Where would you go next...

carsfan2

moleyv wrote: »

The storm bay colour needs to be seen in person and changes with the light. I’ve something ordered in that colour, but it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste.

Yes. I’ve seen storm bay look good.
JoeA3 had a 4 series in similar that looked great.
What have you on order?

JoeA3

carsfan2 wrote: »

Yes. I’ve seen storm bay look good.
JoeA3 had a 4 series in similar that looked great.
What have you on order?

It’s in the same ballpark as what mine was yeah - it’s flat, almost primer-like grey, but I think that storm grey is a very different shade to what I had. It seems lighter, with a hint of blue in it. VW’s moonstone grey is also similar but again looks lighter than what mine was. I can’t make up my mind if I like the VW moonstone grey. It’s definitely fashionable/in vogue though. “Hideous” it certainly isn’t imo but colour is a personal preference I guess.

My mate picked storm bay for his new m135i which he is due to collect in the next couple of days! Looks really well in the sneak pics I’ve seen. He’s getting them to replace the rather ugly grey/bronze grills with gloss black which looks much better.

moleyv

carsfan2 wrote: »

Yes. I’ve seen storm bay look good.
JoeA3 had a 4 series in similar that looked great.
What have you on order?

A 2 GC, in diesel, my first diesel, but I couldn’t step up to a M235i and the entry 218i was a bit weedy.

The 128ti doesn’t look good in storm bay with the red bits or those wheels.

Storm bay looks good with the black wheels, no chrome.

It was between the 2GC and 330e but I didn’t like the 3 series seating position (too high) and plugging in isn’t convenient for me. Would have probably gone for a 330e touring if plugging in suited, probably would have cost similar money.

The dash in the 3 seemed plasticky compared to the 2. I think you have to spec sensatec on the 3, but only available with the black leather seats.

carsfan2

I think the red accents look good on a black or white car but not the storm bay grey.
The 2 gc is a car that looks a lot better in the metal than pictures. It’s a substantial enough size too.
What spec car you going for, a 220d?

moleyv

carsfan2 wrote: »

I think the red accents look good on a black or white car but not the storm bay grey.
The 2 gc is a car that looks a lot better in the metal than pictures. It’s a substantial enough size too.
What spec car you going for, a 220d?

There is a 218d added to the lineup so went for that, auto. M sport plus pack, tech pack, pano roof and a few other options.

After I ordered I saw they also added a 220i to the lineup, but it’s too expensive for a 2er.

I did back to back test drive with the 2 series and 330e. They aren’t hugely different in size, defiantly more room in the back of the 3 but that doesn’t bother me.

If there was a 430e I’d go for that. Almost bought a loaded 420i demo, but the stature of the car to me felt like it should have more power, and a 430i was too expensive.

My first time dealing with BMW dealers. 2 ****e, 1 excellent. I was actually as far as just awaiting the quote to be emailed to me after meeting in person twice and given a good indication of cost to change after a bit of a haggle / test drive etc, and he never got back to me, even after I chased him up. Luckily he didn’t, I saved nearly 2k

Leonard Hofstadter

carsfan2 wrote: »

don't think so but they have just launched 320e and 520e but not in Uk or Ireland

Surely it won't be long before they launch them here and in the UK? Such cars are made for our taxation system as they would be very attractively priced, and as electrified drivetrains are what's fashionable these days they'd be highly desirable. They'd also sell a ton of them in the UK with their new company car taxation structure.

I'm glad to see they stuck with a four cylinder engine for the combustion engine component of this drivetrain, they are expensive cars and thus need a proper sized engine.

With the CO2 emissions so low there's no reason for a tiny combustion engine anyway, really the 30e should be upgraded to a straight six the same way they upgraded the four cylinder 40e models to a six cylinder 45e.

Another advantage of sticking with the bigger engine is that as everything is largely the same as the 30e just with the wick turned down it wouldn't take much to get one up to the 300 odd bhp a 30e comes with from the factory - when the warranty runs out of course .

bazz26

How much would a 320e roughly sell for here given that the 330e is reasonably priced for a premium PHEV when you take the VRT reductions into account. They also probably still want to sell diesel versions for a few years yet too.

carsfan2

bazz26 wrote: »

How much would a 320e roughly sell for here given that the 330e is reasonably priced for a premium PHEV when you take the VRT reductions into account. They also probably still want to sell diesel versions for a few years yet too.

I presume it’s a decision made by BMW U.K. not to take any as no market there for them and has knock on effect for us. It was the same with the X5 when they decided not to take the G05 25d model in right hand drive as no U.K. market. That was the big seller here in the F15 model but in spite of Irish dealers looking for it they decided not to build them for our market. In the U.K. there was no major price difference between 25d and 30d so everyone obviously went for the 3.0 model. Our vrt system made the 25d substantially cheaper.
A 20e model probably wouldn’t sell enough to justify production in right hand drive for similar reasons.

bazz26

I'd say they might have sold a few of them here alright, entry level models tend to still sell here especially if it were hovering around the 38k to 40k mark, remember the 518d being offered here in both the F10 and G30 for a time? But as you said if the UK ain't getting them then we won't get them due to both markets being aligned for rhd.

reccit

Thinking about buying a MK5 GTI. Which would you go for?

donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2005-volkswagen-golf/27043164, at ~300km with a recent engine rebuild.

Or something like this donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volkswagen-golf-2007-200bhp-gti/27082828 - with less than half the mileage, but twice the price.

It will be a second car, so I'm reasonably inclined to go for the cheaper, high mileage with engine work? Am I mad?

//sorry can't post links properly as new user!

Wailin

Try this thread here: https://touch.boards.ie/thread/post/116076926

reccit

reccit wrote: »

Thinking about buying a MK5 GTI. Which would you go for?

donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2005-volkswagen-golf/27043164, at ~300km with a recent engine rebuild.

Or something like this donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volkswagen-golf-2007-200bhp-gti/27082828 - with less than half the mileage, but twice the price.

It will be a second car, so I'm reasonably inclined to go for the cheaper, high mileage with engine work? Am I mad?

//sorry can't post links properly as new user!

I was also thinking of purchasing one. I've heard that the automatic boxes aren't great that the advice is to go manual. Open to correction though.

mickdw

Hope we never get the 520e. It will just mean an instant price increase on the 30e.
Bmw would place the 20e as an entry level competitor for 20d and then charge more for the 30e whereas now we get the 30e at reasonable money.

carsfan2

I’d say you’re spot on there Mick.
When grants disappear for electric and hybrids it will have a market.

MisterDrak

MisterDrak wrote: »

Tks Carsfan,

I had My 530i M-sport car in for an filter service the week before Xmas, and while waiting, I just asked for the CTC, to a new 330e M Sport. At that stage (3 weeks ago) they offered 30K, which I though a bit low at the time. Now after some shopping around the country I think that's a fair offer.

The salesman did mention that there was a pile of 530i's out the back hence the low-ish offer.

Not to sure what to do next, hold off for a few months, or just hold the car for another few years...

Update from post above...

So I got a call from Joe Duffys on Monday saying that the (demo 330e M-Sport) car I took for a test drive when I was up in the dealership back in December (above) was now for sale. To be clear, I asked for a CTC on a new car, but took the dealership Demo car for a test drive after the chat.

The CTC on the 202 330e M-sport, was pretty good (everything is relative), so decided to go ahead. The car had 3995 miles and it was delivered yesterday afternoon.

Have to say love the new car. A bit smaller than the 5 obviously, and less plush, again obviously. But I had mentioned that I did find driving the 5 a bit stressful in terms of its bulk and overall size, and to be honest I do tiny miles each year, and having a 5 for me is a bit of a waist. It was probably a vanity purchase a few years ago...

Ill post up a few pictures over the the motors tread in a bit, and post a few initial thoughts on the difference in driving over the next few days on here. I think Carfan has a 330e on order so may be useful...

carsfan2

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/bmw-128ti-vs-vw-golf-gti-vs-ford-focus-st


This was the type of group test I wanted to see. Pity the costs here are so out of whack. 330 pounds a month on a lease!

carsfan2

MisterDrak wrote: »

Update from post above...

So I got a call from Joe Duffys on Monday saying that the (demo 330e M-Sport) car I took for a test drive when I was up in the dealership back in December (above) was now for sale. To be clear, I asked for a CTC on a new car, but took the dealership Demo car for a test drive after the chat.

The CTC on the 202 330e M-sport, was pretty good (everything is relative), so decided to go ahead. The car had 3995 miles and it was delivered yesterday afternoon.

Have to say love the new car. A bit smaller than the 5 obviously, and less plush, again obviously. But I had mentioned that I did find driving the 5 a bit stressful in terms of its bulk and overall size, and to be honest I do tiny miles each year, and having a 5 for me is a bit of a waist. It was probably a vanity purchase a few years ago...

Ill post up a few pictures over the the motors tread in a bit, and post a few initial thoughts on the difference in driving over the next few days on here. I think Carfan has a 330m on order so may be useful...

Well wear on the new car Misterdrak.

What's the spec on it? Things must be very quiet if they're chasing down old leads but if it works out all good.

MisterDrak

carsfan2 wrote: »

Well wear on the new car Misterdrak.

What's the spec on it? Things must be very quiet if they're chasing down old leads but if it works out all good.

Tks Carsfan2...

Basic enough spec, but I had the itch and it needed to be scratched

Yeah, in fairness the salesman probably had a good idea I'd change with a little push, hence the call when the car came up.

Getting into the SEAI grant stuff at the moment, and trying to find an reputably charger installer.

Did feel pretty good just plugging the car in yesterday and watching the range increase on the phone...

Leonard Hofstadter

carsfan2 wrote: »

I presume it’s a decision made by BMW U.K. not to take any as no market there for them and has knock on effect for us. It was the same with the X5 when they decided not to take the G05 25d model in right hand drive as no U.K. market. That was the big seller here in the F15 model but in spite of Irish dealers looking for it they decided not to build them for our market. In the U.K. there was no major price difference between 25d and 30d so everyone obviously went for the 3.0 model. Our vrt system made the 25d substantially cheaper.
A 20e model probably wouldn’t sell enough to justify production in right hand drive for similar reasons.

I'd say they'd shift a ton of them in the UK as well, until plug-ins became a thing the 320d and 520d were by far the most popular models in Blighty just like they were in this country. Now to be fair the Brits would buy other models in higher proportions than we would (especially the 3 series, you would see a good few with six cylinder engines, unlike here) but the 20d was definitely the favourite.

BMW UK makes some odd decisions when it comes to what they want to sell, and as you say it has direct knock-on consequences for us.

Hopefully with Brexit perhaps BMW will make Ireland less reliant on BMW GB and they can offer models that would suit our needs more.

It's not always about not making cars in right hand drive; the M3 and M4 will be available in standard spec and a proper manual gearbox in Australia even though we are sadly lumbered with just the automatic and we only get the Competition versions. In the G30 5 series the Aussies got the 540i with traditional BMW rear wheel drive and 50:50 weight distribution whereas we were only allowed get it with xDrive. Of course we can't get the 540i at all now unless you go for a Touring.

Mickiemcfist

Leonard Hofstadter wrote: »

Now to be fair the Brits would buy other models in higher proportions than we would (especially the 3 series, you would see a good few with six cylinder engines, unlike here)

To be fair to us, its our tax system killing the 6cyl, we'd have more if they were as affordable as they are over there. Go on pistonheads & they're always saying stuff like "if you can stomach the £400 road tax on an M3"

JoeA3

My buddy collected his new m135i today. Impressive machine! There’s more pics on Colm Quinn’s fb page for those of you on fb.

MarkN

Love that colour. Not sure on that spoiler, would need to see it in the flesh. Fair play to him!

JoeA3

MarkN wrote: »

Love that colour. Not sure on that spoiler, would need to see it in the flesh. Fair play to him!

Yeah he had that fitted by the dealers, as well as the skirts, front splitter and grills (swapped the cerium grey for gloss black, which does look much better imo) and the wheels. The VRT situation made factory 19’s impossible.

carsfan2

Is that the guy had the Leon cupra estate before Joe?
Car looks well alright. Might you be tempted yourself or is a clubsport still your preference?

JoeA3

carsfan2 wrote: »

Is that the guy had the Leon cupra estate before Joe?
Car looks well alright. Might you be tempted yourself or is a clubsport still your preference?

Yes that’s him. He sold the Cupra privately before Christmas.

I don’t know for sure tbh. I’d say my preference / inkling would be to go with the VW as I just did not warm to the BMW experience.

He mentioned to me today that Quinn’s was wall to wall 330e’s. Sounds like it’s now their volume seller.

carsfan2

Lovely m135i. I like the wheels and grille.
Not sure would I go for the spoiler or splitter though.
It really needs the 19" wheels though to differentiate it from the regular m sports.
The interior is well ahead of the golf in my view. I felt the golf interior felt cheap when I went car shopping. I could get over it when the golf was 40k odd but at 55k no. BMW felt a lot more premium and deals on VW were no better. It seems VW are having huge delays on building now too.

As regards 330e being the volume seller, it wouldn't surprise me as bang for buck it makes sense. Low vrt, 5k grant on top, quick, low road tax and cheap to run if plugged in and no range anxiety. Much nicer to drive than any four pot diesel too.

carsfan2

Leonard Hofstadter wrote: »

I'd say they'd shift a ton of them in the UK as well, until plug-ins became a thing the 320d and 520d were by far the most popular models in Blighty just like they were in this country. Now to be fair the Brits would buy other models in higher proportions than we would (especially the 3 series, you would see a good few with six cylinder engines, unlike here) but the 20d was definitely the favourite.

BMW UK makes some odd decisions when it comes to what they want to sell, and as you say it has direct knock-on consequences for us.

Hopefully with Brexit perhaps BMW will make Ireland less reliant on BMW GB and they can offer models that would suit our needs more.

It's not always about not making cars in right hand drive; the M3 and M4 will be available in standard spec and a proper manual gearbox in Australia even though we are sadly lumbered with just the automatic and we only get the Competition versions. In the G30 5 series the Aussies got the 540i with traditional BMW rear wheel drive and 50:50 weight distribution whereas we were only allowed get it with xDrive. Of course we can't get the 540i at all now unless you go for a Touring.

I’m pretty sure BMW Ireland became a subsidiary of BMW U.K. a few years back which considering the size of our rhd market makes sense. Irish and U.K. car specs are identical. British add more extras as they’re substantially cheaper and the more powerful engines don’t have the prohibitive taxes we do. I can’t see the Irish getting any more autonomy in models post brexit to be honest.

Leonard Hofstadter

carsfan2 wrote: »

I’m pretty sure BMW Ireland became a subsidiary of BMW U.K. a few years back which considering the size of our rhd market makes sense. Irish and U.K. car specs are identical. British add more extras as they’re substantially cheaper and the more powerful engines don’t have the prohibitive taxes we do. I can’t see the Irish getting any more autonomy in models post brexit to be honest.

Ever since BMW bought out Frank Keane back in 2003 we've been a subsidiary of BMW GB, everything is the same except obviously the clocks in kms rather than miles for us. But they did special models for Ireland before; for the E90 3 series they sold the 316i with a 1.6 litre engine and just 113 bhp here, but they never sold it in the UK. Of course once our VRT system changed, they stopped selling it here. So they could do it if they wanted to.

Buddy Bubs

Is it a huge deal for a predominantly left hand drive manufacturer to produce right hand drive models? Do they need their own full production line or just 1 or 2 points on the line need to be setup differently?
Many parts which in an ideal world would be reversed aren't bothered with anyway (wiper direction and coverage, some commonly used buttons inside on consoles not in best location for use when seated on the right)

bazz26

It's the tooling on the assembly line also I'd say. It makes sense to setup a dedicated section of the assembly line for rhd market production to make it more efficient.