BMW and M Power Owners

Dis86 · 6 Jan 2016 at 20:36

mjt said:
Maybe take it to a BMW or gearbox specialist who won't charge quite so much for diagnostics as BMW?

Yeah but the issue seems to be that it's a gamble whether bmw will replace it for the noise alone. So i could go somewhere else and pay less for them to say 'yeah the noise is a problem' and still not have bmw replace it.

Basically I want them to diagnose it for free...lol

[TW]Fox · 6 Jan 2016 at 21:02

Dis86 said:
It's simply put a whirr noise. It's fairly quiet until about 1500rpm at which point it becomes obtrusive.
Seems to affect all gears. Infact it's a similar noise to what you would normally hear if it's in reverse!

What I also want to avoid is paying BMW to diagnose something and then them going 'known problem, no replacement, here's the bill for our time'. The car's now just over 3 years old but I do have named component cover from BMW.

I can't understand why anyone bothers with named component, it isn't cheaper by enough of a margin to be worth it :confused:

Dis86 · 6 Jan 2016 at 21:11

[TW]Fox;29024636 said:
I can't understand why anyone bothers with named component, it isn't cheaper by enough of a margin to be worth it

Weirdly when I went to get the warranty it was! Only fifty more expensive than drivetrain but think it was one fifty to two hundred cheaper than full!

PAz · 6 Jan 2016 at 21:20

slick rick said:
The thermostats can fail which can lead to poor economy and failed DPF regens, they are not hard or expensive to replace.

Thank you - I'll check that out. The one's I'm looking at are approved used, so hopefully they will have some idea on this.

[TW]Fox · 6 Jan 2016 at 21:25

An approved used E61 sounds like it's going to cost rather more than anyone should still be spending on an E61..

shifty_uk · 6 Jan 2016 at 21:42

Jonny ///M said:
Deutschtek got back to me with £300inc vat same as the Clydebank place.

Either one suits me but think I'll try Deutschtek and see what happens.

Nice one. As I said, open and honest guys, always happy to help out - 2-3 week waiting time typically which says it all. Been a few occasions I've had to drop by for the quick fix or the car on the ramps for an inspection, despite always being run off their feet. Then again, I've lined their tills way more than I'd have liked over the years and seem to be on first name terms with everyone for the wrong reasons

PAz · 7 Jan 2016 at 10:44

[TW]Fox;29024752 said:
An approved used E61 sounds like it's going to cost rather more than anyone should still be spending on an E61..

really? it seems to be in line with the non approved ones on autotrader? around £12000.

alx · 7 Jan 2016 at 11:51

Quick question, is it worth putting a BMW warranty on a 2011 E92 325i with ~35,000 miles on the clock? From looking at the BMW warranty website it would be about £50 a month, but not really sure if that's good value or not considering it's a NA engine? (although other things could go wrong I know)

panthro · 7 Jan 2016 at 12:03

I wouldn't bother. Just bank the £50 a month and save it for maintenance if required.

[TW]Fox · 7 Jan 2016 at 12:13

alx said:
Quick question, is it worth putting a BMW warranty on a 2011 E92 325i with ~35,000 miles on the clock? From looking at the BMW warranty website it would be about £50 a month, but not really sure if that's good value or not considering it's a NA engine? (although other things could go wrong I know)

Excluding the M power stuff it's actually the most complex 6 cylinder N/A engine BMW have made. It has a high pressure lean burn direct injection system which on the plus side gives remarkable fuel efficiency but on the downside brings with it a number of risks. They are known for injection system problems. My Dad had a 525i years ago which needed an entirely new injection system at not insignificant cost. As a result it's generally considered that of the LCI 3 Series the 330d is probably the most reliable one!

Up to you whether you feel the warranty is worth it, though with a low mileage 3 Series it's possible to get the cost down to quite a lot amount by changing product types, excesses and leaving off emergency service.

alx · 7 Jan 2016 at 12:29

[TW]Fox;29026478 said:
Excluding the M power stuff it's actually the most complex 6 cylinder N/A engine BMW have made. It has a high pressure lean burn direct injection system which on the plus side gives remarkable fuel efficiency but on the downside brings with it a number of risks. They are known for injection system problems. My Dad had a 525i years ago which needed an entirely new injection system at not insignificant cost. As a result it's generally considered that of the LCI 3 Series the 330d is probably the most reliable one!

Up to you whether you feel the warranty is worth it, though with a low mileage 3 Series it's possible to get the cost down to quite a lot amount by changing product types, excesses and leaving off emergency service.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

If I remove emergency service and just do named component it drops it to less than £40 a month which isn't too bad for peace of mind.

It's a slightly odd situation in that it's my mates car, but he's going travelling for 9-10 months and doesn't necessarily want to sell it so he suggested he remains the owner and I become the registered keeper and run it as my main car while he is away. I've been meaning to get a new car for a while so this seems like best of both worlds, drive the car but without the outlay of purchasing it.

[TW]Fox · 7 Jan 2016 at 12:38

Don't forget that if you'd buy breakdown cover anyway, Emergency Service is a good deal at 7 quid a month - especially as it's a fully featured package with onward travel, hire cars, etc.

panthro · 7 Jan 2016 at 12:42

[TW]Fox;29026589 said:
Don't forget that if you'd buy breakdown cover anyway, Emergency Service is a good deal at 7 quid a month - especially as it's a fully featured package with onward travel, hire cars, etc.

Definitely agree with that.

alx · 7 Jan 2016 at 12:43

[TW]Fox;29026589 said:
Don't forget that if you'd buy breakdown cover anyway, Emergency Service is a good deal at 7 quid a month - especially as it's a fully featured package with onward travel, hire cars, etc.

I already have breakdown cover via my bank account otherwise I would have got it - as you say it's a good deal for £7 a month with all that it includes.

SpeedFreak · 8 Jan 2016 at 15:05

Picked up a replacement bit of hexagonal trim from ebay. When I bought the car I knew the left passenger piece was marked which bugs me every time I look at it. Second hand for £28 delivered in very good condition. I did see the anthracite on there for £340 for the whole set which was tempting but with that colour it is very hard to tell condition from the pictures.

rodenal · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:09

I'm going round in circles trying to find a car, gave up on an e91, looked at some others but have decided I simply don't 'want' any sort of Mondeo which is probably the best thing I've tried so far meaning I'm just about back at square one.

I've even found myself looking at e61 pre lci's.....a car I never really liked, with a crap looking interior(though the advanced climate panel helps a bunch).

I definitely don't want:

Octavia, any a6 I can buy for the money with sensible mileage, Mondeo, Accord, any ovlov

I would quite like but can't find:

A C280 estate

Sort of half considering a b7 A4 but a decent tfsi (or I suppose 3.0tdi) is a lot of money for what is now a very old design.

Feels like either I just need to get over spending £8ish k on a 9 year old car with about 100k, spend more money or just accept that I can't really biy anything I actually want and purchase a Mondeo

I honestly would just like another (estate) BMW, but perhaps I just can't get one I would want for the money

...in short find me a nice n52 engined car and put me out of my misery, or convince me I should buy a stinky diesel LCI e61

xs2man · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:56

If a diesel estate is what you want, you just have to find the money to buy one really. Not a fan of the e61 really, but I would have one if that's what the budget allowed. There are far worse cars out there. I'd I'd also be happy with the 3.0 TDI in the BMW (less so in the Audi).

That being said, I did find the mk4 Modeo not too bad when I was looking at them for a second car a few months ago. I obviously went with the Alhambra as a more practical family motor, but I'm quite sure I would have been happy enough with the Mondeo.

Given the choice of a "nice", high spec, relatively new Mondeo or an older, lower spec e61 / e91, with higher miles, I think I'd go with the Mondeo personally (unless I was stretching into LCI e91's). But hey, I'm not "really" a badge snob (I'm not suggesting you are BTW).

DON'T go for the Merc though. They are just rank. Zero redeeming features as far as I could tell.

rodenal · 8 Jan 2016 at 17:09

Nah I "want" a petrol 6, ideally in an e91. I have never ever been an e61 fan at all but there is pretty much nothing out there that I actually want to buy as it stands. Considering diesels and the 5 series just means there's a slightly higher chance of finding something in reasonable condition with good history, though the likelihood is you'll end up with a slightly older car.

I have a major issue spending £8k(+) on something without a good history and reasonably well specced. There are a myriad of ads around that seem to suggest leather=good specification and no one seemed to spec advanced climate on a pre LCI e61 which really makes anmassive difference imo (though cheaply retrofittable)

The Mondeo was fine, in fact it was good but honestly, I just don't really want one and I'm not spending the money on something I don't care about. The odd 2.5t estate pops up at not a lot of cash which might make that feeling a bit better - it's not so much a badge thing there is just something about a rwd 6 that feels quite right for me.

I like the C despite the interior, have driven a few but tbh there are literally no 280 estates around.

Budget is a funny one, I guess I could put another couple of £k in but it doesn't buy a significantly better or newer car and I'm not stretching any further than that given nothing I'm likely to buy is going to be particularly cheap to run (which is fine and what I'm used to)

xs2man · 8 Jan 2016 at 17:20

Well, then you just to pay to play I'm afraid. It's all well and good saying you don't want to pay that extra couple grand, because it'll still be 9 years old, and around 100k, but if that's their price, you either pay it, or you buy something you don't REALLY want.

[TW]Fox · 8 Jan 2016 at 17:21

Buy a W211.

Best bet at that money IMHO. The E61 is, as you already know, thoroughly underwhelming, the Audi A6 is bland, the W211 is wonderful.