I suggest you cancel this one and look again. Go for a diesel only if you do at least 15,000 miles a year; otherwise look for a petrol. I believe the six-cylinder petrol engines are more reliable than the fours (and more fun); both are more reliable than the diesels.
Why only if I do 15k miles? Aren't the diesels more economical all the time?
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I suggest you cancel this one and look again. Go for a diesel only if you do at least 15,000 miles a year; otherwise look for a petrol. I believe the six-cylinder petrol engines are more reliable than the fours (and more fun); both are more reliable than the diesels.
Why only if I do 15k miles? Aren't the diesels more economical all the time?
In a word, reliability. if you peruse the relevant reviews for BMW's, not just the 4 series, but the whole range, you will find that far from being the paragon of German excellence, they are actually not that reliable. And the main culprit seems to be the 4 cyl diesel followed by the 4 cyl petrol models.
In addition to that, with the diesel engine (and this is the case with most modern diesel engines, not just BMW), they need to do a proper amount of mileage to keep the emissions equipment working properly. If you do mainly short, stop start town journeys, this will inevitably lead to an expensive failure which BMW won't help you with. So buying a diesel if you don't do the kind of mileage mentioned, is a false economy. If/when, the failure i mention happens, it will cost a lot more than the fuel you save over a (more reliable) 6 cyl petrol.
But hey ho, it's your money.
Edited by badbusdriver on 20/12/2019 at 20:32
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I'd have thought the matter is concluded? The OP seems to have a sound grasp of what's gonna happen and is happy with his decision.
As was pointed out in the line above ... it's his money.
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It was only this morning that the OP was asking us for advice!
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<< Why only if I do 15k miles? Aren't the diesels more economical all the time? >>
Plus the fact that diesel fuel costs several p/litre more than petrol, diesel cars cost more initially, and some may now depreciate faster since they have got a bad name for toxic emissions. It may take 15K/year saving in MPG to offset these other effects.
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OP. Please let us know who is selling this car, the age, mileage and the price. How does this compare with a main dealer vehicle of similar specification?
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Why on earth would anyone consider buying a car that had enough water sloshing about one could hear it??
I do find some threads confusing, the op comes here asking for opinions , gets told to walk away then announces he's buying it......
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Why on earth would anyone consider buying a car that had enough water sloshing about one could hear it??
I could put forward one or two suggestions, but probably best to keep schtum!
I do find some threads confusing, the op comes here asking for opinions , gets told to walk away then announces he's buying it......
You and me both!. There have been quite a few instances recently of folk who have already bought, or agreed to buy a car with faults, coming on the forum asking for advice. Don't really understand this (especially if the fault in question is something the car is known for), do your research for any known issues before deciding what to buy. If the car currently has a fault, don't agree to buying it (signing anything, paying deposit, etc) until such times as the fault is fixed.
I do hope the car in this case doesn't turn out to be a lemon, but.........
Edited by badbusdriver on 21/12/2019 at 07:43
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Hi All,
Some very valid points raised here and I appreciate all your input even if I may have thought about things in a way which may seem difficult to understand, so here's a little bit of my reasoning:
Let's face it every car at some point or another is going to have an issue during our ownership and we are going to get it fixed and carry on, it's the same with this car, it's had an issue but it's fixed and now it'll carry on. All cars are going to be like this unless you buy a Nissan or something Japanese, or so I would have thought anyway, however I have just been reading that the Qashqai has terrible problems with the DPF, so hey, each and every car is susceptible. And anyway I'm not buying a car solely on it's reliability factor, I doubt many of you guys and girls on here do so either.
The decision to buy comes from what the car is, a hard top convertible. I don't like the noise of the soft tops, that's not what I'm after. It would be great if Mercedes did a hardtop but they don't.
This car is not more expensive than a petrol version. It's a '65 plate 420d with 26k miles and costs £16500 after negotiation. It has all the extras you would want, HK, Aircollar, Heated Stearing Wheel, Sports auto box. It is from a Main Dealer and very rarely do they come up at this age with this mileage with these extras at this price.
I'm taking a chance, I know that and In truth I don't feel great about it, but the alternative would be to buy a car that I didn't particularly want ie a Saloon. I might not keep it for a long time, let's see, it's certainly going to be a while until I can use it with the roof down, which essentially is the main reason for getting it.
At the end of the day we are all different and will all make decisions based on our own criteria, that's why we've all got different cars and why we all have different opinions on here, as I say I do appreciate the input, it is helpful even if I have done the opposite of what you have suggested.
PS - I hope it's a not a f lemon either :-)
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I'd pass it by. BMW's are such a common car on our roads these days. Ten a penny. There's a better example bound to be just around the next corner. Ditto Mercs etc.
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There's a better example bound to be just around the next corner.
But how would you know if that car had the problem previously and had the fix? You wouldn't would you, so that my point. It surely has to be some degree of chance when you're buying a car.
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Is the car under the BMW Approved Used scheme? If it is, you do get decent warranty etc.
If it isn't, my 10p's worth is to leave it and go for one that is Approved Used. A quick search on BMW's site shows 12 Approved Used 420d convertibles under £18,000, and many more if you spend a little more. There's plenty of choice out there.
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Is the car under the BMW Approved Used scheme? If it is, you do get decent warranty etc.
If it isn't, my 10p's worth is to leave it and go for one that is Approved Used. A quick search on BMW's site shows 12 Approved Used 420d convertibles under £18,000, and many more if you spend a little more. There's plenty of choice out there.
Exactly Craig, however he seems determined to buy it, you can lead a horse to water etc etc.....
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Why on earth would anyone consider buying a car that had enough water sloshing about one could hear it??
BBD replied: I could put forward one or two suggestions, but probably best to keep schtum!
No need to be coy, BBD, it's obviously to transport fish.
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Let's face it every car at some point or another is going to have an issue during our ownership
That is highly debatable, but i guess it depends on what you are willing to put up with for the image.
I have just been reading that the Qashqai has terrible problems with the DPF, so hey, each and every car is susceptible
Nissan is owned by, and uses, Renault running gear and platforms, hence not very stellar reliability (whether petrol or diesel).
The decision to buy comes from what the car is, a hard top convertible. I don't like the noise of the soft tops, that's not what I'm after. It would be great if Mercedes did a hardtop but they don't.
I would have thought that a modern quality soft top would be no more noisy than a hard top, at least at legal speeds (this was certainly the case with the 2003 Saab 9-3 convertible i used for a few days about 10 years ago). And i'm pretty sure that is the reason Mercedes no longer does them (that and the fact that folding metal hard tops are less reliable and much trickier to fix if they go wrong).
This car is not more expensive than a petrol version. It's a '65 plate 420d with 26k miles and costs £16500 after negotiation. It has all the extras you would want, HK, Aircollar, Heated Stearing Wheel, Sports auto box. It is from a Main Dealer and very rarely do they come up at this age with this mileage with these extras at this price.
The reason for this is almost certainly due to diesel falling out of favour with the buying public in general (rightly or wrongly), and actually brings up another point, that of future resale value. If diesel continues to become less desirable you could end up losing a lot of money come trade-in time. As for the "extras", not sure what HK is, but my MIL's Hyundai i10 has a heated steering wheel and most auto's from the last 20 years will have a sport mode (including my wife's Honda Jazz).
I'm taking a chance, I know that and In truth I don't feel great about it, but the alternative would be to buy a car that I didn't particularly want ie a Saloon. I might not keep it for a long time, let's see, it's certainly going to be a while until I can use it with the roof down, which essentially is the main reason for getting it.
If you are not feeling great about this purchase, then surely you should listen to your instinct. This is what used to be referred to as 'gut instinct' and back in the days of the hunter gatherer, could well save your life!. I know, i know, completely different context and potential risk!. But you shouldn't ignore your own misgivings.
At the end of the day we are all different and will all make decisions based on our own criteria, that's why we've all got different cars and why we all have different opinions on here, as I say I do appreciate the input, it is helpful even if I have done the opposite of what you have suggested.
Indeed we are, so i wish you the best of luck with it and hope the car proves us wrong!.
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BBD replied: I could put forward one or two suggestions, but probably best to keep schtum!
No need to be coy, BBD, it's obviously to transport fish.
How very dare you!, to suggest i would think such a thing is a load of Carp :-)
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