M135i//140i - things to be aware of?

[w00tman]

Morning all

As these drop into the "affordable for me" range (<£19k for the 135i and c£22k for the 140i) they are starting to seem more and more appealing - auto (for the mrs), great power and, dare I say it, a first for me would be rear-wheel drive.

Is there anything in particular I would need to be aware of when purchasing - common faults, issues etc? also, is the 140i worth the price bump over the earlier model - obviously small refresh, but what else does it bring? google is letting me down for once..!

There's clearly a big price difference from approved-used and "Standard" garage - is the warranty with AUC worth anything in particular?

Some examples I'm looking at:

135i, less than 20k miles, respected local dealer:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

newer 135i from a BMW dealer:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

140i from decent dealership (not AUC):
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Rowley92]

w00tman said:

Morning all

As these drop into the "affordable for me" range (<£19k for the 135i and c£22k for the 140i) they are starting to seem more and more appealing - auto (for the mrs), great power and, dare I say it, a first for me would be rear-wheel drive.

Is there anything in particular I would need to be aware of when purchasing - common faults, issues etc? also, is the 140i worth the price bump over the earlier model - obviously small refresh, but what else does it bring? google is letting me down for once..!

There's clearly a big price difference from approved-used and "Standard" garage - is the warranty with AUC worth anything in particular?

Some examples I'm looking at:

135i, less than 20k miles, respected local dealer:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

newer 135i from a BMW dealer:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

140i from decent dealership (not AUC):
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

With my m135i I had the dreaded gearbox whine from the auto box however I was told this is a "trait" of the gearbox and its fine. Compared with a colleagues car his was silent! Also my gearbox was weeping constantly around the sump area which was never rectified. In total I had (under warranty) gearbox oil sump x2, oil cooler lines, O-rings x2 and still wasn't right. 5 grand I think in warranty work. I also had an issue when at cold the steering rack seemed to stick and cause a large clunking noise through the steering wheel, almost like the wheels were hopping! Fine once warm but usually happened first thing in the morning. No fault found at the dealer

It was a fun car, and the auto box is great when pressing on. Sounds great too, especially with a mp exhaust! In the end though I got cold feet and sold just before the 3 year warranty expired. Perhaps I was just unlucky.. I maybe jumped in feet first, without inspecting the car properly. Mind you it was only 2 years old with 12k miles from an AUC so I didn't think much of it! You could buy the bmw mondial warranty if you didn't buy from approved used though. Not sure of monthlies but maybe an option if you prefer the m140i as above. Probably not too expensive given its a newish car.

[ilikejam]

A whole world of information here (and a generally friendly bunch)

https://www.babybmw.net/viewforum.php?f=74


If you register there's also a fairly active classified ads board which has 135/140i listings regularly (it's hidden if you're not logged in)

Edited by ilikejam on Tuesday 22 January 10:10