BMW and M Power Owners

[TW]Fox;29514071 said:
Interestingly my Mum just got an E89 and I'm really impressed with it. It's a massive step forward from her E85 and the interior is a genuinely nice place to be rather than a cheap plastic mess in the previous model. A solid upgrade. Just make sure you get one with Navigation and Cruise as neither are standard.
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I am instantly ignoring anything without Nav, CC I can happily live without as I've always hated it. Also DCT is a must for me (unless you say otherwise?)

But yep I concur with your thoughts, shame most cars in my budget have such lame alloys, I'm in no hurry so will wait for a decent example with type 326s on it, although having said that I'm guessing prices will rise over the summer?
 
[TW]Fox;29513953 said:
Your warranty excess is only applicable to a warranty claim - whatever happens you're paying for a regas outside of the warranty.

£250 excess was a mistake, it's the worst option :( Generally £100 excess offers the best value, £250 only seems to save money if you claim 0 times over a year and if thats the case the best option was no warranty anyway :p

You need more than 2 claims for £0 to be cheapest.
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With the £250 excess I'm still up on a £100 excess only having 1 claim per year. My logic with that excess is on a newish car the chances of me having to claim were slim, it's more there for my peace of mind should something big happen (actuators, complete engine failure).
 
You've prompted me to spreadsheet this :p

Findings..

No claims a year - £250 is cheapest
1 claims a year - £100/£250 break even point
2 claims a year - £0/£100 break even point
More than 2 claims a year - £0 cheapest

Guess you can interpret this in many ways :D Summary seems to be if you doubt you'll claim but want peace of mind, go £250. If you think you'll claim once or twice, £100 is the best option, if you have an unreliable POS, go £0 :D
 
bash247 said:
Hey BMW owners,

I'm planning to upgrade to an e93 over the next couple months coming from a clio 182.

I have a budget of £8,000-£9,000 and was wondering if I could get a tidy one at this price range. I've seen plenty on a 07-09 plate with about 60-80k on the clock.

Any comments of what to look out for; engine, reliability etc would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance :)

EDIT: Forgot to mention that im looking for a 325 which I believe is a 3.0l.
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I got the exact same car in February. Its an 08 plate e93 325i M-Sport and had 60k on the clock when I bought it. Its so nice to drive I'm now on about 65k miles. There were a couple of small and very common niggles sorted out by the dealer (headlight washer stalks, handbrake needed tightening.... twice) but otherwise its been reliable. I paid £9500 and it is VERY tidy, a few small stone chips as you would expect for the age but mechanically sound and has never been serviced anywhere but BMW.

Generally the N52/N53 (non turbo) cars are known to be pretty solid. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one :cool:
 
The N53 isn't known for being pretty solid at all, it's known for problems with its high pressure injection system. The N52 is fairly solid and is not direct injection but none of the E93's are N52's.

An N52 engined 630i is probably a less hassle buy at this sort of money.
 
I initially was looking at a 6 series but the cost of insurance is ridiculously high, £2.5k for fully comp (nearly 25, with 4 years no claims and a license for 5 years)

I will keep an eye out over the next month or so and will create a thread about your opinions. Thanks chaps for the help. :)
 
Will Gill said:
Yo lads, toying with a minor upgrade from my gay 3.0si to a gay 3.5i or maybe a gay 3.5is

budget is around 18k and the car has to remain gay, there appears to be one 35is at an oddly low price:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2010-BMW-...397738?hash=item3f603aacea:g:DDYAAOSwsN9XBRd0

or various 3.5i with lower mileage etc..

what should I buy?

kisses xxx
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I bought a 35is a couple of months ago after searching around since last summer.

Please do not buy that car. It's been on and off Autotrader, Ebay and the likes since July last year. I know because I recognise the pictures and the plate - I enquired about it.

It's been in to BMW several times after having a front end crash repaired. New bumper, bonnet and wings fitted but lingering radiator and turbo issues. It's a mine field, there are much better examples around.

Like Fox says, for £18k you'll be better off getting a decent 35i that has been looked after. Navigation is a must, the interior looks nicer for it and iDrive is an awesome system. Your budget should get you a nice 2010 35i with less than 50k on it, most of the toys.

326Ms are the best wheel, Advanced Loudspeaker is worth it over standard (but still not a "great" stereo) and I think parking sensors are required. Fairly sure parking sensors are standard on a 35i. For me the DCT box is the one to go for, but there is the understandable argument about a sports car needing a manual.

If you go and look at one, check the wheels for cracks. The Style 296 are pretty bad for it and getting them fixed under warranty is a ball ache. 326M known to crack but much less likely. Also have a look at rear light clusters for condensation - dodgy seals on the early units can lead to failures, BMW warranty will replace free of charge assuming the lights aren't damaged.

I've found prices for the 35i/35is fall £1-2k once summer is over, BMW main dealers will charge £1-2k more than private (obviously).
 
I bought a fully loaded used approved 2012 z4 28i 20k miles from bmw last year for 19000.i know it's slightly slower than the 35 but why on earth buy a car of that price with 60k plus
 
dk345 said:
I bought a 35is a couple of months ago after searching around since last summer.

Please do not buy that car. It's been on and off Autotrader, Ebay and the likes since July last year. I know because I recognise the pictures and the plate - I enquired about it.

It's been in to BMW several times after having a front end crash repaired. New bumper, bonnet and wings fitted but lingering radiator and turbo issues. It's a mine field, there are much better examples around.

Like Fox says, for £18k you'll be better off getting a decent 35i that has been looked after. Navigation is a must, the interior looks nicer for it and iDrive is an awesome system. Your budget should get you a nice 2010 35i with less than 50k on it, most of the toys.

326Ms are the best wheel, Advanced Loudspeaker is worth it over standard (but still not a "great" stereo) and I think parking sensors are required. Fairly sure parking sensors are standard on a 35i. For me the DCT box is the one to go for, but there is the understandable argument about a sports car needing a manual.

If you go and look at one, check the wheels for cracks. The Style 296 are pretty bad for it and getting them fixed under warranty is a ball ache. 326M known to crack but much less likely. Also have a look at rear light clusters for condensation - dodgy seals on the early units can lead to failures, BMW warranty will replace free of charge assuming the lights aren't damaged.

I've found prices for the 35i/35is fall £1-2k once summer is over, BMW main dealers will charge £1-2k more than private (obviously).
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Awesome feedback and well and truly made my mind up about the decision, hopefully might stop anyone else falling into a potential trap :cool:

I'm not discounting the 35is but if I get one I'll up my budget to 25k ish where I'd feel safer and all the cars in that price bracket have less pitfalls, just need to decide if the price hike is actually worth it or whether I just get a well sorted 35i and chip it as they are (from what I understand) the same engine in a different state of tune.

this one looks like a potentially safer bet, but is it worth the hike over say this one

first world problems eh? :p
 
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