BMW and M Power Owners

J1nxy · 29 Mar 2015 at 15:45

How are you searching?? There are well over 100 cars in the AUC system for 640d GCs? and 30 odd which are under 40K

From experience of these cars I'd not be bothered by getting VDC as whilst its a mild change to the cars handling/ride its not a night and day change and knowing people who have it and have changed either to or from cars with its not a worth while option.

The basic system in the 6GC is not bad, but the BMW Advanced or HK system are a worth while upgrade over that system if you can get it. HUD is brilliant so would want that but be aware the newer cars with the NBT iDrive have an improved version of the HUD as well.

I'd also look for a revised car with the updates such as the NBT iDrive and new style wheel as there are some subtle changes inside the car that when you sit in them back to back are quite noticeable, such as the contrast stitched dash.

If you can find a car with the M Sport Plus pack (HUD, HK System, 20" wheels & Multifunction dash) on its then thats a great start as other than that the reversing camera or surround camera system everything else is pretty much standard or nice to haves. Having had the M235i which was fully loaded the couple of options my 640d doesn't have that did I don't honestly miss.

Also look at new they are throwing around some silly deals at the moment due to the facelift coming so it might work out less expensive than you think...I know mine did with it costing not a great deal more than a used one would have.

HEADRAT · 29 Mar 2015 at 16:44

Thanks for the pointers, when did the NBT iDrive come in, is there any easy way to identify this when looking at cars on the AUC website?

J1nxy · 29 Mar 2015 at 17:11

Easiest way is normally the revised steering wheel as that came in with the NBT I drive. You won't always have the touch controller as that didn't come in until the MY15 cars

-Mike- · 29 Mar 2015 at 17:27

I'm going to get told no I think but I'd like opinions on the 1 series BMW if possible?

Petrol engine and either the 118 or 120 of 2007/2008 vintage. Can anyone offer any advice? Are they reliable etc? I know from previous threads on here a lot of people say they are cheaply built etc but I sat in one and quite liked it.

Thanks

rodenal · 29 Mar 2015 at 17:34

If you can accept they're just an entry level bmw and so are pretty much built to look premium, despite not really being so plus the lack of space for the class (not really a criticism, I don't mind the 1) then they're not the worst car in the world.

But then again I'd only ever consider a 6 cylinder car, when you start going down the 4 cylinder range the drive becomes far less interesting plus there are reliability issues creeping in. You'll also find the spec tends to be borderline terrible on these cars. I'd quite honestly rather have something like a 1.4tsi golf or potentially an A3.

Depends why you want one, the civic is a much safer bet than a 4 cylinder 1'er

-Mike- · 29 Mar 2015 at 19:17

rodenal said:
If you can accept they're just an entry level bmw and so are pretty much built to look premium, despite not really being so plus the lack of space for the class (not really a criticism, I don't mind the 1) then they're not the worst car in the world.

But then again I'd only ever consider a 6 cylinder car, when you start going down the 4 cylinder range the drive becomes far less interesting plus there are reliability issues creeping in. You'll also find the spec tends to be borderline terrible on these cars. I'd quite honestly rather have something like a 1.4tsi golf or potentially an A3.

Depends why you want one, the civic is a much safer bet than a 4 cylinder 1'er

Bored of the Civic mate. Its ok...... don't get me wrong! Went with a friend to look at a 123d the other day but thankfully he did some research before putting down a deposit as they apparently suffer with timing chains.

I want something with a bit more power, and while the Hondas are fantastically reliable 140hp is the limit bar the type R which drinks a lot of fuel! Sure I could get the 2.2 remapped, but then I'd be on eggshells with the clutch!

rodenal · 29 Mar 2015 at 20:10

But then the only petrol that would be worth getting from a 1 series hatch point of view would be the 130 anyway - the 120 is a waste of time if you want an actual power bump you will notice

[TW]Fox · 29 Mar 2015 at 22:46

Mike19 said:
I'm going to get told no I think but I'd like opinions on the 1 series BMW if possible?

Petrol engine and either the 118 or 120 of 2007/2008 vintage. Can anyone offer any advice? Are they reliable etc? I know from previous threads on here a lot of people say they are cheaply built etc but I sat in one and quite liked it.

Thanks

I would buy a Golf instead as it's just a better cheap hatchback than a 1 Series.

Simon · 29 Mar 2015 at 22:57

These BMW M pens (carbon) are expensive.

-Mike- · 29 Mar 2015 at 23:04

[TW]Fox;27845229 said:
I would buy a Golf instead as it's just a better cheap hatchback than a 1 Series.

Spec me a golf? Has to be petrol

Bradmax57 · 29 Mar 2015 at 23:07

Mike19 said:
Spec me a golf? Has to be petrol

GTI?

-Mike- · 29 Mar 2015 at 23:59

Bradmax57 said:
GTI?

Good shout, perhaps that or a VRS. I shall get researching

Thanks

MoRT489 · 30 Mar 2015 at 09:28

MoRT489 said:
I'm looking to buy an X3 20d with approx 30k miles on the clock and will likely drive it up to 6k miles p.a. If doing only short journeys (car will never be above 40mph) do I need to worry about the diesel particulate filter (DPF) blocking/sooting up and failing or would this only be relevant once I get to a high mileage, say 75k miles?

Minstadave said:
It sounds about the worst possible usage for a diesel with a DPF.

Any more thoughts on this from anyone? Is there a way to force the regen cycle below 40mph, e.g. high revs? Is it really a concern at such low mileage and usage?

Spangles · 30 Mar 2015 at 10:25

Mike19 said:
I'm going to get told no I think but I'd like opinions on the 1 series BMW if possible?

Petrol engine and either the 118 or 120 of 2007/2008 vintage. Can anyone offer any advice? Are they reliable etc? I know from previous threads on here a lot of people say they are cheaply built etc but I sat in one and quite liked it.

Thanks

I would look at getting a diesel to be honest. The 120d's go really, really well. They are a bit nosier but we have one that we use at work, and it gets driven quite harshly, and is still sitting at around 40mpg. Driven a few different petrol ones and for some reason they seem to be lacking a bit.

xs2man · 30 Mar 2015 at 10:32

I would agree with that. I would much prefer the drive of a 120d over a 120i. Sure, there are uses that wouldn't be great for the 120d, but overall, I think I would much prefer the diesel.

MoRT489 said:
Any more thoughts on this from anyone? Is there a way to force the regen cycle below 40mph, e.g. high revs? Is it really a concern at such low mileage and usage?

In this instance, however, I can't see why you would buy the diesel? If the car isn't really going above 40 mph, and it's only doing 6k pa, then why buy the diesel? They aren't really much more efficient at town speeds, so unless there just isn't a petrol variant available, I can't really understand picking the diesel.

rodenal · 30 Mar 2015 at 10:49

Spangles said:
I would look at getting a diesel to be honest. The 120d's go really, really well. They are a bit nosier but we have one that we use at work, and it gets driven quite harshly, and is still sitting at around 40mpg. Driven a few different petrol ones and for some reason they seem to be lacking a bit.

Would you really want to take the risk with one at the kind of money we will be talking about here though? They're not exactly a world away power or delivery wise from his existing Civic. I wouldn't take the chance - I could honestly only bring myself to buy a 130i, or at an absolute push a 123d (assuming the budget stretches) and hope for the best.

Myshra · 30 Mar 2015 at 11:24

MoRT489 said:
I'm looking to buy an X3 20d with approx 30k miles on the clock and will likely drive it up to 6k miles p.a. If doing only short journeys (car will never be above 40mph) do I need to worry about the diesel particulate filter (DPF) blocking/sooting up and failing or would this only be relevant once I get to a high mileage, say 75k miles?

If you're hell bent on this you should assume the cost of the car is inclusive of a new DPF because that speed / miles is extremely likely to ruin it. The regenerations come in different types, you can do a passive/light one just by driving at speed constantly (so motorway drivers) or a forced one where the ecu ups the exhaust temp (ecu-forced lets say) but both of these take time, much more than a short journey typically will be. What you'll likely end up with is a lot of ecu-forced attempts and then eventually the warning light will come up and you'll have to go into the garage for the garage special edition regen that they can do with the diagnostic system they have. this might work, or you might need a new DPF depending on how far along it is. I would highly advise against this engine for this milage when the other options exist. It's not just the possibility of the DPF going but the time lost in fixing it etc...

MoRT489 · 30 Mar 2015 at 13:03

Problem is, in all their wisdom BMW decided not to release a petrol variant of the X3 in the UK :mad:

and the speed limit in Jersey in 40mph, no motorways. However, I'll probably drive it on the mainland for 2-4 weeks each year so can motorway drive it then to do some passive regens.

Is it speed that is the important factor in a DPF regen or revs, as I can drive it up and down the coast in 1st gear for 20 mins every couple of weeks if it this will sort it? Maintaining a constant speed any other way will be impossible on the island.

Edit: Also is the build up likely to be any worse on the larger 30d than the 20d?

pepsilol · 30 Mar 2015 at 13:10

It's a constant high speed for a particular amount of time on the Jag. Something like driving it at 70 mph for 15 minutes. I don't think it's a case of hammering it to ge tthe soot out.

xs2man · 30 Mar 2015 at 15:32

MoRT489 said:
Problem is, in all their wisdom BMW decided not to release a petrol variant of the X3 in the UK and the speed limit in Jersey in 40mph, no motorways. However, I'll probably drive it on the mainland for 2-4 weeks each year so can motorway drive it then to do some passive regens.

Is it speed that is the important factor in a DPF regen or revs, as I can drive it up and down the coast in 1st gear for 20 mins every couple of weeks if it this will sort it? Maintaining a constant speed any other way will be impossible on the island.

Edit: Also is the build up likely to be any worse on the larger 30d than the 20d?

Doesn't sound like the X3 is the right car for you then. X5 with petrol engine? Or Audi Q5 maybe? Or gut out the DPF?