Bye bye M135i

[Andy665]

After 2 years and 17,800 miles the M135i was collected this morning - will be at auction next week.

My thoughts over the 2 years:

The Good

The engine dominated the car in a good way, creamy smooth, loved to rev and never once felt as if it was turbocharged.

The seats were extremely comfortable - no aches or pains ever.

Reliability was perfect - in the time I had it all that was required was a service 600 miles ago and 1 litre of oil.

I-Drive - really good once familiar with it - Business nav also perfectly ok, no idea why many people say that an upgrade to pro nav is "essential
It was very subtle, blended in to the background and most people had no idea what a quick little car it was.

Economy was excellent - in 17,800 miles it averaged 30.2 mpg

Tyre life - still on the original Michelin Super Sports with 5.0mm of tread all round

The (optional) Adaptive headlights were superb, LED lights were standard anyway but really glad I opted for the upgrade - made night time driving across country much easier on the eyes

The OK

Build quality was fine but a lot of cheap, brittle plastic in the interior.

Leather quality was awful.

Gearbox - mostly fine but sometimes baulky


The Bad

The chassis - awful traction and damping that was completely out of tune with the springs. If I was in the right mood it was a lot of fun but it could be a real handful at times. Perhaps Adaptive Suspension would have been better.

Would I Have Another

Yes, its good points far outweighed its bad, wanted one as I knew it was going to be the last time a straight six and RWD would be in a small BMW.

This particular car sailed through its inspection this morning and will be at a closed auction next week - whoever gets to buy WP16 SWZ will be getting a very well cared for car

Edited by Andy665 on Friday 11th May 12:40

[Veeayt]

Blatant

[Andy665]

Veeayt said:

Blatant

Pardon?

[BuzzBravado]

He is under the impression that you will benefit from a high auction price. Just ignore it.

[Stupeo]

I just sold my M135i 3 weeks ago, similar spec, condition and mileage to yours. Except I only averaged 23-24mpg over 17,000 miles...

Loved the car and regret selling it already - but I'm saving for something bigger and better

[GregK2]

Good read, surely some of the "OK" belong in "Good" instead (5mm after 17,000!)

What's replacing it?

[Andy665]

BuzzBravado said:

He is under the impression that you will benefit from a high auction price. Just ignore it.

As it was a lease car I don't give a monkey's what it fetches at auction

[Andy665]

GregK2 said:

Good read, surely some of the "OK" belong in "Good" instead (5mm after 17,000!)

What's replacing it?

Thanks - now sorted

Collecting a Cupra 300 ST 4Drive tomorrow - need a bit more space but did not want to sacrifice too much performance - the extra grip will be welcome too

[J4CKO]

Going to look at one today (M135i) , hell of a package.

[ITP]

Sort of sounds like a modern day 147 gta, with the 6 cyl engine dominating the experience, but with less then good suspension as standard.
More ugly but better mpg though!

[J4CKO]

ITP said:

Sort of sounds like a modern day 147 gta, with the 6 cyl engine dominating the experience, but with less then good suspension as standard.
More ugly but better mpg though!

And massively faster.

[MJK 24]

J4CKO said:

ITP said:

Sort of sounds like a modern day 147 gta, with the 6 cyl engine dominating the experience, but with less then good suspension as standard.
More ugly but better mpg though!

And massively faster.

You’d kind of expect that to be the case 15 years on with the addition of forced induction.

[Ahbefive]

30mpg and only 3mm of wear on tyres over 17k miles? Talk about driving miss daisy. Must have been strictly 70mph on the motorway every day.

[TheAngryDog]

J4CKO said:

ITP said:

Sort of sounds like a modern day 147 gta, with the 6 cyl engine dominating the experience, but with less then good suspension as standard.
More ugly but better mpg though!

And massively faster.

And correct wheel drive

[J4CKO]

TheAngryDog said:

J4CKO said:

ITP said:

Sort of sounds like a modern day 147 gta, with the 6 cyl engine dominating the experience, but with less then good suspension as standard.
More ugly but better mpg though!

And massively faster.

And correct wheel drive

Pick mine up next week