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New Car

Rich Taff

First XV
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Feb 10, 2013
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Picking up my new car tomorrow. Anyone have experience of 3-series convertibles, and what to look out for? Spec is M-sport plus, 2.0td.

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If it was new, I may. 7yr old, with 65k on the clock.


I do 250miles a week just commuting to work, and 95% of that is on the Motorway. Oil burners are definitely my engine of choice atm.

yeah, then it's worth it, if you're doing 12000 miles a year.

Me, I only do 3-4000 miles a year in my Merc A180, and petrol model, so diesel wouldn't be worth it for me.

Got paint spattered on my front bumper last month and also scratched the side of my car on the hedge within 4 months of getting the car. Total repair costs £900 over spread over 18 months. Thankfully found a decent body repair shop. Still, bought the car off my parents at a massive discount and part gift, so can't complain.
 
No experience of convertibles, or 3 series newer than 2002 unfortunately. I've owned 2 BMW's now, both 52 plates. The first was a 320d saloon in SE spec, which i quickly regretted wasn't at least a 330d msport. I'm sure you won't have the same regrets though, as bhp's have increased a bit from the 150 they had back then. Although i still think for the cost of only a few mpg's the 330d is the better choice (sorry).

I then 'upgraded' to a 330i msport touring which i still love. I only do a few thousand miles a year though, so i can stomach the 23mpg average it does!

Maybe try to find a good indy garage. BMW garages are notoriously expensive. I'd hope you'll have some trouble free motoring for a while though. Enjoy.
 
My mate owns one, hasn't had any trouble with it yet. As what Dullonien said BMW services and repairs are expensive as, my fathers old business partner (both lawyers) said out of all the cars he's owned (Maserati's, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Lamborghini and Ferrari) his BMW was the most expensive to maintain, perhaps he simply owned it longer I've got no idea on that regard, I know he only owned his Ferrari for about 6 months and his Lamborghini for about 3 months.
 
Cheers all.

Just found out one of the dipped bulbs has blown, and they're Xenon, so going to have to go in through the wheel arch.

Fun and games already.
 
Cheers all.

Just found out one of the dipped bulbs has blown, and they're Xenon, so going to have to go in through the wheel arch.

Fun and games already.

On my brothers Z4 you've gotta go in through the wheel arch, which makes no sense as there's tons of space in the engine bay! He said it's not too bad though, plenty of space for your hands, so hopefully it'll be similar for you.

The back of my lights in the E46 easily unscrew, big plastic cap which holds the bulbs. Easiest bulbs to change ever, not that they ever actually blow.....

Worst I've come across was a circa 53 plate clio. Absolutely no space for your hands, and a sucker of a metal clip which you can't see. It took 3 of us 4+ hours, and our hands were torn to shreds. Very nearly resorted to removing the headlight, which would have involved removing the inner wheel arch and the front bumper first (apparently garages charge for this, meaning a bulb change can cost upwards of £60!).

My mate owns one, hasn't had any trouble with it yet. As what Dullonien said BMW services and repairs are expensive as, my fathers old business partner (both lawyers) said out of all the cars he's owned (Maserati's, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Lamborghini and Ferrari) his BMW was the most expensive to maintain, perhaps he simply owned it longer I've got no idea on that regard, I know he only owned his Ferrari for about 6 months and his Lamborghini for about 3 months.

I'd imagine that was an m car. M3, M5 etc. They are notoriously expensive to maintain. Normal msport cars aren't anywhere near as bad. Similar to Mercs and a tad more than Audi's. Cheaper than Porches etc.
 
I'm lucky my cars has lots of room to work with, I've got 1 2012 Holden HSV V8 and two Holden Commodore V6's. Lots of room, parts are cheap life is good. I am looking at buying a Supra or a Skyline but for some reason the prices of Supra's has jumped over the last year, used to be able to find 1996 - 98 Supras all over the place for $5000 to $10000 now they're all about $15000
 
Skyline was once my dream car. R33 was my fav. Preferred the narrow to wide headlights & 4 equal sized rear lights over the R34. It would still be a car I'd love to own!

I'm prob going to look for a BMW E30 coupe next before the price skyrockets. They've already gone up a lot mind. Prob make it a project, engine conversion etc.
 
Dream car has always been a Lamborghini Diablo or Aventador just trying to figure out how to become a millionaire.
 
Picking up my new car tomorrow. Anyone have experience of 3-series convertibles, and what to look out for? Spec is M-sport plus, 2.0td.

View attachment 7519
The ladies, look out for the ladies. If that's what swings your boat. Otherwise look out for the gentlemen, those gentle gentle men. Or rough men, or women. Basically just look out, is what I'm saying.


Cheers all.

Just found out one of the dipped bulbs has blown, and they're Xenon, so going to have to go in through the wheel arch.

Fun and games already.
Oh mate, not the xenon! How will you put it in hyperdrive?
 
The ladies, look out for the ladies. If that's what swings your boat. Otherwise look out for the gentlemen, those gentle gentle men. Or rough men, or women. Basically just look out, is what I'm saying.



Oh mate, not the xenon! How will you put it in hyperdrive?

What a stupid comment.

The dilithium crystals are fine!
 
Cost £100 to replace the bulb by a very well known firm, who you can't get better than.

The answer to 'How many ****-*** employees does it take to change a light bulb?' is apparently 7.
5 to stare into the engine bay.
1 to remove the wheel arch lining and top of the headlamp.
1 to open the boot and rummage around....... (Yeah I have no idea, either).
0 to open the small hatch and replace the bulb by turning the wheel to one side.
 
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