What does the forum know about BMW 3 series GT's?

[marlinspike]

Thinking of changing my car and have seen a 2014 BMW 3 series GT 318d at a local car supermarket that I quite liked the look of. 50k miles.

Just had a quick look today and was thinking of going back tomorrow. Bodywork is good, interior leather is a bit tired but would smarten up.

Never had a diesel so wondered what the real life mpg might be. Average 62 mpg is claimed. Also, timing chain. Should be every 9 years or 90k miles, I think. So whichever comes first? Guessing it hasn't been done but will find out obviously. It looks to be £1k to do at an independent specialist. Would it be best to do asap on a 50k 2014 car?

Anybody got one? Cost is £10k. Not cheap but it has quite a lot of factory extras and looks in very good nick. Long mot, no advisories, had brake discs and pads replaced by the looks of the dvla records.

 

[Bobupndown]

No personal experience but if the chain isn't noisy and it's had services and oil changes as required I'd be happy to run it to its mileage limit rather than time. A metal chain isn't going to degrade due to age.
I would however recommend 10000 mile oil changes rather than stupidly long variable intervals which would assist chain longevity.

 

[Nomad]

I found the Bimmerpost forum very helpful when I had my BMW, there should be a forum for yours

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Personal choice but I had so many problems & electrical gremlins with my E93 325i that I'll never have another BMW built after 2005 - I still love the earlier models tho'

 

[Bullet2012]

Probably need to add the cost of direction indicators . It is well documented that beemers do not have them as standard.

 

[Bullet2012]

I think if I was looking for a replacement car at the moment I would look at petrol as opposed to the modern diesels with dpf , egr, etc etc.

 

[DAPPH]

What does the forum know about BMW 3 series GT's?​

The indicators don't often work and the nut holding on the steering wheel is not as good as often first thought.

 

[willie.macleod]

@slim_boy_fat is our resident BMW enthusiast :-)

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@slim_boy_fat is our resident BMW enthusiast :-)

Or used to be, having switched allegiance earlier last year after decades of 5 series.. I have little experience/knowledge of the newer models, and def not of diesels. Sorry.

 

[marlinspike]

I have an old 3 series atm, which I love, but quite liked the practicality of the hatchback. Bit of research suggests the GT is 10cm longer than a 3 series, when really I could do with something the same size or smaller, and the auto hatch opening can give problems. Can't believe how much used cars have gone up in the last few years though. Bangernomics is making even more sense these days.

 

[Craig-SM]

We’ve got a 320d M Sport of similar vintage. Only issue with it was the suspension sagged for some reason, replace springs and shocks with Bilstien equivalent and corrected it but the parts that came off all seemed ok which was a bit strange.
Servicing is cheaper than the Skoda Octavia it replaced.
On long journeys I’ve not found it that comfortable compared to say a Mondeo but that's about it. 8 speed auto is very smooth and economy is high 40s to low 50s in mixed driving. Never quite managed to get 60mpg on a long trip. Bizarrely handles better at high speeds than legal ones.
I'm surprised at the leather being tatty as it’s usually a good quality so check the mileage is genuine.

 

[Smallfry]

10k for a car ??? Have you lost your mind man ?

Timing chains can be a bit of a lottery, some last more or less forever, and some give problems. Again, CRD engines, can be problematic and difficult to diagnose sometimes. A lot of it has got do do with servicing though. Overall, I would have a diesel over petrol any day.
At 50k miles (if genuine) you shouldn't have many problems, although I am surprised a leather interior is looking tired at that mileage, so a check for wear and tear in other areas would be prudent.
Best thing to do is to get the bonnet up and start from stone cold. If there is any trace of rattling, the chain will need changing. BMW had trouble with chains on the N47 and N57 engines a few years ago, and I don't know if it will have one of these ? If so hopefully it will have been done.

Don't be pressed into extra warranties at these places, I have found they are not worth the paper they are written on. They guarantee absolutely everything. Except what you are claiming for.

 

[DAPPH]

Can't you use a DVA checker to check the MOT record of mileages theses days ?

 

[AVI_8]

9 years or 90,000 miles for a timing chain where did you get that information from?
The issue with the N47 engine is not the timing chain that’s a secondary failure to the primary cause which is the chain tensioners, there’s no set mileage for replacement as far as I know, my N47 had just clocked over 160,000 miles and is 14 years old.
Regular oil changes is what’s needed that’ll give the tensioners a much better chance of lasting the lifetime of the vehicle, it’s an engine out job to change the setup. It’s BMW’s ridiculously long service schedule which is the cause of these problems, I change my oil and filter every 5000 miles but then I can do it myself, £40 every 5k is a cheap insurance policy, I’d recommend 10K as an absolute max. Other than that they’re great engines.

Over 60 mpg will be possible if you are on a motorway driving like miss daisy, however in the real world …… I get 45 average in my one series and I don’t drive slowly.

 

[AVI_8]

interior leather is a bit tired but would smarten up

Tired or dirty, shouldn’t be showing much in the way of wear with 50K

 

[marlinspike]

Can't you use a DVA checker to check the MOT record of mileages theses days ?

Yes, the mileage is correct. The brakes were an advisory on the last MOT and it has just passed again so I am guessing they've been done.

9 years or 90,000 miles for a timing chain where did you get that information from?

From a BMW owners site I think. Seems to be some discussion that the design was changed around 2013/14 and the later chains are more reliable. Doesn't seem to be a sure fire way of telling which your car has.

Regular oil changes is what’s needed that’ll give the tensioners a much better chance of lasting the lifetime of the vehicle, it’s an engine out job to change the setup. It’s BMW’s ridiculously long service schedule which is the cause of these problems.

That seems to be what owners are recommending; change every year or max 10k regardless of service prompts.

10k for a car ??? Have you lost your mind man ?

I bought my 3 series at 8 years old, 40k, in 2015 or 16 for £7k from a main dealer, but not a BMW one. Can't believe how much the equivalent car costs now.

Tired or dirty, shouldn’t be showing much in the way of wear with 50K

It's got a beige leather interior. Seats are ok-ish but middle console is grubby, as if the driver constantly rested a dirty sleeve on it. The beige is a big off putting factor tbh. Looks a bit old fashioned and doesn't suit the car.

You can see the grubby armrest here. Could be they aren't that interested in doing much on the car as it's older and cheaper than they usually deal with. Part ex probably.

Looking at the pics again, I'm not sure I can cope with the beige. It's a manual too, which I'm undecided about having enjoyed having an automatic.

 

[AVI_8]

Look at another one with a black interior and a ZF 8 speed auto, it’s a peach of a box, 2009 was the year they made a more robust timing chain but as I said it’s the tensioners not the chain, service it regularly and it’s a good reliable car, I’ve been driving BMW’s for the past 30 years, never had an expensive failure in all that time ….. I’ve just jinxed myself now!

 

[marlinspike]

I've loved my 3 series but the first couple of years gave me some big bills, including the timing chain jumping off. We found a cheap one man indy and apart from a rip off bill from a garage we had to use because he was off sick for quite a while it's been pretty good. Unfortunately our fantastic independent has relocated, which is a factor in making me have second thoughts about another beemer. We do have another good indy nearby but they aren't as cheap.

You might be right about waiting for the right spec to come up. We keep our cars a long time and maybe better to hang on and get one that ticks all the boxes.

They had a 2012 5 series diesel automatic with 19k for £13k that was as new that I liked too. Bit big and a bit too expensive though.

The GT has £8k of extras apparently lol. It's all stuff I'm not bothered about like Media pack this and Music pack that though.

Edit. I saw the 9 years or 90k for the timing chain info on a few BMW dealer sites.

Timing Chain Replacement | Burch Motor Works

burchmotorworks.co.uk

 

[AVI_8]

If you’re worried about timing chains a 3 litre diesel doesn’t generally have that problem, there’s not a massive difference in fuel economy. My X3 35D averages over 40 mpg on a run.
You‘d get more on a 3 series

 

[Beeezer]

Yes, the mileage is correct. The brakes were an advisory on the last MOT and it has just passed again so I am guessing they've been done.

From a BMW owners site I think. Seems to be some discussion that the design was changed around 2013/14 and the later chains are more reliable. Doesn't seem to be a sure fire way of telling which your car has.


That seems to be what owners are recommending; change every year or max 10k regardless of service prompts.


I bought my 3 series at 8 years old, 40k, in 2015 or 16 for £7k from a main dealer, but not a BMW one. Can't believe how much the equivalent car costs now.


It's got a beige leather interior. Seats are ok-ish but middle console is grubby, as if the driver constantly rested a dirty sleeve on it. The beige is a big off putting factor tbh. Looks a bit old fashioned and doesn't suit the car.

You can see the grubby armrest here. Could be they aren't that interested in doing much on the car as it's older and cheaper than they usually deal with. Part ex probably.

View attachment 433119
Looking at the pics again, I'm not sure I can cope with the beige. It's a manual too, which I'm undecided about having enjoyed having an automatic.

Jeees that interior looks grim!

 

[beeRS]

About 4 years ago, I began looking at a 3 series GT. I quickly discovered the 4series GT which also has 4 doors and a hatch. Then I discovered the 3.0 diesel drove so much nicer than the 2.0, and still respectable MPG. Ended up with a 435d. A perfect example of mission creep.