M135, Would you?

[chan61922]

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201812313551989...

Hi guys come Across this at my local dealer, just wondering on what you guys think about a 135 in a manual and pre lci? I was initially looking at e9x m3, but weighed up the options and decided for a 140i possibly golf r. The thing is this 135 is a good 5k cheaper than the 140, is there a huge difference between the two? I’d ideally like an auto as I live in London but it’s been a good few years since I’ve touched a manual and I do kind of miss it. The price seems fairly reasonable considering the age and mileage of the 135 It’s definitely caught my eye. Would I regret going for this over an auto and a 140?

Cheers

[CousinDupree]

If you fancy a manual, go for it. Looks decent value for a main dealer car.

I would retro fit cruise if it doesn't have it. Not bothered by the lack of nav or adaptive ride. It's got leather sports seats, lovely colour too.

I personally would go or an auto as the ZF8 really suiits that car and I'm also from the big smoke, but I can see the appeal of a manual.

[Pizzaeatingking]

I spent a bit of time looking at the 135/140 before getting my 340i.

It's all very much personal choice but I quite liked the M135i in pre LCI shape, they look smart IMO. Gearbox I would always go for the auto, even outside of London the roads are too busy for me to consider the manual but in London I'd want an auto for sure. Twinned with the ZF8 being so good I'd say it's worth the extra.

135 vs 140, the N55 in the 135 is very good motor, reliable, strong, reasonable economical and responds well to tuning. The B58 in the 140 just improves a little all round, although it does seem to make a big leap in economy over the older engine. To be honest though I'd have no issues owning and running either.

tl;dr - Go for a pre facelift auto if it works budget wise.

[chan61922]

Thanks for input guys, it certainly does seem decent value for money from a main dealer and looks very clean both inside and out. Does the n55 suffer from any common faults? Is the same n55 lump in the lci 335i? I take it the lci 135 would have a different engine? Fuel economy? Sorry not too clued up on them all. My budget is at 20k including sale/part ex of current vehicle. 20k does source an earlier used 140i, but at the same time I wouldn’t mind being 5k better off if there’s not a lot of difference between the 135 and 140. Auto would definitely be my preference in a 3litre 6 cyl turbo, but I can imagine a manual be very fun at the same time, I think as a daily though the auto would make a lot more sense

[Driver101]

There's very little in terms of real world economy between the N55 and B58. The B58 is slightly faster with more midrange grunt, but the N55 sounds better and revs out better. The M140i is about 0.5 seconds quicker to 100mph.

That BMW has been up for sale since January. The lack of Sat Nav, heated seats and the manual box won't help. I wouldn't buy without pro nav.

The first MOT both the headlights were out of alignment so I would be checking for accident repairs.

If you can live with the coupe the M235i does drive a bit better.

N55 is a very reliable engine. The ZF8 box is a good box too. I'd still want to make sure I had warranty. BMW offer a good warranty and they aren't usually than expensive when below 60k miles..

[chan61922]

Wow thanks for info, didn’t realise it had been up for sale since jan, and didn’t even think about heated seated or what nav it was running. My current car for the past 5 years is only a 08 e93 325 sport so not so clued up on what nav options are available now days. That does raise some concern in regards to the headlights, could be something minor like a ride height sensor though. I’m glad I posted now lol many thanks mate

[Court_S]

I think they’re great little cars but personally I’d want an auto with Pro Nav. The auto box is very very good and works well with the engine and Pro Nav really lifts the interior for me and gives improver functionality.

When I was looking at second hand ones, £18k would get a really well spec’d auto car. I ended up ordering a new M140 because the monthly payments weren’t much more and I managed to get a no deposit deal.

[aeropilot]

chan61922 said:

Auto would definitely be my preference in a 3litre 6 cyl turbo, but I can imagine a manual be very fun at the same time, I think as a daily though the auto would make a lot more sense

I wouldn't touch a manual M135 (or M140) with a barge pole, especially living in London, but primarily because the auto is just better suited to the engine than the manual is.
While the ZF8 isn't as quite as good as the DCT was in the previous E82 135i, its still better suited to the engine than the old tech 6MT.

[rayyan171]

Great cars nonetheless, but for that money I wouldn't be wanting a main dealer car. Good reason that there is little interest in that car, in that it doesn't have that good of a spec. Missing basics such as heated seats and at least the small navigation system. All to personal preference however, but at that price I wouldn't mind going to an independent dealer or even private. There is no real issues with the car or the engine, they are rather reliable. We bought our X5 privately, and have no regrets, has done us wonders. So long as you are clued up, there is no issue buying from anywhere. I wouldn't trade off a bad spec for the sake of a warranty or buying approved used.

[Court_S]

I'd also be looing for a later car to get the nicer steering wheel - those early wheels are hideous in my opinion. Sounds daft but you have to look at / hold it every time you drive it.

[xjay1337]

aeropilot said:

I wouldn't touch a manual M135 (or M140) with a barge pole, especially living in London, but primarily because the auto is just better suited to the engine than the manual is.
While the ZF8 isn't as quite as good as the DCT was in the previous E82 135i, its still better suited to the engine than the old tech 6MT.

The manual gearbox is not very good in terms of feel, the ZF8 is much better .
I think the ZF is better than the DCT of the older car and on par with the current M4 with GTS software.
Certainly on the road the ZF is better in every way.

Regarding warranty I've not had many issues with my m135 in nearly 1 year.
I had a warranty on it, car had 35k or so at point of policy being taken out. Purchased for £350 a year with excess of £250.
I do quite a few track days and the only problem has been a slight knock from the steering rack (known issue) which was resolved under the warranty but it didn't really impact the drive, just a little knocking noise when stationary or over bumps at lower speeds.
BMW Dealer was excellent.

When the warranty runs out in just over a month I will probably move onto the rolling one as if you take it out before 60k you can effectively keep the car on the warranty at the the same cost.

Edited by xjay1337 on Wednesday 10th April 15:32

[nikaiyo2]

I would not be put off by lack of pro nav.

The normal nav is fine, well for me it is, does everything I want it to do. I have never been driving and thought wish I had a better sat nav...

Would the lack of options put off a future buyer? Short term yeah but maybe more desirable if you keep it for a long time as less to go wrong?

Also if it has been in stock since Jan I would imagine the dealer will be keen to do a deal.

[Mike335i]

I'd try the manual, if it is like the M235i (and I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be) it is an easy enough box to get on with and with so much torque, 8 gears can feel unnecessary.

If you don't like it then find an auto, but don't be put off by the manual without trying it.

The spec is quite sparse so I would haggle hard, they would probably want to shift the car pretty soon so might be a deal to be had.

[chan61922]

Thanks for input guys, if I’m honest my current car does have sat nav so not a huge deal to me. I do however typically sell a car after a few years so I guess the sat nav would be a huge plus When I do come to sell as would an auto as it seems the most desirable option. If I’m honest I’ve only ever had a manual car In 2 litre and below ,my last 2 vehicles have been 3 litre autos, always thought a bigger engine was more suited to an auto, seems like a lot of guys feel the same way. I’ve Never gone down the diesel route either, was considering a 640d but I don’t think it makes sense for my usage/needs. I would prefer an approved used vehicle as I can just part ex my car and be done with it, rather than dealing with a load of tyre kicking boys in their early 20s, plus get a warranty and hopefully some servicing chucked in. I do agree this does seems like a lowly specced model, no auto, no pro nav, no heated seated, 3 door ( which I prefer) but still cheaper then the 5 door. I actually checked the cars MOT history after mention of the misaligned headlights and it’s actually true, back In 2017 the car had 1 headlight aiming too high and the other too low, fair enough? It then was corrected the same day and the mot was carried out again- which it then passed. What I find slighty fishy is a month or 2 later another MOT test was carried out?? Hmmm!! Dont think this is the one to go for, but I can’t rule it out just yet as I’ll only be making assumptions, as mentioned they may be willing to let it go for a fair bit less than what it’s listed at, so I will be keeping a close eye on it, might put in a cheeky offer for 2k less, you never know your luck lol What is the common steering rack problem? Has anyone had there 135/140 mapped?

[SD_1]

I wouldn't worry about the nav in the slightest - it's a used car, the one that it comes with is perfectly fine, and it will be redundant when you come to sell it on in a few years so who cares?

I've driven a few of these, really spectacular cars and a great engine. I much prefer the manual ones, but its personal preference really. It's a nice gearbox and the engine has plenty of torque so makes for a good driving experience. The autos are very effective in terms of performance but I think they dull the package a little.

[chan61922]

Sorry forget to reply to last post, I do like the 235 but seems there up for 140 money, given the choice I’d take the 40i variant over 35i. This car as only really caught my eye because of the price and just wanted to get peoples opinions on how much difference there is between the two. I also think the manual wouldn’t be that bad, a 3 litre turbo charged RWD in manual, surely that’s the perfect combo! As an all rounder the auto ticks more boxes so I can see why it’s so popular, I do think the lci models look better both inside and outside too but I agree the 235/240 are very nice just don’t think 20k sources a nice 240, which is what I’d want for the upper end of my budget

[rayyan171]

Just wanted to add that there is no sat nav whatsoever on the car mentioned by OP. The controller has no button for the navigation (even the small navigation has the upgraded controller with extra short cut buttons) and there is nothing in the iDrive menu either. I would at the very least want one with the small screen sat nav, surprises me that there is no navigation whatsoever on what should be a good spec 1 series being that it is a M135i.

[xjay1337]

For me buying the car requirements were heated leather pro nav and harmon kardon.

The normal nav legit looks crap.
If people have sat back to back between the business nav and the professional navigation it is a big difference.

[Smuler]

Wasn't it that Nav didn't come standard until 2015 on all BMW's?
I'd want it. But had pro nav on a 335i and business on a X1. Makes no difference to me, it's an okay Nav. In fact the pro nav was a waste of time until I got it updated to run 7 digit post-code search.

[nikaiyo2]

chan61922 said:

Thanks for input guys, if I’m honest my current car does have sat nav so not a huge deal to me. I do however typically sell a car after a few years so I guess the sat nav would be a huge plus When I do come to sell as would an auto as it seems the most desirable option. If I’m honest I’ve only ever had a manual car In 2 litre and below ,my last 2 vehicles have been 3 litre autos, always thought a bigger engine was more suited to an auto, seems like a lot of guys feel the same way. I’ve Never gone down the diesel route either, was considering a 640d but I don’t think it makes sense for my usage/needs. I would prefer an approved used vehicle as I can just part ex my car and be done with it, rather than dealing with a load of tyre kicking boys in their early 20s, plus get a warranty and hopefully some servicing chucked in. I do agree this does seems like a lowly specced model, no auto, no pro nav, no heated seated, 3 door ( which I prefer) but still cheaper then the 5 door. I actually checked the cars MOT history after mention of the misaligned headlights and it’s actually true, back In 2017 the car had 1 headlight aiming too high and the other too low, fair enough? It then was corrected the same day and the mot was carried out again- which it then passed. What I find slighty fishy is a month or 2 later another MOT test was carried out?? Hmmm!! Dont think this is the one to go for, but I can’t rule it out just yet as I’ll only be making assumptions, as mentioned they may be willing to let it go for a fair bit less than what it’s listed at, so I will be keeping a close eye on it, might put in a cheeky offer for 2k less, you never know your luck lol What is the common steering rack problem? Has anyone had there 135/140 mapped?

That car WILL have sat nav, it just does not have the upgraded PRO NAV (the pro nave has a bigger nicer screen and touch sensitive idrive thing) all the M135/M140s come with sat nav, just some have the upgrade. The Standard nav has "live" traffic and auto calculates routes round delays etc so its not mega basic.

The Pro Nav is nice to have but I would not be put off a car that does not have it as the std nav is perfectly good enough.