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      10-19-2020, 03:34 AM   #1
Sags2020
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Looking to get my first BMW- Advice needed

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my current VW Polo for a BMW 2 series (2015-2018). This will be my second car and my first BMW and the 2 series has been calling me to me for 6 months- everything about it I love except I haven't driven it yet!

I would just like to start a conversation around the 2 series with members that have owned and had years of experience with BMWs.

- Are BMWs generally reliable and particularly the 2 series? (I'm looking to purchase one for around £15k and many of the options have mileage from 40k-70k miles)- after 40k miles will the reliability of them start of go down? (really don't want to spend time/money at a mechanics- who does right?!)

- What are they like to drive and which engine size/ variant should I go for? Coming from a 1.1 litre any upgrade will feel huge but over the long term which engine would be better the 218 petrol, 218 diesel, 220 petrol and 220 diesel. Has anyone found performance differences between the diesel and petrol versions? Is there more efficiency with the 2.0 litre over the 1.5?

- 6 speed manual vs the auto- I hear great things about both. I've driven approximately 9k miles in 5 years so not that much at all. Is it better for me to pay a bit extra and get the auto vs the amount I actually drive. Has anyone had any issues between both gear boxes?

- Turbo lag- I've read a review somewhere on the depths of the internet that the turbo lag for the 2 series is quite big (to the point where the owner actually sold the car due to his frustration)- has anyone experienced these kinds of issues?

- what is the ride like?

- what is it you like most about the 2 series? And what are the least appealing aspects?

Any other helpful tips, reviews, things to look out for would be very much appreciated by this BMW newbie- Thanks.
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      10-19-2020, 10:56 AM   #2
dradernh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sags2020 View Post
I would just like to start a conversation around the 2 series with members that have owned and had years of experience with BMWs.
Because you're in England, and if you haven't already, you may also wish to query the forum members on BabyBMW.net: https://www.babybmw.net/viewforum.php?f=63. They'll likely be more knowledgeable about the 1.8 and 2.0-litre motors, and the diesels, too, than will most members here.
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      10-19-2020, 07:58 PM   #3
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I just bought my first BMW a month ago. A 228i cabriolet. You can read through my buying advice thread here:

https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1760290

After a month with the car I'm quite satisfied. I got the auto transmission but would have bought a manual if I could have found one. I think our engines are different over here in the states, but I have the 2.0 "N26" engine. Turbo lag is not much of an issue, it doesn't get the best gas mileage but it is quite fun to drive. My least favorite part of the car is the I-drive. Overly complicated interface if you ask me. I was driving a Volvo S60 and that interface was much more intuitive.

The convertible top is my favorite feature. So nice to drive with the top down! Except it is snowing here today so I probably have to wait until about April now before I get to put it down again. As far as reliability, the early N20 series engines had timing chain issues but I'm not sure that is the same engine you get in Europe. But the timing chain issue was fixed after 2015 so I got a 2016. And then I got an extended warranty also.

It is a fun car and I'm sure you will love it.
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      10-20-2020, 12:38 PM   #4
MarcoZandrini
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sags2020 View Post
Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my current VW Polo for a BMW 2 series (2015-2018). This will be my second car and my first BMW and the 2 series has been calling me to me for 6 months- everything about it I love except I haven't driven it yet!

I would just like to start a conversation around the 2 series with members that have owned and had years of experience with BMWs.

- Are BMWs generally reliable and particularly the 2 series? (I'm looking to purchase one for around £15k and many of the options have mileage from 40k-70k miles)- after 40k miles will the reliability of them start of go down? (really don't want to spend time/money at a mechanics- who does right?!)

- What are they like to drive and which engine size/ variant should I go for? Coming from a 1.1 litre any upgrade will feel huge but over the long term which engine would be better the 218 petrol, 218 diesel, 220 petrol and 220 diesel. Has anyone found performance differences between the diesel and petrol versions? Is there more efficiency with the 2.0 litre over the 1.5?

- 6 speed manual vs the auto- I hear great things about both. I've driven approximately 9k miles in 5 years so not that much at all. Is it better for me to pay a bit extra and get the auto vs the amount I actually drive. Has anyone had any issues between both gear boxes?

- Turbo lag- I've read a review somewhere on the depths of the internet that the turbo lag for the 2 series is quite big (to the point where the owner actually sold the car due to his frustration)- has anyone experienced these kinds of issues?

- what is the ride like?

- what is it you like most about the 2 series? And what are the least appealing aspects?

Any other helpful tips, reviews, things to look out for would be very much appreciated by this BMW newbie- Thanks.
I've owned and wrenched on bimmers (beemers for you!) since 1974. I've owned my 2018 M240i since September 2017.
1. Reliability: F22 reliability seems to be very good. I'm on a number of bimmer forums and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of issues with the chassis. Of course, the engine has a turbo so a) you really should change the oil and filter every 5000-6000 miles, and b) make sure you buy top quality oil and oil filters made by Mann.
2. Performance: I came from a 2001 330Ci with the normally aspirated engine. The bump in performance was amazing. So, I think you'll find a similar bump in performance, too. Btw, I track my car and the Corvettes can't seem to keep up with him on the track. Yes, it has a powerful engine, but the handling and the braking are superb.
3. Transmission: I'm old school so I ordered the car with the 6 speed manual. Now, I've driven a similar car with the 8 speed ZF automatic transmission. It's nice if your driving is primarily in the city.
4. Turbo lag: zero! Stomp the pedal and whooosh!
5. Ride: my car has the electronically adjustable suspension (Sport+ on the track) and to me it's acceptable in the "Comport" (default) mode. Yes, you will feel the bumps but hey, it's a BMW!
Likes/Dislikes: I still get a thrill when I open the garage door and see him sitting there! I know that he's ready to handle any situation the idjit drivers around here can throw at me. Dislikes: sound system (HK!!) sux. I've upgrade the speakers and the amp. Much better sound.
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      10-21-2020, 05:36 AM   #5
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Marco has the M240, I have the 230. Marco has no turbo lag and much more power, but it uses a lot more fuel. You have different engines and you probably drive mostly in the city. 1.5 should be fine and the automatic a good choice. Enjoy.
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      10-21-2020, 05:49 AM   #6
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OK, so I live on the South Coast and have had

BMW320i Touring (left, in the Avatar), BMW 525tds Touring, BMW 528i Touring, BMW 330d xDrive Touring and the current BMW M235i Convertible 2016 plus Audi 100 Avant 2.5, Jeep Grand Cherokee V6, Volvo V70 T3 Estate, Jaguar X-Type V6 Estate, an Audi A3 Sportsback 2.0d and a Lotus Elise 111s Millennium Edition. Our 2nd car for trips to the tip/gym/shops is a 2007 Peugeot 206 1.4L 4-door hatchback, now on 80K miles.

1. Reliability

Above average, I'd say. Perhaps best to do an oil service every 10K if possible. But like Mercedes or Audi, major parts are more expensive when they go wrong, compared to Ford/VW/Vauxhall hot hatches.

2. Which engine?

Well, I love 6-Cyl engines so I've always gone for those (as you can see). But to be honest, a 1.8d or 2.0d would be my preference if I couldn't get the straight-six. One thing I miss from my 330d (6-cyl 3.0L turbodiesel) is the torque, but it wouldn't be an exciting engine.

3. Auto vs Manual

If I was going for a diesel I'd get an auto for sure: it'd be a very comfortable car to drive but not exciting. If I wanted a bit more excitement, and was going for the petrol, then really, it's down to your driving style. I switched to autos a decade ago: with the paddles and the ZF8, manual doesn't appeal by comparison any more.

4. Turbo lag

Never found it an issue. I think people often blame turbo-lag when really, they needed to use the paddles more in their auto or haven't been in the right gear in the manual.

5. Ride

Fine. I have adaptive suspension, which works well for me. But this isn't a lightweight car like a hot hatch. But compared to the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 etc. it's more nimble. The Audi A3 front wheel drive didn't work for me: too prone to dramatic understeer and the SLine suspension I found really harsh (If I wanted 5 doors, I'd go for a Euro BMW 1 Series against an A3 for better ride and handling, even if the A3 looks great from the outside).

6. Likes/Dislikes

+ Good power/weight ratio (well it should be with my 330BHP on tap)
+ ZF8 Auto
+ Relatively small parking footprint
+ I love the convertible: transforms many otherwise mundane drives

- Active sound: I don't need artificial engine sounds
- Steering: Not like my Elise, but then what is?

Overall, this is not a sports car in the Elise/Caterham sense. And it's not a Hot Hatch. It's a modern, mainstream, relatively small/lightweight (note the 'relatively') sporty tourer for 1-2 people. Does the daily commute happily, but offers some fun when you're in the mood.
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Last edited by msej449; 10-22-2020 at 07:56 AM..
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      10-21-2020, 04:32 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sags2020 View Post
Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my current VW Polo for a BMW 2 series (2015-2018). This will be my second car and my first BMW and the 2 series has been calling me to me for 6 months- everything about it I love except I haven't driven it yet!

I would just like to start a conversation around the 2 series with members that have owned and had years of experience with BMWs.

- Are BMWs generally reliable and particularly the 2 series? (I'm looking to purchase one for around £15k and many of the options have mileage from 40k-70k miles)- after 40k miles will the reliability of them start of go down? (really don't want to spend time/money at a mechanics- who does right?!)

- What are they like to drive and which engine size/ variant should I go for? Coming from a 1.1 litre any upgrade will feel huge but over the long term which engine would be better the 218 petrol, 218 diesel, 220 petrol and 220 diesel. Has anyone found performance differences between the diesel and petrol versions? Is there more efficiency with the 2.0 litre over the 1.5?

- 6 speed manual vs the auto- I hear great things about both. I've driven approximately 9k miles in 5 years so not that much at all. Is it better for me to pay a bit extra and get the auto vs the amount I actually drive. Has anyone had any issues between both gear boxes?

- Turbo lag- I've read a review somewhere on the depths of the internet that the turbo lag for the 2 series is quite big (to the point where the owner actually sold the car due to his frustration)- has anyone experienced these kinds of issues?

- what is the ride like?

- what is it you like most about the 2 series? And what are the least appealing aspects?

Any other helpful tips, reviews, things to look out for would be very much appreciated by this BMW newbie- Thanks.
Reliability is relative. I went away from US made cars when they built junk in the late 70's and early 80's. Then I went purely for quality with Toyota. Eventually sold my Supra at the time and bought a 330Ci. BMW had more maintenance (especially cooling systems) but overall reliable and low cost parts. I have heard newer BMWs do cost more to maintain.

I have the auto and no turbo lag. Mine is an M240xi.

I also owned an E46 M3. I found both my E46s to be more nimble than the F22, but I did chose to get AWD this time around. I am not saying I don't love to drive it, because I do! it's a blast and power comes on strong and hard.

The chassis is small car bumpy, but better than the M3 was, harsher then the 300Ci.

Least appealing - modern day BMW steering. Blah.

Ironically when I went to buy a new car I looked at the new Supra, then realized it was a BMW under the skin. So I went with the BMW and so far am very glad I did.
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      10-21-2020, 08:31 PM   #8
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Well i stepped up to a M235i a little over a year ago picked it up used with just under 30k miles came from the world of hot hatches ran a 93 si civic for over 20 years and 250k and an 09 civic si for 10 years. So this is a completely different animal with a straight 6 turbo rwd and 6 spd manual. i love just about everything about this car. My biggest complaint is the sound system. i was so looking forward to the HK sound system only to realize my 20k civic had a better system. People complain of the dead feeling in the steering I have no complaints after nearly 30 years in FWD with insane torque steer and a limited slip diff, now that is heavy steering. In sport+ the ride is firm and the handling is very predictable. I really need to get her out on the track to get a better feeling for her abilities. I would love the addition of a limited slip diff to help balance out the drive a bit. My wife asked me the other day does it still put a smile on your face when you go for a drive. Hell yes she does and that is what really matters to me

Last edited by pmcmtnbkr; 10-21-2020 at 08:38 PM..
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      10-22-2020, 04:48 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
Dislikes: sound system (HK!!) sux. I've upgrade the speakers and the amp. Much better sound.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pmcmtnbkr View Post
i was so looking forward to the HK sound system only to realize my 20k civic had a better system.
While I love music and always have the radio on when I'm driving, am I the only one who doesn't care that the sound system isn't as good as my home theater system while I'm driving with the engine rev'd up and tire/wind noise generated by flying down the highway (usually in excess of the speed limit)?
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      10-22-2020, 06:16 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by harma24 View Post
While I love music and always have the radio on when I'm driving, am I the only one who doesn't care that the sound system isn't as good as my home theater system while I'm driving with the engine rev'd up and tire/wind noise generated by flying down the highway (usually in excess of the speed limit)?
Ha! Not at all. I mostly listen to podcasts anyway and when I put the top down, I'm fine with the audio off completely.
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      10-22-2020, 07:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harma24 View Post
While I love music and always have the radio on when I'm driving, am I the only one who doesn't care that the sound system isn't as good as my home theater system while I'm driving with the engine rev'd up and tire/wind noise generated by flying down the highway (usually in excess of the speed limit)?
That's certainly my position. I've built a couple of very satisfactory home theater/music systems, and while I'd love to have a system in my car that walks the dog, I'm not willing to pay for it – nor do I believe the car can be made quiet enough to enable me to enjoy my favorite parts of a piece like Pachelbel's Canon. That's just not in the cards.

I'd rather listen to what the car's telling me, anyway, so I'll suffer through the brightness of the pop pieces I tend to listen to on the highway.

I think the base system is remarkably poor for a $45K+ car; however, full props to BMW for knowing what they can and can't do with these cars to keep costs down and profits up. They're certainly very good at the latter; I've lost track, but I believe BMW was twice first in worldwide profits in the latter half of the 2010s. That bodes well for them making a successful marque-wide transition from purely ICEs to hybrids/electrics. For me, I'll be sticking with my M240i for the duration.
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      10-22-2020, 07:54 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harma24 View Post
While I love music and always have the radio on when I'm driving, am I the only one who doesn't care that the sound system isn't as good as my home theater system while I'm driving with the engine rev'd up and tire/wind noise generated by flying down the highway (usually in excess of the speed limit)?
I am not asking for a super hifi home quality system in a car. i have built plenty of home and car systems. But piped in fake engine sound, and constant induced white noise due to this feature on an almost $50k car is nuts. It has actually made me for the most part not even listen to music in the car. As dradernh stated I am also not willing to spend the kind of time or money this type of thing would take. So I will enjoy what i bought the car for an amazing daily driver with room to increase performance and handling

Last edited by pmcmtnbkr; 10-22-2020 at 08:05 PM..
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      10-23-2020, 08:30 AM   #13
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Sound

The HK system in my M240 is way better then my wife's 2019 Tacoma. I put a new head unit in that to get Carplay and it provided much better sound. The HK system in this car also far exceeds my E46's. So for me it's enough. I also coded the HK system to tweak the sound to something I like more. See here:
https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1723637
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