Discussion
[quote)
They seemed to have it on sale for months, I kept seeing the ad on Autotrader, although I think another company on the same street tried to sell it.
I guess as traders they used it as miles increase by 1k. And I did think I saw it driven around that part Cardiff, test drives?
Says owner changed December 2016, so I guess after 5 months it was sold.
Don't know anymore of the history i.e. why s/he sold it so quickly or how it got to Kent.
But you should bring it back to Wales, it may get homesick, take it on our excellent country roads
.
Here's my mint M3 Comp pack having a run out on some of your fantastic roads. They are fantastic cars,
[/quote]
They seemed to have it on sale for months, I kept seeing the ad on Autotrader, although I think another company on the same street tried to sell it.
I guess as traders they used it as miles increase by 1k. And I did think I saw it driven around that part Cardiff, test drives?
Says owner changed December 2016, so I guess after 5 months it was sold.
Don't know anymore of the history i.e. why s/he sold it so quickly or how it got to Kent.
But you should bring it back to Wales, it may get homesick, take it on our excellent country roads
.
Here's my mint M3 Comp pack having a run out on some of your fantastic roads. They are fantastic cars,
Edited by Smuler on Sunday 10th September 14:02
[/quote]
Picked up the manual blue coupe this evening! Wow, what a machine. Makes going normal speeds around corners seem epic, going round corners fast is like a physics bending exercise. How does it turn in so instant and flat and NEVER understeer? Ok havnt pushed that hard yet but even so that's how it feels for now compared to my standard e92 I've traded in. And the soundtrack, don't even have to push hard to put a wide smile on your face. The noise as the engine spins up during next gear engagement is just a joy. I've got a V8 And it revs like a 2 stroke!
My clutch foot is more of a club foot at the minute though after 2 years on a London friendly auto so not quite matching the clutch bite with the blips on downshift yet. The gear shift is so sweet, light and notchy but have to work on that clutch accuracy to keep it sweet. Easy driver when needed too, happy to pootle under 2k revs in 6th. It even managed 30mpg between London and Oxford on the M40 at 65-75mph on cruise. Very impressed, didn't think these could do that without slipstreamimg a national express (which I've been known to do). Happy Yorkshireman.
The bad; as mentioned before purchase the battery light warning came on after couple mins with ignition on. Seen this on couple others so not too worried. The explanation was the car has been sat for two months since last sale and short trips. Fair enough, I'll do a week of commuting (25 miles) and if that doesn't sort he can fork out for a new battery on the warranty. Does that sound fair? Would anyone expect it to take longer to charge back to full health? It hesitates slightly on start up, couple extra spins before firing than some I viewed.
Oh and the oil warning came on asking for a litre half way home. It's only done 2k miles since last oil service; seems a bit soon to me. Any reason for concern? What's the oil eat rate on these? 1l per 2k miles seems a bit too thirsty. And how careful should one drive on this warning? Need to do another 20 miles to get home. Not going to cause damage i assume? Would go into limp surely if so?
There's also a high pitched bit feint constant sound when above 30mph. It's not linked to wheel, engine or ground speed. Sounds like a whistling vent and that it's coming from centre of the car/dash but vent settings don't change it. Any ideas? The door mirrors whistle too, might so some aero work.
Pics up next!
My clutch foot is more of a club foot at the minute though after 2 years on a London friendly auto so not quite matching the clutch bite with the blips on downshift yet. The gear shift is so sweet, light and notchy but have to work on that clutch accuracy to keep it sweet. Easy driver when needed too, happy to pootle under 2k revs in 6th. It even managed 30mpg between London and Oxford on the M40 at 65-75mph on cruise. Very impressed, didn't think these could do that without slipstreamimg a national express (which I've been known to do). Happy Yorkshireman.
The bad; as mentioned before purchase the battery light warning came on after couple mins with ignition on. Seen this on couple others so not too worried. The explanation was the car has been sat for two months since last sale and short trips. Fair enough, I'll do a week of commuting (25 miles) and if that doesn't sort he can fork out for a new battery on the warranty. Does that sound fair? Would anyone expect it to take longer to charge back to full health? It hesitates slightly on start up, couple extra spins before firing than some I viewed.
Oh and the oil warning came on asking for a litre half way home. It's only done 2k miles since last oil service; seems a bit soon to me. Any reason for concern? What's the oil eat rate on these? 1l per 2k miles seems a bit too thirsty. And how careful should one drive on this warning? Need to do another 20 miles to get home. Not going to cause damage i assume? Would go into limp surely if so?
There's also a high pitched bit feint constant sound when above 30mph. It's not linked to wheel, engine or ground speed. Sounds like a whistling vent and that it's coming from centre of the car/dash but vent settings don't change it. Any ideas? The door mirrors whistle too, might so some aero work.
Pics up next!
So coming back on topic, regardless of batteries, having to buy oil on first trip.and the knowledge I'll probab have to replace all pads and discs in next 12 months at 19.9k and 34k miles.and almost fill bmw history I think it's been worth the wait. Feels solid heavy and new to drive. Think I got one of the best examples around at steal of a price. Parkers saying worth 23k. Hope it stays real and no ghosts in the shell. Going to put it on bmw ext warranty too, had a quote at 114 per month comprehensive.
Congrats obviously , looks by far the better looking and better colour German car at the petrol station. 
Isn't it a case that if battery is really going, funny things happen first ? I know I had radio , Nav problems on mine and then .., dead. It was the original so 12 years but given your car is 9 years old, is it the original ? Maybe it is dying of natural causes.
But has it stood around , entirely ?
No test drives at all ?
As far as I know , BMW warranties ,other than Approved Used and the original warranty from new , don't cover batteries , so if there is an issue it might be an argument against the dealer for selling car with a fault (Sales of Goods Act or what it is now) rather than a warranty claim ?
Oil useage is tricky , it would bother me as it takes me back to problems with an old E46 which started at 2k per quart and then got to 200. I think each car is different and maybe see if other owners say this is the norm.
But if the Ms a daily driver , that's a pain in my book as it only has the electronic dipstick which on my 335i which I think got to 5k -7k per quart at 85k miles , it was never that accurate.
I'd probably ask a BMW Specialist as well, as I did with my E46 when it got worse. Nothing had shown on diagnostic but they figured it out , tho I had a tiny leak and there's no mentiom of such an issue in the last MOT.
And ask previous owner , depending on how many miles BVC did , he could have done up to 7k in his short ownership , so was he filling up ?
Did J and B notice anything ?
Isn't it a case that if battery is really going, funny things happen first ? I know I had radio , Nav problems on mine and then .., dead. It was the original so 12 years but given your car is 9 years old, is it the original ? Maybe it is dying of natural causes.
But has it stood around , entirely ?
No test drives at all ?
As far as I know , BMW warranties ,other than Approved Used and the original warranty from new , don't cover batteries , so if there is an issue it might be an argument against the dealer for selling car with a fault (Sales of Goods Act or what it is now) rather than a warranty claim ?
Oil useage is tricky , it would bother me as it takes me back to problems with an old E46 which started at 2k per quart and then got to 200. I think each car is different and maybe see if other owners say this is the norm.
But if the Ms a daily driver , that's a pain in my book as it only has the electronic dipstick which on my 335i which I think got to 5k -7k per quart at 85k miles , it was never that accurate.
I'd probably ask a BMW Specialist as well, as I did with my E46 when it got worse. Nothing had shown on diagnostic but they figured it out , tho I had a tiny leak and there's no mentiom of such an issue in the last MOT.
And ask previous owner , depending on how many miles BVC did , he could have done up to 7k in his short ownership , so was he filling up ?
Did J and B notice anything ?
Edited by Smuler on Tuesday 12th September 06:56
- Did a bit of googling and a few posters on several forums have said that if it was driven hard during running in period, it actually uses less oil.
Edited by Smuler on Tuesday 12th September 07:27
tenmantaylor said:
Picked up the manual blue coupe this evening! Wow, what a machine. Makes going normal speeds around corners seem epic, going round corners fast is like a physics bending exercise. How does it turn in so instant and flat and NEVER understeer? Ok havnt pushed that hard yet but even so that's how it feels for now compared to my standard e92 I've traded in. And the soundtrack, don't even have to push hard to put a wide smile on your face. The noise as the engine spins up during next gear engagement is just a joy. I've got a V8 And it revs like a 2 stroke!
BMW increased the front track width hugely for the M3, whereas they only put a tiny amount more on the rear. I think this is why it feels much more pointy than the non-M cars. My M135i wasn't a million miles away in terms of outright pace, certainly on B-roads, but the M3, even at 3.5k to 6k is so much more rewarding than redlining the M135i.
Regarding oil consumption. Mine's not moved yet, but I've only done about 500 miles in mine since I bought it a month ago. I hear that they do like a drop of oil though and I'll obviously be keeping an eye on it. Mine came with an oil bag container and some oil, so I do expect it to get through it.
Thanks for the oil tips! I've ordered the Castrol 10w60 fst titanium from Opie via amazon, £14 a litre which turns up in a day or two. Going to see if can find a bottle closer in the meantime. 3 garages so far and non have it. There's a big halfords nearby reckon they'll have some.
Re: the slight whine, it is linked to revs in that its audible above 2.5k but it doesn't alter in pitch.
And noticing a slight slap/wrattle/bonk sound sometimes when depressing the clutch. Not every time just at certain pressures/gears. usually at peak torque transfer of the clutch which I find slightly concerning. Getting it up on a ramp at my local M3 enthusiast garage to look for anything glaring on Tuesday.
Re: the slight whine, it is linked to revs in that its audible above 2.5k but it doesn't alter in pitch.
And noticing a slight slap/wrattle/bonk sound sometimes when depressing the clutch. Not every time just at certain pressures/gears. usually at peak torque transfer of the clutch which I find slightly concerning. Getting it up on a ramp at my local M3 enthusiast garage to look for anything glaring on Tuesday.
For someone currently toying with swapping my 2016 Megane RS for an E92 M3 this is a very interesting thread!
How long do clutches last on the manual variants? I'm looking at cars with circa 40-50k miles, typically how far through the clutch life are these cars likely to be? I'm looking for indicative figures as it's dependant on driving style etc.
EDC, worth it if you do trackdays or am I better looking for a none EDC car and fitting some more focussed suspension? KW etc.
I want a car that feels special to drive and can do a few trackdays a year robustly.
How long do clutches last on the manual variants? I'm looking at cars with circa 40-50k miles, typically how far through the clutch life are these cars likely to be? I'm looking for indicative figures as it's dependant on driving style etc.
EDC, worth it if you do trackdays or am I better looking for a none EDC car and fitting some more focussed suspension? KW etc.
I want a car that feels special to drive and can do a few trackdays a year robustly.
So half a day and 200 miles in the M3 has been to the petrol station twice and now in BMW Swindon as nowhere stocks 10w60 local. Even BMW have run out of 1L bottles, they are having to use from their bulk stock. Nice to get a BMW receipt in the book early doors! And they're doing it for me for £18.
tenmantaylor said:
And noticing a slight slap/wrattle/bonk sound sometimes when depressing the clutch. Not every time just at certain pressures/gears. usually at peak torque transfer of the clutch which I find slightly concerning. Getting it up on a ramp at my local M3 enthusiast garage to look for anything glaring on Tuesday.
I think this is a feature in the manual cars. I get it when parking and it sounds identical to the sound my E46 M3 used to make, which it did from when I bought it to when I sold it and was never a problem in the 30,000 miles that I put on the car.No but it's possible it was underfilled at last service. I'll keep an eye on it with a spare at the ready in the boot.
Thanks re: the clunking. Thought someone had hit the car pulling out of the petrol station. I'm like a paranoid racing driver leading on the last lap listening out for signs of failure. Getting in independant inspection on Tuesday with a local M3 enthusiast/garage and paying to have an official BMW health check next week. All clear from those and I'll be happy(er).
Thanks re: the clunking. Thought someone had hit the car pulling out of the petrol station. I'm like a paranoid racing driver leading on the last lap listening out for signs of failure. Getting in independant inspection on Tuesday with a local M3 enthusiast/garage and paying to have an official BMW health check next week. All clear from those and I'll be happy(er).
tenmantaylor said:
No but it's possible it was underfilled at last service. I'll keep an eye on it with a spare at the ready in the boot.
Thanks re: the clunking. Thought someone had hit the car pulling out of the petrol station. I'm like a paranoid racing driver leading on the last lap listening out for signs of failure. Getting in independant inspection on Tuesday with a local M3 enthusiast/garage and paying to have an official BMW health check next week. All clear from those and I'll be happy(er).
Smart move.Thanks re: the clunking. Thought someone had hit the car pulling out of the petrol station. I'm like a paranoid racing driver leading on the last lap listening out for signs of failure. Getting in independant inspection on Tuesday with a local M3 enthusiast/garage and paying to have an official BMW health check next week. All clear from those and I'll be happy(er).
I had a BMW health check when they did my MOT, seemed pretty good. Report should prove no issues at the time and then, though I've never had them quibble, no argument there were pre existing conditions should you ever have to claim under BMW warranty.
Still pretty sure the warranty won't cover battery, so hopefully any issues with that identified now in case it's an issue dealer can be made to handle.
Seems changing rear diff oil is fairly normal, every third oil service I read, so the local Cardiff garage did that and recorded it, which can be more than is said for the BMW dealers.
bennyboysvuk said:
I think this is a feature in the manual cars. I get it when parking and it sounds identical to the sound my E46 M3 used to make, which it did from when I bought it to when I sold it and was never a problem in the 30,000 miles that I put on the car.
So having read through this: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...It does sound like a feature of the dual mass flywheel. As long as it is working as intended I have no problem with it at all.
BUT the plot thickens. I've just found out from BMW direct (not dealer) that the car's history is thus:
· 06/06/2017 BMW Sytner High Wycombe
· 22/10/2015 BMW Sytner Cardiff
· 21/03/2013 BMW Sytner Cardiff
· 18/04/2011 BMW Sytner Swansea
· 29/01/2010 BMW Sytner Cardiff
· 24/09/2009 BMW Sytner Cardiff
Which all ties in perfectly to all documentation. I called High Wycombe Sytner just now to find out exactly what work was carried out at this service. Turns out it wasn't a service, it was repair work to the gearbox. When I asked for more detail she said she couldn't tell me because of data protection. "But it's my car" I quipped to which she replied I'd need to speak to the service people who leave at 5.30, she's just bookings. It was 5.27pm.
Hopefully something failed and was replaced. The dealer hasn't said any work was done at High Wycombe, just a check but hasn't provided me any documentation. I smell a bit of smoke in the air.
This is quite reassuring:
The wording and tone are clearly written by, or is a transcription of an engineers explanation. Love Germans!
From: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4163...
The wording and tone are clearly written by, or is a transcription of an engineers explanation. Love Germans!
From: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4163...
Edited by tenmantaylor on Tuesday 12th September 18:28
I've got around Data Protection by them removing the name and address from any invoice before sending it to me.
Other Sytner dealers should still have access to the same system.
Interesting who took the car in as , June us in the period of "where did the car go " between the last owner listing it for sale in May and it ending up at your selling dealer??
Other Sytner dealers should still have access to the same system.
Interesting who took the car in as , June us in the period of "where did the car go " between the last owner listing it for sale in May and it ending up at your selling dealer??
The dealer says he took it to Sytner High Wycombe for a diagnostic, not for any work. It would seem strange for the current dealer to have had it since early June till now without 'owning it' or having it for sale till very recently. But the previous owner was in Wales so would make no sense to bring it to High Wycombe. Dealer isn't very responsive to questions about this.
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