BMW used approved
Discussion
crolandc said:
Mmm, The thing is BMW do not want to sell on any car to their customers that they do not believe is in pretty good nick! that's just common sense & good business...they want you to come back and also to say nice things to other potential customers. This then has to lessen your chances of buying something a bit crap ( not guaranteed though ). Just look at your local upmarket traders that sell on some very nice Beemers that BMW have traded over to them because they were not perhaps good enough for them to sell on to Joe public. Just my take on it of course.
sorry matie, that is nonsense. I purchased an E65 in 2004. An 18 month old 9k mile AUC car. It broke down every week for 12 weeks before i rejected it. The first owner rejected it yet they AUC'd it. When i rejected it they put it back on as an AUC car.Best advice. Get the warranty work print out-mine was 20 pages long. A guy on PH got it for me. I will never buy a used car again without checking that it has not been a dog.
As above - six cylinder petrol is the one to have. It's a proper BMW whereas the 318i and 320i are just a Mondeo alternative.
N43's also have issues with the timing chain and rails plus a very expensive NoX sensor. They're okay until they go wrong, something that is a mathematical certainty - it's not if, but when. They just are not worth the risk.
If you must have a diesel, a low mileage N47 320d, serviced to the hilt with 9000 mile oil changes is a superb car, it really is.
N43's also have issues with the timing chain and rails plus a very expensive NoX sensor. They're okay until they go wrong, something that is a mathematical certainty - it's not if, but when. They just are not worth the risk.
If you must have a diesel, a low mileage N47 320d, serviced to the hilt with 9000 mile oil changes is a superb car, it really is.
iSore said:
As above - six cylinder petrol is the one to have. It's a proper BMW whereas the 318i and 320i are just a Mondeo alternative.
N43's also have issues with the timing chain and rails plus a very expensive NoX sensor. They're okay until they go wrong, something that is a mathematical certainty - it's not if, but when. They just are not worth the risk.
If you must have a diesel, a low mileage N47 320d, serviced to the hilt with 9000 mile oil changes is a superb car, it really is.
I'd second that. A 320d would be fine if it's had ~10k interval services. It seems the camchain issues are all down to the long life intervals.N43's also have issues with the timing chain and rails plus a very expensive NoX sensor. They're okay until they go wrong, something that is a mathematical certainty - it's not if, but when. They just are not worth the risk.
If you must have a diesel, a low mileage N47 320d, serviced to the hilt with 9000 mile oil changes is a superb car, it really is.
In my experience of camchain issues on other cars it's neglecting oil changes and oil level checks that kills them.
But given the MPG that a 3.0 N53 can achieve, it's hard to argue the case for a more complicated and less characterful 2.0 diesel over a proper BMW 6-pot
Thanks again for the replies, is the BMW warranty just a case of going online and entering your details in their site and that's it? Just a yearly policy like your car insurance?
The 6 pot petrol engine is rare, I'm pretty fussy about what I want so struggling to find it.
Can you put any car on the BMW warranty, like if I was to buy one private with part history would they accept that?
The 6 pot petrol engine is rare, I'm pretty fussy about what I want so struggling to find it.
Can you put any car on the BMW warranty, like if I was to buy one private with part history would they accept that?
Krise said:
It's a bit of a myth that the Germans are super reliable,
The amount of cars that I had seen going in for things that really shouldn't need doing at low mileages, the amount of 4 / 5 year old cars in for warranty / problem work was actually quite shocking
I paid 20k for my car as I wanted a petrol 6cyl estate and quite hard to find unless you want the 535i variant, if I didn't have the warranty I certainly wouldn't have had the 10k to put right, even if I got some goodwill let's say 25% who has 7.5k lying around
Even when I have my brand new M135 that spent 3 months in total in the garage having various bits and bobs fixed, sadly now I'm going to move away from the brand as I just can't quite face having to spend a grand a year for the warranty then inevitably another grand on excess for when things go wrong, and I'm sure they will go wrong again
What was the symptom that required all four shocks to be replaced?The amount of cars that I had seen going in for things that really shouldn't need doing at low mileages, the amount of 4 / 5 year old cars in for warranty / problem work was actually quite shocking
I paid 20k for my car as I wanted a petrol 6cyl estate and quite hard to find unless you want the 535i variant, if I didn't have the warranty I certainly wouldn't have had the 10k to put right, even if I got some goodwill let's say 25% who has 7.5k lying around
Even when I have my brand new M135 that spent 3 months in total in the garage having various bits and bobs fixed, sadly now I'm going to move away from the brand as I just can't quite face having to spend a grand a year for the warranty then inevitably another grand on excess for when things go wrong, and I'm sure they will go wrong again
I'm looking for this
preferably an AUC, obviously I'd like as cheap as possible but for the right car I'd go to 14.5/15k.
Full BMW service history
No more than 40k miles
White, space grey, is it blue water the colour? and I'd maybe consider blue or black, no silver or red.
Prefer a manual but I'd be open to auto if it had paddle shift.
Msport or sport plus spec.
No more than 3 owners
As near to Glasgow as possible.
Are the 335 monsters on fuel?
Does anyone know about private buying and warranties?
preferably an AUC, obviously I'd like as cheap as possible but for the right car I'd go to 14.5/15k.
Full BMW service history
No more than 40k miles
White, space grey, is it blue water the colour? and I'd maybe consider blue or black, no silver or red.
Prefer a manual but I'd be open to auto if it had paddle shift.
Msport or sport plus spec.
No more than 3 owners
As near to Glasgow as possible.
Are the 335 monsters on fuel?
Does anyone know about private buying and warranties?
PTF said:
I'd second that. A 320d would be fine if it's had ~10k interval services. It seems the camchain issues are all down to the long life intervals.
In my experience of camchain issues on other cars it's neglecting oil changes and oil level checks that kills them.
But given the MPG that a 3.0 N53 can achieve, it's hard to argue the case for a more complicated and less characterful 2.0 diesel over a proper BMW 6-pot
What kind of MPG is a 335i getting in the real world ?In my experience of camchain issues on other cars it's neglecting oil changes and oil level checks that kills them.
But given the MPG that a 3.0 N53 can achieve, it's hard to argue the case for a more complicated and less characterful 2.0 diesel over a proper BMW 6-pot
The performance of th car isn't really important to me, I already have a fast car/ weekend toy that's gets money thrown at it left right and centre. I'm just looking for a wee bit luxury to bounce around in, back and forth to e shops and stuff. so a smaller engine would suit me but I'm not risking it if all the wee engines are problematic
SimboRS said:
I'm looking for this
preferably an AUC, obviously I'd like as cheap as possible but for the right car I'd go to 14.5/15k.
Full BMW service history
No more than 40k miles
White, space grey, is it blue water the colour? and I'd maybe consider blue or black, no silver or red.
Prefer a manual but I'd be open to auto if it had paddle shift.
Msport or sport plus spec.
No more than 3 owners
As near to Glasgow as possible.
Are the 335 monsters on fuel?
Does anyone know about private buying and warranties?
I think the issue is in general BMW and other brands do not sell over 3 years old there are exceptions but that is the case so a 340i for instance will not be in your price range or its older 335i. preferably an AUC, obviously I'd like as cheap as possible but for the right car I'd go to 14.5/15k.
Full BMW service history
No more than 40k miles
White, space grey, is it blue water the colour? and I'd maybe consider blue or black, no silver or red.
Prefer a manual but I'd be open to auto if it had paddle shift.
Msport or sport plus spec.
No more than 3 owners
As near to Glasgow as possible.
Are the 335 monsters on fuel?
Does anyone know about private buying and warranties?
Maybe a 318i at a push.
SimboRS said:
Does anyone know about private buying and warranties?
Bought my 2009 e91 Lci 325d SE in 2014 space grey on 42k miles for your budget.First owner was BmW and car had approx £9k of extras 3 owners, 2nd change was from a BMW dealer and still got 2 weeks AUC warrnty left(which non BMW trade seller wasn't aware of. Got quote from Mondial to extend insurance and for comprehensive cover with £250 excess was £29/ month. (Now £30/month) Couldn't take the risk of £6k cost for new engine build if timing chain went now on 60k miles and not had to use warranty. Could have covered car even without preexisting AUC warranty but but cover wouldn't be applicable for first 30days my understanding was that cost would be same even without the AUC warrantyHTH
One tip I accidentally stumbled upon.
I bought an AUC 640d from BMW in April that was on 41k
Luckily I've just been able to buy a BMW mondial insured warranty before it hit 60k (it's on 59k).
If it would've gone over 60k at the time of purchasing the warranty it would've been £130 per month instead of £78 per month.
For the next car I buy I'll take this into consideration at least. I was complete unaware at the time of buying the car.
I bought an AUC 640d from BMW in April that was on 41k
Luckily I've just been able to buy a BMW mondial insured warranty before it hit 60k (it's on 59k).
If it would've gone over 60k at the time of purchasing the warranty it would've been £130 per month instead of £78 per month.
For the next car I buy I'll take this into consideration at least. I was complete unaware at the time of buying the car.
4rephill said:
So did you point out these issues and refuse to accept the car until they had been resolved? 
Stupidly not at the point of collection as I'd just driven 2 hours in the dark and p1ssing rain to collect it. The dealership was near closing and everyone (including me) just wanted to get away. It was only the next day that I saw that they'd not done the dealer prep we agreed at the time of sale. It did get sorted after I got shirty with the dealer principal but I would never darken the door of a West Yorkshire dealership named after a type of footwear favoured by Jesus ever again. Ahem. In fact I'd say that my E65 was probably the worst presented car I've ever bought, which is annoying as it was the most expensive!
Buy my 330d 
Seriously though, it's auto and 72k, so a couple of your criteria are not met perfectly, but why would anyone want a manual with a 6 pot diesel? The auto is just delightful, and if you wanted to mess with it then it holds power better, too.
I've had mine 2 years, the first year covered by a warranty (was not AUC but was from a main dealer franchise). In that first year it needed a wheel speed sensor, that's a £30 part.
Second year I thought long and hard about warranty extension. I decided it wasn't for me. It's since had a new Glow Plug control module, that's a part which has been revised since it was released so I guess known to fail. £95 part and a bit of fiddling with a couple of bolts, but very easy to do.
Maybe I have been particularly lucky. Maybe I have not. Maybe I am representative of the masses. I suspect that if a car is in warranty, quite often the 'repair bill' is way higher than it really needs to be. The diagnostics shown for the glow plug module on my car could have led someone to replace the EGR assembly, intake manifold assembly, new glow plugs and the control unit itself. I suspect a lot of BMW workshops would just do it all in one go for an under warranty car. If they were really short for work, they may even suggest the DPF should be replaced too! all that could add up to £4-5k quite easily I expect when you factor in their £140/h labour rates.
I suspect if you get in touch with a good experienced BMW specialist, they would suggest the average bills for repairs on such a vehicle is far far lower than these inflated 'warranty work' specials. This isn't aimed at BMW specifically either, as I know from a previous experience with VAG, they are all at it too.
Seriously though, it's auto and 72k, so a couple of your criteria are not met perfectly, but why would anyone want a manual with a 6 pot diesel? The auto is just delightful, and if you wanted to mess with it then it holds power better, too.
I've had mine 2 years, the first year covered by a warranty (was not AUC but was from a main dealer franchise). In that first year it needed a wheel speed sensor, that's a £30 part.
Second year I thought long and hard about warranty extension. I decided it wasn't for me. It's since had a new Glow Plug control module, that's a part which has been revised since it was released so I guess known to fail. £95 part and a bit of fiddling with a couple of bolts, but very easy to do.
Maybe I have been particularly lucky. Maybe I have not. Maybe I am representative of the masses. I suspect that if a car is in warranty, quite often the 'repair bill' is way higher than it really needs to be. The diagnostics shown for the glow plug module on my car could have led someone to replace the EGR assembly, intake manifold assembly, new glow plugs and the control unit itself. I suspect a lot of BMW workshops would just do it all in one go for an under warranty car. If they were really short for work, they may even suggest the DPF should be replaced too! all that could add up to £4-5k quite easily I expect when you factor in their £140/h labour rates.
I suspect if you get in touch with a good experienced BMW specialist, they would suggest the average bills for repairs on such a vehicle is far far lower than these inflated 'warranty work' specials. This isn't aimed at BMW specifically either, as I know from a previous experience with VAG, they are all at it too.
Edited by Ben-330d on Thursday 23 February 09:45
bmwmike said:
Krise said:
It's a bit of a myth that the Germans are super reliable,
The amount of cars that I had seen going in for things that really shouldn't need doing at low mileages, the amount of 4 / 5 year old cars in for warranty / problem work was actually quite shocking
I paid 20k for my car as I wanted a petrol 6cyl estate and quite hard to find unless you want the 535i variant, if I didn't have the warranty I certainly wouldn't have had the 10k to put right, even if I got some goodwill let's say 25% who has 7.5k lying around
Even when I have my brand new M135 that spent 3 months in total in the garage having various bits and bobs fixed, sadly now I'm going to move away from the brand as I just can't quite face having to spend a grand a year for the warranty then inevitably another grand on excess for when things go wrong, and I'm sure they will go wrong again
What was the symptom that required all four shocks to be replaced?The amount of cars that I had seen going in for things that really shouldn't need doing at low mileages, the amount of 4 / 5 year old cars in for warranty / problem work was actually quite shocking
I paid 20k for my car as I wanted a petrol 6cyl estate and quite hard to find unless you want the 535i variant, if I didn't have the warranty I certainly wouldn't have had the 10k to put right, even if I got some goodwill let's say 25% who has 7.5k lying around
Even when I have my brand new M135 that spent 3 months in total in the garage having various bits and bobs fixed, sadly now I'm going to move away from the brand as I just can't quite face having to spend a grand a year for the warranty then inevitably another grand on excess for when things go wrong, and I'm sure they will go wrong again
No idea, one front was leaking, and one rear was leaking, so they said ideally change them as pairs, I agreed knowing that it was going to be a 2 grand bill for me, luckily the warranty company picked up the tab for that for me, as apparently it's an item that shouldn't have failed the way it did at under 60k miles, other than that I didn't care to ask as I wasn't paying
If you're struggling to find a manual E92 Coupé, rather than going for one of the diesels why not look at a 125i? You get the creamy straight 6, and once you get rid of the runcraps it is a damn good steer - I much prefer it to the E92 now, which seems more of a cruiser. Interior is very similar, only thing you'll be missing is a bit of space in the back (the 1 is...cosy).
Ben-330d said:
Buy my 330d
Seriously though, it's auto and 72k, so a couple of your criteria are not met perfectly, but why would anyone want a manual with a 6 pot diesel? The auto is just delightful, and if you wanted to mess with it then it holds power better, too.
I've had mine 2 years, the first year covered by a warranty (was not AUC but was from a main dealer franchise). In that first year it needed a wheel speed sensor, that's a £30 part.
Second year I thought long and hard about warranty extension. I decided it wasn't for me. It's since had a new Glow Plug control module, that's a part which has been revised since it was released so I guess known to fail. £95 part and a bit of fiddling with a couple of bolts, but very easy to do.
Maybe I have been particularly lucky. Maybe I have not. Maybe I am representative of the masses. I suspect that if a car is in warranty, quite often the 'repair bill' is way higher than it really needs to be. The diagnostics shown for the glow plug module on my car could have led someone to replace the EGR assembly, intake manifold assembly, new glow plugs and the control unit itself. I suspect a lot of BMW workshops would just do it all in one go for an under warranty car. If they were really short for work, they may even suggest the DPF should be replaced too! all that could add up to £4-5k quite easily I expect when you factor in their £140/h labour rates.
I suspect if you get in touch with a good experienced BMW specialist, they would suggest the average bills for repairs on such a vehicle is far far lower than these inflated 'warranty work' specials. This isn't aimed at BMW specifically either, as I know from a previous experience with VAG, they are all at it too.
Careful, some may claim you are not a true enthusiast with your first sentence on here Seriously though, it's auto and 72k, so a couple of your criteria are not met perfectly, but why would anyone want a manual with a 6 pot diesel? The auto is just delightful, and if you wanted to mess with it then it holds power better, too.
I've had mine 2 years, the first year covered by a warranty (was not AUC but was from a main dealer franchise). In that first year it needed a wheel speed sensor, that's a £30 part.
Second year I thought long and hard about warranty extension. I decided it wasn't for me. It's since had a new Glow Plug control module, that's a part which has been revised since it was released so I guess known to fail. £95 part and a bit of fiddling with a couple of bolts, but very easy to do.
Maybe I have been particularly lucky. Maybe I have not. Maybe I am representative of the masses. I suspect that if a car is in warranty, quite often the 'repair bill' is way higher than it really needs to be. The diagnostics shown for the glow plug module on my car could have led someone to replace the EGR assembly, intake manifold assembly, new glow plugs and the control unit itself. I suspect a lot of BMW workshops would just do it all in one go for an under warranty car. If they were really short for work, they may even suggest the DPF should be replaced too! all that could add up to £4-5k quite easily I expect when you factor in their £140/h labour rates.
I suspect if you get in touch with a good experienced BMW specialist, they would suggest the average bills for repairs on such a vehicle is far far lower than these inflated 'warranty work' specials. This isn't aimed at BMW specifically either, as I know from a previous experience with VAG, they are all at it too.
Edited by Ben-330d on Thursday 23 February 09:45
.The manual E92s are out there FWIW.
Regarding used approved a mate of mine just bought this:
BMW Z4 3.0i sDrive Manual
iDrive and a few other trick bits
MY09 59 plate
49,000 miles on the clock.
Just before Xmas it started to lose coolant. Not alot, but enough to start topping it up every couple of week. He had owned the car for 3 or 4 months by then.
After taking it back to BMW they changed the following:
-Radiator
-Thermostat
-Water Pump
I doubt they changed the water pump when I last saw the car but the rad was definitely new and it looked like the thermostat had been seen to. I don't know of many traders who do that. Half of them try to fob you off or in a couple of cases whack in some K-Seal and hope for the best.
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