M135i - best discounts and finance rates?

[TB303]

Mine's going back shortly.

Bought a very tidy 2006 LS430, and while a completely different sort of car, I already love it much more than I ever did the M135i.

Don't get me wrong, for the lease deal we got it's a great value proposition, but the car never excited me at all. Does everything ok, and nothing amazingly.

No regrets but I was hoping it might be a bit more of a driver's car as well as a good run-around. While it rode pretty well, the rubbery steering was a non-starter for me. Still a good piece of technology, but just boring as sin compared to what the specs would have you believe. Chris Harris got this one wrong.

[CRB14]

irish boy said:

Used prices are hard to understand, the cheapest high mile example on auto trader is £18k yet 2015 demo facelift examples around 1k miles are being advertised at sub £22k.

Has anybody sold theirs and willing to let us know what was achieved? You're right in that advertised prices seem crazy still - there's nothing out there 'cheap'. When i ran my 3 year old car through the autotrader valuation thingy it came out at about £17.5k for a private sale based on 'average / good' condition.

[nickfrog]

Flat6 said:

I've already replaced it with a more family friendly A4 Avant, but disappointed to find the 170hp 2.0TDI is only averaging 10mpg more than the M135i!!

Our new 150 TDI Tiguan does exactly the same compared to the M135i (38mpg), very odd. Will improve with time though... Those cold start take are not good for a diesel unless you do decent miles...

[Flat6]

nickfrog said:

Flat6 said:

I've already replaced it with a more family friendly A4 Avant, but disappointed to find the 170hp 2.0TDI is only averaging 10mpg more than the M135i!!

Our new 150 TDI Tiguan does exactly the same compared to the M135i (38mpg), very odd. Will improve with time though... Those cold start take are not good for a diesel unless you do decent miles...

Yours should improve with time but my A4 has 50k on the clock.

I've got a 70 mile drive to work (95% motorway) and I used to get 38-40 in the M135i (I found the obc to be accurate too over the 17k miles I had the car).. The A4 I'm using now struggles to get 48 on the same run, and I'm not sure yet how accurate the obc is either (VW group and all that )

[Rob747]

I paid 27k for one new and sold it 18 months later for 21.8k to webuyanycar.

Put it up on here and autotrader for 24 then 23k but no calls whatsoever apart from traders who were all bidding 18-19k

It only had 8000 miles on it, but I never gelled with the thing, I thought it would be an M car lite, but I couldn't live with the horrid steering and unresolved chassis so it went.

Amazing bang for buck though!

[RossP]

My M135i went last Sept. Was a disappointment after my E92 M3.

Replaced with a (manual) M4

[toon10]

Some disspointing reviews on the M135i on here. I'm in the market for one now as my budget is up to 22k which seems to be the going rate. I can't afford to run and service a full fat M car so was hoping this would be the perfect choice to replace my ageing 325 with. Small, nimble, rapid and RWD. A mate at work has just got one (he also had an E90) and he loves it but did say it's a bit twitchy. I need a test drive but if I don't like it I'm stuffed as I've no idea what else to consider.

[RossP]

You'll probably be fine with it. They are quick and overall a good car. If it was called a 135i then people might view it differently. It is a good car, but its not an M (which to be fair it isn't billed as!)

Go in with an open mind...

[JNW1]

Flat6 said:

Yours should improve with time but my A4 has 50k on the clock.

I've got a 70 mile drive to work (95% motorway) and I used to get 38-40 in the M135i (I found the obc to be accurate too over the 17k miles I had the car).. The A4 I'm using now struggles to get 48 on the same run, and I'm not sure yet how accurate the obc is either (VW group and all that )

Not entirely surprised, in my experience petrols are capable of beating their claimed, combined, mpg figures on a run whereas diesels struggle to get close. My F31 335d has averaged 39mpg over 22k miles (so over 20% down on the combined figure) and the best I've ever had on an individual tank is 43 (so still 14% off). In contrast my E92 335i averaged just over 30mpg over 37k miles (roughly 10% down on the combined figure) and would easily achieve or beat the combined figure on a long motorway run. You'll always find diesel owners that have reset the trip for a relatively short distance and averaged an impressive mpg figure but in normal driving the advantage they hold over petrol is rather less than the published figures would suggest IMO...

[Sir_Dave]

toon10 said:

Some disspointing reviews on the M135i on here. I'm in the market for one now as my budget is up to 22k which seems to be the going rate. I can't afford to run and service a full fat M car

Instead of spending £22k on the M135i, spend £11k on a very nice e46 M3!
The massive reduction in depreciation helps offset the increased day to day running costs & repairs



My M135i went back in Sept (6 months early) as i was bored stless with it, it just drove/handled like a 120d with 330bhp imho, really not my thing. Great as a 5 door family hatchback, but i dont need that atm.

[toon10]

RossP said:

You'll probably be fine with it. They are quick and overall a good car. If it was called a 135i then people might view it differently. It is a good car, but its not an M (which to be fair it isn't billed as!)

Go in with an open mind...

I should be OK then as I'm not used to high end full fat performence cars. For the last 15 years all my cars have been NA 6 pot saloons apart from a 2.4 Accord!

I've just had a look at a lad at works in the car park. I gave it a few revs and now I want to test drive it!

[toon10]

Sir_Dave said:

Instead of spending £22k on the M135i, spend £11k on a very nice e46 M3!
The massive reduction in depreciation helps offset the increased day to day running costs & repairs



My M135i went back in Sept (6 months early) as i was bored stless with it, it just drove/handled like a 120d with 330bhp imho, really not my thing. Great as a 5 door family hatchback, but i dont need that atm.

I had actually thought of doing that but I don't want an older car. Mine is 10 years old now and I don't want to have to refresh parts or get unexpected maintenance bills. I also quite like the fact the M135i just looks like any other standard 1 series with the added benefit of having a quick engine when I need/want it. I suspect the m3 would attract lots of boy racers egging me on for a race at every junction and I'm not mature enough to ignore them

[TB303]

Sir_Dave said:

Instead of spending £22k on the M135i, spend £11k on a very nice e46 M3!
The massive reduction in depreciation helps offset the increased day to day running costs & repairs



My M135i went back in Sept (6 months early) as i was bored stless with it, it just drove/handled like a 120d with 330bhp imho, really not my thing. Great as a 5 door family hatchback, but i dont need that atm.

Good advice, and from Rob747 too.

Learn from what people have said on here. It's dull dull dull! (the fact that I can get more enjoyment from an LS430 after it should tell you all you need to know!)

E92 or 46 M3 much better choice.

[nickfrog]

toon10 said:

Some disspointing reviews on the M135i on here.

I would test drive one for yourself before ruling it out - I find mine a pretty good package. It was even quite good at Spa and the Ring last year - cheap M4 lower control arms do help the front end no end. A LSD also helps. A properly driven M135i is certainly not dull, even compared to a E46 M3, even if not quite as tactile. IME anyway.

[JuanGandini]

TB303 said:

Sir_Dave said:

Instead of spending £22k on the M135i, spend £11k on a very nice e46 M3!
The massive reduction in depreciation helps offset the increased day to day running costs & repairs



My M135i went back in Sept (6 months early) as i was bored stless with it, it just drove/handled like a 120d with 330bhp imho, really not my thing. Great as a 5 door family hatchback, but i dont need that atm.

Good advice, and from Rob747 too.

Learn from what people have said on here. It's dull dull dull! (the fact that I can get more enjoyment from an LS430 after it should tell you all you need to know!)

E92 or 46 M3 much better choice.

I'd take this advice with a pinch of salt. Cars bring about subjective reactions. For me, the M135i is the best car I've ever owned although that's not saying much based on my limited car history before that. It's a 6 cylinder turbo rear wheel drive hot hatch - pretty unique by modern hot hatch standards. It makes a great sound, goes link stink and handles the everyday tasks of a boggo hatch.

[TB303]

JuanGandini said:

I'd take this advice with a pinch of salt. Cars bring about subjective reactions. For me, the M135i is the best car I've ever owned although that's not saying much based on my limited car history before that. It's a 6 cylinder turbo rear wheel drive hot hatch - pretty unique by modern hot hatch standards. It makes a great sound, goes link stink and handles the everyday tasks of a boggo hatch.

Functionally I cannot disagree with you. If you like driving however, it's very dull. Fast, yes. But dull as it goes about it.

Disagree on sound. Sounds alright, but not great. Maybe I'm spoiled with NA engines.

[JuanGandini]

TB303 said:

JuanGandini said:

I'd take this advice with a pinch of salt. Cars bring about subjective reactions. For me, the M135i is the best car I've ever owned although that's not saying much based on my limited car history before that. It's a 6 cylinder turbo rear wheel drive hot hatch - pretty unique by modern hot hatch standards. It makes a great sound, goes link stink and handles the everyday tasks of a boggo hatch.

Functionally I cannot disagree with you. If you like driving however, it's very dull. Fast, yes. But dull as it goes about it.

Disagree on sound. Sounds alright, but not great. Maybe I'm spoiled with NA engines.

Fair comment as it's a turbo so doesn't benefit much from a crazily exciting top end - I'm like a small schoolboy when it comes to fast cars though, so I find any sort of fast acceleration fun. Planting my right foot on the M25 slip road near where I live never gets dull for me!

[TB303]

JuanGandini said:

Fair comment as it's a turbo so doesn't benefit much from a crazily exciting top end - I'm like a small schoolboy when it comes to fast cars though, so I find any sort of fast acceleration fun. Planting my right foot on the M25 slip road near where I live never gets dull for me!

Slip roads are fun in the M135i, I agree. Not massively responsive (auto) in comfort mode at times however. In sport it sorts it out!

It's just hard when you've had 987 Boxsters and the like. Steering feels awful, and some complain about the 981 steering, but to me it's leagues ahead of the BMW system. It is so feel-less that it evokes comments like "...but I can still place the car where I want it" from journalists.

A £1000 old MX5 feels good, so I don't see why a £30k BMW can't.

Manual may make the M135i a little more exciting, I don't know.

[RossP]

TB303 said:

Manual may make the M135i a little more exciting, I don't know.

Mine was a manual and I definitely preferred it to the auto.

[CRB14]

JuanGandini said:

I'd take this advice with a pinch of salt. Cars bring about subjective reactions. For me, the M135i is the best car I've ever owned although that's not saying much based on my limited car history before that. It's a 6 cylinder turbo rear wheel drive hot hatch - pretty unique by modern hot hatch standards. It makes a great sound, goes link stink and handles the everyday tasks of a boggo hatch.

Huge pinch of salt. The comparative running costs will be worlds apart.

I'd dare say that the £22k M135i would be financed (correct me if i'm wrong) so on a fixed monthly outgoing. If it has a warranty then there is degree of certainty on running costs (FWIW mine has had 1 service, brake fluid change and a set of tyres in 3 years and 38k miles - total approx £850). Anything goes wrong with a 10 year old M3 and you'll know about it - and quickly forget the £9k 'saving' over buying that 2 / 3 year old M135i.

May be a tad dull but depending on your normal driving routine there would be very few cars that will beat it off the line.