[YellowCone]

...because nothing else floats my boat!


Hey guys. Good to see some of the same names I remember seeing in this forum back in 2017 when I last bought a 3 Series... It's reassuring to see that there are still lots of people interested enough in their F30's to stick around!

So I thought I'd start this new thread to say hi and ask you longer term forum members a question. Appreciate there may be other similar threads lurking about the place so apologies in advance if there are!...

My first F30 was a 2017 320i Sport in Melbourne Red in basic stock specification. I got a crazy cheap lease deal at the time and it came 'as is', so it was what it was and for the most part, I was happy with it. Or at least, I loved the car - but can't pretend I didn't regret the low spec, but it was a tool to do a job so I wasn't overly fussed.

We had that for a year, and then swapped out to an X1 in xLine trim which we kept for another year. It was a perfectly nice car, but bored me to tears. Had all the toys we wanted at the time, was comfortable and reasonably nippy, but just didn't excite.

So come 2019 and it came time to choose again. Only this time there was nothing in the BMW lineup that I especially wanted. I'm not a fan of the new 3 Series, and so I decided to go elsewhere (Range Rover Sport), wait for the unveiling of the 4 instead and hope to get back into a BMW in 2020. One look at one in the showroom and I decided there and then it's likely I've had my last 'new new' BMW for a long while to come if they're all going to look like THAT.

I've been leasing for years and years, and for a combination of reasons I knew this time I wanted to buy something I'd want to keep. My other half has just picked up a 2GC so I was free to choose something a bit more interesting.

So instead of leasing something dull again that i knew I'd never bond with, I broke a 14 year habit and bought AUC instead. So I'm now back in an F30 in the shape of a very lightly used (13k miles from new) 2016 340i. Okay we're only two months in to this one, but I'm so far convinced that this is the one I'll be keeping for the long haul. It's got all the kit, HUD, HK Audio etc, Mineral Grey with Coral leather. I've always said that I'll only buy an electric car when they match the usability of ICE cars, and there's just nothing there in the range that seems to offer the same as a 340i does. For me it's the perfect balance of driving enjoyment and everyday usability.

My question is this... Given what we all know about modern car 'design life' and the way car ownership has evolved over the last couple of decades or so, how many of you intend to keep your F30's long term as I do? Are you worried about long term maintenance or not? Having driven nothing but new cars for nearly 15 years I can't say I've needed to think about it much until now. I know some of the older gen beemers suffered long term with common issues like timing chains etc, but is there anything I should know about B58 If I want to keep it healthy for longer? Being AUC I have a years warranty of course, but it would be nice not to need it!

Cheers Guys!

[sensible]

Sounds a good choice to me, especially with the warranty. You could get an extended warranty after that for peace of mind.

Let's see some photos.

[C320]

Welcome back!
I wasn’t on here when you had your first F30, but my wife has a Mineral Grey with Coral Red F30 320d M Sport.

Great choice of engine you have there, I’m a huge fan of largish engines in smaller cars. There’s something quite special about a 6 Cylinder engine.

The spec on yours sounds amazing. As others have said when the AUC warranty expires it’s probably worth extending the warranty with BMW. We’ve done that on both of ours, just gives you piece of mind. We’ve opted for the one with an excess (to bring down the cost) and BMW breakdown assistance.

Finally, I think this forum is great and a lot those here have moved on from F30’s but stick around as it’s a friendly and knowledgeable group of folk here!

[XAlp]

Nice car! Came close to an F31 340i before lockdowns interfered...

What’s a ballpark cost to extend a BMW warranty?

[YellowCone]

Thanks for the replies guys, sounds like good advice. I'm really happy with the spec, I waited until I found a good one in the hope it would encourage me to keep it for longer.

I'll pop some pics up as soon as I can get at it with a polishing cloth!

[Londoner]

Have had my very similar F30 (mineral grey 66 plate, 20k miles) 340i for 18 months and still loving it.

I'd imagine most forum types would have asked the same questions as you. I didn't want to drop 20k plus on a car I'd get bored of in a year or two and loose a load of cash in a sale. But my F30 340i really ticks every box for me. 3l 6 cylinder, petrol RWD with an award winningly versatile and efficient engine and transmission combo, in a very competent/good quality (if not quite best in class) good looking chassis. We won't see a car with these options again.

I'm resigned to an electric car in 15 years but damnit I'm going to have some fun in the meantime and I just love this modest euro muscle car. Suspect you will however realise that some mods are needed. My personal take was the MPPSK, MP limited slip diff, some decent suspension and non-run flats finally complete the car and makes it really quite a different machine to stock - finally doing what an "ultimate driving machine" should, putting a smile on my face every time I press that start button (and take her on track).

For me the 355bhp (generally more like 370-75 on a dyno) is quite enough for the chassis and maybe I'll eat my words if I ever did so in the future but I find the ZF8 box is blisteringly fast (almost on performance par with a DCT in my limited experience and actually better as an in traffic daily) so don't plan on an engine or trans' remap anytime soon.

I'm not an M car guy for the simple reason that the slob in me loves more comfy, less sporty seats so the only thing that might tempt me is an AUC M550i (sadly no RWD) in 4/5 years time, when it depreciates to a sensible price.

Also bought AUC and into the first extended comp' warranty (good value at 350 odd quid). If the car had lots of issues from early on/sorted under warranty then I'd be a bit more concerned, but in absence of that I'm not bothered at all. My E92 330i had 120k on the clock and still drove like new when I sold. Quite remarkable.

[robbiep]

My recommendations, if you're going to keep the car long-term :

Forget the 'official' service interval, oil changes every 8-10k miles. If your BMW dealer says there is no point, remind them that the customer is always right, or go to an independent specialist.

I'd expect the extended warranty to cost somewhere in the region of £600-£1000 per annum, depending on level of cover, excess, the mileage the car has done

[GOF_430d]

As for the BMW extended warranty question, I paid £420 last year for my 2016 430d convertible which was on 44,000 miles at the time and that cost includes breakdown cover [which I forget about every year when I renew my AA membership].

[2JPW]

I'm the same with keeping my F32 - Unlike many I would love a new 4 series, but can't afford it.
I have HK, HUD, Business Nav, Sunroof, adaptive lights etc... I have upgraded to LCI lights and full carbon M Sport kit and don't want to change any time soon.

I have the BMW extended warranty at circa £550/yr

[Ennoch]

I'm in a similar boat with regards to keeping my F31 long term. I was looking to replace my Honda CRV that I'd had for 5 years. This was a car my dad gave it to me when he got his new car, having owned the Honda for 13 years since new. My Impreza I've now owned 7 years and the Octavia predecessor while only 5 years did see 130k put on it in that time. Despite being 'into' cars my main ones tend to be kept long term. I've had cars and vans to 2-300k miles over the years so high mileage doesn't bother me per se. That said these newer cars have so many electronics that as they age these are likely to be their downfall. The upside is that as time goes by so more people find inventive ways to fix stuff DIY rather than take it to BMW and hand over a kidney. My preferred car this time, the total heart one, was a 4.4 TDV8 FFRR but the prospect of keeping one beyond a couple of years seemed rather frightening. The engine on them is solid, the gearboxes are the exact same version of ZF8 as on the 335d I now have and by 2012 after 9 years of being in production most of the faults had been ironed out. But to keep one for 5-10 years? Nah. So I ended up with a 335d F31 as the 'sensible' choice.

If I keep it for ten years then I may as well keep it until it's fit for scrap as it won't have any value. And by that time if little things stop working then it's not a big deal. The issue is when the critical things start breaking on it which prevent you using the car, and obviously there are a lot more of them on this car than on my CRV! I'm planning to keep the warranty until 100k and then I'll make a decision at that point whether it's worth paying £600+ for an engine and drivetrain warranty still. There are two ways of looking at it; stick the warranty money in the bank every year in case something does happen and DIY service it too, saving about £800 PA in total, or pay more but get fixed known costs. After this year's out I'll make my decision and decide which option to take! Either way, as someone else mentioned, I'll be doing 10k oil changes and doing the gearbox at 50k too.

[JR1664]

Originally Posted by YellowCone

...because nothing else floats my boat!

I've owned a 2018 Mineral Grey 340i M Sport Shadow edition from new. Lovely car, decent spec ,sublime engine and gearbox and I'm only on 11k. I ever so nearly jumped ship into a V8 last year but have no real regrets at not. I've had test drives in loads of cars including EV's since owning but it still ticks all the boxes. The B58 has brilliant MPG on a run with the ability to deliver everything you need on our roads if you put your foot down. Of course its practical enough, massive boot space, can do the tip runs, comfortably fit five people in it and of course a bit of a sleeper. It gets looks but not the sort of attention you might regret, so I can park it in side streets or station car parks when travelling knowing the thing will probably still be there when I get back.

It owes me nothing, I'm not into extended warranty territory just yet but I've had them on previous BMW's and the official warranty is second to none and very good value. I'd love it to be a long term keeper but I tend to change every 2/3 years just to sample something different so that would be the only reason for moving on. A really solid car and an excellent choice.

[YellowCone]

Hi all,

Some excellent replies here, exactly what I was hoping for. General consensus seems to be - cut servicing intervals down to something more realistic, keep it under extended warranty for added peace of mind, and then just enjoy driving it. I'm sure I can manage that!

Thanks everyone, there really is no substitute for first-hand, real world experience. I very much appreciate your replies!

[beerglass007]

I changed my 330D for a 440i and love it

When i had the F30 I had one year of AUC warranty and after that used the extended warranty option. You can play around with options, I had the top option but removed road side recovery because I had AA and wasn't restricted to one car and also opted to pay first £250 excess. This and the fact the car has done under 60K mile the warranty was £300

If you pay less excess or no excess and the car is over 60K it goes up. When the car is over 100K miles they don't offer warranty [ I think ]