i with DCT to me.


N55 engine which is gorgeous and fairly reliable, slightly newer but still hydraulic steering rack.


Not sure I’d go for an F3x platform and certainly not a diesel 4 series convertible.


The torque of the diesel will get old quick, and you’ll soon find it drives like a boat - the torque wears off quickly.
 
I had mine done on a 2014 320d with 70k miles.
No metal contaminants were found in the oil.

Need to be done by someone with the tools to actually flush it, not just drain it, otherwise there’ll be a sizeable amount of leftover oil in the box.
Wouldn’t bother doing until 80k miles. If you’re finding it a little bit clunky, do a TCU reset.

Thanks. Did you feel an improvement afterwards.. And was there an issue to begin with.

How much oil was required and how much was the labour cost if you don't mind me asking.

Mine is an Aisin(Toyota?) unit and feels like it running fine for the moment.


@leoncuprar

Good to hear. Same questions as above for you if you could.
 
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