[SGilligan]

Looking to buy a used F30 BMW M Sport and had a look at one today.

Everything was in good condition but the only thing that stood out to me was that the car had a registered 34.5 mpg for what looked like 20k miles which seems surprisingly low to me.

Is this normal? The car is 4 years old so maybe it was just used for lots of town driving and maybe that's the reason?

Should I avoid this car?

[SuhaibD98]

Originally Posted by SGilligan

Looking to buy a used F30 BMW M Sport and had a look at one today.

Everything was in good condition but the only thing that stood out to me was that the car had a registered 34.5 mpg for what looked like 20k miles which seems surprisingly low to me.

Is this normal? The car is 4 years old so maybe it was just used for lots of town driving and maybe that's the reason?

Should I avoid this car?

No, i have the same year and roughly the sane mileage, it all depends on how the car is driven at a certain time

If i was to constantly floor it and drive in sports plus, I'll average at 16 but if i was to drive conservatively in london I'd get around 30 with eco mode

[330XDave]

Originally Posted by SuhaibD98

No, i have the same year and roughly the sane mileage, it all depends on how the car is driven at a certain time

If i was to constantly floor it and drive in sports plus, I'll average at 16 but if i was to drive conservatively in london I'd get around 30 with eco mode

On a 320d!?

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by SGilligan

Looking to buy a used F30 BMW M Sport and had a look at one today.

Everything was in good condition but the only thing that stood out to me was that the car had a registered 34.5 mpg for what looked like 20k miles which seems surprisingly low to me.

Is this normal? The car is 4 years old so maybe it was just used for lots of town driving and maybe that's the reason?

Should I avoid this car?

Yep looks like lots of short trips to the shops in town .. the cars done 5k per year if that 20k is over the 4 years!

Still my 330d would manage 34mpg with similar trips/mileage I reckon.

[Harryg]

Originally Posted by SGilligan

Looking to buy a used F30 BMW M Sport and had a look at one today.

Everything was in good condition but the only thing that stood out to me was that the car had a registered 34.5 mpg for what looked like 20k miles which seems surprisingly low to me.

Is this normal? The car is 4 years old so maybe it was just used for lots of town driving and maybe that's the reason?

Should I avoid this car?

Whos to say the MPG hasn't been reset during its lifetime, I have a 420d Xdrive which is getting more than that on short trips.

[Rathian]

Originally Posted by SGilligan

Looking to buy a used F30 BMW M Sport and had a look at one today.

Everything was in good condition but the only thing that stood out to me was that the car had a registered 34.5 mpg for what looked like 20k miles which seems surprisingly low to me.

Is this normal? The car is 4 years old so maybe it was just used for lots of town driving and maybe that's the reason?

Should I avoid this car?

I have the 320d ED and am averaging 70mpg (brim to brim actuals) over the course of a year. 90% motorway and dual carriageways. Definitely what driving you do and how you drive.

[machman767]

I always reset my trip computer at every fill up, only got the car in August, 320d Sport, 17 plate 11000k miles. Current tank is showing 51mpg, eco pro if on a run with occasional forays into the sport modes.
Mick

[330XDave]

Originally Posted by Hooded

Yep looks like lots of short trips to the shops in town .. the cars done 5k per year if that 20k is over the 4 years!

Still my 330d would manage 34mpg with similar trips/mileage I reckon.

My 330d xDrive does exactly that, school runs, short commute to work and only the occasional longer trip. On 36mpg over a few tanks now. I'd have to be seriously thrashing it to get down towards 30mpg.

[Harryg]

Originally Posted by machman767

I always reset my trip computer at every fill up, only got the car in August, 320d Sport, 17 plate 11000k miles. Current tank is showing 51mpg, eco pro if on a run with occasional forays into the sport modes.
Mick

Shame on you a BMW driver using eco

[machman767]

I use it for work so am eeking out the allowance!
Mick

[lethbridge]

I'd assume it has been reset recently - possibly when traded in - in which case it is just showing the average of some local test drives... Good excuse to ask for an extended test drive so you can reset it and give it a normal run rather than a quick thrash and make your mind up from that... In other words you can draw no conclusions from what it is currently showing as you don't know when it was reset or how it was driven...

[teaston]

I found the 320d about the same as the 335d around town, but on motorway should give about 10mpg more.

[Fantastic]

I reset mine every full tank, f31 320d Xdrive gets around 44-50 normal use and up to 58mpg on a good run out

[Gromdal]

320d s-drive, 44 mile round trip to work daily, 80% motorway 20% town gets me an average of 56mpg, mpg across all journeys since April (including round town) is 51.3mpg. That's driving pretty much everywhere in sport mode. Long motorway trips is usually around the 60mpg mark.

edit - I bought this at 5 years old with 28500 miles on the clock, BUT I checked the paperwork and the previous owner was British Forces and was running the car to Gutersloh and back so had no issues buying low mileage diesel.

[Rich9600]

Originally Posted by teaston

I found the 320d about the same as the 335d around town, but on motorway should give about 10mpg more.

This^^^

Town and short run mpg is poor for all cars. I've had 15-25mpg displayed on all my BMW's for a trip to the supermarket. Stop start and traffic are a huge factor.
Thats a 320d, a 330d and a 340i...

[pmgreenwood]

F31 2014 320D, get a minimum of 45 mpg if saying doing days were total mileage about 15. on longer trips 50 to 60mpg depending on mix of roads and traffic. To get 35mpg I would need to be shutting the car off after about 3 to 4 miles before fully warm and I try to avoid using it in that way by panning life to avoid as far as possible single short trips

I do not believe low mileage diesel cars that have only been used for short trips are good secondhand buys

[Carjack]

Originally Posted by SGilligan

Looking to buy a used F30 BMW M Sport and had a look at one today.

Everything was in good condition but the only thing that stood out to me was that the car had a registered 34.5 mpg for what looked like 20k miles which seems surprisingly low to me.

Is this normal? The car is 4 years old so maybe it was just used for lots of town driving and maybe that's the reason?

Should I avoid this car?

35mpg Is what I would get out of my 320D driving about town in heavy traffic.

On the motorway with the Stop & Go set at 73 mph a figure of 61 mpg is no problem.

There is no doubt with the S & G set at a lower figure say 65mph or taking it reasonable careful on the throttle 70+ mpg would be achievable.

[HighlandPete]

A lot will depend on exactly how the car has been used. What were the conditions and how heavy the urban use?

I remember an E9x 335d user in the city of London, only getting around 11mpg long term. Nothing wrong at all, spending most of the time in heavy start-stop driving, or stationary, mpg figures mean very little. The driving is really best calculated in litres per hour.

[999rigger]

Mine averages about 42 with a mix of driving.

[Butterpieboy]

Reset the trip on my 2014 320d when I bought it at 1 year old. Covered 40k since and averaged bang on 50 mpg.

[Lagemba]

Dunno how different the engines are but on my 420d I get 41mpg lowest when driving through town. Haven't seen it go lower even when pushing the car.

[aloo6]

What's eco-pro mode? :