BMW 435d

[sxturbo]

Long time lurker here.

Want a new car, I bought a Kia ceed GT 3 years ago and wish I never did, an absolutely awful car.

Anyway, looking around I think I've settled on a 435d, it seems to tick all the boxes. I'll be doing 10k miles a year, I've looked at Audi a4, 5 and 6, but although I live Audi the majority have the s tronic transmission that I'm not a fan of, and the biturbo diesel that has the zf box is an arse to work on.

Anyway my biggest concern is road noise, I know Audi is smooth quiet and generally serene, my b7 A4 is still a really nice place to be 20 years on.

My Kia is awful for road noise and changing the tyres didn't work, and there is a particular section of concrete road on the M25 where the noise was so bad that mine, the wife's and my boys ears honestly hurt till we reached smoother road. So road noise is a really big concern of mine this time round, being a BMW I'm sure it be fine, but I'm really hoping it be comparable with an Audi A5.

Lastly is it crazy to be spunking 20k on a 9ish year old car?

[seadoo180]

That generation is getting on a bit, great engine the 3 series of that gen not as refined as equivalent Audi (had both 17 plates)

Diesel for 10k p/a doesn’t make sense to me unless it’s way cheaper than the petrol equivalent or something?

[RSTurboPaul]

A 2017 car with probably <70k miles is 'getting on a bit'?

[keo]

sxturbo said:

Lastly is it crazy to be spunking 20k on a 9ish year old car?

I would say it is crazy spunking £20k on a diesel car to do 10k miles a year in. I aren’t anti diesel and the BMW 3.0 diesel is a good engine by all accounts (given the right use scenario).

But 800 miles a month for a diesel isn’t really what they are designed for and I’d imagine you will possibly have problems. Unless maybe your 800 miles a month is very few but long trips. That useage would be more beneficial. I just don’t see the benefits in diesels for 10k miles a year though.

[Belle427]

I would kind of agree it doesn't make much sense for a Diesel at 10k miles a year but if it gets good longer runs regularly then its not such an issue.
I would seriously consider an M4 at that sort of budget, I don't think the Diesel BMW engine is without its problems either from what I have read, mainly down to wrong usage and poor maintenance.

[sxturbo]

keo said:

sxturbo said:

Lastly is it crazy to be spunking 20k on a 9ish year old car?

I would say it is crazy spunking £20k on a diesel car to do 10k miles a year in. I aren t anti diesel and the BMW 3.0 diesel is a good engine by all accounts (given the right use scenario).

But 800 miles a month for a diesel isn t really what they are designed for and I d imagine you will possibly have problems. Unless maybe your 800 miles a month is very few but long trips. That useage would be more beneficial. I just don t see the benefits in diesels for 10k miles a year though.

It's a 40 mile commute per day on dual carriageway, travel time is roughly 40 minutes. So the engine gets nice and hot and has a longish run so diesel should be fine in my use case.

[sxturbo]

Belle427 said:

I would kind of agree it doesn't make much sense for a Diesel at 10k miles a year but if it gets good longer runs regularly then its not such an issue.
I would seriously consider an M4 at that sort of budget, I don't think the Diesel BMW engine is without its problems either from what I have read, mainly down to wrong usage and poor maintenance.

Have looked at 440i which is same money as 335d, the M4 unfortunately is out of reach.

The used car market is kinda screwed at the moment, all similar cars seem to cost that sort of money, I've looked at all sorts Alfa giulias, all Audi's, jags (not diesel Jag) VW, Skoda superb sport line same money and age, pricing is crazy. This is all for cars with less than 70k miles ideally I'm looking at a top of 65k miles or less

Regarding the mileage, at the moment Im in a position where I try not to use the Kia as much as I can, so the mileage is likely to increase to 15k + a year.

We are also driving through Europe this summer for a couple of weeks and need a new car for that.

[GTEYE]

Belle427 said:

I would kind of agree it doesn't make much sense for a Diesel at 10k miles a year but if it gets good longer runs regularly then its not such an issue.
I would seriously consider an M4 at that sort of budget, I don't think the Diesel BMW engine is without its problems either from what I have read, mainly down to wrong usage and poor maintenance.

Running costs on an M4 would be massively higher than a 435d, not just fuel. Think insurance, warranty, service, all will be higher.

[keo]

GTEYE said:

Running costs on an M4 would be massively higher than a 435d, not just fuel. Think insurance, warranty, service, all will be higher.

Depreciation would probably be less though and that is a massive usually ignored running cost of a car. Unless you keep it forever of course.

[Belle427]

Maybe something like a 330i touring would suit, my only concern is the ride quality really.

[andy118run]

I have a 335d of that era. Purchased from a BMW dealer 2.5 years ago on 23k miles and now on 55k miles.

It's been a perfectly fine car- no issues while I've had it.

It has run flats and i must admit the road noise is not great, though it's just something that doesn't bother me much. Maybe having standard tyres improves this as a few people seem to swap.

10k miles a year seems fine and the fuel economy is fantastic if driven around the 50-65mph mark. Performance wise it's ok but never feels as quick as the stats suggest. I'd certainly consider the 3.0d/4.0d engine as by all accounts it doesn't feel much different in real world driving.

[GTEYE]

keo said:

GTEYE said:

Running costs on an M4 would be massively higher than a 435d, not just fuel. Think insurance, warranty, service, all will be higher.

Depreciation would probably be less though and that is a massive usually ignored running cost of a car. Unless you keep it forever of course.

True but on older cars you’d hope that would have at least slowed down, but on newer cars, yes absolutely.

[Ian Geary]

keo said:

Depreciation would probably be less though and that is a massive usually ignored running cost of a car. Unless you keep it forever of course.

I'm not wanting an argument, but curious about this?

Do people see depreciation as a "running" cost. Fuel is, because it's needed to run the car, and so you see that cost leave your bank regularly (along with insurance, tax and servicing, hopefully).

But if someone budgets to spend £20k on a car and financie it via loan (or savings even) do they factor in the expected tenure period, the residual value after that period, and then calculate the finance based on the difference?


My feeling is that people don't- and effectively once a car is purchased/ financed etc, it becomes a sunk cost, and is ignored from then on.


Personally I buy older cars and am usually their last owner before the scrap man, so it's not something I have much experience of.


But like I say, I am curious to what extent people calculate the potential loss in value as a cost when choosing something.

Vs people who just set an amount they can "afford" and just worry about onward sale later, treating any sale proceeds as a windfall.

[xtruss]

I’ve had my 435d for the past 5 years and it’s now ticking up towards 150,000 miles. It’s been a great car overall. With run-flat tyres there is some road noise, but I don’t really notice it—once the radio is on it all but disappears anyway.

The key with these cars is regular maintenance. I change the oil every 8,000 miles and, without getting into debate, I use 5W-40 instead of 5W-30.

It’s also been mapped for the past 70,000 miles and still goes very well. It hasn’t fallen apart and has proven to be a solid, reliable car

[OnionBhaji99]

Just wanted to add on the short journeys and the BMW 3.0 diesel.

We've had the 530d for just over 6 years now. Our mileage dropped massively due to COVID. We've been doing less than 6000 miles per year. Approx. 3000 miles of that is very short journeys (sub 2 miles). Approx. 1000 miles is short journeys (sub 40 miles) and approx. 2000 miles very long journeys (Spain and back each year).

Been doing that usage profile for the last 6 years. Absolutely, no issues with the car.

In hindsight, wish we bought the 540i. However, planned usage profile was very different when we bought the car.

[sxturbo]

xtruss said:

I ve had my 435d for the past 5 years and it s now ticking up towards 150,000 miles. It s been a great car overall. With run-flat tyres there is some road noise, but I don t really notice it once the radio is on it all but disappears anyway.

The key with these cars is regular maintenance. I change the oil every 8,000 miles and, without getting into debate, I use 5W-40 instead of 5W-30.

It s also been mapped for the past 70,000 miles and still goes very well. It hasn t fallen apart and has proven to be a solid, reliable car

Thanks.

Regular servicing is the key, on my cars I service them every 6 months, so I'd be servicing the 4 series every 5-7k miles

[AB]

Had a 435d from new in 2015, white with red leather, fond memories of it, my wife still harps on about it being the favourite car I've ever had.

I loved it, it was on 19" alloys and I don't remember the road noise being problematic. They are x-Drive do don't have the M-Sport suspension I seem to recall, ride height is a bit higher.

I was doing 30k miles back then and I used to enjoy every journey. Do miss it.

[raspy]

sxturbo said:

Long time lurker here.

Want a new car, I bought a Kia ceed GT 3 years ago and wish I never did, an absolutely awful car.

Anyway, looking around I think I've settled on a 435d, it seems to tick all the boxes. I'll be doing 10k miles a year, I've looked at Audi a4, 5 and 6, but although I live Audi the majority have the s tronic transmission that I'm not a fan of, and the biturbo diesel that has the zf box is an arse to work on.

Anyway my biggest concern is road noise, I know Audi is smooth quiet and generally serene, my b7 A4 is still a really nice place to be 20 years on.

My Kia is awful for road noise and changing the tyres didn't work, and there is a particular section of concrete road on the M25 where the noise was so bad that mine, the wife's and my boys ears honestly hurt till we reached smoother road. So road noise is a really big concern of mine this time round, being a BMW I'm sure it be fine, but I'm really hoping it be comparable with an Audi A5.

Lastly is it crazy to be spunking 20k on a 9ish year old car?

If road noise is your concern, maybe go for a larger BMW (5, 6, or 7 series) that might have more sound insulation than the 4 series, and will isolate you more from road and tyre noise.

Regarding putting £20k into a 9 year old car? That's your call. If a replacement car enables a more comfortable journey on poorly surfaced roads, then surely that's a successful result?

[Belle427]

There are a couple of 435d's near me and I always think how nice they look.
The X drive is quite appealing to me too with our weather conditions.

[callahan]

I've been driving a 2014 diesel Jag XJ for the last couple of years and, if you want a comfy and quiet place to while away the hours on motorways, I can't think of much better for the money - I'm now selling mine (due to a massive change in use linked to health issues) for less than half your budget and it's an insane amount of car for the money.
The 3 litre JLR engine has a bad reputation due to failures in Land Rovers, but very little goes wrong with an XJ, it's built way better than anything else they did.
I did have a 420d GC a few years ago and really liked it, but there's no comparison to the big Jag. I'd urge you to try one.