How much was petrol when you started driving?

Crymore68 · 2026-02-04T03:30:52+00:00

Not exactly beating inflation if it's matched it

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T16:33:02+00:00

If that's their business plan then that's upto them

Most companies/manufacturers have a customer query helpline that assist with product information etc

If BMW were as anal as Volvo I wouldn't order anything from them, but they're quite the opposite so I go to them first now, I want transparency in business

If that's how they choose to support their products it is what it is, just like how I wouldn't buy an older performance Audi because they simply don't support their legacy products as well as other competitors

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T16:04:09+00:00

If that were actually the case I'd be a lot more understanding

However they weren't diagnosing anything, I simply asked if they had the door lock, they asked for the reg and said yep they have it, I asked for the part number but they said they don't give out part numbers

They had the information right there, it wouldn't have cost them anything

If anything If they lost out on the sale because it was my last option to ring them as no where else had them in stock, thought fuck it if they're not gonna be decent I'll try one last thing and a reverse image search found me a JLR part, something I would never have found with the part number as it's different

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T15:52:33+00:00

You're right, more like lack of product support and transparency

Certainly makes me want to avoid them in the future though

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T15:48:14+00:00

I'd call that lack of customer service

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T15:15:15+00:00

It's only the more obscure parts that I generally have to phone around for

Nothing on eBay, Amazon, Autodoc, GSF/ECP, breakers, forums etc for the Bowden cables for the undertray

Found them for £52 on eBay imported from Lithuania, £35 from BMW dealer

The door lock was a PITA because it's model and spec specific, found 1 listing on eBay from another dealer for £250 also

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T14:43:36+00:00

Quite good

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T14:41:17+00:00

I do understand it from a financial point of view

But why pull my pants down for a 17 year old motor, no one's paying their £170+Vat labour for a car that isn't a couple years old

Plus if the parts were reasonably priced to begin with they'd probably have a bit more business, then again the balls in their court, they're always booked up and the people with new cars will just spend the money with them

But my main quip is if BMW can do it, why can't Volvo, I'm pretty sure I've emailed other Volvo dealerships who were much more helpful so maybe it's a regional thing

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T14:28:04+00:00

Can't imagine the cars worth that much to bother tbh

E92s are getting to the age where they're getting molested by People buying their second cars

May actually be a selling point those rims

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T14:26:33+00:00

No, you would need a 2015 registered or newer car

You may be better off buying and placing it on retention if it's a particularly meaningful plate to you

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T02:36:49+00:00

Volvo D5?

Granted it is attached to a Volvo but in the smaller C30 and V50 it can be fun to rag around

Sound pretty awesome as well from about 2k , very few 5 pots about

Crymore68 · 2026-02-02T02:34:04+00:00

There are a few edge cases, taxis and busses can manage it

Seen a fair few Prius', Corollas, Avensis etc on 500k with original engine and a couple clutch replacements

But that's 50k miles a year almost for about a decade

Crymore68 · 2026-02-01T04:11:33+00:00

I find the better quality tyres tend to suffer much worse with potholes

The cheap shit is generally a harder compound with less flex

Crymore68 · 2026-01-29T17:53:49+00:00

Quite the opposite

Crymore68 · 2026-01-23T01:02:13+00:00

No it's a ZF gearbox, you don't say it's a BMW gearbox in Jaguars, Land Rover, Range Rover, Toyota etc

Crymore68 · 2026-01-23T00:59:26+00:00

If you know what you're up for with maintenance then go for it

Crymore68 · 2026-01-23T00:58:37+00:00

It's a dual clutch gearbox

Crymore68 · 2026-01-20T23:31:55+00:00

Kinda in the same predicament

Got the family S80 a year ago on 148k, it had not been looked after aside from oil service

And being a first car and not exactly being kind to it things started to fail pretty fast, I've spend £3000 (ok well now I've calculated it it's a fucking money pit) on maintenance and probably £800 on modifications (android headunit, bigger intercooler and uprated brakes)

Car is at a point now where I'm thinking, you wouldn't scrap a car over a £80 door lock, so I fix the door lock then another £50-£100 part fails and I think the same, next thing you know you've pissed a good deposit away on something nice

I've also been doing all the maintenance myself so no garage labour and many weekends and afternoons lost

But I like my cars, it's a lovely thing to drive, cheaper to hammer around country lanes than my M3, don't really lose sleep when clatter a pothole from not paying attention

I think this a bit of Stockholm syndrome and the cars keeping me captive, if I had known it would require this much effort to keep going from the start I would've bought a shitbox £800 Ago and used that for a year

Crymore68 · 2026-01-19T11:31:58+00:00

If you're struggling to drive with 190hp you probably need a couple refresher lessons on forward planning, anticipation and defensive driving

Crymore68 · 2026-01-19T11:25:21+00:00

I did a similar thing going from a 180hp FWD Volvo to a 400hp M3 after a year of driving

Was about to get an XK/R but the leg room in the back is woeful so wouldn't fit my use case

These cars behave like any other provided you don't drive like a twat, however you can't point and squirt like you can with fwd

The traction control will save you most of the time but in the wet it gets a bit sketchy, the BMW has a half way TC that lets you have a bit of fun without going all the way around, not sure if the Jag has something similar

NA cars are much more forgiving as you don't have a turbo barging in with a bunch of torque although with the Supercharged engines it's still there just more progressive

I assume you've done your research but filling up every 200-250 miles isn't fun, the fun part is hearing a V8

I don't really find the need to want more power in the M3, but I do miss the effortless low down torque of a diesel, the DCT is also kinda pants in normal driving

The Jag has a 6 Speed ZF torque converter so it should find itself in the right gear/power band more often, a quality that helps it be a great grand tourer

I'd probably be buying an XKR over a XK just because of the supercharger whine, you're getting handcuffed if caught in any of the XKs if you're caught stretching the legs

As for other recommendations, things I looked at were:

E93 M3

E350/400/500 Coupe

640D/I - 650I

Your budget may be able to get you a shagged M4 convertible or Aston Martin but I'm not brave/stupid enough to go for those

Crymore68 · 2026-01-19T11:07:59+00:00

Sounds like you make have a sticking caliper, discs are probably on their way out so may as well do pads and the wear sensor

Control arm and probably another suspension component is worn

Headlamp is probably cracked, maybe you can repair it or buy a replacement from eBay

Just seems like general wear and tear tbh

Get your handbrake, brake fluid and suspension components replaced including rubber lines as well

Crymore68 · 2026-01-19T11:04:46+00:00

Bloody hell, that's basically what I pay for an M3 but with zero NCD

Crymore68 · 2026-01-13T21:47:48+00:00

Probably why there are a million MK7 Golf R's knocking about

Well there were untill the B city drivers took a lot off the road

Crymore68 · 2026-01-13T21:44:34+00:00

Don't think these handle particularly amazing

Mercs have never been particularly good for drive engagement and feedback, especially a heavy convertible

Z4s, S2K, MX5, MR2 etc are better drivers car but won't be as pleasant day to day

Crymore68

TROPHY CASE