[AzzaCZB]

Originally Posted by Allworth

4 series GC is a better choice if rear space matters. I personally would go electric at this price range (other than bmw). Nevertheless, 3.0D is a really great engine. I personally see AWD as something that saves me from getting stuck in odd places, especially during winter, no racing in mind!

Rear space - As in back seat leg room?

[ade555]

I don't travel in rear in my 4GC but from what I hear is not that great for some of my passengers. Boot space is more versatile then 3 series Saloon but not as good as touring. Low mileage vs higher one. Hmm is hard when cars become older, 40k on 8-10 year old car is bit suspicious been honest, but there are gems out there. I would prefer LCI car but if you getting one with 100k+ have some spare cash for some components refresh.

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by AzzaCZB

Was I being naive to think that there'd be a general consensus on this??

So from my understanding the 335d only comes in AWD so is it fair to say the purists among you would avoid it because you will always want RWD?

I've never owned a RWD car so do I have less chance of making my children fatherless if I go for AWD initially and maybe switch to RWD later down the line?

What about Adaptive Suspension? Lots of ads just say M Sport Suspension. Are they one and the same? If so, is it needed? Reviews seem to suggest it is?

So with 18K to spend would it may be best to go pre LCI with low mileage? I've seen a couple 335ds that are 10 years old and only done 40K! Does that seem a bit suspect?

Or do I go the other way - LCI with higher mileage? I should imagine a 335d with 100K on the clock still feels like new if it's been well looked after ?

What about drive chain issues? Is it best to get this checked by a good mechanic before buying to make sure its OK? Or are there signs that are easy to spot?

One post above mentioned gear box maintenance but are there any other major things to look out for before I buy?

Im reluctant to say this next bit for fear of the very large can of worms I may open but....

My mate suggested looking at the 435d GC yesterday. Any thoughts on that?

Be kind all you 3 series fanatics!!

Correct, 35d only comes in xdrive flavour and it's a god send for 98% of the time. I wouldn't want it any other way, it's a brilliant system. 40:60 by default.

Adaptive isn't the same as M Sport suspension. The stiffer M Sport suspension comes with the M Sport pack unless it gets as unticked on the order form (too firm for some). Adaptive is worth looking out for. There are three different dash versions too! Full analogue, partial digital and full digital.

N57 engines don't have the same timing chain issues as the older N47 engines I believe but a service history is the main factor to fend off future problems. Might be worth a check but its tucked right at the back of the engine so not easy to access without spanners!

Gearbox is usually trouble free. There's an urban myth about the transfer boxes but the truth is you need to really abuse it over a long time to have issues. Transmission fluid and filter change at 8 years or 60k miles seems to be ZF's view.

GC is lovely too.

[gac]

Originally Posted by AzzaCZB

Was I being naive to think that there'd be a general consensus on this??

So from my understanding the 335d only comes in AWD so is it fair to say the purists among you would avoid it because you will always want RWD?

I've never owned a RWD car so do I have less chance of making my children fatherless if I go for AWD initially and maybe switch to RWD later down the line?

What about Adaptive Suspension? Lots of ads just say M Sport Suspension. Are they one and the same? If so, is it needed? Reviews seem to suggest it is?

So with 18K to spend would it may be best to go pre LCI with low mileage? I've seen a couple 335ds that are 10 years old and only done 40K! Does that seem a bit suspect?

Or do I go the other way - LCI with higher mileage? I should imagine a 335d with 100K on the clock still feels like new if it's been well looked after ?

What about drive chain issues? Is it best to get this checked by a good mechanic before buying to make sure its OK? Or are there signs that are easy to spot?

One post above mentioned gear box maintenance but are there any other major things to look out for before I buy?

Im reluctant to say this next bit for fear of the very large can of worms I may open but....

My mate suggested looking at the 435d GC yesterday. Any thoughts on that?

Be kind all you 3 series fanatics!!

My 335d is my first non-FWD car too, and the AWD seems "fine". Still drives great, maybe it's not as pure as RWD but tbh, I can't miss what I've never had and it's at least as "nice" (unquantifiably) as my FWD cars.

A 10 year old car on 40k would make me a little suspicious because it's _likely_ (though not guaranteed) that it's been a lot of short and/or town journeys which are worse for wear and tear than getting on the motorway and belting out 400 miles in a single constant-speed stint. Plus I suspect it may be lax on servicing, people like my parents will insist that only mileage matters and not time, so a 40k car with 18k service intervals might have only had 2 oil changes in 10 years if you bought the wrong one. Alternatively it could be a gem which has just been part of a multi-car garage, serviced yearly regardless of mileage, etc. Luck of the draw.

Personally I bought a car from the cheaper end and budgeted for having work done (gearbox service is booked for Wednesday, I've just done a quick DIY oil change between services, and I started a thread about timing chains thinking I might get that done the next time I put it in for a real service). I'd set myself a kind of arbitrary budget of 16k (just because it needed a number else I could have scrolled Auto Trader forever); ended up spending 13k on a pre-LCI ~95k car, if I do get the chains done I'll still only be 15k into it. When I was looking, for 15k there wasn't a lot around with the same condition/milage and having chains done. My original bet was a slightly tatty 148,000 miler in a worse colour with an invoice to back up the chains being done but it sold and with what I've ended up with, I think I'm kind of glad it did.

I am a little concerned about timing chains based on a mate's advice; but the thread I started kind of put my mind at ease a little that the N57 is not as prone as N47 as long as it's serviced properly, so I think I'm just going to start doing oil changes more often and listen out for any issues. There's also a tool someone linked me to in order to be able to see how much the chain has stretched, which I could try and do/have done.

I forgot to point out in my earlier post in this thread that I think I have the business navigation (bigger screen and does split screen between nav/media) and that comes with the partly digital dash - this shows clear satnav instructions, which I do actually like. If the heads-up display also does that then it might be worth a shout, it wasn't clear to me from the one car I tried with the HUD whether it does or doesn't.

[Allworth]

Originally Posted by AzzaCZB

Rear space - As in back seat leg room?

I've just did a fact check, it turns up 4 series GC has less room for rear passengers, both, leg room and head room. And I already find 3 series to be somewhere uncomfortable in rear at 6ft.

[SkyJawa]

Originally Posted by gac

A 10 year old car on 40k would make me a little suspicious because it's _likely_ (though not guaranteed) that it's been a lot of short and/or town journeys which are worse for wear and tear than getting on the motorway and belting out 400 miles in a single constant-speed stint. Plus I suspect it may be lax on servicing, people like my parents will insist that only mileage matters and not time, so a 40k car with 18k service intervals might have only had 2 oil changes in 10 years if you bought the wrong one. Alternatively it could be a gem which has just been part of a multi-car garage, serviced yearly regardless of mileage, etc. Luck of the draw.

My 2014 335d was sold last year with 50k on the clock. You need to look past this thought as Covid kept a lot of mileages down, plus with working from home my mileage went to about 1-2k a year. However most of those journeys were well over 30 mins. It was always serviced on time based, as miles not enough, but it wasn’t lax.

[gac]

Originally Posted by SkyJawa

My 2014 335d was sold last year with 50k on the clock. You need to look past this thought as Covid kept a lot of mileages down, plus with working from home my mileage went to about 1-2k a year. However most of those journeys were well over 30 mins. It was always serviced on time based, as miles not enough, but it wasn’t lax.

That's fair. I guess I forget it's been four years now.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Allworth

I've just did a fact check, it turns up 4 series GC has less room for rear passengers, both, leg room and head room. And I already find 3 series to be somewhere uncomfortable in rear at 6ft.

I loved the 440i GC I test drove; but useless in the back for anyone over 6ft

I tried (at 6ft 4) with the wife in the driver seat and it wasn't comfortable at all

The F31 is much better

[dementedgopher]

Originally Posted by YODI

Behave, the red leather is amazing

Currently in the market for an F31 myself and whenever I tell friends/family/colleagues that I'm specifically looking for white exterior with the Coral Red interior...the looks of confusion and upset I get over the red leather, I just don't understand. It's beautiful!

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by Kermit

Correct, 35d only comes in xdrive flavour and it's a god send for 98% of the time. I wouldn't want it any other way, it's a brilliant system. 40:60 by default.

Adaptive isn't the same as M Sport suspension. The stiffer M Sport suspension comes with the M Sport pack unless it gets as unticked on the order form (too firm for some). Adaptive is worth looking out for. There are three different dash versions too! Full analogue, partial digital and full digital.

Gearbox is usually trouble free. There's an urban myth about the transfer boxes but the truth is you need to really abuse it over a long time to have issues. Transmission fluid and filter change at 8 years or 60k miles seems to be ZF's view.

Annoyingly none of the X-drive cars came with M-sport suspension, just the standard height stuff, albeit like mine that can still be adaptive.

I do think the TC's can be luck of the draw but the mechanic I was speaking to at the dealership when I had mine done was saying they're a pretty regular job to do across the range, especially when odd tyres are used and/or they're driven hard. Mine was still on the original rear S001's when I got it at 30k so I suspect the first 30k was quite sedate, the second 30k perhaps not so much but still not so hard that you'd expect the system to shit itself. It's about £5k for a new part from BMW but they can be rebuilt for about £700, and replacement refurbed ones with new clutches etc are not much more.

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by Kermit

N57 engines don't have the same timing chain issues as the older N47 engines.

I'm afraid they do. Upper chain is OK, but the lower chain has been revised twice. The upper tensioner has been revised as well. The original one was prone to bleeding off oil pressure, causing chain slack. A loose chain beats on the plastic guide rails which chews them up. The guide rails have also been updated post F3x production end.

I recommend all N47 & N57 owners to replace the upper tensioner with the revised one if not done already as it's the only way to get the most life out of the chains and guide rails. £55-£60 and an hour's work, tops.