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Advice on BMW M135i/M140i


Toon Chris

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I know a few of you out there have these beemers so I was after a little advice?

 

I'm torn between the M135i or M140i.  Clearly the 140 is better but its also more expensive.  I put about 15K miles on every year and only change the car every 3 years on average so its all about the initial price and depreciation combined (isn't it always!).

 

As a more minor point I quite like the grey but not with a red leather.  This one has come up but do you think it's a little pricey for its age and miles?

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711291684920?transmission=Manual&advertising-location=at_cars&colour=Grey&radius=100&sort=sponsored&model=1 SERIES&onesearchad=Used&postcode=ca71hb&price-from=500&aggregatedTrim=M135i&make=BMW&page=1

 

For example these ones have the less-keen-on red leather but lower mileage and a similar price:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712142048396?transmission=Manual&advertising-location=at_cars&colour=Grey&radius=100&sort=sponsored&model=1 SERIES&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=ca71hb&price-from=500&aggregatedTrim=M135i&make=BMW&page=1

 

And then the black/red combo in a 140:

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711241527954?sort=sponsored&advertising-location=at_cars&model=1 SERIES&price-from=500&radius=100&onesearchad=Used&postcode=ca71hb&make=BMW&aggregatedTrim=M140i&transmission=Manual&page=1

 

Any advice gratefully received as I'm incapable of deciding! :wave:

Edited by Toon Chris
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3 hours ago, Toon Chris said:

Clearly the 140 is better

Don't say this over on babybmw as you'll start a fight. 

 

Are you set on having an LCi face lift? Early low mileage cars are going for around £16k.

A lot of people will argue over manual/auto and maybe with your mileage the auto will be a better fit. Spec is always a personal thing, I don't have pro nav or adaptive which others see as essential. 

The M135i and M140i are quite different so I'd recommend driving both, the 40 has more low down torque which some refer to as more a diesel type power delivery. In comfort it can feel a little effortless and lazy as it has so much torque but switch to Sport/Sport+ and its like jekyll and hyde.

I wouldn't recommend runflats for winter as you might as well have a 116i, they take an age to get heat in them and you can't press on so take this into account on test drives. 

 

First one has pro nav and h&k audio, that and its main dealer with auc warranty it'll be about £1k more than a non BMW dealer. 

Edited by un1eash
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Thanks for the reply :thumbs:

 

One reason for change is that I want a manual so that's an essential.  Auto's make me lazy and I simply can't get used to pressing on with a flappy paddle system.  Event he best auto doesn't change exactly how i want it to, which is an irritant.

 

I'm not bothered about the facelift or not except for resale.  I don't see them as the prettiest cars anyway.  I'd buy something else for looks but a big, manual, throaty engine with a decent ground clearance and *reasonably* narrow body are all plus points for me.  Golf and Audi make me yawn (except the RS6 - dream on though).  I've never had a powerful bmw so I thought it worth a try.

 

Good call on the runflats.  I'll have to change them if they are fitted so it's an extra cost.

 

 

 

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Not sure the 135/140i are really that different, but I've never driven a 140i. 

 

However BMWs are very spec sensitive, pretty much everything is a optional extra, and thought retrofitting is possible much easier to get a car with all the stuff you want. So look through the spec sheets carefully, decide whats important to you. For what's it worth the base sound system in my old 335i was awful, so upgraded speaker is probably number on list if you care at all about sound quality. 

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With S/H prices of M135i's atm youd have to REALLY want a 140 to pay the extra ......... that said the B58 (140) engine has a lot more potential over the N55 (M135), with breathing mods only they are already outperforming M2's ...... :o

Other than that can only echo what others have said, spec is important to resale price and there are a few must have options and if youre up for a bit of effort M3/M4 lower arms and ARB's make them handle much better, a remap will see 400+hp as well. Difficult to find anything that competes at the price IMO, I use them as hire cars for smashing around Europe and have a 135i sat on my drive at home too :)

www.babybmw.net is pretty good for info :)

 

 

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I like those tips on mods, thank you :)

Yeah, I'm thinking 135 at the moment mainly because of price. TBH mild tuning woudl be enough for me as I live where the roads aint great so hooning isn't on the list, but handling and sound are.  The more I look at them the more I like them, but the spec options leave me bewildered.   It doesn't help that most ads are a solid block of text that doesn't always make it the clearest what the extra bits are.  Still, I'm getting the hang of it.

 

Must haves are the decent sat nav thingie, decent sound system and a nice to have is the trick headlights.  Most of the rest doesn't bother me (that's ignorance I expect).  I'd like the LSD but I think that's very unlikely to find.

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M Performance LSD was a £2500 option so pretty rare but they are out there. 

Business Nav became standard from late 2015 so early cars won't have it but sounds like you want Pro Nav which got updated around the same time with the bigger touch controller. 

There are 3 levels of audio, standard, advanced and hk. The hk isn't as good as that found in 3/4/5.. series so some say its not worth it. 

Pretty much everything was an extra, rear tinted windows, rear parking sensors, heated seats, cruise etc were all extras which you'd expect to be standard on a £30k car. 

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I know this doesnt help, but on a track day at Anglesea circuit last year there was a 140i, and it had the best-sounding exhaust I've ever heard.  It literally sounded like a fighter jet doing a flyby at full chat.  Didnt get a chance to speak to the owner to find out what  he was running, but I'd never been into them until hearing this.

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10 minutes ago, Kev said:

You can get a new shadow line M140i, with leather and sat nav for £2k down and £220 a month. 

 

That's a great deal. 

Where from as that's around £100 cheaper a month to anything I've seen.

1 series is currently going through a price increase also so PCP deals will be changing.

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26 minutes ago, un1eash said:

Where from as that's around £100 cheaper a month to anything I've seen.

1 series is currently going through a price increase also so PCP deals will be changing.

This isn't the same deal I seen a few months back. But it's not far off. 

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/bmw-m140i-5dr-nav-lease-208548-deposit-23172month-5000-miles-vehiclesavers-335bhp-leather-seats-sat-nav-19-alloys-bluetooth-usb-777573-vehicle-savers-2512370

 

Bmw will usually match these deals. 

 

They are currently doing new m3/4 cp with 20% discount and 0% finance. They have totally destroyed the value of used cars in the process though. 

 

Edit* just seen how old that link is. It was the first on that popped up on google. 

Edited by Kev
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I've never leased a car but it is really tempting.  I frequently look on www.allcarleasing.co.uk - does anyone know of any better sites?

 

The 140i on there can be had for £243 incl VAT with a £3k initial payment and 5k miles.

 

https://www.allcarleasing.co.uk/car-leasing/bmw/1-series/hatchback-special-edition/m140i-shadow-edition-5dr-step-auto

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The trick with leasing is to not get set on one individual car but to go with the deals.

I had ordered an Octavia vRS 245, £1000 down 23x £202, 8k miles a year. I had to cancel the order because there are massive delays and my current leased 5 series goes back end of feb so I needed a car for then. 

The killer on lease is optional extras as you pay the full price of the option over the lease period so the price soon shoots up.

Check out the lease vol5 thread on pistonheads for the latest cheap deals and https://www.contracthireandleasing.com is good but don't believe all the prices you see on there. 

We now have a Qashqai Tekna with glass roof pack coming as it was an in stock deal, its £238 fully maintained on a 6+35 lease. Not mega cheap but a decent price from what suv's  have been. An Ateca or Kodiaq Se Tech is a little cheaper but no way near the spec.

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If youre leasing a BMW then you cant beat TRL's prices: http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=106417&p=1361177#p1361177 - these are genuine prices and not sales pitches. 

 

There used to be a calculator for adding options but its not up at the moment, Ill update if it comes back.

 

I looked at buying the Alfa QV on PCP about this time last year but was put off by the low GFV (£25K IIRC) ........ they seem to have only dropped £15K since release so Im thinking they could be £15K out on the GFV, gutted :(

 

 

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14 hours ago, marzman said:

I've never leased a car but it is really tempting.  I frequently look on www.allcarleasing.co.uk - does anyone know of any better sites?

 

 

I use www.contracthireandleasing.com. Saved a fair whack on the RC with Lexus Stockport doing a cheaper deal

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On 24 January 2018 at 13:36, docwra said:

If youre leasing a BMW then you cant beat TRL's prices: http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=106417&p=1361177#p1361177 - these are genuine prices and not sales pitches. 

 

There used to be a calculator for adding options but its not up at the moment, Ill update if it comes back.

 

I looked at buying the Alfa QV on PCP about this time last year but was put off by the low GFV (£25K IIRC) ........ they seem to have only dropped £15K since release so Im thinking they could be £15K out on the GFV, gutted :(

 

 

Drove one a couple of weeks back. Epic in every way. 

 

I said when they were released they would hold their money better than a m3. 

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