Buying a BMW 340i Touring - confused about the specs listed?

Draeger

Draeger

Draeger

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Hi all,

I'm in the market for a pre-owned M340i Touring. Looking at the MHT preferably rather than an earlier non-MHT I think so a late 2020 onwards example I think. Been looking online at what is available and I am a little confused about what all the optional spec packs listed contain.

For example, I see 'Comfort Pack' and 'Comfort Plus Packs' as well as 'Comfort Access Pack'. Same for 'Tech Pack', there also appears to be a 'Tech Plus Pack'. What comes with a Comfort Plus Pack' over and above a 'normal' Comfort Pack?

There are also on some cars advertised, mentions of 'Deletes'. I read on the spec of one car (and I might be a little inaccurate with my wording here) that it had 'iDrive touch controls delete' and I think 'Lumbar (width) adjustment delete' as well as 'wireless charging delete'. Why would you want to delete touch controls or wireless charging? I currently own a little E85 Z4 2.5 as a weekend car and prior to that the last BMW I owned was an E53 X5 4.8is - back then there was nowhere near the plethora of options packs available to work out! :D

With the M340i Touring being fairly thin on the ground as used examples go (Autotrader currently has only 35 examples listed for sale) I want to get the best spec for my budget which is around £45k (ish) so it would be handy to know what the pack specs all actually mean. I'm popping into my local BMW dealer next week to have a chat so should get some info there, but all they currently have locally to me is saloon versions, I want a Touring for the luggage space as I regularly go mountain biking with my lad and find externally mounted bike racks a bit of a faff. In the meantime is there somewhere online I can look at to see what all the pack differences actually mean?

Cheers.
 
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For these age cars you should find suitable year brochures and price lists available as PDF downloads, that'll give you the run down on what different packs include. Simply googling stuff like '2020 bmw 3 series brochure pdf' normally finds something relevant, just keep an eye on whether it's UK or not.

I expect random 'deletions' like that are the result of semi conductor shortages, rather than the choice of the buyer.
 
Comfort Plus package is the Comfort Package (Comfort Access, heated steering wheel and a luggage pack) plus electric memory seats.

Technology Pack Plus is Technology Pack (Head up display, upgraded stereo) plus driver assistant plus (adaptive cruise, blind spot alert, rear cross traffic alert, parking assistant plus).

The delete options were removed as a result of the chip shortage problem. Consequently, most idrive controllers don't have the useless touch functionality and wireless charging is usually not fitted.
 
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Draeger said:
Hi all,

I'm in the market for a pre-owned M340i Touring. Looking at the MHT preferably rather than an earlier non-MHT I think so a late 2020 onwards example I think. Been looking online at what is available and I am a little confused about what all the optional spec packs listed contain.

For example, I see 'Comfort Pack' and 'Comfort Plus Packs' as well as 'Comfort Access Pack'. Same for 'Tech Pack', there also appears to be a 'Tech Plus Pack'. What comes with a Comfort Plus Pack' over and above a 'normal' Comfort Pack?

There are also on some cars advertised, mentions of 'Deletes'. I read on the spec of one car (and I might be a little inaccurate with my wording here) that it had 'iDrive touch controls delete' and I think 'Lumbar (width) adjustment delete' as well as 'wireless charging delete'. Why would you want to delete touch controls or wireless charging? I currently own a little E85 Z4 2.5 as a weekend car and prior to that the last BMW I owned was an E53 X5 4.8is - back then there was nowhere near the plethora of options packs available to work out! :D

With the M340i Touring being fairly thin on the ground as used examples go (Autotrader currently has only 35 examples listed for sale) I want to get the best spec for my budget which is around £45k (ish) so it would be handy to know what the pack specs all actually mean. I'm popping into my local BMW dealer next week to have a chat so should get some info there, but all they currently have locally to me is saloon versions, I want a Touring for the luggage space as I regularly go mountain biking with my lad and find externally mounted bike racks a bit of a faff. In the meantime is there somewhere online I can look at to see what all the pack differences actually mean?

Cheers.
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Another one to consider is the 4 series gran coupe, it sits between the saloon and the touring in terms of load space (it's a big hatch instead of the stupid saloon boot, so might be big enough for the bikes. They are generally better specced, too.

For me the non-negotiable specs on these:

1) Comfort plus - this give memory seats (bizarrely not standard included in the comfort normal pack.
2) Visiblity - gives the laser lights with beam splitting
3) tech pack - gives HUD and harmon kardon. plus would be preferred but very rare.

BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe M440i xDrive Gran Coupe 3.0 5dr

VAT Qualifying Vehicle | Technology Pack | Visibility Pack | Comfort Plus Pack | Laserlights | 20" 862 Individual Aerodynamic Bicolour | Comfort Access | Sun Protection Glass | Electric Memory Seat | High-Beam Assistant | 1000's more BMW's available, visit sytner.co.uk/bmw/ to view our full...
usedcars.bmw.co.uk

This car is realistically as good as you'll find spec wise, if the colours suit you! Been for sale a few weeks so you should be able to negotiate down to your budget.

The front is marmite, but in a dark blue with shadow pack grill they're definitely growing on me now.
 
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This looks to have everything except parking assistant plus and drive recorder specified, including Merino leather (if you like the colour that is.) It's pre-MHT which either a good or bad thing depending on your point of view, it retains the ability to disable auto stop/start for example and will pre-date the chip shortage deletions. Strong money for 20 plate though.
 
That is a really nice specification car (With the exception of the Shadow pack).

It's unusual that it doesn't have parking assistant plus, that was included with Driver Assistant Plus which it does have, although perhaps its inclusion was a 2021 model year thing. My focus has been more on the 2021 onwards mild hybrid cars.

The rarest option it has is the full leather - most of the cars with the upgraded leather have the 'extended' leather, which simply changes the seats. Full adds leather to the door cards as well which looks really nice. I also particularly like that wood trim which is not very common at all (but fortunately an easy thing to fit later).

A lot of money for a 2020 car though, which is probably why it's been for sale for so long.

The chip shortage deletions were not particularly problematic on the M340. The rest of the 3 Series range was more badly affected because some parts - such as the stereo upgrade - were kept for the M Performance models. The only big one to watch out for is that there was a very short time when they were arriving without touch screen functionality. Not to be confused with 'IDrive touch deletion' which is simply the touch pad on the iDrive controller.
 
I've been looking at these used for a while and what I've gathered and from other forums is that cars registered in April 21 and onwards have the wireless charging, comfort access etc deletions due to shortages. I've also seen lumbar support deletions on memory seats in mid/late 2021 examples. More recent examples (late 2022) are ok though.

Also driver assistant plus (main being adaptive cruise control) is separate to parking assistant plus (360 cameras) at least for 2019/2020 models that I've seen. Very rare for examples to have both, few have one or the other but a lot have neither of these.

For 2019/2020:
Comfort pack (regular only no plus, heated steering wheel, comfort access)
Tech pack (no plus, hud display, Harmon Kardon)
Premium pack which seems to be sunroof and electric seats for 2019/2020.
Visibility pack (laser lights)
Driving assistant professional
Parking assistant plus
Shadowline plus (blacked out bits)

And finally, I've actually seen better pricing on the BMW approved used site than Autotrader at least for the saloon.
E.g.
There was a M340i Saloon Sept 2019, 20.5k miles
Tanzanite II blue with oyster vernasca without shadowline plus
It had comfort pack, tech pack, sunroof, memory seats, visibility pack (laser lights) for £37.5k

It was there for a couple weeks and then was sold.

Note that there were lots of registrations in 2020Q1 which should mean 3 year pcps coming to an end, so you may have more to choose from in the coming months?
 
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Beenom said:
Also driver assistant plus (main being adaptive cruise control) is separate to parking assistant plus (360 cameras) at least for 2019/2020 models that I've seen.
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This changed for the 2021 model year onwards where Technology Package Plus included Driving Assistant Plus and Parking Assistant Plus.

Never seen a car with comfort access deleted - but like you say, often with no wireless charging.

What seems to have happened is that the regular 3 Series models lost a lot of equipment in order to keep it available in the M340.

I've also seen lumbar support deletions
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This is very common but I think it relates only to the passenger side?
 
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jpaul said:
so will the MHT 48V battery and lifespan/cost be a risk for 3rd ,or so, owner, is the jury out ? .. googles not showing me the warranty.
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I'm not sure to be honest, I don't know if enough data exists yet for an objective view to be formed. It was more the fact that with the MHT you lose the ability to disable auto stop/start which is either un-noticeable or the end of the world depending on who's opinion you believe :D I've not driven one with the MHT installed so can't comment.
 
Hi all, thanks for the feedback and info, very useful!

@Kenai/Fox and others - I didn't even think about the chip shortage aspect, that sounds spot on. I had my eye on a Dravit Grey 2021 MHT Touring on Autotrader which wasn't too far away from me in a BMW Dealer near Glasgow. It appeared a couple of days ago listed on AT. It was sitting at £46k with just over 8k miles - Tech Plus and Comfort Plus Packs as well as Shadowline. It also had the pano roof. I called the dealer this morning to be told it had sold 2 days after going on the forecourt :(

In relation to the electric tailgate, as far as I can tell the M340i Touring came with that as standard whereas the saloon didn't? I assume the Comfort or Comfort Access (can't recall which?) adds hands free operation to the electric tailgate?
 
Maccy said:
I can't believe 2021 models are selling for £46k, mad.
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I think its very much dependant upon spec. There is also a rather nice Portimao Blue 2021 on AT right now with 14.5k miles - not quite as well appointed spec wise though, Comfort Pack and Shadowline Plus Pack for £40,690.

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@rG-tom - Quite like the M440i too, although I'm still about unsure about that grille. They seem to have quite a large boot so still practical despite that sloping roofline. That one is a nice colour too :)
 
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Draeger said:
I think its very much dependant upon spec. There is also a rather nice Portimao Blue 2021 on AT right now with 14.5k miles - not quite as well appointed spec wise though, Comfort Pack and Shadowline Plus Pack for £40,690.

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@rG-tom - Quite like the M440i too, although I'm still about unsure about that grille. They seem to have quite a large boot so still practical despite that sloping roofline. That one is a nice colour too :)
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Looking at what's for sale, I think mine could easily still sell for at least £40k based on spec and mileage!
 
Spec isn't anything too special but you can get a brand new one for £50k.

Edit - I realise this is the saloon so worth a bit less, but still interesting.

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Robbo said:
Spec isn't anything too special but you can get a brand new one for £50k.

Edit - I realise this is the saloon so worth a bit less, but still interesting.

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Be interesting to see what it costs to pick up a new Touring compared to the saloon.
 
Robbo said:
Spec isn't anything too special but you can get a brand new one for £50k.

Edit - I realise this is the saloon so worth a bit less, but still interesting.

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Found a few deals on new Tourings, there are a few places advertising deals, least expensive I could find was Carwow at £51,682 but I'm unsure what the baseline spec on them would be.

On the subject of spec, is the Panoramic sunroof 'all that' and as good as many folk allude to? It looks like it opens up the cabin with extra light quite nicely, but I'm not sure how often I'd actually use it opened up to be honest?
 
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