F30 (LCI) 340i M-Sport - ordered!
Discussion
Right, had my first proper drive today, very, very pleased considering I bought it totally on spec without seeing it or having a test drive.
Initial thoughts -
Pros
Engine note, a lovely creamy burble, much better than I thought it would be, from the inside it reminds me of an e46 325/330
Drive train feels really smooth and supple, I can see that I'll pootle around in comfort or eco for 90% of the time.
Economy, I filled up this morning, have done over 30 miles around town, petrol gauge hasn't moved a hair, in the E60 I'd be well on the way to a quarter of a tank consumed.
I'm starting to see the meaning of the old cliche 'more useable performance' it certainly has over the old M5, however the 340 is nowhere near as balls out quick when pushing on as the M5 could be when everything was turned up to max (but then the chances to do that are few and far between)
Cons
Size of key fob, its bloody massive compared to the old ones!
Size of the rear mid head rest, even at its lowest it significantly obscures the view from the rear view mirror, can it be removed?
Seating position, still haven't found a good place yet, seats are comfy though.
Some of the cabin ergonomics, windows controls are really awkward to access compared to the e60 in relation to where my arm naturally sits on the arm rest.
Paint work seems to be very soft, I've already put a mark in the drivers door by very gently opening it to rest against a pillar (wasn't enough space to let door open into first rest position)
TBC
Runflats don't seem that bad, although its been very windy today so hard to know for sure.
Missing comfort access, had it in both previous cars and didn't think it'd make that much difference.
I ended up getting it for just over 35% off list price, I don't think that's bad going for a car thats barely two months old with just 60 miles on the clock (and 50 of those were driving it from the original dealer to my local dealer)
Initial thoughts -
Pros
Engine note, a lovely creamy burble, much better than I thought it would be, from the inside it reminds me of an e46 325/330
Drive train feels really smooth and supple, I can see that I'll pootle around in comfort or eco for 90% of the time.
Economy, I filled up this morning, have done over 30 miles around town, petrol gauge hasn't moved a hair, in the E60 I'd be well on the way to a quarter of a tank consumed.
I'm starting to see the meaning of the old cliche 'more useable performance' it certainly has over the old M5, however the 340 is nowhere near as balls out quick when pushing on as the M5 could be when everything was turned up to max (but then the chances to do that are few and far between)
Cons
Size of key fob, its bloody massive compared to the old ones!
Size of the rear mid head rest, even at its lowest it significantly obscures the view from the rear view mirror, can it be removed?
Seating position, still haven't found a good place yet, seats are comfy though.
Some of the cabin ergonomics, windows controls are really awkward to access compared to the e60 in relation to where my arm naturally sits on the arm rest.
Paint work seems to be very soft, I've already put a mark in the drivers door by very gently opening it to rest against a pillar (wasn't enough space to let door open into first rest position)
TBC
Runflats don't seem that bad, although its been very windy today so hard to know for sure.
Missing comfort access, had it in both previous cars and didn't think it'd make that much difference.
I ended up getting it for just over 35% off list price, I don't think that's bad going for a car thats barely two months old with just 60 miles on the clock (and 50 of those were driving it from the original dealer to my local dealer)
Just read this entire thread with interest, as I'm about to pull the trigger on a 440i M Sport and I'm guessing that broadly speaking it's a similar driving and ownership experience to the 340. Just pondering what we think a high-spec car (the one I'm interested in lists at £52k) might be worth after 4 years and 30k miles. I'm guessing £20k and I'm comfortable with that. Just wondering if long-term owners of similar-type cars (or anyone with a decent crystal ball!) can shed any light on this. Thanks all.
SL550M said:
Just read this entire thread with interest, as I'm about to pull the trigger on a 440i M Sport and I'm guessing that broadly speaking it's a similar driving and ownership experience to the 340. Just pondering what we think a high-spec car (the one I'm interested in lists at £52k) might be worth after 4 years and 30k miles. I'm guessing £20k and I'm comfortable with that. Just wondering if long-term owners of similar-type cars (or anyone with a decent crystal ball!) can shed any light on this. Thanks all.
18-20k seems about right to me. It will be the old model by then with the G2x due for launch in a couple of years. Given that you'll pay around 40k new for a car with that list, 5k per year depreciation doesn't seem too bad.SL550M said:
Just read this entire thread with interest, as I'm about to pull the trigger on a 440i M Sport and I'm guessing that broadly speaking it's a similar driving and ownership experience to the 340. Just pondering what we think a high-spec car (the one I'm interested in lists at £52k) might be worth after 4 years and 30k miles. I'm guessing £20k and I'm comfortable with that. Just wondering if long-term owners of similar-type cars (or anyone with a decent crystal ball!) can shed any light on this. Thanks all.
Just be careful if you are buying a used / nearly new car.I too was close to buying a fully loaded pre registered car for £48k and managed to get a much better deal going new.
On a new 440i you will get 20% discount and 2.9% APR - on a new car you will get 3-5% discount max and 5.9% APR at best. New cars also get BMW FS and dealer funding.
My new 440i is due week 29, so mid July.
Take a close look at ordering the MPPSK (Power and Performance Pack) which consists of a light remap (360bhp) and a switchable sports exhaust that sounds epic - search for 340i MPPSK on YouTube.
SL550M said:
Just read this entire thread with interest, as I'm about to pull the trigger on a 440i M Sport and I'm guessing that broadly speaking it's a similar driving and ownership experience to the 340. Just pondering what we think a high-spec car (the one I'm interested in lists at £52k) might be worth after 4 years and 30k miles. I'm guessing £20k and I'm comfortable with that. Just wondering if long-term owners of similar-type cars (or anyone with a decent crystal ball!) can shed any light on this. Thanks all.
52k sounds a lot for a 440i even at list although it depend how much you are paying for it at the end of the day.If you have a decent discount and its under 40k it should be ok. You will get hit with the new VED rates though and £310 for it being over 40k unless its registered already.
Thanks for the input, gents. Car is very high spec at just over £51k, as I recall. Looks like I can secure it for around £41k-ish. Just need to make up my mind on the colour...still not 100 per cent decided.
Hi moffat, yes I almost made the same mistake with a pre-registered car. Luckily, someone on here pointed out the discounts and low APR on the new car, so it's working out much cheaper!
Hi moffat, yes I almost made the same mistake with a pre-registered car. Luckily, someone on here pointed out the discounts and low APR on the new car, so it's working out much cheaper!
After a few weeks of ownership, the only thing I don't like is the level of wind noise from around the wing mirror/A pillar on the driver's side. I've tried masking off the various "openings" without success, so I guess I'll just have to put up with it.
Another few minor gripes: the start/stop function can't be permanently turned off, the track forward/back buttons than used to be on the steering wheel in the E92 are now on the dashboard, the cruise control has to be turned on every time you start the car (unlike the E92) and there's no easily-accessible switched power supply for my dashcam.
Other than that it's great.
Another few minor gripes: the start/stop function can't be permanently turned off, the track forward/back buttons than used to be on the steering wheel in the E92 are now on the dashboard, the cruise control has to be turned on every time you start the car (unlike the E92) and there's no easily-accessible switched power supply for my dashcam.
Other than that it's great.
SL550M said:
Smuler said:
I didn't think of this earlier , should have as I was following one today, but if you're going over 40k could you go for a M4?
Did contemplate the M4 Smuler, but just don't fancy the full-fat M-car experience this time. Going a bit more 'under the radar' for my DD. Monty Python said:
Another few minor gripes: the start/stop function can't be permanently turned off...
You can do this - i have - by coding it out.You just need to buy a bluetooth OBD dongle and download an app (total cost about £50) and you can do that and more.
Or get someone local to do it for you.
If you're in Gloucestershire i'll happily do it for you (though not right now as i'm in Italy!)
VerySideways said:
You can do this - i have - by coding it out.
You just need to buy a bluetooth OBD dongle and download an app (total cost about £50) and you can do that and more.
Or get someone local to do it for you.
If you're in Gloucestershire i'll happily do it for you (though not right now as i'm in Italy!)
A bit too far away - I've found someone local who can do it when I get fed up of doing it manually.You just need to buy a bluetooth OBD dongle and download an app (total cost about £50) and you can do that and more.
Or get someone local to do it for you.
If you're in Gloucestershire i'll happily do it for you (though not right now as i'm in Italy!)
Took my 340i to an F30 event at Surrey rolling road today. Have heard all the x40i models seem to push out more than the stated figure and came away with the below graph. A number of other models were run with all around what the owners expected apart from the 3 x40s which all pushed way above stock. Engine is standard and run on v power.
Nick
Nick
It does feel quite a bit faster than the 135i I had before although the quoted power outputs are close and the 3 series weighs more, so that kind of power output may stack up.
I've done 4000 miles in a year now, and I quite like it. I can't say it's fantastic, but then I think it's probably more to do with the speed of the car and the number of speed cameras around now. The chance to use it's power in the SE isn't that easy.
Having said that, it does a good job of ferry families in comfort over long distances, economically and with a decent sized boot to get stuff into. I specced the M-Sport brakes and they are fantastic (as is the heated steering wheel...)
For the £34k new I paid for it, I think it's decent value.
I've done 4000 miles in a year now, and I quite like it. I can't say it's fantastic, but then I think it's probably more to do with the speed of the car and the number of speed cameras around now. The chance to use it's power in the SE isn't that easy.
Having said that, it does a good job of ferry families in comfort over long distances, economically and with a decent sized boot to get stuff into. I specced the M-Sport brakes and they are fantastic (as is the heated steering wheel...)
For the £34k new I paid for it, I think it's decent value.
Nick_C said:
Took my 340i to an F30 event at Surrey rolling road today. Have heard all the x40i models seem to push out more than the stated figure and came away with the below graph. A number of other models were run with all around what the owners expected apart from the 3 x40s which all pushed way above stock. Engine is standard and run on v power.
Nick
Is that horsepower at the crank? If so, that's what you'd expect. Nick
Nick_C said:
Took my 340i to an F30 event at Surrey rolling road today. Have heard all the x40i models seem to push out more than the stated figure and came away with the below graph. A number of other models were run with all around what the owners expected apart from the 3 x40s which all pushed way above stock. Engine is standard and run on v power.
Nick
Wow.Nick
Don't BMW quote around the 320ish mark for the 340i?
Complete aside but i've been tooling around in an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio for the last week or so and it's supposed to be around 500hp but it doesn't feel like it's got 50% more power than my 340i.
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff