Help me choose a BMW

[bodhi]

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?

[bodhi]

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

[bodhi]

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.

[bodhi]

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.

[bodhi]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I've put a deposit down on the one I mentioned. Was an absolutely lovely steer, and I think I'm going to get on with that engine very nicely indeed. 1 lady owner, full history (although not all BMW), 4 Bridgestone runflats and freshly serviced.

I am over the moon quite frankly

Obligatory pic

[bodhi]

Cheers for the feedback folks, I am over the moon with it, and am counting down the seconds until Monday until I can go pick it up.

Has a brilliant spec too, first owner added

Leather heated seats
Front and Rear Parking Sensors
Xenons
Business Stereo (sounds great)
Privacy Glass

Only thing I'll miss is the Enhanced Bluetooth, as I use BT Streaming for music on the current car. Other than that it's perfect.

Oh, except the carbon effect BMW roundels the previous owner has fitted. They'll be going.

[bodhi]

Well, I picked the 125i up yesterday, and what can I say, what a fantastic bit of kit. The things that's shocked me the most is the economy of the thing. When I picked it up in Northwood it was showing 7 mpg (obviously been sat running while they prepped it), and I'm sitting here at work, after popping into Watford to go shopping, a trudge up the M1, then another shopping trip to the Bull Ring in rush hour (I had the missus with me, hence all the shopping), back up the M6 to Stafford, then back down to Birmingham this morning. The fuel consumption readout is on 36Mpg. The 330d used to do 39!

How the hell have they managed that then?

Other than that everything is as fantastic as imagined, great engine, seems to ride better than the old 330d, lovely and comfy, enough room for all our kit. Only slight issue was the Tyre Pressure warning came on not long after picking it up, checked all the pressures, they looked fine, so reset it and it hasn't been seen again since.

Overall I'm over the moon though. Cheers folks, I think you've helped me find a cracker.

[bodhi]

Hmmm, ever had a really bad feeling about something? The car itself seems absolutely fine, run for 400 miles in a week with no issues. Pulls well, drives perfectly, etc etc everything works, no concerns there.

What is concerning me is the Xenons. Looking at the front bumper they don't appear to have headlight washers, which the BMW website says you can't have Xenons without. Have I bought an illegal car?

[bodhi]

A very kind ph'er has done that for me, looks like they didn't come with the car originally. They look to be the official BMW items, just no washers fitted on the bumper.

Think the dealer will be getting a call tomorrow...

[bodhi]

Thanks again for the advice folks, my only concern with the HID's is the legality of them, I must admit the looks appeal to my inner tart who's spent too long in old SE BMW's

I'm going to pop into one of the local MOT stations today for advice on them, then take it from there. It looks like it's already passed an MOT with them on (at a Renault garage of all places), so I take some heart from that - however I didn't pay 10.5K on a 5 year old BMW so I had to find a friendly MOT station come test time, so if there's any doubt I'll be taking it back to get sorted.

However I'm starting to see the value in buying from a local dealer, as the place I bought this from is 120 miles away! So I suspect I will wait a couple of weeks to see if anything else crops up (I'm a bit dubious about the clutch if I'm honest - was absolutely fine on the extended test drive in hot weather, seems a bit juddery when maneuvering on occasion now though ), then get them to sort everything at one time.

Sadly, as the 125i is like rocking horse poo, the guy I normally get cars through couldn't find one in budget, so I had to go further afield. Hence the bad feeling about this.....

[bodhi]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think discovering the xenons brought on a serious case of buyer's remorse, I've spent the past couple of days giving it a good run out, and apart from the dubious headlights it's a cracker. Clutch has been absolutely fine, and I've had more time to enjoy that engine. Good lord, it is immense! Picks up from revs my old diesel would demand a lower gear from, then pulls all the way to 7k rpm, screaming as it goes. Now that's what I missed from my old 328i

Anyway I took a pic of the headlights last night, what you folks reckon?

[bodhi]

Had a bit of a result with this, took it into the local BMW dealer to see about getting the security update done and pick up a new rear light cluster as the offside LED had failed - long story short there is a recall (or Technical Advisory) on the 1 Series Coupe and Convertible to do with the seals on the rear lights - if you notice one go out have a word with your local dealer, they should be able to assist.

Car is getting a "health check" whilst it's in, so we'll see what they say about the lights. They want £100 for enough BMW badges to get rid of the carbon effect ones though....

[bodhi]

Replacing the run flats is definitely on the menu, as I'm really starting to notice the bunny hopping people describe with these, and the DTC light seems to be flashing at times it really shouldn't be flashing (accelerating softly up a slightly bumpy road in the dry). The current tyres appear to be pretty much brand new, so am tempted to wear them out first, I can see it getting a bit annoying in the meantime though. Out of interest did you go for a spare wheel or the can of tyre weld and AA membership approach?

Car got a clean bill of health from BMW, only issues were a fault code for non-OEM headlights (saw that one coming), and a slight feathering of the edge of the front drivers side tyre (that was explained by "They all do that sir"). Said tyre also seems to be developing a slow puncture - joy.

Absolutely no regrets about the choice of car however, it really is a fantastic little machine. Almost like an E30 with stability control and rust proofing