New Member after advice

2420 Views 39 Replies 15 Participants Last post by spl23, Feb 6, 2016

GarryK

Discussion Starter · Jan 29, 2016

Good morning and hello

Ive been browsing for a couple months and finally joined up the last couple days.

Im looking at buying a F20 but with a limited budget and my mind and heart set on it being an msport.

I have seen a couple local to me and one a normal trade seller and one a bmw used approved.

The trade is a 118d 2012 in black with 47k FBMWSH but unknown spec and trader hasnt replied to my call as of yet. I have seen tints to the rear and an arm rest so maybe a couple packs on there.

The bmw used approved is a 116i in white 22k FBMWSH with the usual bmw used 12 month warranty etc. This vehicle has comfort pack, sun protection and auto headlights.

I do approx 10k miles a year maximum and probably 7k of them motorway.

Would the sensible option be the diesel? Higher insurance though but cheaper to tax and run or the petrol due to mileage?

I have read many thread on the N47 engine and how theyre meant to be better in this year but can still be problematic.
Am i right in thinking the BMW warranty i could purchase would cover this? even if it did snap and ruined the engine?

Any information would be great and thank you in advance?

1 - 20 of 40 Posts

ILikeJam

· #2 · Jan 29, 2016

You can check out this thread on 116i MPG

http://babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=75608&hilit=116i

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Without taking any care at all I was hitting over 39mpg in the 116i. While driving in EcoPro mode and following all it's prompts it was 48.4mpg.

I've not driven a 118d but imagine it'll feel pretty similar to a 116i in terms of speed/acceleration. I test drove a 120d and found it to be quite noisy and gruff which is why I went with petrol, plus I'm doing similar low miles to you.

I've never had even a slight hint of any reliability problems with the car/engine.

Tooks

· #3 · Jan 29, 2016

For 10k miles a year, I don't see much financial benefit in going diesel to be honest.

Given the two cars mentioned, I'd be tempted by the lower mileage one, but have a drive first to see if you like it.

The same BMW dealer should have a118d available to try too, for comparison.

GarryK

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 29, 2016

Thanks for the replies.

I currently drive an 07 Astra 1.4 petrol and it's getting 48mpg according to my OBC.

I'd be happy with them figures mentioned in the second post.

alexdm

· #5 · Jan 29, 2016

I had the old E87 118d and was always very pleased with it. Very flexible and torquey engine. Nice to drive. I have now gone back to petrol though as I missed the wider power band, smoothness and noise of the petrol. Plus I only do limited mileage (10-12k pa) no not too bothered. Also do a fair few short trips which aren't great for the DPF on a diesel. That said, no issues in 60k of motoring in the 118d.

BH55

· #6 · Feb 2, 2016

i dont think your annual mileage warrants a diesal go for petrol :bigsmile:

:bigsmile:

GarryK

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 2, 2016

I think you may be right. Shame about the dearer tax but it's one of them things.

I had lined one up but it sold before I could get to it

Toonshorty

· #8 · Feb 2, 2016

GarryK said:
I think you may be right. Shame about the dearer tax but it's one of them things.

I had lined one up but it sold before I could get to it

I've never understood people who justify spending an extra £1-2k more to get the Diesel, purely on the justification that they'll save £30 a year on road tax. Granted the price differential will be smaller on a used car.

Same for people that do 3000 miles a year and then say they'll save a fortune with a diesel because of the extra "eeemm pee geees".

Allentreefella

· #9 · Feb 2, 2016

Diesels also are nicer to drive in a lot of instances. Don't think I would ever go back to petrol regardless of my budget or miles driven.

RearDriver23

· #10 · Feb 2, 2016

Allentreefella said:
Diesels also are nicer to drive in a lot of instances. Don't think I would ever go back to petrol regardless of my budget or miles driven.

Say what now??

Stevoraith

· #11 · Feb 2, 2016

Agreed. The 118d will feel a fair bit quicker than the 116i I'd imagine.

It may not actually be much quicker but the extra low-down torque will make it feel so.

I wouldn't buy a 'normal' petrol car- diesel will almost always give a more enjoyable power delivery than a run-of-the-mill petrol.

Different story if you're getting into the performance end of the spectrum (don't for one minute think I wouldn't trade my 125d for an M135i if someone was paying my fuel bill!) but for normal cars I'd choose diesel for more than purely financial reasons.

Also, annual mileage isn't the be all and end all when working out if a diesel will give you a financial benefit.
You'll only pay the extra to buy a diesel once and you'll save every mile you drive so even if you only do a few thousand a year, if you keep the car for a good few years chances are you'll be quids in.

GarryK

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 2, 2016

I'm just going to have to keep shopping around.

I am finding the 118D around £80 a year dearer than a 116i and the 118i

Great information and opinions so far. Thank you

Toonshorty

· #13 · Feb 2, 2016

Allentreefella said:
Diesels also are nicer to drive in a lot of instances. Don't think I would ever go back to petrol regardless of my budget or miles driven.

:screwy:

Most diesels sound and drive like a tractor, not sure why you'd ever want one unless you were doing mega miles.

topuphere666

· #14 · Feb 3, 2016

Toonshorty said:
Allentreefella said:

Diesels also are nicer to drive in a lot of instances. Don't think I would ever go back to petrol regardless of my budget or miles driven.

Click to expand...

:screwy:

Most diesels sound and drive like a tractor, not sure why you'd ever want one unless you were doing mega miles.

Yea because I've had loads of races with Massey fergusons up and down the A1 in my 191bhp 120d...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JamesHS

· #15 · Feb 3, 2016

Stevoraith said:
Also, annual mileage isn't the be all and end all when working out if a diesel will give you a financial benefit.
You'll only pay the extra to buy a diesel once and you'll save every mile you drive so even if you only do a few thousand a year, if you keep the car for a good few years chances are you'll be quids in.

Thats true but modern diesel engines don't always perform well when they aren't being driven on long journeys, they can be just as bad if not worse over short jouneys. Also DPF filters are increasingly becoming an expensive issue for people who don't drive far enough and they are expensive to replace!

Stevoraith

· #16 · Feb 3, 2016

Absolutely. If you're doing 3-4K a year you're probably doing lots of short journeys so a diesel is t for you.
But there are plenty of 'forum experts' who say 'you need to do 10/15/however many thousand miles per year or you're better off with a petrol' which just plainly isn't true.

Also remember, if you're buying on finance any money you can save on fuel per month can effectively be added to your monthly payment for the car, which means you can get a more expensive car for the same overall cost per month....

scrounger

· #17 · Feb 3, 2016

I agree.

I do about 9000 a year with only short runs to and from work but I do a good 60 mile trip at least once a week to clear the dpf out.

TBH on these cold mornings my car is only just getting warm by the time I get to work (6 miles) . If I go in the wife's 180d it's warm by the end of the street.

Jibbotson

· #18 · Feb 3, 2016

OP, Given that you said 7K miles were motorway i'd be tempted by the diesel. It will likely feel much quicker at motorway speeds with the extra torque and its generally easier to squeeze better mpg from them. On the other hand the petrol will be better for your other 3k miles and has half the mileage so they're both good options if they're a similar price.

I'd therefore recommend going to the BMW dealer and driving both for a decent amount of time on slower and faster roads and just decide which one you prefer. Ignore the whole theoretical Petrol vs Diesel debate because it seems that in your situation over a year they won't be too much difference after all costs are added so it's better to choose the one you like better.

RearDriver23

· #19 · Feb 3, 2016

scrounger said:
I agree.

I do about 9000 a year with only short runs to and from work but I do a good 60 mile trip at least once a week to clear the dpf out.

TBH on these cold mornings my car is only just getting warm by the time I get to work (6 miles) . If I go in the wife's 180d it's warm by the end of the street.

Jesus that must shift.

ILikeJam

· #20 · Feb 3, 2016

RearDriver23 said:
scrounger said:

I agree.

I do about 9000 a year with only short runs to and from work but I do a good 60 mile trip at least once a week to clear the dpf out.

TBH on these cold mornings my car is only just getting warm by the time I get to work (6 miles) . If I go in the wife's 180d it's warm by the end of the street.

Click to expand...

Jesus that must shift.

Beat me to it! :lol2:

:lol2:

I'm just waiting for Marco to notice the "diesels are nicer to drive..." comment :eek2:

:eek2:

Like I said, I test drove both a 120d and a 116i and went for the 116i. Can't say I noticed much of a difference in terms of speed/acceleration, but the petrol was much quieter and felt a lot smoother. I can imagine the pre-LCI 118d and 116i being fairly even - with the pre-LCI 116i engine now known as the 118i on the LCI.

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