Your fleet running reports

[MikeHunt]

It’s the end of the road for the 540i, it was traded in yesterday after 12 months and 6,000 miles. The engine and drivetrain is top of the talking points, due its lack of lag and its willingness to rev. In sports mode, you are into silly speeds in very little time and the delivery is very smooth. It was debadged and a bit of a sleeper, as much as a shiny big saloon can be a sleeper. Took a few cars my surprise.

As a package, the car is very well put together and relative to modern cars as opposed to 90s BMWs, the steering feel isnt bad. You always feel confident pushing the car. The xdrive works well and you can feel it working to pull you out of a bends in dry, it wasnt too shabby in the recent snow either. As a mile muncher, it would happily sit on the motorway sipping fuel at 34mpg which isnt bad for a car of the size and performance.

There a few reasons why its no longer sitting on my drive. First and foremost, the later cars are fitted with a particle filter which means that the warranty friendly BMW power and sound pack (exhaust and remap) cannot be fitted. The second and even more first world problem is that the car was already produced when I ordered it, so I wasn’t able to spec it. A car of this size, needs a camera, good speakers etc, especially when you have an mx5 with more tech and toys on the drive.

I can’t help but feel that the car was too competent and smooth for its own good, the is probably the sweet spot that BMW were aiming for but for me the experience was more skin to an E class than a 5. I know a few lads who have tuned their 140i and I imagine a visit to Lichfield would have been a big improvement, but at the same time the car really wasnt lacking power. I will contradict myself by saying that a 550i would be high on the want list, just because 500bhp in a discreet i sh saloon would be cool.

Due to the £25k dealer contribution, the deprecation didn’t hurt too much. In total, the car cost me £7100 on finance, £900 on insurance and £980 fuel averaging just over 30mpg for the life of the car.

I will miss it, but didn’t love the car as much I expected to, maybe lockdowns and general weirdness that have spanned the ownership haven’t helped.

I will be back later, to discuss the replacement.

[Jobbo]

£900 insurance, Mike? Are you particularly high risk? Bromsgrove isn’t the ghetto.

Good economy. My Volvo V90 T6 AWD, so the closest thing to their direct competitor (50bhp down) managed 24mpg average and struggled up to just under 30mpg on the motorway.

[mik]

Lots of Evora and Exiges suffer headlight issues with the surface cracking and “peeling”. Particularly over the black sections.

Google image.


Replacements are over £1k per side so it’s a relatively common discussion point. Zero issues with mine but it is in a dim garage when not moving.

Precut clear PPF recently became available for £20 so bought some. If it only helps prevent a crack from a stone it’ll be worth it.

I’ve fitted window frosting before - same principle. Water/washing up liquid mix is your friend. Lots of it.

Fairly happy with the fit.

Careful prep. Cleaned them. Clayed them. Wiped with IPA, then I went round doing that breathy “hoaaaah” thing you do to mush up glasses before polishing them dry with a microfibre.

Ready to go on.


Initial placement. More water on top surface ready for squeegee (aka AA membership card)


Post squeegee


More “orange peel” look now, but hopefully worth it.

[Broccers]

Have a mini issue. Engine light on and stuttering, wont rev. Internet says spark plugs, coils or fuel pump. The low fuel warning light did come on shortly before, 60 miles left in the tank but it suggests its related. Put 5 litres of sul in from a can, still doing it so off to the tuna (cheap garage) to see what they say.

Get the codes read, I'd wager HPFP

Thanks that looks nice and expensive. Not as expensive as having a 540l for 12 months tho

[DeskJockey]

Been driving the Zoe a bit more. Putting it in eco mode significantly increases the regen, almost becoming a one pedal car.

Getting used to the new noises will take some time, but I don't like the indicator sound. Possibly because the car is so quiet it is far more audible and it sounds fake/digital (yes, I know it is).

Rest is minor, really. Rearview camera is a bit slow to come on. You can cover a fair distance before it kicks in. It also needs an armrest.

Other than that it just lends itself to being driven calmly. Put your foot down and it'll shift, but it isn't a Tesla, so there's little point. Won't win many TLGPs.

Also have to be more mindful of pedestrians in carparks. Went to the shops and when leaving it was clear that people don't hear it, so don't get out of the way.

[MikeHunt]

£900 insurance, Mike? Are you particularly high risk? Bromsgrove isn’t the ghetto.

I used to live in Bromsgrove, Woodland grange if your local. When I moved to Barnt green my car insurance went up 70% as B45 is a “high risk” area, I was expecting a refund! For comparison, my wife’s v class is £300/year and my modified mx5 is £200/year so I do t think we are high risk but the bmw did seem quite expensive for the value/perf.

[MikeHunt]

Following on from my earlier post, I have committed an evo sin and swapped petrol for the devils fuel. I was offered a deal on a car preregistered before Xmas on delivery miles which had been reduced by an eye watering £47k. So I traded in my 540i for a 740d, on a deal costing me only triple figures to swap. It just happens to have the same paint and interior as the outgoing car, it wouldnt shock if non car people don’t notice the change.

First impressions are that the comfort levels are much higher which is not a surprise as the larger car also has air suspension, better seats and generally less sporty than a non so sporty car. Essential trips to the shop feels more of an occasion, and its definitely more abstracted from the road, it also seems to get more attention. I was concerned about going to the dark side but there is no sign of that awful diesel noise at start up. With two turbos and a mild hybrid, it’s no 760 but the car doesn’t feel slow in any situation and just seems to waft along with a slab of torque.

[mik]

That looks great, and what a discount

Ride via air sus on Mrs mik’s Audi is outstanding.

[Foz]

Nice, the available discocunts on them was staggering!

[McSwede]

That is indeed very splendid. Great purchase discount Awesome!!

[DeskJockey]

Dare I ask what the list price was?

[Matty]

Lots of Evora and Exiges suffer headlight issues with the surface cracking and “peeling”. Particularly over the black sections.

I thought that was a pic of my old one for a minute

£20 was a bargain, I couldn't find anything for less than £100 when I was looking.

[Jobbo]

£900 insurance, Mike? Are you particularly high risk? Bromsgrove isn’t the ghetto.

I used to live in Bromsgrove, Woodland grange if your local. When I moved to Barnt green my car insurance went up 70% as B45 is a “high risk” area, I was expecting a refund! For comparison, my wife’s v class is £300/year and my modified mx5 is £200/year so I do t think we are high risk but the bmw did seem quite expensive for the value/perf.

Too many footballers in Barnt Green - it’s the first place the Brum burglars stop on their way out of town. I know it well, sailed at Upper Bittell for years. I live in Cheltenham now though.

Looked at a pre-facelift 740d for my commute; but I just know I’d miss the estate shape. And a 530d xDrive Touring with nappa leather comfort seats is like hen’s teeth, annoyingly. Plus I think the air suspension of the 7 would be ideal.

[16vCento]

Have a mini issue. Engine light on and stuttering, wont rev. Internet says spark plugs, coils or fuel pump. The low fuel warning light did come on shortly before, 60 miles left in the tank but it suggests its related. Put 5 litres of sul in from a can, still doing it so off to the tuna (cheap garage) to see what they say.

If it is the HPFP is a very easy job to replace, I think its a cheaper part on the N18 as well.

Mine was £770 from BMW at trade for my N14 about 4 years ago!

[MikeHunt]

Dare I ask what the list price was?

The same spec on the Bmw configurator is £89k

[MikeHunt]

Too many footballers in Barnt Green - it’s the first place the Brum burglars stop on their way out of town. I know it well, sailed at Upper Bittell for years. I live in Cheltenham now though.

Looked at a pre-facelift 740d for my commute; but I just know I’d miss the estate shape. And a 530d xDrive Touring with nappa leather comfort seats is like hen’s teeth, annoyingly. Plus I think the air suspension of the 7 would be ideal.

That’s true, quite a few celebs. The reservoirs are beautiful, planning to cycle that way this morning.

[DeskJockey]

Dare I ask what the list price was?

The same spec on the Bmw configurator is £89k

That's some discount!

[McSwede]

New tyres being fitted tomorrow so dave the old ones some pain today with a nice long 3rd gear rolling burnout. It was caught short of pulling 4th due to noticing someone coming the other way. They looked less than chuffed to be driving through all that smoke

M140i is brilliant at it so I may do more before tyre fitting

[Sundayjumper]

New tyres on the Scimitar too: 165/80/15. That was quite racy in 1967. When they were just called 165x15 because radials were still a pretty new idea and “low profile” was inconceivable.

Also, it’s going in for a gearbox rebuild on Friday. Hopefully all tip-top for the Abingdon Solo on 11th April.

EB417D73-79C2-46C7-895E-EC9972140A48.jpeg (80.79 KiB) Viewed 1280 times

[Broccers]

Have a mini issue. Engine light on and stuttering, wont rev. Internet says spark plugs, coils or fuel pump. The low fuel warning light did come on shortly before, 60 miles left in the tank but it suggests its related. Put 5 litres of sul in from a can, still doing it so off to the tuna (cheap garage) to see what they say.

If it is the HPFP is a very easy job to replace, I think its a cheaper part on the N18 as well.

Mine was £770 from BMW at trade for my N14 about 4 years ago!

Cheers. Seems you can get them fixed https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Mini-N14 ... Sw9S1gAXkU