After a flirtation with the darkside the beemer is going. Fantastic car to drive when the conditions were right but sadly compormised in too many ways -

Ride so firm you could run over a coin and know if it was heads or tails up,

serious lack of grip from teh run flat tyres on cold/wet roads,

as a result of both these factors ridiculous tyre wear - rears do abou 12-14K and fronts lttle more than 20K. Do a lot of driving on hill roads which can be "spirtit" but not daft.

Fed up travelling to the Edinburgh when need service or warranty work.

Boot not suitable (little flat area due to intrution of wheel arches)

Not enough doors (ok my fault for being seduced by the looks of the 3 door)

Hellish in the winter due to RWD.

Can't get into the car on frosty mornings (frameless windows automatically drop a fraction to clear the roof but this doesn't work when they are iced up!)

Anyway just shook on a new deal so bye bye Baby.

So what you getting? (i'm guessing mazda from zoom zoom?)

Edited 18 September, 201015 yr by weezb

a 3 1.6d ts2

a step down in power but still all a really need and a much more practicle car for the daily commute.

Looked closley at a 1.6 CR TDi Octy, and would probably have preffered the greayter boot space, but in the end the Mazda was better equipped than the Elegance spec Octavia, was a little cheaper, the dealer is 3 miles away not 25 and delivery is avaiable in 2 weeks not 4 months!

Well, it will certainly be different. Its a good car but obviously not going to have the same virtues as the 1 srs nor an octy. I think you're ok on the 1.6d and you get the full boot, its not huge but usefully sized, I've filled mine many times.

I just hope you won't be disappointed by the spec and you've hammered the dealer down on what you're expecting on it.

Well, it will certainly be different. Its a good car but obviously not going to have the same virtues as the 1 srs nor an octy. I think you're ok on the 1.6d and you get the full boot, its not huge but usefully sized, I've filled mine many times.

I just hope you won't be disappointed by the spec and you've hammered the dealer down on what you're expecting on it.

Yeah, realise that will not be the same car as the 118 but to be honest I think that was probably the worst car buy I have ever made. - wonderful on a open road on a sunny day but far far to compromised on out pot holed roads and in cold (never mind wintery) weather. Probably would thought differently of the car if I had not chosen the ultra harsh Msport suspention and the impracticle 3 door body. Tried to ditch the run flat tyres bur didn't see much diffenece. In teh end I just got fed up of the tyre waer - despite having the suspension geometry checked and re check I was spnding about £1000/yr on tyres!!! Premium tres were about £160 time and when I once bought lower spec Khomos they were gone in 8K mls.

I am pretty happy with the spec of the car I have ordered and it is coming in a good bit cheaper (and much sooner) than an elegance spec octy.

Bonus pointsf or the fact the dealer is 3 miles up the road instead of at 25 mile trip to Edinburgh.

The very first thing you'll find on any BMW forum, is get rid of the run-flats. Everyone hates them.

The very first thing you'll find on any BMW forum, is get rid of the run-flats. Everyone hates them.

I ditched then then went back to them. Pro's and Cons's - they are there for a reason and give the added security against a high speed blow out. Car was only marginally less "crashy" on non RFT's and certainly didn't handle as well - suspension is after all set up with RFT's in mind.

I had a 3 door 1 series (123D) and found many of the same problems that you did. I didn’t have much problem with the windows though (perhaps the long runs I did, meant the air con kept the cabin air very dry and so less likely to ice up over night?) although if they did freeze, the doors were really difficult to shut as they kept bouncing open with the air pressure build up

I opted for the SE suspension and slightly wider wheel combo, as I hated the M suspension and found it to hard to make good progress on typical British B roads with it. Suspension compliance is much over looked in making a car handle well on British roads imho.

Yep, boot was too small for all my gear. But tyre wear was superb (probably because of a lot of motorway driving)

Overall it was the best and most thoroughly engineered car I have ever owned and I include my current A4 (B8). It was also the most enjoyable car to drive I have ever owned too, as long as the conditions were right. I agree cold wet weather (to say nothing of even a slight snow dusting) was a bit…………er interesting! I think if I could afford it, I would look seriously at a 330D and keep a set of winter tyres on standby.

Lovely car to drive to a little too compromised, at least until I finally retire: D

Edited 20 September, 201015 yr by Lady Elanore

I had a 3 door 1 series (123D) and found many of the same problems that you did. I didn’t have much problem with the windows though (perhaps the long runs I did, meant the air con kept the cabin air very dry and so less likely to ice up over night?) although if they did freeze, the doors were really difficult to shut as they kept bouncing open with the air pressure build up

I have my air con on all the time - maybe just 'cause I live out in the sticks and close to a river where the frost lies

Lovely car to drive to a little too compromised, at least until I finally retire: D

Spot on

Spot on

Perhaps we need to save up for the next model 3 series, which is rumoured to be getting the X Drive 4x4 system

Just need to win the lottery first, of course

Perhaps we need to save up for the next model 3 series, which is rumoured to be getting the X Drive 4x4 system

:yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:

As mentioned already, a few of those issues could have been gotten around, but it all depends whether you want a car to work properly straight out of the box. I don't think I've found one of those yet, but then again I do quite like tinkering until I get something the way I like it

A tip from 3-Series coupes of old is a metal 15cm ruler on frosty mornings. Unlock, pull the handle up and run the ruler gently along the seal. After about 5cm of travel the door should pop open - granted it's a bit of a faff, but it's the design price you pay for having 'stylish' frameless windows

Overall I'd quite fancy a 1-Series, ideally a 123d or even a 130i would be brilliant. But don't think I could cope with the pokey boot... :( :no:

The other issues have been covered really. Runflat vs. non-runflat? Say no more - I've said my piece on this a hundred times before :yes:

OK - just one comment: M-Division don't fit them to any of their cars. I think there might be a reason for that...

Enjoy the Mazda.

Cheers,

Steve