A tale I shall tell, of my decision in 2019 to finally buy a BMW, having never owned one before (but always wanted to). A few years ago, we decided that we should get a dog, and so Lucky Lucas came into our lives from the RSPCA. He was mistreated as a puppy and we wanted to give him a lovely home. He's a collie X, very intelligent and therefore nothing like me. Anyway, at the time I was driving a Ford Focus ST Line, not a bad car at all but a hatchback and we needed an estate really, to give Lucas a bit more space and to free up the rear seats. I decided to trade in my 2017 Focus for a 2014 BMW F31 318d M Sport. We always read comments of fully investigating the car and all its foibles before purchasing - of course, I didn't and therefore I didn't realise the engine on this car was a bit of a pig, known as the N47. I later discovered that this particular car had the N47T engine, which was supposedly more reliable
You're probably thinking this will turn into a disaster story about the engine blowing up due to the N47 timing chain issues.... actually, no! The engine surely was a bit noisy and not a very smooth unit, certainly not a 6-cylinder! However, my BMW specialist declared it ok, just keep the oil changes frequent and I even had the engine mapped to bring it up nearer to 320d performance; it was certainly punchy
But no, the issues I had related more to the previous damage that had been caused to the car, obviously the car supermarket was not remotely interested and this is a cautionary tale about buying a car relatively unknown. Problems started when I wanted the wheels balanced as it had a bit of a judder at higher speed; I wanted my local BMW main dealer to do the work so they could check the car over for my peace of mind. it was booked in but, they couldn't release the wheel nuts as they were on the car too tight; a few broken nuts later and new ones duly ordered and fitted, the wheels finally came off and then the fun really began
I had also noticed a slight metallic knocking noise that I wanted checking out whilst it was at the service dealer. The noise was audible over bumps/potholes etc. They then stated it had non-approved tyres fitted. I thought that's fair comment, it's a BMW main dealer, they are only going to moan about anything unusual on the car. But one of the tyres was very slightly lumpy, which I must say I felt it and it was. Being a tyre freak, I thought I'd go for new runflat tyres all round. And of course, during the same process they also identified seized bolts on the rear brakes, requiring new camber bolts, etc etc
As it happens, all the brake components were nearing end of life, so I went for new pads & discs all round. Peace of mind, don't forget, and it was likely the brakes were the originals (certainly the discs)
The A/C was a little weak; I wanted a re-gas service to bring it back up to a better performance. Of course, they then noticed the condenser was damaged, so a new one of those also ordered & fitted
The service technicians delved a little deeper, and checked the front steering components. Despite showing HPI clear, they thought the front nearside of the car had hit something. The technician thought this was probably a large kerb, and probably at a fair speed. And so it needed a new shock absorber on the nearside. And they couldn't determine that the steering rack was safe, as it was likely damaged but being a sealed unit, no way to tell and therefore highly recommend to replace it, in case it fails when driving...
I did have the work done, they did reduce much of the costs as it was getting £ridiculous; I had a loan BMW 530i for the duration (nearly a month it was off the road) which was a really nice car, I missed that when it was returned to be fair (but not the low mpg). Afterwards, the F31 felt like a brand new car - but did I love it? No
I don't know if it was because it was clearly a tainted car. I don't know if it was because many other drivers on the road always sat up my backside (is that a BMW 3-series thing?). I don't know if it was the firm ride that started to annoy me - although it was fun to drive, quick enough (for me) and had a fantastically smooth and fast 8-speed auto. But what tipped me over the edge was it having its first MoT in my ownership earlier this year, and to be told I had split a tyre, which I hadn't realised. I bought yet another runflat (my 5th RF Bridgestone in less than 12-months) and decided there and then I was going to sell the car and return to Mercedes ownership. So here we are!
So no, I don't miss it. But I do miss its handling. And the gearbox, I honestly think it better than the 9-speed auto in my S205.
I've attached images of the lovely Focus, and the less lovely BMW. Would I buy from a volume sales car supermarket again? Probably, yes. But it seems a lottery to me
You're probably thinking this will turn into a disaster story about the engine blowing up due to the N47 timing chain issues.... actually, no! The engine surely was a bit noisy and not a very smooth unit, certainly not a 6-cylinder! However, my BMW specialist declared it ok, just keep the oil changes frequent and I even had the engine mapped to bring it up nearer to 320d performance; it was certainly punchy
But no, the issues I had related more to the previous damage that had been caused to the car, obviously the car supermarket was not remotely interested and this is a cautionary tale about buying a car relatively unknown. Problems started when I wanted the wheels balanced as it had a bit of a judder at higher speed; I wanted my local BMW main dealer to do the work so they could check the car over for my peace of mind. it was booked in but, they couldn't release the wheel nuts as they were on the car too tight; a few broken nuts later and new ones duly ordered and fitted, the wheels finally came off and then the fun really began
I had also noticed a slight metallic knocking noise that I wanted checking out whilst it was at the service dealer. The noise was audible over bumps/potholes etc. They then stated it had non-approved tyres fitted. I thought that's fair comment, it's a BMW main dealer, they are only going to moan about anything unusual on the car. But one of the tyres was very slightly lumpy, which I must say I felt it and it was. Being a tyre freak, I thought I'd go for new runflat tyres all round. And of course, during the same process they also identified seized bolts on the rear brakes, requiring new camber bolts, etc etc
As it happens, all the brake components were nearing end of life, so I went for new pads & discs all round. Peace of mind, don't forget, and it was likely the brakes were the originals (certainly the discs)
The A/C was a little weak; I wanted a re-gas service to bring it back up to a better performance. Of course, they then noticed the condenser was damaged, so a new one of those also ordered & fitted
The service technicians delved a little deeper, and checked the front steering components. Despite showing HPI clear, they thought the front nearside of the car had hit something. The technician thought this was probably a large kerb, and probably at a fair speed. And so it needed a new shock absorber on the nearside. And they couldn't determine that the steering rack was safe, as it was likely damaged but being a sealed unit, no way to tell and therefore highly recommend to replace it, in case it fails when driving...
I did have the work done, they did reduce much of the costs as it was getting £ridiculous; I had a loan BMW 530i for the duration (nearly a month it was off the road) which was a really nice car, I missed that when it was returned to be fair (but not the low mpg). Afterwards, the F31 felt like a brand new car - but did I love it? No
I don't know if it was because it was clearly a tainted car. I don't know if it was because many other drivers on the road always sat up my backside (is that a BMW 3-series thing?). I don't know if it was the firm ride that started to annoy me - although it was fun to drive, quick enough (for me) and had a fantastically smooth and fast 8-speed auto. But what tipped me over the edge was it having its first MoT in my ownership earlier this year, and to be told I had split a tyre, which I hadn't realised. I bought yet another runflat (my 5th RF Bridgestone in less than 12-months) and decided there and then I was going to sell the car and return to Mercedes ownership. So here we are!
So no, I don't miss it. But I do miss its handling. And the gearbox, I honestly think it better than the 9-speed auto in my S205.
I've attached images of the lovely Focus, and the less lovely BMW. Would I buy from a volume sales car supermarket again? Probably, yes. But it seems a lottery to me
