435i M Sport Gran Coupe

[SL550M]

Not strictly an M Car, I know, but I'm starting here as I'm guessing there may be some current/former owners on here with some useful insights. I'm currently looking to buy one, around the £26-27k mark, a 2014/15 car nicely loaded with options and low mileage. Anyone on here fancy talking me in/out of taking the plunge? Things to avoid? Overall ownership experiences, satisfactory or otherwise? Just need something comfortable, reasonably quick, nice to sit in, for the day-to-day stuff that my 'silly' car is useless at! All comments and advice welcome, thanks.

[JNW1]

SL550M said:

Not strictly an M Car, I know, but I'm starting here as I'm guessing there may be some current/former owners on here with some useful insights. I'm currently looking to buy one, around the £26-27k mark, a 2014/15 car nicely loaded with options and low mileage. Anyone on here fancy talking me in/out of taking the plunge? Things to avoid? Overall ownership experiences, satisfactory or otherwise? Just need something comfortable, reasonably quick, nice to sit in, for the day-to-day stuff that my 'silly' car is useless at! All comments and advice welcome, thanks.

I quite like the 4 Series GC; more practical than the saloon and better looking to my eye as well! However, used 435i's are probably not especially thick on the ground and I suspect a 2 or 3 year-old one at £26k to £27k could actually work out more expensive per month on a PCP than a brand-new discounted 440i - perhaps worth checking what a new one would cost if you're thinking of going the finance route rather than an outright purchase?

Never driven a 435i GC but I suspect it would do the job you've identified very effectively; had the N55 engine in my E92 335i and it was a pleasant enough lump to sit behind and offered a decent blend of performance and economy (averaged just over 30mpg in the 37k miles I had it). Good luck with the search!

[Helicopter123]

SL550M said:

Not strictly an M Car, I know

Not an M car, period.

Why buy 2/3 year old for £27k when the 440i M Sport is £35k new (after discount) and comes with cheap finance too?

[SL550M]

Helicopter123 said:

SL550M said:

Not strictly an M Car, I know

Not an M car, period.

Why buy 2/3 year old for £27k when the 440i M Sport is £35k new (after discount) and comes with cheap finance too?

Fair enough. I'm obviously out of touch. Hadn't even considered new. I thought these were £50k or thereabouts. I'll make some enquiries, but presumably that level of discount is only available if taking out finance and I'd rather not do that?

[SL550M]

JNW1 said:

SL550M said:

Not strictly an M Car, I know, but I'm starting here as I'm guessing there may be some current/former owners on here with some useful insights. I'm currently looking to buy one, around the £26-27k mark, a 2014/15 car nicely loaded with options and low mileage. Anyone on here fancy talking me in/out of taking the plunge? Things to avoid? Overall ownership experiences, satisfactory or otherwise? Just need something comfortable, reasonably quick, nice to sit in, for the day-to-day stuff that my 'silly' car is useless at! All comments and advice welcome, thanks.

I quite like the 4 Series GC; more practical than the saloon and better looking to my eye as well! However, used 435i's are probably not especially thick on the ground and I suspect a 2 or 3 year-old one at £26k to £27k could actually work out more expensive per month on a PCP than a brand-new discounted 440i - perhaps worth checking what a new one would cost if you're thinking of going the finance route rather than an outright purchase?

Never driven a 435i GC but I suspect it would do the job you've identified very effectively; had the N55 engine in my E92 335i and it was a pleasant enough lump to sit behind and offered a decent blend of performance and economy (averaged just over 30mpg in the 37k miles I had it). Good luck with the search!

Thanks JNW1.

[JNW1]

SL550M said:

Hadn't even considered new. I thought these were £50k or thereabouts. I'll make some enquiries, but presumably that level of discount is only available if taking out finance and I'd rather not do that?

You're right, including a few of the desirable options a new 440i GC is around £50k list; however, post-discount that drops by at least £10k (possibly a bit more) and with the cheap finance currently available on new ones that makes the monthlies on a PCP not much different from a 3-year old car with a purchase price £10k-£12k less.

However, if you're looking at an outright purchase that's a different matter - the new car will be a five-figure sum more and you won't get one with a budget of £27k! That said, if you can (and are prepared!) to spend the extra, you could take the finance (to secure any contribution from BMW Financial Services) and then pay it off straight away; gets you the latest model to exactly your spec but no getting away from the fact you'll have to pay more for the privilege!

[JMBMWM5]

I had the 435D M Sport Xdrive last year, nice quick car rear seats very uncomfortable for my lot.
Very economical not a great sounding engine though if that matters.

[JNW1]

JMBMWM5 said:

I had the 435D M Sport Xdrive last year, nice quick car rear seats very uncomfortable for my lot.
Very economical not a great sounding engine though if that matters.

It does and it's one of the reasons I'm not really getting on with my F31 335d; each to their own but if I was choosing again I'd take a 40i in preference to a 35d any day of the week!

[Fezzaman]

OP - have a look at the babybmw.net forum - one of their sponsors TRL (of M135i deal fame) is currently running deals on the 440i LCI coupe and GC factory orders, as an example over 47k list price discounted to 36-36.5k with 2.9% APR.

Obviously usual disclaimer of everyone's circumstances are different etc etc applies (shame such disclaimers need to be used but there we are!). Sorry can't help with opinions with respect to the car itself.

[SL550M]

Fezzaman said:

OP - have a look at the babybmw.net forum - one of their sponsors TRL (of M135i deal fame) is currently running deals on the 440i LCI coupe and GC factory orders, as an example over 47k list price discounted to 36-36.5k with 2.9% APR.

Obviously usual disclaimer of everyone's circumstances are different etc etc applies (shame such disclaimers need to be used but there we are!). Sorry can't help with opinions with respect to the car itself.

Thanks Fezzaman and everyone who commented. Going to get stuck-in to some proper research over the next 2-3 weeks and see how we go. Definitely now leaning towards a new 440 with discounts, though.