I have had 5 people in the one I used (Adults) the rear legroom was tight but fine for a 90 mile drive. You have the

It is an issue with a clamp in the engine bay, (not sure which one, im not employed to find or fix such things) the end result is that the car missfires. Lots have broken in the yard, some have left the yard broken, some will break very soon in to life i guess.

I am told that the reason for this is apparently that they have changed the material that the clamp is made from resulting in this problem.

Seemingly it not only causes them to missfire, but it seems to deposit a chunk of the contents of the fuel tank in the area under and around the back of the engine.

This is what I have seen, and as far as I am aware they havent yet fixed it, but I could be wrong. Also it is only the 118d that has been affected so far.

The auto stop start is generally quite good, but does take some getting used to, ultimatly im undecided as to weather I actually like it or not.

I've done a fair bit in the old 118d & TBH neither myself nor it's owner actually liked it. The handling was better than most hatches but nowhere near as good as some people on here seem to think. The major let-down was the power (which has apparently been sorted in the new one & obviously in the 120d) & the method of power delivery though.

I also noticed that other drivers did treat me with less regard when I was driving it.

If you're serious try and get one for a weekend or longer and put some serious miles on it because it's a big spend for something you might not like after 1000 miles.

Good luck - let us all know what you decide

Just looked on Auto trader and the cheapest 118d Se is up for

I can honestly say that you'd be wise to avoid the original 118d at all costs. 120bhp sounds ok it really doesn't drive like it has that much power. I'm not just talking feel either, outright pace is well down. It feels so underpowered it actually gets annoying & you end up cog-swapping like a petrol & getting crap mpg as a result.

I can honestly say that you'd be wise to avoid the original 118d at all costs. 120bhp sounds ok it really doesn't drive like it has that much power. I'm not just talking feel either, outright pace is well down. It feels so underpowered it actually gets annoying & you end up cog-swapping like a petrol & getting crap mpg as a result.

SteVRs - I can confirm that the 118D 120bhp feels identical in pace as the Golf Gt TDI115 PD did.

Actually looking at the spec Golf has 115bhp BMW has 120bhp

Golf has 204lbf BMW has 206/208lbf

Remember the original reviews of the GT TDI115 in Evo/Diesel car etc it was really impressive - this is the same as that.

However if it was my

SteVRs - I can confirm that the 118D 120bhp feels identical in pace as the Golf Gt TDI115 PD did.

I've done over 5000 miles in one and I can confirm it doesn't, despite what the numbers may say. Forget what you read & go drive one - you'll agree the original 118d is a poor car to drive.

I can't speak about the MKII or the 120d because I've driven neither.

i have and found the 118 aweful the 120 was better but seems to have been tuned to have allmost petrol characteristics which does not suit my tastes,as i stated in a previous post its biggest problems don't lie with the engines ,but with the fact that they don't feel special enough for the money.They are without a doubt a beemer on a budget,a quick test drive in a 335d and then a 535d confirmed this.

I drove a 118dSe on a 56 plate - dark blue colour.

I only covered about half a tankfull on distance though. I thought it was fine - different in the power delivery over that of the VAG TDi's but quiet.

Actually here is a thought - this chap is willing to buy a brand new 118D or 120D M Sports which would be near on

Imho the 335d/535d are the most amazing cars i have ever driven quiet,powerful and dare i say it more interesting to drive than the rs4 i had a go in a couple of months ago,your point on depreciation between the 120 and 535 make an interesting arguement and for me it would be a no brainer the 535 feels special and for less money would make an excelent second hand buy,in fact i bet the one i drove at the weekend would give my skyline a run for its money.

Imho the 335d/535d are the most amazing cars i have ever driven quiet,powerful and dare i say it more interesting to drive than the rs4 i had a go in a couple of months ago,your point on depreciation between the 120 and 535 make an interesting arguement and for me it would be a no brainer the 535 feels special and for less money would make an excelent second hand buy,in fact i bet the one i drove at the weekend would give my skyline a run for its money.

Id have to say the

I forgot to add another great thing about the 535D & 335D is that they are automatic so it cannot have been thrashed into the red as it would change up.

The 120d drives like a petrol, if you want it to, you can drive it like a derv too though, the engine appeared very flexible. I was not personally driving but my mate was and it's a nice car

The 120d drives like a petrol, if you want it to, you can drive it like a derv too though,

Why the hell would you want to drive it like a derv?! :P:rofl:

Chris

I forgot to add another great thing about the 535D & 335D is that they are automatic so it cannot have been thrashed into the red as it would change up.

you can actually get a manual but the bmw salesman on saturday tried to talk me out of it,the interesting thing with the 535msport[apart from the 40k+ list price is the options list i chose what i t6haught would be a fairly standard spec [leather ,satnav,fully electric heated and cooled seats,and ticked a few other options that i thought to be essential items come trade in]and the price he came back with was astounding the thick end of 60k,he then went on to explain that if you choose carefuly you can get this car up to over 80k,this was a step to far for me tho,imho i think tho excelent cars you wouldn't buy a specced up 535 with your own money,at this point i walked away not impressed with the prices they are not worth that,especially as welshy pointed out you can have a used one for15-25k.

Ok so here is the issue for me - there have been threads on this forum previously where I have said drive the torque for acceleration not chase the red line for the power, however most people as it turned out did chase the top bhp in which case any arguement against the BMW 4 cylinder diesel units.

The 118d is much more petrol like than the 120d you can see this by the power & torque graphs.

you can actually get a manual but the bmw salesman on saturday tried to talk me out of it,the interesting thing with the 535msport[apart from the 40k+ list price is the options list i chose what i t6haught would be a fairly standard spec [leather ,satnav,fully electric heated and cooled seats,and ticked a few other options that i thought to be essential items come trade in]and the price he came back with was astounding the thick end of 60k,he then went on to explain that if you choose carefuly you can get this car up to over 80k,this was a step to far for me tho,imho i think tho excelent cars you wouldn't buy a specced up 535 with your own money,at this point i walked away not impressed with the prices they are not worth that,especially as welshy pointed out you can have a used one for15-25k.

Exactly buy used 2 years old or more with 60k upwards on the clock and you are really getting a car worth min

Ok so here is the issue for me - there have been threads on this forum previously where I have said drive the torque for acceleration not chase the red line for the power, however most people as it turned out did chase the top bhp in which case any arguement against the BMW 4 cylinder diesel units.

The 118d is much more petrol like than the 120d you can see this by the power & torque graphs.

i thought both drove too much like a petrol to be fair only the 118 had no urge at all,maybe i just like the torque slug you get with vag pd engines.

You buy a 535D and they're a money pit. He's presumably looking at a cheapish car to run...

You buy a 535D and they're a money pit. He's presumably looking at a cheapish car to run...

Whats that based upon?

Even the 535d can be put onto BMW's 5 years service package in which case its very cheap to run.

MPG near on 40

Other consumables - identical to any other current 5 series.

yes but steve what he saves by imho buying the better cheaper car,and then saves in depreciation more than offsets the extra running cost.

That reason also.

yes but steve what he saves by imho buying the better cheaper car,and then saves in depreciation more than offsets the extra running cost.

But he still has to find the extra

Compared to the 1 series:

Servicing - hugely expensive.

Tyres - Hugely expensive.

Consumables - Hugely expensive.

Insurance - Hugely Expensive.

Also, at that age you've no warranty so a serious fault is going to be hugely expensive.

Personally I'd avoid the false economy of trying to run a car I couldn't afford to run & buy one I can afford to run. Fair enough, if he was looking at an old luxo-barge it'd be a good buy but compared to a new 1 series it's not really a comparison.

But he still has to find the extra