BMW 8 speed step auto 200k miles possible?

[JRdrums]

I’m thinking of buying a 3 yr old 320d msport tourer with 50 k miles on the clock. As my workhorse I will do 30k miles a year. Is this transmission good for upto 200k miles or are they troublesome at high mileage?

[Valgar]

It's a ZF made unit and should be fairly reliable, 200k should be within reach and there's no known issues with it as far as I'm aware.

Being such a widely used unit, if something was to happen a Auto specialist will have good knowledge of them. Don't even think about dealers.

[Limpet]

Ignore the ridiculous "sealed for life" claim by BMW and get the oil changed every 80k or so. Most independent auto transmission specialists can do this for a few hundred quid. The box will probably outlast the car in that case.

A former colleague has a Range Rover Sport TDV8 with close to 200k on it and the transmission started to get jerky and hesitant around the 100k Mark. Land Rover dealer said the gearbox was toast and needed replacing at over £6k. Took it to a local indie for a second opinion who renewed the transmission oil and installed a new filter and oil pan. Box was as good as new. He had the oil done again at 180k and it's still going strong.

I believe ZF who actually make the transmission, advise a service interval for it, but the car manufacturers mostly ignore it as it falls outside the normal first owner and warranty period.