btmaldon

Well I have been away for quite sometime and am hoping to be back in the BMW fold again this week. Story is: My missus lost her job, got another one but was part time. As it was within walking distance we decided to go down to one car. Unfortunately my lovely F31 was too long for her to drive. Shes not a confident driver and not very good at reverse parking. So I sold it along with her Ecosport and bought a little Golf GTI. Small enough for her but quick enough for this 63 year old. Last May my Father died. He was my Mums carer. So I needed another car to run her around so took on my Fathers Ecosport Auto. Its fine for running around locally, but dreadful thing to drive otherwise. My wife also went full time again, so I could have kept my old car in the first place. Anyway, I really miss my F31 and have decided that I will regret it if I dont buy another one while I can. My Nephew wants my Dads old car for his Wife, so he can have that at the PX value and I am doing a 2 hour drive to a dealer in Towcester to look at the above car on an 18 plate in black. We will keep the GTI as we both enjoy driving it. I do hope it turns out to be a good one.

What is your reason for changing to normal tyres. I just changed three of my run flats due to some bulging in the side walls caused by pot holes. They are Goodyear F1's on 19 inch rims and the prices are now pretty reasonable. They were about £140 each. If they were the old price of £250 each I would have thought twice about it.

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If the vibration is in the steering wheel it is normally the front wheels needing balancing. If the car is vibrating it is usually the rears. Fronts would normally vibrate at 30mph so I would put money on it being the rears.

Thanks John. I've piggy backed the tracker to a fuse in the boot as it doesn't matter where its located. The camera is currently just plugged into the 12v socket. Its a Next Base with a shock sensor which will operate on the built in battery for a bit. I would want that connected to a switched live. Cheers

Thanks. I will have a look at that.

Hi all. I'm looking to hard wire my dash cam and my tracker into the car. I want to use a piggyback fuse on each. The dash cam needs to be live when the ignition is on only. The tracker needs to be a permanent live. Has anybody already done these and which are the best fuses to use? Many thanks

After just over two years away from BMW I have decided to Part x my Mk 3.5 Focus ST for a well specced 2015 (65) F31 X Drive M Sport 320i Auto. I know its not the quickest car in the World but its about time I grew up. I don't do diesels and this petrol version was the only one with this spec I could find in the UK. What sold it to me was how good the ride is in comparison to the E92 and E93 I used to own and how smooth the 8 speed gearbox is. Looking forward to picking it up.

Thanks Trevor. Could well be the case. The best voice control I have found is the Ford one.

Also noticed that I can open the roof with the remote control but for some reason I cant close it with the remote. Any ideas?

Is this a common issue. The voice command/control all works, its just the system on this car mis-interprets what I say nearly all the time. My previous 2008 E92 worked brilliantly therefore I am surprised this 2012 Sport Plus Edition is crap.

Thanks Trevor. Will have a look through the owners manual when I get the car.

Hi guys and girls. I have been away for over a year having part ex'd my old E92 for a Focus ST. It was fun and practical to own for a bit but have now ordered a 62 plate 320i E93 Sport Plus Auto from Coopers BMW in Chelmsford. I went for the 4 cylinder as having been made redundant recently I though the running costs would be better than a 6 cylinder. Also I don't like diesels and wanted a petrol version. The question I have is when putting the roof up or down, what height clearance do I need? Reason being some of the ceilings are quite low in the multistory car parks around here and also I may need to open or close it while its parked in my garage at home. Thanks

Hi So sorry to read about your Son in Law. Life appears to be so unfair at times. From what I have read these cars do not attract great values these days and are probably one of the best value cars to buy. Late 90's versions go for anything between £1500 and £2500 depending on the mileage. What year and how many miles has it done. I would search for a similar car on Auto Trader and see what comes up. With all the work that has been done on the car it should put the value up a bit. Good luck

The diesel is about 140bhp with a top speed of 129mph. Its not fast 0 to 60 but its mid range torque is pretty impressive and that's far more important. The petrol is very similar performance wise but less mid range torque and not as economical. In the autos the diesel is slightly quicker 0 to 60. The M Sport versions are more desirable but you may not like the harsh ride. If your happy with those figures then go for it.

You can go to any VAT Registered Indy Garage that uses OEM parts. If you know a good Indy garage use them. Also get a quote as you may find that they aren't much cheaper. I was fortunate to have a really good Indy that I have been using for years.

Sounds like you answered your own question. No oil in the gearbox. Don't know if you can top those up yourself. The later boxes were sealed.

Hi Richard. Love the photos. Welcome to the Forum

Nice one Ian. Thanks for the update and I now know where Im going when I need an exhaust.

Welcome to the Forum Simon

I would start by pulling the switch panel out and cleaning the connections up. Also check you have a live feed when the keys in the ignition. If not it may have popped a fuse.

Id say it's the battery as well.

Good luck with it.

The car has gone into limp mode to protect itself from any damage to the engine. I'm surprised you haven't had a warning light come up on the dash to say there is a problem. It could be a number of things so would best find a good local indy garage and get them to read the codes. It could well be a simple issue such as a sensor but without reading the fault codes you could spend a load trying to guess what the issue is.

I doubt if its head gasket as well. Have you been doing a lot of short trips recently. This causes the condensation to build up. I would just clean the cap before anyone arrives to look at it.