[Neverlost99]

My son wants to buy his first car. He is living in White Chapel, London UK.
I have convinced him to get a BMX but after that, I am stumped and wanted to get some advice? He has a big car allowance from his employer and can afford the parking so that's not an issue. Questions are?

Is Certified Pre Owned a thing in the UK?
Is there a dealer or sales rep you would recommend?
The cars seem very different than in the US. There are Petrol and Diesel options and I have no idea if Diesel is a good idea with London environmental regulations.
I noticed some of the cars have CVT transmissions.
He is planning to purchase to establish credit. Are the BMW dealers fair on in-house financing?
Is there any need for X Drive there?

Thanks in advance for any help?

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Neverlost99

My son wants to buy his first car. He is living in White Chapel, London UK.

Thanks in advance for any help?

If you haven't tried this site's forums yet, you might try sharing your query with its members, too: https://www.babybmw.net/forum/.

BabyBMW.net is a UK-oriented site for 1 and 2 Series BMW owners and enthusiasts. It likely has a large number of members who can answer all your questions.

[Middy2000]

I'm in the UK.

In terms of available options for the diesel it's mostly 218's with a reasonable number of 220's available. The 225 is as rare as hens teeth.

Petrol the 218 is pretty much everywhere. The 230 and 240 are not common at all and given our fuel costs would be pretty expensive to run and tax.

Manual is the more dominant that an auto.

We pretty much drive the polar opposite to the US where I think I'm right in saying that the diesels don't exist and it's either a 230 or a 240. Mostly auto with a few rare manuals around.

There are plenty of BMW dealers across the country. In COVID times car sales are at a record low so it's a great time to bag a bargain. Buy from a dealer and you'll get a warranty and maybe a fresh MOT and service thrown in.

[Lew Carrum]

If he is living in Whitechapel he has absolutely no need to waste money on x drive.

[msej449]

If he's living in Whitechapel, then he may not even need a car day-to-day as London has pretty good public transport. And even Weekend outings from the city may be easier done by overland train. I'd recommend to get settled a bit, see how his leisure time pans out, and then decide what to get.

He'll find plenty of BMW dealers to choose from in London, and as mentioned, it's probably a good time to be buying. Most manufacturers have an 'Approved Used' channel that equates to US Certified Pre-owned.

Big difference here is that tuning and performance retro-fits are less common than in the US. People tend to buy the spec' they want up-front. Insurance companies are pretty down on tuning and some may simply refuse cover especially if the person is young. So stock is the most common setup.

There's also a big tax on both petrol and diesel. This helps pay for the free NHS healthcare for everyone. But it'll be a shock to someone from the USA. Diesel has a bad press at the moment, but you can't deny you just get further on a tank. Personally, if I was replacing my M235i Convertible, I'd seriously consider a 220d.

Manuals are used more, but I'd always recommend a Sports Auto for anyone driving on 'the wrong side' in a foreign country. And for anyone living and driving mainly in an urban area.

xDrive isn't really worth it, unless he plans to drive down to the Alps for winter skiing (which I do a couple of times most winters, but even then, it's in my RWD M235i with winters on).

Convertibles work well in the UK, as the weather is quite mild in Spring and Autumn. Yeah, it rains a lot but the country roads are made for 'verts. Country roads are great for a sports version, but you don't necessarily need/want a performance model to get the max out of a country drive. Ultra lightweight cars like the Lotus Elise and Caterham, or slightly more touring-oriented Z4 make more sense on UK country roads than perhaps they do in the US.

Hopefully, covid will subside and it's worth bearing in mind he can be in France within a couple of hours of driving out of London. Edinburgh is actually further away (414 miles) than Paris (296 miles). The Swiss Border is only about 500 miles away. So he may do as much touring on the continent as around the UK, which may affect his choice of car.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by msej449

Manuals are used more, but I'd always recommend a Sports Auto for anyone driving on 'the wrong side' in a foreign country.

In my experience, this is good advice.

I lived in a country where we drove on 'the wrong side of the road'. Despite being a confirmed owner of manual transmission cars, I didn't have to think twice before choosing an automatic transmission for the 520i I got.