BMW 118d opinions/ownership experiences??
Discussion
Hi all,
I've just been looking to upgrade from my 1.4 Polo as I've had it for almost 1.5yrs since passing my test and the 1 series seem to be the best option for a relatively new driver like me (without having to mortgage a house for the insurance lol). I was just wondering what the most common faults or ownership nitpicks are that any of you know off.
Currently I'm looking at this particular vehicle: https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201901184064096...
I've tried finding some older threads but they all seem to be more focused on the 120d which I know from reading around has a lot of Cam belt issues and is essentially an "avoid if possible car" in most PH peep's opinions, I also couldn't realistically afford to insure it and run it without being too skint.
Idk if its gonna help, but I do about 190-250 miles per week & most of them are motorway/dual carriageway/country road miles (I thought that maybe investing into a diesel would be worth it??)
Any advice is welcome.
I've just been looking to upgrade from my 1.4 Polo as I've had it for almost 1.5yrs since passing my test and the 1 series seem to be the best option for a relatively new driver like me (without having to mortgage a house for the insurance lol). I was just wondering what the most common faults or ownership nitpicks are that any of you know off.
Currently I'm looking at this particular vehicle: https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201901184064096...
I've tried finding some older threads but they all seem to be more focused on the 120d which I know from reading around has a lot of Cam belt issues and is essentially an "avoid if possible car" in most PH peep's opinions, I also couldn't realistically afford to insure it and run it without being too skint.
Idk if its gonna help, but I do about 190-250 miles per week & most of them are motorway/dual carriageway/country road miles (I thought that maybe investing into a diesel would be worth it??)
Any advice is welcome.
I know It's a compelatly different engine but I've ran a 2008 120i for the last 5 years or so. I use it for work, find it comfortable on the motorway and it's never broken down or anything. Only issue is the Diff is making a bit of a wine now. Currently on 214k, no rust etc anywhere.
Have had it serviced every 10-12k as I was told the BMW intervals are a bit of a load of rubbish
Have had it serviced every 10-12k as I was told the BMW intervals are a bit of a load of rubbish
Wife had a 118d MSport from new, on a '58 I think and ran for 3 years. Loved it, great little car. 3-door also, amazing how much you can get in the back. If you're on PHs I suspect RWD is a bonus anyway. Lot of fun to drive, plus it's a BMW. Know plenty of people that run them now with little to no issues
Carguy85 said:
Where to begin? Rust at an extremely quick rate under the sills where the jacking points are due to the styling of the body work, low on power compared to their 2, 3, 4 and 5 series counterparts. Parts are very expensive if something goes wrong. Rear wheel drive so not very safe to drive especially in the rain, the ECU is almost always going to fail on these cars due to the lack of time put in to designing them in the factory...... I could go on. Your better off getting a golf tdi they are much more reliable and have much more street cred.
This is mostly wrong. Carguy85 said:
Where to begin? Rust at an extremely quick rate under the sills where the jacking points are due to the styling of the body work, low on power compared to their 2, 3, 4 and 5 series counterparts. Parts are very expensive if something goes wrong. Rear wheel drive so not very safe to drive especially in the rain, the ECU is almost always going to fail on these cars due to the lack of time put in to designing them in the factory...... I could go on. Your better off getting a golf tdi they are much more reliable and have much more street cred.
That’s a lot of nonsense in one paragraph. I can only assume the car becomes dangerous only when you get behind the wheel of itOh and same engines as in the 2 series and 3 series - welcome to the internet where eveyone speaks like they are experts
Carguy85]utts said:
Ran a 118d for 3 yrs. averaged 49.7mpg over the time. Mix of A roads/dual carriageway and motorway on way to work. Never had any rust issues, it just went through rear tyres quickly. Never had a problem in the wet with it being RWD[/quote
You were obviously just very lucky.
Not really, it was on a '62 plate. Serviced when needed. Warmed up before giving it any stick. Was great in the twisty stuff even though it was an auto, which by the way was a really nice gearbox.You were obviously just very lucky.
Pioneer said:
Wife had a 118d MSport from new, on a '58 I think and ran for 3 years. Loved it, great little car. 3-door also, amazing how much you can get in the back. If you're on PHs I suspect RWD is a bonus anyway. Lot of fun to drive, plus it's a BMW. Know plenty of people that run them now with little to no issues
How would you say the fuel consumption is, as much as I wanna have some fun. I'd like for it be some what nice to my wallet when it comes to filling up?Carguy85 said:
Where to begin? Rust at an extremely quick rate under the sills where the jacking points are due to the styling of the body work, low on power compared to their 2, 3, 4 and 5 series counterparts. Parts are very expensive if something goes wrong. Rear wheel drive so not very safe to drive especially in the rain, the ECU is almost always going to fail on these cars due to the lack of time put in to designing them in the factory...... I could go on. Your better off getting a golf tdi they are much more reliable and have much more street cred.
I've never seen this in all the lurking I've done. I've also test driven my mum's TDI and honestly It handles & drives just like my Polo; being very dull and and boring (not that its a bad car, but I kinda want something different). Besides for some reason it actually costs me more to insure myself on a 2014 Golf TDI (as strange as that is??). Mutts said:
Ran a 118d for 3 yrs. averaged 49.7mpg over the time. Mix of A roads/dual carriageway and motorway on way to work. Never had any rust issues, it just went through rear tyres quickly. Never had a problem in the wet with it being RWD
Any huge engine issues or major replacements needed in that time? I've been looking around and so far there don't seem to be anything as wrong with the 118ds as there are with the 120ds. I don't mind if they eat through the rear tyres ( I'm pretty sure I'll end up ruining them during the first few months of ownership after coming from a FWD polo lol).Carguy85 said:
Where to begin? Rust at an extremely quick rate under the sills where the jacking points are due to the styling of the body work, low on power compared to their 2, 3, 4 and 5 series counterparts. Parts are very expensive if something goes wrong. Rear wheel drive so not very safe to drive especially in the rain, the ECU is almost always going to fail on these cars due to the lack of time put in to designing them in the factory...... I could go on. Your better off getting a golf tdi they are much more reliable and have much more street cred.
I think you've got the wrong thread. None of the above is true. Mattiebmw said:
I know It's a compelatly different engine but I've ran a 2008 120i for the last 5 years or so. I use it for work, find it comfortable on the motorway and it's never broken down or anything. Only issue is the Diff is making a bit of a wine now. Currently on 214k, no rust etc anywhere.
Have had it serviced every 10-12k as I was told the BMW intervals are a bit of a load of rubbish
Anyone who has taken a 118i or 120i to 214'000 miles of a) a hero and b ) worthy of an Iron Cross. How the hell dod you manage that!?Have had it serviced every 10-12k as I was told the BMW intervals are a bit of a load of rubbish
The diff whine is the pinion bearings, a common issue. I'd syphon the oil out and fire some EP140 in there to keep it alive - at that mileage it's probably not worth the 500 quid for either a diff rebuild or finding/fitting a good used one.
I've got another spanner to throw into all this, would you say its worth me getting the 118d or the 118i for the amount of miles I do a week. IApparently the dealership just got in a 118i, its the same spec (M-sport) but the 118i is slightly cheaper and newer, but having just checked the insurance its about £150 more expensive yearly tpo. And considering my kinda miles, is it worth me sticking with the Diesel or actually looking into the petrol?
OP, my wife runs a 2005 model year 120d. She has had a few issues - water in the relay tray shorting out relays (possibly an issue of the previous owner jet washing it?), a couple of times where idler pulleys for the accessory belt have decided they dont want to be part of the car and an issue with the swirl flaps becoming gummed up causing poor idling. We have experienced no other issues, the car has near on 130,000 miles - still on the original turbo, still on the original injectors. This model had no DPF, so no issues there. As for being rear wheel drive and dangerous, either my wife is some sort of driving goddess or the car really isnt that bad because she's never had any issues with getting around even on days where snow has been falling. She is a pretty good driver, but the car also is nice to drive with no surprises. Her's is on run-flats, which used to not be a good thing but these days run flats arnt as bad as they used to be.
My advice is to look for one that has had more frequent oil changes than the BMW specified intervals - for what it;s worth, We've stuck to less than 10,000 miles and generally start planning servicing around 6000 mile intervals (usually ends up getting done around 8000 mile intervals). Frequent oil changes seem better for protecting, in addition to everything else, the turbocharger. I've read that the oil feeds are a bit narrow, and sludge can collect restricting oil flow.
Fuel economy is fine, around 40 mpg - she does a mixture of motorway driving and town driving, and coupled with the auto box it's a bit thirstier than a manual. On a run we've happily and easily averaged around 48 mpg.
Edited by thatdude on Monday 8th April 11:21
Edited by thatdude on Monday 8th April 11:24
SgtMorningWood said:
Any huge engine issues or major replacements needed in that time? I've been looking around and so far there don't seem to be anything as wrong with the 118ds as there are with the 120ds. I don't mind if they eat through the rear tyres ( I'm pretty sure I'll end up ruining them during the first few months of ownership after coming from a FWD polo lol).
No big issues popped up while i had it. Bought it with 19k on the clock, went back to BMW with 48K after 3yrs of use. Was still on its original front tires but had been through 3 sets of rears! I stuck with the OEM Bridgestone RE050 Potenza run flats. Didnt have any issues with ride comfort even in Sport mode(it had the M Sport suspension).I have a 120d from 2014 which is the same engine as you will have in that 118d. I use my car for commuting 60 miles per day and my average MPG 53.5mpg. The engine in that BMW like mine is the N47 and there are issues with the timing chain. One reason for the issue might be not enough oil changes or the owners letting the oil run low. Oil change intervals are 18,000 miles but I always perform an oil change between services myself i.e. every 9,000 miles. Other than the timing chain issue I don’t know of other common issues.
bracken78 said:
I have a 120d from 2014 which is the same engine as you will have in that 118d. I use my car for commuting 60 miles per day and my average MPG 53.5mpg. The engine in that BMW like mine is the N47 and there are issues with the timing chain. One reason for the issue might be not enough oil changes or the owners letting the oil run low. Oil change intervals are 18,000 miles but I always perform an oil change between services myself i.e. every 9,000 miles. Other than the timing chain issue I don’t know of other common issues.
The MPG sounds great tbh, but I only really do short motorway journeys usually, its only really 2/5 days in which my journeys are the longest if I'm honest (exceeding 90miles there n back), the other 3 are usually a mix of country roads or dual carriage ways with a bit of town driving which would be around 25miles (there n back), would you say that's gonna be a problem for the dpf? Cos after sitting down and working it out even in total I only do approximately 10kmiles a year.Mutts said:
No big issues popped up while i had it. Bought it with 19k on the clock, went back to BMW with 48K after 3yrs of use. Was still on its original front tires but had been through 3 sets of rears! I stuck with the OEM Bridgestone RE050 Potenza run flats. Didnt have any issues with ride comfort even in Sport mode(it had the M Sport suspension).
Thats good to hear then, so even though the 118d & the 120d share the same engine, they don't share the same problems? Is it because its slightly detuned or are they completely different engines?Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff