BMW and M Power Owners

Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
34,042
This is the one that's local:

https://velocity.bmwgroup.com/#/quote/u1tm0qivn

Salesman has said they'd have a few enquiries on it but of course he would say that. I find it quite expensive but I guess that's the current madness we live in.

There a brand new one for £10k more from another dealer and it has the benefit of having the Ivory White / Black Extended Merino Leather, BMW Individual Lights, Comfort Plus Pack, Technology Pack (local one has this) plus Visibility Pack. But it's in black and while it looks lovely I'm not a fan of cleaning cars every 5 seconds!

My mrs and I both drive the car so not having electric seats on a car I'd like to keep as a family car for some time will annoy me.

Or just factory order from new with discounts and whatever happens to the value of my M140i during the wait happens.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,918
Used replacement i8 batteries seem to be around £2500 plus fitting so iif buying a 2014 car, factor in you may need to sped at least £3k on it soon. That doesnt make the car worthless.
Reading about obtaining a battery certificate from BMW for i3/i8, it does look unpalettable,
if BMW reset bms system, and, more capacity is released, but, that capacity is not useable.
but issue will become generally common in bevs, you need some kind of independent WLTP re-certification when you sell it, or, get a PCP

I had bought our i3 REX 60Ah in 2018 with exactly 100000km and the SoC was given as 14.1 in the menu. In the meantime there was almost 30,000 km on it and the range is significantly lower. Even then, I went straight to BMW due to the impending warranty expiry. They allegedly carried out extensive tests there, since the range for me shrank to the last 30%, i.e. it did not decrease linearly. Mathematically, that did not fit together. At that time I calculated (if I include consumption and SoC) on about 12.2kWh usable capacity. That would only be 65% of 18.8kWh. BMW reset the BMS. I then had an 18.1kWh SoC in the menu again. And also significantly more range display. But the problem remained. The last 30% were not really usable. From BMW I wanted the evaluations of this so-called. Have high voltage tests. These were not handed over to me, even after being requested to do so and, ultimately, a gentle threat from a lawyer.
Now I just keep going. At the moment, if I drive very economically (with 10-11kWh / 100km) I can even reach almost 100km before the REX (7%) kicks in. Mathematically, that would be a maximum of 11.8kWh usable capacity (11kWh: (100% -7%)).
 
Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
34,042
This is the spec of the black brand new in stock one:

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Really, really nice spec. It doesn't have black wheels or black all over the grille. It's just a shame it's black and I'm also not 100% on the mirror caps but I guess they are easy to change.

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Thoughts? What are black cars like if they've been ceramic coated?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
2 Jan 2009
Posts
60,273
What do you mean what are they like? They're great as long as you keep on top of cleaning them etc. My car is Black Sapphire, it's a very good colour, but as with all blacks it's quite a punishing colour from a detailing perspective.

Nothing beats how they look when clean though, so enjoy it for the one day it lasts :p
 
Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
34,042
As in, does the ceramic coating make it easier to clean and also more resistant to stone chips and other marks which usually show ups straight away on black cars.
 
Associate
Joined
9 Mar 2004
Posts
1,591
This is the one that's local:

https://velocity.bmwgroup.com/#/quote/u1tm0qivn

Salesman has said they'd have a few enquiries on it but of course he would say that. I find it quite expensive but I guess that's the current madness we live in.

There a brand new one for £10k more from another dealer and it has the benefit of having the Ivory White / Black Extended Merino Leather, BMW Individual Lights, Comfort Plus Pack, Technology Pack (local one has this) plus Visibility Pack. But it's in black and while it looks lovely I'm not a fan of cleaning cars every 5 seconds!

My mrs and I both drive the car so not having electric seats on a car I'd like to keep as a family car for some time will annoy me.

Or just factory order from new with discounts and whatever happens to the value of my M140i during the wait happens.

I think only you can decide if its worth the extra for those options, presumably you can also get a better PCP rate on the new one? I picked up a saloon that was pretty much fully loaded back in March and my summary of the main packs/options is:-

Technology Pack - Would not be without the HUD, its amazing. The HK stereo is fine but I could live without it. The wireless charging seems to work OK for me, I know a lot of people get overheat problems but my Iphone 12 pro works just fine on it with a thin case. Gesture control I find worthless and never use it.
Visibility Pack - It makes the headlights look better as you get the more stylish (in my opinion) DRLs. Since I only bought it in March I've not really done any night driving to check the laser lights out. I think unless you live in the countryside its a vanity option and an expensive one at £1500. No idea what the Individual lights are by the way, perhaps they are the smoked glass ones?
Comfort Pack - Comfort entry..its OK. I mean I never found it a hassle to press the key but its slightly more convenient to just grab the handle. Not sure its worth the added risk of a key clone. I had to turn off the auto lock/unlock when walking away though as it did my head in when trying to wash the car. It also locked the car and set the alarm off when I went to pay in petrol station with my kids in the car. I think the new packs (Comfort Plus) also include the electric memory seats which in previous years were in the Premium Pack. I'm really the only one who drives my car except when it goes for a service but it would be super annoying to have to keep readjusting the seats/mirrors if I shared regularly so I can see why this would be important. The heated steering wheel was a nice bonus when it was freezing back in March/April time.

Neither of the ones you have listed have the Technology Plus Pack which now includes stuff like Parking Assistant Plus and Driving Assistant Professional but I may as well give my opinion on those two as well. Park Assistant Plus, I've rarely used any of the features you get from this over and above the standard parking aids. Driving Assistant Pro - the winners here are the adaptive cruise and blind spot detection. If you do a lot of miles I would strongly consider trying to find one that has this included, but it used to be a rarely specced option and I suspect given the cost of the tech plus pack it will continue to be so. I do also have the sunroof which I was quite surprised how much it opened up the cabin with the shade retracted. The one on the touring is even larger and makes the interior feel quite a lot lighter. There's little practical reason for an opening roof these days though as the aircon is so good.

I vowed not to get another black car after 3 on the bounce and went with Dravit Grey. Like any paint really it only looks pristine for a little while after it's been cleaned and given some attention but it also doesnt look awful when its dirty. For reference in March this year I paid £45k for an October 2020 saloon with 3k miles on the clock if that helps give you a comparison. The only options not ticked were extended leather, shadowline and towbar.

Good luck, whichever one you end up with you are likely to be happy with. Its quite interesting reading back through my summary how many of those options I could easily do without!
 
Man of Honour
Joined
2 Jan 2009
Posts
60,273
As in, does the ceramic coating make it easier to clean and also more resistant to stone chips and other marks which usually show ups straight away on black cars.

It may help resist swirls marks a little bit, very minor ones, it won't stop stone chips though.

It'll definitely help a bit with cleaning, but don't expect any real magic.
 

mjt

mjt

Soldato
Joined
31 Aug 2007
Posts
20,020
Thanks @Brok - I didn't realise it didn't have adaptive cruise which is a shame as it's something I would find myself using.
That’s crazy considering it’s a really good spec otherwise like laser lights, etc. Extended merino is lovely. But shame it’s missing adaptive cruise and a sunroof... (and the fact it’s black).

It's very rare. You'll likely have to order a new one if it's that important to you.
Why is it so rarely specified? Is it not part of an option pack in the UK?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
2 Jan 2009
Posts
60,273
I still don't understand how something so useful (and presumably fairly inexpensive) is left off this level of car.

Didn't it become standard on any model of Golf from 2014-on? Weird.
 
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