|
|
Post by Boxer6 on Sept 11, 2023 14:08:14 GMT
Ahem!!  |
|
|
|
Post by Tim on Sept 11, 2023 15:08:38 GMT
I was recently casually browsing 3 litre engined BMWs (as you do!) and came to the conclusion that the 4 series is the cheapest way into them followed by a 3 saloon with the most expensive option being a 3 estate. I haven't looked at 5 series though......(yet  ) |
|
|
|
Post by Boxer6 on Sept 11, 2023 20:58:55 GMT
I was recently casually browsing 3 litre engined BMWs (as you do!) and came to the conclusion that the 4 series is the cheapest way into them followed by a 3 saloon with the most expensive option being a 3 estate. I haven't looked at 5 series though......(yet ) When I was looking at 530d Tourings, they were much dearer relative to 3s than I expected, year for year, |
|
|
|
Post by johnc on Sept 12, 2023 8:30:19 GMT
Ahem!! Apologies Ian. |
|
|
|
Post by alf on Sept 12, 2023 9:10:18 GMT
That 440iGC is good value! And near where I grew up/many friends still live.
Clunes, that's quite the variety of list, but as you say cars are a personal choice! It depends on what makes up most of your driving, when I did a lot of business miles in the 330i, I absolutely hated it when they gave me any form of mini as a replacement (and that car was in the garage rather a lot, if you recall....). The refinement was dreadful and it was not a comfortable place to be in for even say 90 mins each way, if you were doing that daily, and especially if you were on the phone at all. When they gave me a lowly 318d saloon I rejoiced, I far preferred driving the thing, and the refinement was off the scale compared to the minis.
The Kia is possibly too Q car unless its part of a fleet, and its not small. If you prefer smaller cars - and I get it if you don't mostly drive on major roads - I'd be looking at the 135/140/235/240 of the RWD 6-pot variety. It's still an economical enough engine, and the formula of big engine, small car, RWD is a superbly fun one, and very much a dying breed.
What about the GR86? OR an XE V6 S? The latter still appeals to me, after driving one round Thruxton especially (but I have also had XE loaners) - its a very biddable car with a naughtier feel than an XF.
Can't go wrong with a 440i GC either, obviously..........
|
|
|
|
Post by clunes on Sept 12, 2023 13:02:44 GMT
My list has spanned FFRR to RCF (back seats too small!) and F-Type V8’s (err - no back seats!) So yes, quite a range.
I’ve ruled out the Mini. Not due to size or quality but after deliberation I think that, for the JCW money it is starting to feel dated and I would also want something with a touch more comfort even though I don’t do high miles.
4 doors is a plus and must manage 4 adult sized humans and occasionally 5 for short journeys albeit most of the time it’s me alone (so a 2 door couple could work as it does today!).
The 2 seater fun stuff will have to wait - head has won out over heart there - so I’m back in sensible mode and looking at value. The white GC at 22k does look well specced and whilst it would never be my first choice of colour it ms not a showstopper. Others at the 25 to 30k also look good and some a fair bit newer but not as laden and has mentioned before setting aside 10k for other stuff also appeals (I’ve never leased a car so my head would be planning to buy outright unless there is a strong reason not to)
However, I have to fly out the the US with work at the end of the week and so any decisions will wait. Good thing about the BMW (or bad if you prefer to be different!) is that there seem to be a lot about.
|
|
|
|
Post by alf on Sept 13, 2023 14:19:34 GMT
If I change my car rather than just do some preventative maintenance (still 50/50), the 440i GC is still the most likely option. I had decided that a pre-GPF filter car was the best value, and (while its totally fake as the testing is different) its rated at lower CO2 as well for tax purposes... The filters just rob power and noise for no benefit, and also mean you can't legally make some upgrades like performance exhausts as you can't take them off...
This was mid 2018 from looking at AT, where the GPF cars helpfully have it listed in the description...
|
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Sept 13, 2023 14:32:14 GMT
You should be safe with an 18 reg car. The Golf was registered mid July and is pre GPF, I’m pretty sure we couldn’t have registered it after 1st September, not that we considered hanging on for a 68 plate.
Just be careful with headlights on the GC, there are 3 options partly depending on age, I would rather have the older Xenon’s than basic low power LEDs for example .
|
|
|
|
Post by Tim on Sept 14, 2023 7:54:38 GMT
Oi! I think my 430 has 'low power LEDs' and they're better than Xenons.
|
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Sept 14, 2023 8:16:16 GMT
Oi! I think my 430 has 'low power LEDs' and they're better than Xenons. As long as you think that Tim, it's all good!  |
|
|
|
Post by Tim on Sept 14, 2023 10:39:56 GMT
Well, I was able to conduct a direct comparison with the 320 it replaced, the LEDs are better.
|
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Sept 14, 2023 10:59:23 GMT
Well, I was able to conduct a direct comparison with the 320 it replaced, the LEDs are better. Just goes to show that beam pattern, colour, warmth etc make a difference, as the Xenons have c40% more lumens than the std LEDs so on paper they should be better. I had the std LEDs on a 3 series hire car in Spain and didn’t think they were great, but was comparing them to the adaptive LEDs in the 535d. But as I said, as long as you think they’re better that’s all that matters. Dipped beam: Standard LED: 784 lm Adaptive LED: 1097 lm Xenon: 1170 lm |
|
|
|
Post by Tim on Sept 14, 2023 12:45:37 GMT
Are the adaptive LEDs the super expensive ones? I only know mine has LEDs because it's embossed into the plastic lens cover |
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Sept 14, 2023 13:00:59 GMT
Are the adaptive LEDs the super expensive ones? I only know mine has LEDs because it's embossed into the plastic lens cover I don't know how much they were....They were £2,500 on my 535d, but Xenons weren't standard so they were really £1,000 extra. If the horizontal plastic piece is in the centre they are adaptive, if it's towards the top they are the standard LEDs. |
|
|
|
Post by Tim on Sept 14, 2023 14:05:40 GMT
It looks like the plastic is in the middle here  |
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Sept 14, 2023 14:12:00 GMT
It's the horizontal plastic piece inside the headlight, plus it would say Adaptive LED on the unit. Difficult (for me!) to describe, so this is the std LED  This is the Adaptive LED  |
|
|
|
Post by Tim on Sept 14, 2023 15:08:53 GMT
Well, to add to my confusion I've just been outside to look and my car only has the horizontal plastic at the extreme left and right, there's nothing inside the lens area at all. In addition the area inside what you might consider lens has a domed cover, like a large bulb. There is however moulded writing (that should be at the top right of the light unit in the 2nd photo above) that just says 'BMW LED'. Anyway, it's not a KIA Stinger or Mini JCW |
|
|
|
Post by theotherct on Sept 14, 2023 15:37:11 GMT
Well as the thread has been totally derailed! I’m often here lurking but never posted on this version of the forum. A word of warning to clunes and alf, I was looking at similar cars with similar criteria around 14 months ago. After considering a whole host of cars including 3l petrol BMWs and Stingers I ended up with. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  A M4 Competition DCT in Silverstone II (light blue). It was a really good deal, no doubt helped by general car prices still being high but with the news being full of the economy on the slide, energy prices and politicians seemly being preoccupied with their own careers. It was 28k for a high mileage (60k) being sold by a private seller as well, which I guess put a lot of people off and maybe a bit too risky for a specialist dealer as most f8* comps were/are approved used. At that time decent 240/340/440 were around £23-25k and ideally I wanted to add a LSD which is £2k fitted plus whatever it did to insurance. There were a whole range of other maybes as well. I might have got a Stinger but there were only ever a few up for sale at anyone time and never within a couple of hours. The cheapest always had multiple owners which also made me think that perhaps it didn’t quite for fulfil expectations. Also they all had sunroofs which creek/rattle and is seemingly unfixable and in the US resulted in some cars being bought back under warranty. Obviously, I spent more than I was considering and have higher running cost but I felt I got a good deal on a better car (subjective I know) for a little bit more. I justified it by thinking I would regret buying something else and the price gap between the cars I was looking and an M4 would likely remain further down the line. If you are considering a M3/4 alf then find the best example and see if you can spend a long time in it. The ride is firm (but not as bad as I feared) and the comp seats have no lumber support so you might find it uncomfortable for longer journeys. Almost all cars sold once the Competitions were introduced are comps. For a couple of grand more you got 20+ hp more, revised suspension, 20 inch wheels, sport seats and (I think) the HUD making it a no brainer. A 2018 LCI car is the ‘best’, no GPF meaning it retains the carbon fibre prop shaft plus the minor interior updates including the idrive with Car Play/Android Auto. LCIs have a black start button (red is almost always pre) and the LED rear lights. |
|
|
|
Post by johnc on Sept 14, 2023 16:37:56 GMT
That is a lovely looking car. Having been in the BMW dealers today, nosing around a new M4, I found myself making excuses for how it looked and thinking that the black one managed to disguise most of the bits I didn't like on the grey one they had. On the other hand I look at the F82 and don't need to make any excuses. I hope you are enjoying M Power and fully exploiting the LSD.
|
|
|
|
Post by clunes on Sept 14, 2023 18:51:23 GMT
I agree they do look good (especially compared to the new model) and some well priced ones out there also. But, as has been established already, I’m an odd so and so and they don’t appeal that much despite being in the right affordability range.
Regards the new model - I see the market has really started to fall on these with models under £60k which is not much less than a CS version of the older model. Even the much wanted estate has dropped massively it seems and I’d expect that to continue.
|
|
|
|
Post by bryan on Sept 15, 2023 4:33:07 GMT
Sounds like you are enjoying the M4, and it is a cracking motor. Is that one of the Matt/frozen paints or just the light? Hopefully you'll be tempted to post more often
|
|
|
|
Post by johnc on Sept 15, 2023 9:50:54 GMT
I agree they do look good (especially compared to the new model) and some well priced ones out there also. But, as has been established already, I’m an odd so and so and they don’t appeal that much despite being in the right affordability range. Regards the new model - I see the market has really started to fall on these with models under £60k which is not much less than a CS version of the older model. Even the much wanted estate has dropped massively it seems and I’d expect that to continue. I received an offer recently for a new (in stock) M4 with £17K off list. It was still c£80K and way too much in my opinion. The old ones were c£75K fully loaded and you could get a discount off that. The used market is showing BMW what people think about their pricing and to some degree, what they think about the way it looks. As a driving machine though it is superb. |
|
|
|
Post by PetrolEd on Sept 15, 2023 11:35:57 GMT
Lovely M4 CT. Can't argue with the value for money proposition on that, the colour helps it being less aggressive too.
Think I'll be waiting a while for a sub 50K M3 touring to hit the market though. And I still hate how it looks.
|
|
|
|
Post by johnc on Sept 15, 2023 13:11:58 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by clunes on Sept 15, 2023 13:51:07 GMT
That first 911 makes me want to reconsider my sensible head and sell down my shares and two fingers to the future 😈
|
|
|
|
Post by Martin on Sept 15, 2023 14:53:13 GMT
Maybe only slight issue with the first 911 is it just has the sport design front bumper rather than the whole package. It’s still in my Autotrader garage and in budget for the recently increased Golf replacement, but I still don’t think I’d use it enough.
|
|
|
|
Post by theotherct on Sept 15, 2023 14:58:07 GMT
Thanks everyone and I’ll try to keep posting. The colour is a standard metallic finish, I think it’s a combination of the lights, muck (if I remember correctly I couldn’t believe how clean it looked under the lights) and the camera phone autotouch up/beautification. Most cars are in ‘aggressive’ or dark shades so think it looks fairly subtle and unique. Which can’t be said for the wheels which I dislike and I don’t think they suit the car. I will likely swap them for the standard 19 (in silver) but haven’t done so yet as the wheels are in almost perfect condition and a full set of Michelin were put on in March 2022. I don’t want to swap to tyres and wheels in worse condition. In fact, I’m hoping I will be able to find the ultra light 18s that base F8* came within Europe and the US. In this country they are usually used by the people with E9*M3s or as trackday wheels so they aren’t easy to find. I’ll probably be in minority, but I think the simple 5 split spoke design and larger size wall works.  |
|
|
|
Post by clunes on Sept 15, 2023 15:10:32 GMT
I've never seen those 18's on this model before but I always really liked the 18's on the older E46 model with the increased side wall. I don't mind your wheels (at least their not black  ) but perhaps they are a little 'fussy' compared with the overall look |
|
|
|
Post by johnc on Sept 15, 2023 15:30:51 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by theotherct on Sept 15, 2023 16:02:20 GMT
The top ones are the 19s. They are diamond cut on the face and either black (like that car) or silver inside. I prefer the silver. The ebay ones aren't the same as the photo above they look similar but they are what BMW offered with winter tyres. Unlike every other wheel option they aren't forged so are heavier than the 20s from memory. I keep looking on German sites every few weeks for the best deals and those willing to ship to the UK.
|
|
)
) but perhaps they are a little 'fussy' compared with the overall look