[Ishallownabmw]

Originally Posted by Pythonista

Wow! Awesome car and awesome review!

I too, dream of owning a Bimmer one day. One day, I shall.

Do keep us posted about updates!

P.S: Time to change your display name

Thank you! You will, just keep the belief going! It's never too late.

[Ishallownabmw]

Originally Posted by facelyft

Congratulations man

I did a similar purchase a couple of years ago. Since we live in the suburbs of Hyderabad, SUV is a practical choice. 2017 X3 from a reliable dealer. I take my car to the same Man & Machine for servicing. I am now planning to change the head unit to give it a refresh. I will post more updates in my next post. Cheers mate.

Thank you! Congratulations on the X3. I've always been a sucker for sedans and the way they handle. I think my cars will all be sedans until some miracle happens. It's just the monsoons and annoying people with glaring headlights I need to deal with. We can do a weekend drive to Vikarabad or just a breakfast drive. Cheers!

Originally Posted by shiv11bhargava

An amazing car that drives like a dream and that 20d engine is just iconic! So glad to have found this. Hopefully, I can get a 3 someday in the future. Wishing you make many smiles and memories with her.

Thank you! I hope that the 3 comes sooner than later.

Originally Posted by ballfry

Reading this thread got me nostalgic about the car!

Wish you many more amazing miles in the 3.

I'm just a call away and you know that I'd drive the car for no reason. I can just get the car over for you to just take a look at it

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You need to change the entire strut assembly. There are no bits and bobs to replace that will extend the life of the strut.

Thank you for the sound advice.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

A regular oil service does not cost a lot more than your average VW or other German car. Its down to the Oil you pour in and what else needs to be replaced. As an example, replace Mobil 1 with Castrol Synthetic and see what the saves you. The latter isn't an inferior oil.

As far as I can remember, I think it was the Mobil 1 5W30 that was used during my first service. I don't remember much but I believe the reasoning behind it was the temperatures and fuel economy. I don't remember exactly if it was the engine temperature or the outside temperature. The Mobil costed me 1,500 per litre and the total was 8,250 for 5.5 litres.

Would you be kind enough to suggest which particular Castrol Synthetic oil? To be honest, I haven't thought about the service cost from your point of view. I was always on the opinion that stock BMW parts even though they are outsourced by a FNG would be expensive than a VW/Skoda. I'm not well versed with how it is with Audi, Mercedes being the most expensive of the lot. That's an interesting thought, I will have to research more on this.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You can buy a sun shade to put across your windscreen when your car is parked. Makes a world of a difference in reducing cabin heat when the car is parked. Will also extend the life of your dashboard and steering material.

Sound advice gain noted and added to the list of things to buy!

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You can update the interior by installing a Road Top touch screen unit which will offer wireless or wired Apple car Play or Android Auto. Its a bit of an involved install. Worth it if you plan to hold onto the car. I suspect your car will running the older CIC head unit aka larger head unit. You basically need to run a microphone wire tap from the roof plus use the Aux input under the arm rest to get audio to the after market system. I have done this and its totally worth it.

Until now, I have not given this a serious thought as I was under the opinion that it was not a major upgrade and it might not be worth it. I will research more on this, as in how much of an incremental upgrade this is going to be.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You can improve the ride by installing tube less tires. I switched my rears to tube less and will be doing the same when the front wears out. There is a risk but not so severe that you can't mend yourself with a puncture repair kit and tire inflator. Or just keep some road side assist handy if you want someone else to do it. Aged rubber can also result in a edgy, noisier ride.

Apologies, the previous owner @ballfry had already gotten rid of the RFT and shifted to tubeless. As the tyres were almost brand new, I've stuck with the tubeless.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Tread cautiously with these old German machines. Don't be on a frantic mission to fix each and everything. Cause if you do, the purposes of accessing a car like this on the cheap will fall apart sooner than you think. On internal rattles, if you can't DIY them, don't bother. Eg: door lock stubs.

In a way, I guess I'm a little wiser. The price point at which I got this car, is cheaper than the Skoda I bought 10 years ago. I completely agree with you regarding the internal rattles. When I was writing the review I just didn't want to be biased and highlight only the good stuff. The steering squeaky noise, Ive gotten used to. I don't plan to fix it by getting myself a steering rack. I love the car for all its faults. The onus is only on suspension for now. Thanks for all the advice Sandeep.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Congratulations on a brilliantly kept machine!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by lamborghini

BMW has been known to give discounts on older cars spares.

Discounts! If there is any possibility it's definitely worth giving it a shot.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

You can even figure out after market options for lower cost & maybe better dynamics - many F30 owners have gone the after market route though for many they have lowered cars as a result. I myself got Koni FSD's on my W205 C220D and they are a revelation compared to the stock suspension though it took around 2K kms for them to settle in.

I've read about this in a thread I can't pinpoint to where there was a comparison between Sachs, Koni and Bilstein. Sacs being stiff, Bistein B6 making it lower, stiffer but enhances the driving dynamics and koni being the best of the both worlds by offering some comfort at the same time.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

If you don't want to change the dynamics much, there are options like the Bilstein B6 which is used in many other german cars with owners by and large happy with the result & also OEM non branded options too - try and see if you can get the F30 LCI suspension in, those were slightly stiffer resulting in better dynamics on undulating roads.

I'm a major disadvantage here regarding the suspension as I don't know how the riding dynamics are to begin with. @ballfry the previous owner had informed me before I bought the car that the suspension was done for. I've done like 11k kilometres on this to date and never felt the suspension was off place. That's the crazy part. Except for that one loud thud when the roads are completely broken the car just glides. I will definitely look into the options you have mentioned. Thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

Congratulations, 3 is a lovely car to own and it can do a lot more miles given you maintain her religiously. Most of the issues with F30 are very well documented and should not be a problem to fix. One very important thing to check will be the timing chain, IIRC 2012 302d has N47 engine which was plauged by timing chain issues and it was fixed by BMW in 2014.

Last time when I was at Man and Machine I was told everything was in order. How worried should I be with the timing chain? I will read about this. Is there an indicator as to what I should be looking for regarding the timing chain? Weird engine noise etc?

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

As far as I remember pre-LCI F30 had HID headlamps and not LED so keep that in mind while replacement. You can see the HID projector in one of the photos as well. And it does seem like a Luxury variant as the wheels are from Luxury trim, you can decode the VIN and see all the options the car was manufactured with.

I'll keep this in mind.

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

Just gonna add on top of this, simply go to BMW if you have any questions or unsure about the ride quality with aftermarket route. I would get the suspension done first before spending money on any other mods.

I am running Eibach lowering springs with my stock M Sport suspension so if you are looking for bit more handling then something like this can be thought as well. Also get rid of the RFTs if not done already, get sticky tubeless tires which change the character as well.

That's the idea, more than the gadgets I plan to fix the suspension first. I guess I just need to read a lot more and probably drive a couple of cars to understand this. Apologies, I forgot to mention that they are already on tubeless. Ah stick to stock suspension and use lowering springs? Wow, so many options. Thank you for the advice!

[turbowhistle]

Originally Posted by Ishallownabmw

Last time when I was at Man and Machine I was told everything was in order. How worried should I be with the timing chain? I will read about this. Is there an indicator as to what I should be looking for regarding the timing chain? Weird engine noise etc?

First thing to check will be your engine code. BMW made some changes to the timing chain mechanism around 2011, these engines are code named “N47T”, “T” denotes “technical update”, whilst they aren’t perfect, N47T engines are less likely to have chain issues than the N47. So please check which engine you have.

The only way to tell if your chain is bad, is by the audible clues a bad chain gives you, this includes (but isn’t limited to) a rattle on start up that disappears after a few seconds, noises resonating from the rear of the engine (when the oil is warm, you’ll hear a “ch, ch, ch” sound), increased noise from the back of the engine when revving the engine to around 1,500-2,000rpm (rattling/scraping noise), although these diesel engines are known to make the chain sound even when healthy so maybe if you think some noise is out of ordinary then it's worth getting checked out.

Another thing regarding suspension is, you should drive a newer F30 to have a benchmark in mind. The easy way to tell is how the car behaves in a pothole or road expansion joints. If you can feel every bump no matter how small then your suspension isn't doing the job it should, the feeling is basically like bottoming out on every bump and the shocks not absorbing any of the impact. FCP Euro had a video regarding this so you can take a look as well. I know it's a bit tough to understand to an untrained mind but there are definitely signs.