Help me choose a BMW

Help me choose a BMW

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bodhi

Original Poster:

10,331 posts

228 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
Afternoon All,

It has come to that point in time where I am considering changing car. The 330d has been an absolute rock, with it only failing to get me where I needed to go once in 2 years and 50k miles when an alternator belt broke. Sadly she's getting on a bit now, needs 2 new front tyres, looks like it will need a steering wheel position sensor and a new front wing before too long. Other than that she runs perfectly so am in no huge rush to change, only reason I'm considering it is I've had an increases in my car allowance from work so am tempted to treat myself to something new (to me anyway).

Car allowance is around £500 a month, only stipulation is that it has 4 seats - no age limit. I'm aiming for around 30 mpg, I do about 19k a year and my commute takes me up and down the M6/M5 between Stafford and Quinton.

With that in mind I've been looking at:

E90 325i/330i
130i
125i Coupé

And as a wild card the guy I source my cars through currently has a 320Si with a fresh engine rebuild and clutch for sale. I know this would be a silly idea, but the trick engine does appeal and I would be nicely compliant with the 2 litre rule. With a fresh rebuild and a warranty what could possibly go wrong (yes, I know, quite a lot actually).

Budget is around 10k if there are any BMW's I've missed. Practicality is less of an issue, as long as it will fit a set of golf clubs and the weekly shop that will do nicely. Ideally after 2 SE's I'd like to look at an M-Sport this time, as I'm not a huge fan of this generation of SE.

Anyone have experience of the above cars care to comment of the difference in drive / economy between the two?

Vee

3,094 posts

233 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
I do 50 miles round trip on the A/M40 out of London each day in an E90 M Sport.
I've got good (Eagle F1) non runflats and the ride is still shocking and if I'm honest pretty tiresome. I'd hate to think what it would be like on run flats.
The car is not worth changing so I continue with it but I wouldn't buy another for that kind of mileage.
I've also had a 2009 118D SE which was on runflats and equally poor.

Drive the M Sport before you buy one just to make sure !


s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
Out of those, 125 coupe all day long.
Mosselmann do an upgrade for £1400 if you get bored

AOK

2,297 posts

165 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
Would leasing a new M135i not be a possibility? Perfect all rounder. Very fun when you want it to be. Well within your fuel economy budget. And with the mileage you do sounds like having 3 years new car warranty won't be unwelcome.

IMHO the E90 generation petrols are desperately slow and uneconomical. Even the rare 320si wasn't a hoot to drive... All it had going for it (apart from engine issues) were the special alloys!

M3greg

220 posts

125 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
An F30 328i sounds perfect for you. Modern, comfortable (rides much better in M Sport guise than the E90), and well within your economy rules.

nickfrog

20,871 posts

216 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
s m said:
Out of those, 125 coupe all day long.
Mosselmann do an upgrade for £1400 if you get bored
What do they do for that money ?

Evolve and P-Torque in the UK will free the (identical) engine up back to 130i power for a third of that.

dcb

5,833 posts

264 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Afternoon All,

It has come to that point in time where I am considering changing car.

I've been looking at:

E90 325i/330i
130i
125i Coupé

And as a wild card the guy I source my cars through currently has a 320Si with a fresh engine rebuild and clutch for sale.
I like your idea of the 320.

I can't speak for the 130 or 125, but the 325 and the 330 are both 150 + mph cars,
and you live in a 70 mph country, so quite some overkill there.

Given the rollout of Managed Motorways these days, so anything over 80 mph
has a speeding ticket automatically mailed to you, I'd be more
concerned about the cruise control facilities and the in car music
provision than the engine size.

The 320 will cruise all day every day at 120 mph, so 80 - 90 mph won't be
any problem and it will be cheaper to tax, insure and service than the 325 or 330,
so job done there.

Unless you really want to buy into a lot of performance you can't really use ...

nickfrog

20,871 posts

216 months

Tuesday 24th June 2014
quotequote all
You can use it up to the speed limit or on track.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
nickfrog said:
s m said:
Out of those, 125 coupe all day long.
Mosselmann do an upgrade for £1400 if you get bored
What do they do for that money ?

Evolve and P-Torque in the UK will free the (identical) engine up back to 130i power for a third of that.
Yes, I should have said other kits are available - just knew the price of the Mosselmann one with manifold & software etc!!

bodhi

Original Poster:

10,331 posts

228 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
dcb said:
I like your idea of the 320.

I can't speak for the 130 or 125, but the 325 and the 330 are both 150 + mph cars,
and you live in a 70 mph country, so quite some overkill there.

Given the rollout of Managed Motorways these days, so anything over 80 mph
has a speeding ticket automatically mailed to you, I'd be more
concerned about the cruise control facilities and the in car music
provision than the engine size.

The 320 will cruise all day every day at 120 mph, so 80 - 90 mph won't be
any problem and it will be cheaper to tax, insure and service than the 325 or 330,
so job done there.

Unless you really want to buy into a lot of performance you can't really use ...
There's more to a car's performance than top speed, there's getting up to motorway speeds quickly and safely and overtaking for 2, both of which often result in me asking the 330d to give me everything it has, and both the 320Si would infinitely worse at than the current diesel. That, the fact that the engine is a liability so service costs will be ridiculous compared to a 330i (for example), and the fact that the car has already sold, means I won't be pursuing the 320i option.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will admit you've opened my eyes to another option, which is leasing. Not something I'd considered, but I appear to be able to get a 228i M Sport within my budget, which has changed everything smile

nickfrog

20,871 posts

216 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
s m said:
Yes, I should have said other kits are available - just knew the price of the Mosselmann one with manifold & software etc!!
I just had a look and and I wonder why and even if they actually change the manifold as the 125i has the 130i manifold already, unlike the US only 128i. Also I am not sure why they refer to N53 as it's a N52 engine.

bodhi

Original Poster:

10,331 posts

228 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
Out of interest Nick what's the 125i like on juice? Whilst I love the 2 series, the lure of a straight 6 is strong, and I still love the 1 series Coupe.

AOK

2,297 posts

165 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Not something I'd considered, but I appear to be able to get a 228i M Sport within my budget, which has changed everything smile
Cracking little engine - similar to the one in my F21 125i but has slightly more power and a much raspier exhaust note!

nickfrog

20,871 posts

216 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Out of interest Nick what's the 125i like on juice? Whilst I love the 2 series, the lure of a straight 6 is strong, and I still love the 1 series Coupe.
Difficult to tell as dependent on usage. Mine is derestricted to 260ps and I average 30mpg but I only do 6000 miles a year, half of which is a 5 miles commute twice day which doesn't give the 3l engine a chance to warm up optimally. I have achieved 39.7 Brighton to Dover and 37 average to Nurburg. I understand that the 4pot 125i is not more economical despite the official cycle claims

bodhi

Original Poster:

10,331 posts

228 months

Monday 21st July 2014
quotequote all
Hi All,

I'm going to look at a 125i Coupe tomorrow, what should I be looking for?

Tis a 58 Plate, 56k on the clock, up for just over 10k.

AOK

2,297 posts

165 months

Monday 21st July 2014
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Hi All,

I'm going to look at a 125i Coupe tomorrow, what should I be looking for?

Tis a 58 Plate, 56k on the clock, up for just over 10k.
If it's a manual, I wouldn't want the clutch to be juddering once warm otherwise expensive to replace. Think these have a DMF which adds the extra cost.

aeropilot

34,288 posts

226 months

Tuesday 22nd July 2014
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Hi All,

I'm going to look at a 125i Coupe tomorrow, what should I be looking for?

Tis a 58 Plate, 56k on the clock, up for just over 10k.
Nothing really specific tbh. There's no big issue to be wary of with these.
So, general condition etc., check the documents etc.,etc.

aeropilot

34,288 posts

226 months

Tuesday 22nd July 2014
quotequote all
AOK said:
bodhi said:
Hi All,

I'm going to look at a 125i Coupe tomorrow, what should I be looking for?

Tis a 58 Plate, 56k on the clock, up for just over 10k.
Think these have a DMF which adds the extra cost.
Whats a DMF?

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Tuesday 22nd July 2014
quotequote all
aeropilot said:
AOK said:
bodhi said:
Hi All,

I'm going to look at a 125i Coupe tomorrow, what should I be looking for?

Tis a 58 Plate, 56k on the clock, up for just over 10k.
Think these have a DMF which adds the extra cost.
Whats a DMF?
DMF is usUally an acronym for Dual Mass Flywheel

( although many older BMWs also have them so I'm not sure it's a particular weak point on these )

Edited by s m on Tuesday 22 July 08:50


Edited by s m on Tuesday 22 July 08:51

aeropilot

34,288 posts

226 months

Tuesday 22nd July 2014
quotequote all
s m said:
DMF is usUally an acronym for Dual Mass Flywheel

( although many older BMWs also have them so I'm not sure it's a particular weak point on these )
Aah, not seen that acronym for that, probably because, as you say, it's not really much of an issue on the 6-pot 1 Series.