[Tengocity]

After 3 years, 10 months and about 12 days our 335d has today hit the 100,000 mile point. Arguably it’s just another mile under the belt for what is fundamentally a practical workhorse, but to me it seems like a good moment to reflect upon how it’s performed in that time. After all, as long term running reports go, it’s hard to argue that 100,000k isn’t long term.
As you can tell from the fact that we’ve hit 100k in less than 4 years the car has been well used (for 72 miles on average for each and every day we’ve owned it), but not just in terms of miles but the adventures it’s been on. Countries visited outside the UK include: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia.
It’s also done several track days, including a sub 10 minute lap at the Nurburgring (whilst stuffed to the brim with holiday luggage!), a 12.8 sec ¼ mile at Santa Pod, hit an indicated 163mph on the Autobahn, and yet also many times than it’s taken sackfuls of rubbish to the skip, been literally full to the roof leaving IKEA, or performed the duties of a much more utilitarian vehicle.

The miles have come at some cost though:

12647litres or 2782 gallons of diesel (I wonder how much particulate matter?)
at an average 36mpg
at a cost of £15357, or 15.4 p per mile

I must also admit that the cost to purchase over that period has been substantial- about £35k (list price was over £54k) and counting, though it means our final balloon payment due in a few months is not particularly high.

So altogether that 100k miles has come at a cost of just over £50k, and that doesn’t include the money I’ve spent on mods, which is also substantial, and to which I’ll cover later.

However, I suspect that full costs of 50 per mile actually compare very favourable to many who do lower mileages.

So how has the car been in that time….

My thoughts and feelings about the car have changed many times throughout the ownership period to be perfectly honest and that won’t come as much surprise to those on the forum who’ve been around for the last 3 or 4 years.
In advance of getting the car it seemed the absolute perfect car for me. I wanted something as fast as possible for the economy on offer, so the “on-paper” stats of about 5 seconds 0-62mph and 50mpg seemed like a great combo, and having had almost 10 BMWs before this one I was sure it would be the great drive that BMWs are famed for. The xdrive and estate practicality all just added to a sense of the perfect all rounder, do everything, kind of car that we wanted. Knowing that it was going to cost a lot to own, and that we were going to spec it exactly how we wanted meant that it needed to be the answer to all our motoring needs for the next 4-6 years, no matter what life has thrown at us.

Fundamentally the car has done all that for us, and as things are right now we intend to keep it for the foreseeable future. Partly because with all the mods on it, it’s worth a lot more to me than it is to anyone else, and nothing else comes close on the used market, and partly because there is nothing available new that I particularly want to buy at the moment, that would fit our needs better.

However, at first the car was a bit of a disappointment. As the many hundreds of F3x owners who have aftermarket springs on, this generation of 3 series, and the xdrive ones in particular, have lacked the handling verve straight out of the factory as previous generations.

I went through a quite long-winded journey on the handling mods (that I’ve chronicled previously), that cost time and money, but ultimately now means that I do indeed have the car that I’d wanted originally, and hence my reluctance to part with it.

So as well as the prodigious original spec the car now has ACS RS coilovers, a larger rear ARB, DMS remap, Alcon 6 pot front brakes, M Performance bodykit, straight-through exhaust, and probably more things I’ve forgotten about.

Whilst I still wouldn’t say it’s a ‘sports car’, it is brilliantly quick and accomplished, superbly secure in all conditions, with a pretty decent level of refinement.

Looking back, we specced it pretty much perfectly, and there are few things which I wished we’d done differently on that front, which makes sense given that the 330e is almost the same spec except for colours.

I particularly liked: Adaptive xenons, adaptive cruise, HUD, memory seats, panoramic roof….

The towbar was a waste for us given how much we’ve used it so far, but it is very cool!

Beyond the handling (as standard) though, the car has been quite superb. It’s handsome (if now a very common sight on our roads), pretty spacious, and never really looks out of place anywhere. Whilst it’s never going to turn heads or attract attention, that suits me just fine. Every so often a knowledgeable petrolhead will clock the brakes or the lowered stance and ask about it, and it’s nice when it happens, but thankfully you seldom get asked for a race, like you do when you’re driving an M car, or other obvious sports cars.

The 35d engine has been a peach too – I love the 6 pot character, and I love the muscularity of the torque. Yes, it lacks the crispness and rev range of petrol, and also the nice exhaust noise of the 40i engine, but it was the right choice for us.

So to draw these ramblings to a close I think it would be reasonable to think about how I could improve upon it, or consider how to replace it.

I like RWD cars but I also like xdrive, as I think it suits a torquey diesel, but I’m not too fussed about whether a future car needs it. So a 340i is an option, but I just don’t see the point of another F3x generation car as a replacement. But even so I think the standard BMW handling falls short of what I’m after. My hope is that BMW produce a proper M340i in the next generation, and so I will be interested to see the new X3 M40i as a barometer of things to come. An estate M car might be ideal, but it doesn’t look like BMW will ever make one again, though even then I’m not sure if they’re more sporty than I need for this kind of car. Actually, I’d like that performance, but I’d like to retain the refinement too. So what does that leave? All I can think of is Alpina B3 (next generation or used F30 gen), perhaps the C43 or C63 AMGs, or perhaps the new Audi RS4… Next size up is too big and too expensive!

I sometimes think about the sporty SUVs, so a Macan, or new X3 might be something to consider, but they still seem like more compromised performance compared to a similarly priced saloon based performance car, but I suppose some test drives should be undertaken.

Any other suggestions welcome!

So that’s my thoughts, reflections and ramblings after 100,000 miles. Well done if you’ve read this far!

[Tengocity]

Some pics

[Rbrown]

Good write up.

I’m liking the wife’s X3....they may do a M model???

[F30Andy]

I applaud you.

Fantastic write up

[Rbrown]

PS - loving the picture taken, I assume, in Ikea car park!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

Good write up.

I’m liking the wife’s X3....they may do a M model???

New X3 will have a M40i and X3M option it seems...

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

PS - loving the picture taken, I assume, in Ikea car park!

Yeah, almost overly ambitious at IKEA! The track ones are Bedford and the infamous Karousel turn on the Nurburgring.

[Ridg]

fantastic write up thanks for sharing!

[dopper99]

One question, you've done 100,000 miles in one of your cars - and you own 3 cars!

What's the 330e for?

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by dopper99

One question, you've done 100,000 miles in one of your cars - and you own 3 cars!

What's the 330e for?

It's done 29k miles since last June!

[dopper99]

Blimey, you must spend your life on the road.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Blimey, you must spend your life on the road.

It's between me and the wife too. We share use of both cars, though I do the lions share. The Boxster has done 7000 since November!

[McBeemer]

Really excellent & informative write up

I'd really like to know what difference the coilovers made to the car .... I've just got a new 335d F31 (Adaptive Suspension), which I had ACS Springs fitted to right away .... I'm liking it a lot, but wondering what I'm missing if you know what I mean!

I feel sometimes that there is a very slight unsettled undulation going on at slowish speeds in town, in comfort mode. I still have my old car for a few days more, so haven't done too many miles in the 335 yet though.

Oh & I love the twin exhausts!

[A15X]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

It's between me and the wife too. We share use of both cars, though I do the lions share. The Boxster has done 7000 since November!

Credit where credits due!

You must spend a fortune on fuel each year!

[teaston]

£15k on diesel! That is scary!

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Lobb

Indeed.

And forget not, Terry doesn't have access to red diesel like you.

Poor bugger!

[isleaiw1]

Their is something satisfying about properly using a car. I bought a Volvo S60 2.4D S manual with 29k on the clock at 2.5 years old as I was doing big mileage - and it was cheap (wrong shape, wrong gearbox and wrong trim for a Volvo!). I ran it for 3.5 years and did another 125k miles.... and very little went wrong, the usual alarm siren issue and a couple of wishbones but little else. It still looked pretty good at the end - it got regular car washes but not by me, regular servicing by the Indy (aka where my Brother was service manager) but little else...

My regular commutes were from Chesterfield to Mallon (N Yorks), Thorne (nr BMW!), Livingston, Deeside and Anglesey and near Newquay. Occasional trips to Aberdeen and Banff. I did a full time job around the mileage but the car was a second home...

[Tengocity]

No, but I claim lots of business miles!

[MickyD'bo]

@Tengocity great write up. I?m at 22k now. Bought with 7k in Feb. That?s 15k in 8 months. Feels like I?ve made the right choice.

Your insight and approach with your F31 is an inspiration to me.

Thank you.

[JLR1969]

Can you not take the train more often, got to be better than sitting in the car for hours on end

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

.... and very little went wrong

I suppose I should add a bit on reliability!

So far it's had warranty work for creaking seals, a creaking seat, anti roll bar drop links (probably caused when I ad Birds ARBs on it!), and EGR cooler.

Other than that just routine serving, though since 50k miles I've had the oil changed every 12-15k miles. Given it's usage I think tyre wear has been pretty reasonable at around 25k miles per change. On it's 3rd set of rear discs and pads, though I changed the first set earlier than needed to put on M Pperf dimpled discs, and fronts would be on third set too if hadn't changed to the Alcons last year.

But it's never not started not ever vaguely let me down or left us stranded. It's condition is also that of a car with a third the mileage. Ventureshield and ceramic sealant from new helps of course, but the interior still looks in great nick. For all the criticism of Dakota leather, our driver seat looks absolutely fine, with no adverse wear anywhere.

Everything still works as it should, and it feels absolutely like it do the same again in the next 4 years.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by JLR1969

Can you not take the train more often, got to be better than sitting in the car for hours on end

Ha! I get the train for all meetings in London and for trips to Manchester and the North of England generally.

I also do enough flying to have reached BA Silver membership, so my personal CO2 contribution is considerable I must admit.

The car usage reflects that my family is in Scotland, and my wife's in Poland, and we've done lots of driving holidays because of that, as well as annual business mileage of about 20-30k over last 3 years.