as someone who has owned a n20 428i and a b58 440i, i'm still very pleasantly surprised and impressed that a 3L can be more economical than the previous gen 2L
I've gone Bavarian! 2015 428i Gran Coupé
- Thread starter MissChief
- Start date
what brand - had been using Bosch but there lifespan does not seem great, maybe summer was too hot, but have temporarily put back on the older Michelin hybrid ones, whilst I think;
maybe it's like the tyre market with softer tyres.
£1.5 for super unleaded - bargain, must be, nearer to £1.70 Cambs Esso - maybe it was 1.66 ; brand snobbery have you tested mpg on someone elses super unleaded ?
so are you car play or AA - has that been working OK ?
Pretty much for the 3 miles to school. Then a .5 mile to work.
Car.. doesn't even get warm.
Bosch is what I bought And what was on it previously.
I have neither AA or CarPlay. At least AFAIK for the CarPlay, I have an Android phone.
Yeah the tyre was fixed, thankfully. No problems since.
The gearbox feels a little smoother, but could just be placebo.
Was it a tyre valve in the end?
No, something in the tyre. They didn't say what, just said they plugged it and it was fine. Has been fine since too.
Had to add a bit more coolant/antifreeze, on very cold mornings it would ask for a top up. Couldn't for the life of me see a min/max so added 500ml of BMW concentrated 50:50 coolant and distilled water. No complaints from the car since.
One of my little bug bears has always been the top of the centre console. It's become very worn since I got the car, especially where I rest my arm so i got a replacement for £35 from ebay and fitted it today.
The original:
The replacement:
And after fitting, which was easy enough and best done from the back seat. Remove the rear cover around the vents which just pulls off, unplug the cable if you wish to give you more room. Use a flat blade screwdriver in the centre of the spring to unclip it, remove the pins on each side by pushing from the middle then pulling at each end. The old cover then just lifts out, the new one goes in, replace spring and pins, push spring back into place and replace vents and you're done.
New cover in place:
Car was also at the main dealer yesterday for the airbag recall and they performed a free health check. All green except one minor issue, one of the centre exhaust clamps has a fairly substantial crack in it. I declined their offer of replacing it for £130 as the car is in for MOT on Tuesday and I'll get them to replace it then. Again I'm not expecting anything untoward, especially after the health check by BMW so expect a clean, new 12 months ticket. Should it pass it means that the only 'non service/maintenance' issue has been the exhaust clamp. Given the car is a few months shy of 9 years old and has just under 52k miles that's excellent value.
Oh I forgot to add, a new battery for the remote and a new metal cover as well have been bought. The battery was £5 for two from eBay as well, the metal cover around £14 but it's a sturdy bit of kit and keeps the key nice and clean as well as preventing me pressing the boot open by accident.
The original:
The replacement:
And after fitting, which was easy enough and best done from the back seat. Remove the rear cover around the vents which just pulls off, unplug the cable if you wish to give you more room. Use a flat blade screwdriver in the centre of the spring to unclip it, remove the pins on each side by pushing from the middle then pulling at each end. The old cover then just lifts out, the new one goes in, replace spring and pins, push spring back into place and replace vents and you're done.
New cover in place:
Car was also at the main dealer yesterday for the airbag recall and they performed a free health check. All green except one minor issue, one of the centre exhaust clamps has a fairly substantial crack in it. I declined their offer of replacing it for £130 as the car is in for MOT on Tuesday and I'll get them to replace it then. Again I'm not expecting anything untoward, especially after the health check by BMW so expect a clean, new 12 months ticket. Should it pass it means that the only 'non service/maintenance' issue has been the exhaust clamp. Given the car is a few months shy of 9 years old and has just under 52k miles that's excellent value.
Oh I forgot to add, a new battery for the remote and a new metal cover as well have been bought. The battery was £5 for two from eBay as well, the metal cover around £14 but it's a sturdy bit of kit and keeps the key nice and clean as well as preventing me pressing the boot open by accident.
Soldato
Have you been happy with the car in general? Came from a focus if I remember correctly?
Has it been the step up you were hoping for?
Has it been the step up you were hoping for?
I have. It's very comfortable, especially after ditching the run flats. It still feels good to drive, very smooth and easy to drive, the auto gearbox has even made me a self shifting convert. Only issue is Son says I'm never allowed to sell it, I must give it to him once I'm done!
I have had some seeds of changing it next year once it's paid off. Perhaps something with either 8 cylinders or maybe a twin turbo V6.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
What's wrong with a single turbo? or a straight six?
You make it sound like a straight six turbo is rubbish
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If it’s the V6 then it won’t even be German. Small seeds though!as fox said, an inline-6 twin scroll turbo is your friend
@MissChief oh? what are you thinking of getting?
Maybe a Giulia Quadrifoglio. Highly maybe if finances allow. I have been passing glances at Lexus ISF, Vauxhall VXR8 and even C63's.This will be next year though minimum!
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Took it to a local place for a 2 stage machine polish and 5 year ceramic coating and initially I'm very impressed. Any surface scratches or swirl marks I was aware of are gone. The colour seems so uniform and bright now. We'll see how easy it is to clean and what happens when it rains, likely this evening.
One minor thing has cropped up, there's a knocking noise coming from the front of the car, but it comes and goes weirdly. Doesn't seem any worse or happening when going over bumps but often when starting off or coming to a stop. Then it'll go away for a few days then comes back. Thinking likely drop link(s) or perhaps a suspension top mount. It's going in for a service in July so we'll see if it gets any worse before then.
One minor thing has cropped up, there's a knocking noise coming from the front of the car, but it comes and goes weirdly. Doesn't seem any worse or happening when going over bumps but often when starting off or coming to a stop. Then it'll go away for a few days then comes back. Thinking likely drop link(s) or perhaps a suspension top mount. It's going in for a service in July so we'll see if it gets any worse before then.
That looks really well, I bet with being Black in sunny conditions the paintwork looks far better than it did after a Multistage Polish etc.
Those Exhaust tips could do with some TLC to match the super glossy finish of your paint work mind!
Those Exhaust tips could do with some TLC to match the super glossy finish of your paint work mind!