F31 LCI 335D Thoughts
Discussion
I have wanted a 535D or a 335D for many years now - about seven years ago I did buy something but it was a bit of a lemon and ended up rejecting it and buying an Audi A6 3.0TDi Quattro instead!
But moving on to 2018 - I wanted a new car - well new to me anyway. I had a budget of £25K so went looking. I decided I wanted a 3 instead of a 5 as one of the kids has now left home, so we don't really need the space. So I went looking. It was difficult to get a full spec LCI for that money so was considering a saloon. Even had a test drive a week or so ago at the local dealer in a LCI saloon. The drive was ok, but that was it. The boot seemed tiny too - coming from a hatchback anyway. That drive told me I wanted a Touring and not to compromise.
Then a dealer up country phoned to say a deal had just fallen through on a touring so did I want it. Bloody hell yes - especially after they read the spec.
LCI - with adaptive suspension
Pro media.
Mineral Grey.
Electric seats.
Adaptive cruise control.
HUD.
Reversing Camera.
Park Assist.
Auto lights & high beam assist.
just no HK sound - just basic 6 speaker system. 30K miles, just on two years old, and under budget.
Now I probably said yes too quickly and did not press too hard for a deal, but what the hell.
Picked it up on Friday and have done just over 500 miles, averaging 43mpg, which obviously includes some playing about! So comfy, so fast (this is the quickest car I have owned). The Nav today was a bit of an arse, with many diversions etc sometimes getting me to double back on myself.
The BMW Connected Drive is novel - though I failed to add todays destination via the phone for some reason. I have Apple Music Playlists plying through the Pro media (though not with CarPlay). The voice control is tip top.
The one thing I don't like is the length of time to fold the mirrors on locking. Seems I have to hold the button down for ages - my DS5 did this automatically. Also, Park Assist did not work as I thought it would - when I tried it, the car tried to perpendicular park, instead of parallel park. Any ideas on this?
Anyway, I definitely made the right choice over the Alfa Giulia which was the other contender. Some pics?
But moving on to 2018 - I wanted a new car - well new to me anyway. I had a budget of £25K so went looking. I decided I wanted a 3 instead of a 5 as one of the kids has now left home, so we don't really need the space. So I went looking. It was difficult to get a full spec LCI for that money so was considering a saloon. Even had a test drive a week or so ago at the local dealer in a LCI saloon. The drive was ok, but that was it. The boot seemed tiny too - coming from a hatchback anyway. That drive told me I wanted a Touring and not to compromise.
Then a dealer up country phoned to say a deal had just fallen through on a touring so did I want it. Bloody hell yes - especially after they read the spec.
LCI - with adaptive suspension
Pro media.
Mineral Grey.
Electric seats.
Adaptive cruise control.
HUD.
Reversing Camera.
Park Assist.
Auto lights & high beam assist.
just no HK sound - just basic 6 speaker system. 30K miles, just on two years old, and under budget.
Now I probably said yes too quickly and did not press too hard for a deal, but what the hell.
Picked it up on Friday and have done just over 500 miles, averaging 43mpg, which obviously includes some playing about! So comfy, so fast (this is the quickest car I have owned). The Nav today was a bit of an arse, with many diversions etc sometimes getting me to double back on myself.
The BMW Connected Drive is novel - though I failed to add todays destination via the phone for some reason. I have Apple Music Playlists plying through the Pro media (though not with CarPlay). The voice control is tip top.
The one thing I don't like is the length of time to fold the mirrors on locking. Seems I have to hold the button down for ages - my DS5 did this automatically. Also, Park Assist did not work as I thought it would - when I tried it, the car tried to perpendicular park, instead of parallel park. Any ideas on this?
Anyway, I definitely made the right choice over the Alfa Giulia which was the other contender. Some pics?
Burnham said:
Thats lovely, nice spec and obviously the best colour for an F31!
How are you trying to automatically fold the mirrors in? Is this another feature of mine Im just about to discover?
Ive not got the connected drive app..is it worth it?
Holding the lock button down. It closes the windows etc too! How are you trying to automatically fold the mirrors in? Is this another feature of mine Im just about to discover?
Ive not got the connected drive app..is it worth it?
The app? It’s novel.... but I am still learning about it! Probably will be good in the summer when I need to cool the car before getting on!
Edited by mattyn1 on Monday 29th January 22:58
mattyn1 said:
Burnham said:
Thats lovely, nice spec and obviously the best colour for an F31!
How are you trying to automatically fold the mirrors in? Is this another feature of mine Im just about to discover?
Ive not got the connected drive app..is it worth it?
Holding the lock button down. It closes the windows etc too! How are you trying to automatically fold the mirrors in? Is this another feature of mine Im just about to discover?
Ive not got the connected drive app..is it worth it?
The app? It’s novel.... but I am still learning about it! Probably will be good in the summer when I need to cool the car before getting on!
Edited by mattyn1 on Monday 29th January 22:58
I was hoping to use the app to defrost the car and warm it up this morning: it isn’t that clever. Cold air (obviously).
I managed to send the destination to it last night though. It appears in “messages” not directly in Nav. That works quite well and is a simple click to accept when getting in the car.
I do like how I can play my Apple Music play lists without having CarPlay.
The heated mirrors seem to take ages to defrost and clear. As far as I can tell they are in all the time? Is this right? Even with the rear heated window on, they did not clear quickly.
I managed to send the destination to it last night though. It appears in “messages” not directly in Nav. That works quite well and is a simple click to accept when getting in the car.
I do like how I can play my Apple Music play lists without having CarPlay.
The heated mirrors seem to take ages to defrost and clear. As far as I can tell they are in all the time? Is this right? Even with the rear heated window on, they did not clear quickly.
mattyn1 said:
I was hoping to use the app to defrost the car and warm it up this morning: it isn’t that clever. Cold air (obviously).
I managed to send the destination to it last night though. It appears in “messages” not directly in Nav. That works quite well and is a simple click to accept when getting in the car.
I do like how I can play my Apple Music play lists without having CarPlay.
The heated mirrors seem to take ages to defrost and clear. As far as I can tell they are in all the time? Is this right? Even with the rear heated window on, they did not clear quickly.
There is no heating from the climate when the engine is off. It is however useful in Summer to cool the car.I managed to send the destination to it last night though. It appears in “messages” not directly in Nav. That works quite well and is a simple click to accept when getting in the car.
I do like how I can play my Apple Music play lists without having CarPlay.
The heated mirrors seem to take ages to defrost and clear. As far as I can tell they are in all the time? Is this right? Even with the rear heated window on, they did not clear quickly.
Yep I have been caught out by the second one.
There is no manual control over the mirrors, they are technically on all the time. The rear heated window has not bearing on it, the front demister does, but the car will use the condensation sensor and outside temperature to regulate at what percentage they are actually "on". In normal driving it is something between 0 - 8 %. Below freezing then they do thaw frost very quickly usually. Downside in my experience is that they are very slow to remove condensation.
In regards to the mirrors not folding on locking, yes they fold whilst holding the lock button. Instead of being as a simple on off system there is a time delay that can be changed by coding the car. Some that want them to fold like other cars immediately reduce this delay to 0 (new G series cars fold automatically at locking now).
The main reason I believe for the above delay is to prevent mirror motor damage when frozen, saying that mine have unfolded fine even with frost, but when I know it is going to be really heavy frost I leave them unfolded to prevent such issues. This therefore means it is easily changed on a whim, unlike other cars that mean being in the car and going through menus.
Not sure on the 3, but on the 6 if you go under climate settings you can also direct how much of the heated seat power is directed to the base or back. So for those with a bad back it can be a massive help.
Edited by Ninja59 on Tuesday 30th January 11:51
There numerous ways to "code".
The easiest for some is using Carly and the OBD2 dongle and phone.
Others use laptops with the required cables and programs to change values and uploading them to the cars.
Some coding is simply changing items from disabled to active or in the car of the mirrors the time delay
Do watch doing coding as certain dealers frown upon it as it can cause certain issues depending on exactly what is done. Essentially you are changing values and files in some cases to do certain things.
For example changing the picture on the idrive screen when starting up can be the RR Spirit of Ecstasy or M logo.
The easiest for some is using Carly and the OBD2 dongle and phone.
Others use laptops with the required cables and programs to change values and uploading them to the cars.
Some coding is simply changing items from disabled to active or in the car of the mirrors the time delay
Do watch doing coding as certain dealers frown upon it as it can cause certain issues depending on exactly what is done. Essentially you are changing values and files in some cases to do certain things.
For example changing the picture on the idrive screen when starting up can be the RR Spirit of Ecstasy or M logo.
Edited by Ninja59 on Tuesday 30th January 13:04
Lovely car! I checked in on another thread of yours and saw that you bought this.
I have to say that the dealer told you a lie, it didn't fall through I just told them I was going to look at it on Sunday rather than Saturday afternoon when you bought it.
A blinding price with the spec it has. I too was worried about the basic speakers but decided the rest of the spec made up for that.
I had a test drive from Friday through to Monday to make my mind up and by the Friday evening I was sold. I'd made plans to visit family on the Saturday so told myself if it was still there on Sunday it was meant to be, called up on Saturday afternoon and it was sold. Still went to Oxford to visit the museum on the Sunday anyway.
I came on here and saw it staring at me like a giant "screw you" but hey, life goes on. I told myself I needed to do a proper test drive and what was meant to be was meant to be.
Enjoy it. They are pretty potent!
I have to say that the dealer told you a lie, it didn't fall through I just told them I was going to look at it on Sunday rather than Saturday afternoon when you bought it.
A blinding price with the spec it has. I too was worried about the basic speakers but decided the rest of the spec made up for that.
I had a test drive from Friday through to Monday to make my mind up and by the Friday evening I was sold. I'd made plans to visit family on the Saturday so told myself if it was still there on Sunday it was meant to be, called up on Saturday afternoon and it was sold. Still went to Oxford to visit the museum on the Sunday anyway.
I came on here and saw it staring at me like a giant "screw you" but hey, life goes on. I told myself I needed to do a proper test drive and what was meant to be was meant to be.
Enjoy it. They are pretty potent!
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