[Dan116i]

Hi all,

New to this section of the forum, but an old BMW owner. I’m looking to get a tourer to travel to work in (approx 18,000 miles PA) to save a little money on fuel and mileage on a 130i which is ageing and I want to look after

Before I commit to buying, I want to just steal some of your experience of these cars and get a better idea on what is realistic.

Mileage - I’m looking to get a petrol. Between the 520i, 530i and 540i what’s the expected MPG return? I appreciate driving style is a factor, but also don’t take the figures in the brochure as gospel. For example on my 130i I get about 36mpg on the motorway. But when I had the 116i, I gained about an extra 7mpg simply because of it being a small engine in a heavy car.

Colour - most cars I see for sale are either white, grey or black. Are the likes of blue and red considered rare?

Optional extras - Are there any stand out optional extras I should look out for? And possibly avoid if they’re plagued with problems or simply don’t work?

Known problems - are they any known issues with these cars which should be checked before purchasing? I.e a notoriously bad engine model?

Automatic gear box - is the auto box any good? And does it differ between the models?

Apply car play - is this standard on all models? With no subscription fees?

I appreciate it’s a few questions, any help would be appreciated

[ztx84]

Happy to help! From my 540i I tend to get low 40s on a motorway run at 70mph, which I think is pretty good. I would assume the 30i and 20i engines would get a little more, but can’t say for certain. Overall I get low 30s from the 40i engine which I find pretty good given the performance. B58 is known to be a reliable engine too. The only issue I have is the common disappearing coolant with no sign of a leak, but then again it is only a small top up every 12 months or so. Aside from that no common/reoccurring issues with the engine.

You definitely see more in white, grey and black. Blue is I think reasonably popular too, but to be honest I have rarely, if ever, seen one in red.

If you like your music definitely find one with the Harman Kardon as a minimum, that is quite a common upgrade. The upgraded leather is also nice (I don’t have that and wish I did!). I think a reversing camera became standard at some point (might be wrong) but again that is quite useful as it is a big car. I don’t think Apple car play is standard – I don’t have that either!

The auto box is great – absolutely perfect, and it’s the same box on every car.

Happy shopping!