BMW and M Power Owners

That wheel looks awesome :) Jack at Royal Steering Wheels did my E30 M Tech 2 wheel too! Also half perforated (but black stitching instead). He also did my gear knob to match. I've had them for months now and used them daily, look as good as the day they were done. I agree it wont be anywhere near as durable as the OEM finish but I think it will last okay if taken care of. Also for the money you cant argue with it.

Luckily for me there were no air bags or any of that nonsense to worry about so fitting was a breeze. ;)
 
That wheel looks great Vox, really do like that and REALLY need to get mine down as it's letting the interior down in a big way!

How are you chaps finding that perforated finish? I like the look of it but I imagine it'd be a pain to keep clean?
 
Atari said:
How are you chaps finding that perforated finish? I like the look of it but I imagine it'd be a pain to keep clean?
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The perforated finish is lovely, it feels great in the hand, looks the business (I reckon) and eventually I would expect it to hide wear and tear better than the smooth nappa leather will (my assumption is yet to be confirmed).

I haven't found the perforations to harbour muck or anything like that since I have had it. Although I wouldn't be driving my car with oily hands etc so I can only vouch for the dirt expected from day to day usage.

Very happy with my decision to go half perforated. :)
 
You also have the option to change the padding thickness on your wheel. This padding will be replaced while it is being releathered either way.
It is quite common for people to choose to have their wheel slightly thicker. I'm not sure why, maybe a comfort thing. I kept mine the same thickness as OEM as I think BMW nailed that the first time around. But just another factor for you to think about.
 
In a quandary, looking at a slightly older than 12 month 120d M Sport for roughly £19k. It doesn't have a lot of optional extras (cruise control and rear parking sensors) but I'm not fussed over a lot of the other extras. My local dealer is offering it on BMWs PCP with an effective APR of 7.5%, which sounds a pretty decent rate! The gf thinks it's a lot of money, which it is, but then that does still have 4 years free servicing, 2 years factory warranty, and 3 years tyre and alloy insurance.

Is the 120d M Sport worth that and not owning the car at the end (I have no intention of paying the balloon payment after 4 years...) Would a comparable 120i be substantially cheaper?
 
Hmmm, careful, you appear to be falling for the salesmans patter. It probably doesn’t come with wheel and tyre insurance – they are extra products at extra cost which the dealerships earn significant commission on. So what they’ve really done is, I would guess, reduced the price of the car by enough to ‘include’ these products. You would be better off with actual discount instead of these products which are not really worth it.

Next, 7.3% isn’t that great a rate - you can borrow at 4.3% from the bank which would almost halve your finance costs.
 
Haha, that's why I've posted here! Apparently without the tyre and alloy insurance it would be c£10-£12 a month cheaper on payments.

For a £19k loan I'm seeing APRs of 5.7%/5.8% on Money Saving Expert. My bank for a similar loan would actually be 7.8%, which is why I though 7.5% sounded good.
 
I do, the BMW would be with a deposit, the loan would be the loan, possibly my own as well. It's mainly because lenders tend to give the representative example at £10k :D

Edit: £10k is also towards the limit of what I consider an acceptable monthly payment (c£300).
 
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I'd personally be far more comfortable borrowing the £10k over 3-4 years at 4.1-4.5% and putting even a little bit of my own money into the car.

The last thing you want is to be in significant negative equity straight away (which would be very likely to be the case with the newish 1 series).

It's the difference between paying £500 and £1500+ in interest alone that I can't / couldn't stomach
 
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rare said:
I understand the reasons why, but 19 grand on a 120d is so much money for something so average.
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This was useful, I'm coming from a terrible car so everything seems great, good to know the 120d is average! £10k + something extra seems the way to go then by general opinion.
 
It just seems like an awful lot of money for a car who's experience you could replicate for a great deal less. Do you need a diesel? What sort of mileage do you do?
 
I have absolutely no need for a diesel other than I like them! About the only thing I want is the versatility of a hatchback, which swayed me away from the 3 series. The gf also preferred the looks of the 1. Saying that she doesn't like BMW at all, the 1 series was also to sweeten the deal for her :D
 
Pudney said:
I have absolutely no need for a diesel other than I like them!
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What is there to like about the 2 litre diesel other than fuel efficiency? It's got an annoying powerband, it's not particularly refined and it's a chore to drive with a manual gearbox. The 2 litre turbo petrol in the 120i is a far more pleasant engine.
 
I've grown up driving diesels mostly, I'm used to their power delivery. But I'm not saying I have to have a diesel, I just like them.
 
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