BMW and M Power Owners

I need to get my MOT done soon, as it is a 2003 3 series would you say it's fine to take it to anyone besides quikfit?

I also got my notice for the airbag recall, I'm tempted to get BMW to do the MOT at the same time (or is this an expensive idea).
 
So I've committed to the M135i, it doesn't have a huge amount of options on it but I'm happy with what is has

Eager to get it now and start having some fun, looks like it will be the end of next week
 
howler said:
So I've committed to the M135i, it doesn't have a huge amount of options on it but I'm happy with what is has

Eager to get it now and start having some fun, looks like it will be the end of next week
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An excellent choice, I absolutely love mine. It's only 8 weeks old and has already been on one track day, plus I treated it to a few laps of the Nurburgring on the weekend just gone. It's obviously not especially track focussed, and not as capable on the track as a "proper" M car, but it's a flippin' hoot all the same!
 
I do quite fancy trying to get to a couple of track days and I'm already thinking about going to the ring in September

For me it is the perfect compromise between an "M" car and something comfortable. I can happily drive it to work like a normal car but I've got the ability to give it a good thrashing when I want to
 
almoststew1990 said:
I need to get my MOT done soon, as it is a 2003 3 series would you say it's fine to take it to anyone besides quikfit?

I also got my notice for the airbag recall, I'm tempted to get BMW to do the MOT at the same time (or is this an expensive idea).
Click to expand...

To be fair to Krap Fit, you get good and bad in all garages from fast fit through to main dealers, fwiw, I had my old 1997 ~270k mile 528i mot'd at Krap Fit 3years back and they passed it with no advisories at all!

My advice would be see if your local council has an MOT test centre and use it.

When I mot'd my last e46 at my council depot, the headlight alignment was out yet instead of failing it, he simply adjusted the beam there & then!

Alternately, find somewhere that just does mot's and therefore has no incentive to find reasons to fail the car.
 
So think we've found the car for my gf. As suggested earlier in the thread, ive told her to get the petrol rather than the diesel.

BMW 1 Series. 1.6 116i ES
62k miles
Service history
Years MOT
Years warranty

£4,500

Picking it up tomorrow.

Anything i should last minute check before buying?

Its not my cup of tea, but im just looking forward to the gf's stopping moaning (for a few days) :D
 
Is there a reason why you've chosen this model? The engine in the 116i is very poor and underpowered (and not underpowered in a LOL IT HASNT GOT 300BHP kinda way, actuall underpowered) and as a result actually has a LOWER official fuel economy figure than the 118i, which is superior in every way.

Did you consider anything else because the 1 Series is probably the last 1.6 litre hatchback I'd consider for £4500.
 
Originally she wanted a Civic but after driving one she didn't like it, then she said she wants a 1 Series because "my friends got one, it looks really pretty" what? then we had a test drive in the 2ltr diesel i think it was, and she really liked it so has been set on once since.

The performance isn't really a big deal, its just to drive short journeys and sit in traffic. Maye a few 50 mile round trips every now and then.

The reason to pick this one, is mainly due to the condition, its really really good condition and the others we've looked at have been a bit tatty imo.

Before parting with the cash ill take it for a spin, is the engine really that bad in the 1.6?
 
Scania said:
To be fair to Krap Fit, you get good and bad in all garages from fast fit through to main dealers, fwiw, I had my old 1997 ~270k mile 528i mot'd at Krap Fit 3years back and they passed it with no advisories at all!
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In the end I went for my local BMW garage that I have used for a few things; £53 for the MOT compared to Kwik Fit's £30. He said they were reasonable when doing MOTs and adjusted the headlights if they were out etc (even so I'm not particularly hopeful as it is a bit of a lemon).

I also inquired about the Inspection II as that is coming up soon. £295 sound reasonable?
 
I'm tempted to cancel my Golf R Estate and get a LCI 335D xDrive Touring instead.

Lease Price
£350 per month inc VAT x 23
£1k intial payment
8k miles

http://www.nationwidevehiclecontrac...model-335d-xdrive-m-sport-step-auto-65919.htm

The only thing stopping me is the standard kit on the car is rubbish, I would need to add M-Sport Plus Pack and Sun Protection which adds £120 a month to the lease price.

The total cost of the 335D with options over the Golf R is nearly £3k
 
The new generation 3-series is a fairly poor quality product, i really wouldnt want to spend anything like the cost of that lease on one personally. Look at RGTom's post above, its a 1-series based car these days in terms of fitment :(
 
Went to test drive the new Mondeo Estate on Wednesday. It was the Titanium version with 19" alloys and with the 150bhp diesel engine.

They are seriously pitching this up against the BMW series! Well this sales person was.

To be honest not driven a 5 series as yet, but the Mondeo is a serious step up in quality and drive however I did think the sales person has been reading the wrong brochure and confusing the Vignale which is due out soon as although the interior and drive was nice I would even say the 3 series is a much better option.

I must say however for new company car driver, I am swayed towards the mondeo only due to £ vs options when comparing to BMW equivalent.

Just wondering if anyone has driven both and can compare?
 
GinG said:
Went to test drive the new Mondeo Estate on Wednesday. It was the Titanium version with 19" alloys and with the 150bhp diesel engine.

They are seriously pitching this up against the BMW series! Well this sales person was.

To be honest not driven a 5 series as yet, but the Mondeo is a serious step up in quality and drive however I did think the sales person has been reading the wrong brochure and confusing the Vignale which is due out soon as although the interior and drive was nice I would even say the 3 series is a much better option.

I must say however for new company car driver, I am swayed towards the mondeo only due to £ vs options when comparing to BMW equivalent.

Just wondering if anyone has driven both and can compare?
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I haven't driven the latest all-new Mondeo, but I drove the previous version (140hp 2l diesel) as a company car then when I changed got the E91 320d. The Mondeo was a great car, large, comfortable, good handling for such a large car, but IMO the 320d was a major step up in terms of dynamics and I also felt build quality was better (the Mondeo began to rattle in places from about 55k miles onwards, the BMW was on 100k when I returned it and I never got a single squeak or rattle in the whole time), but I sacrificed a lot of space. Again, my opinion, but I didn't find it any less comfortable in the front, although the back was a smaller space and definitely less comfortable for 3 than the Mondeo.

Am I right in thinking that this is job you've only just started, and you negotiated a car allowance as part of your deal? If so, why are they now asking you to change to a company car?
 
Thanks Havana, the newer Mondeo seems a set up again from the previous Mondeo and drove well but I think FWD vs RWD the BMW is always going to win on driving dynamics.

Yes this is the new job with the car allowance. However it seems the allowance was only a temporary thing to let me settle into the job. We have a new product launch coming up and will mean my milege will significantly increase, and I think the company car will be better for us both.
 
SDK^ said:
I'm tempted to cancel my Golf R Estate and get a LCI 335D xDrive Touring instead.
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me too, ex boss has just took delivery of one in basic spec, will drop by for a look

ticks the boxes for me - estate size, 4wd and a bit of poke but essentially £55 more a month over the golf R
 
is it normal for bonnets to get quite warm after a bit of driving? ive not had a larger engine car before, biggest 1.6L so have never noticed it. when it was raining yesterday there was steam coming of the bonnet and when i got home it was hot to touch.

car is e92 330i. I had a bit of a panic but the temp dial was showing as normal.

I know the heat has to go somewhere but was not expecting a hot bonnet.
 
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