BMW F31 - 340i - any common problems?
Discussion
DoubleSix said:
Mines been faultless, other than the ever present squeaky door seals which has been a feature of BMWs as long as i can remember.
What sort of money is the car commanding if u don’t mine me asking?
Thank you and circa £22k. Private sale. What sort of money is the car commanding if u don’t mine me asking?
Hard to gauge if these is a fair price or not. WBAC is circa £17k. Not many cars in the market to judge a fair comparison.
Had my 2016 340i Touring for 2 x years now.
Been faultless apart from the coolant cap seal failing and loosing coolant. Simple fix (£25 part!) and its good as gold.
Only thing I like to keep on top of is changing the oil filter yearly as these can sometimes fail and the two front Alloy’s have needed buckles repaired but mechanically its been good for the last 20,000+ miles and I have no plans of changing it anytime soon.
Been faultless apart from the coolant cap seal failing and loosing coolant. Simple fix (£25 part!) and its good as gold.
Only thing I like to keep on top of is changing the oil filter yearly as these can sometimes fail and the two front Alloy’s have needed buckles repaired but mechanically its been good for the last 20,000+ miles and I have no plans of changing it anytime soon.
Hippea said:
Great cars but I do think these have some substantial depreciating to do over the next few months. They are very strong money and in the current climate I think these will be some of the first to see drops in prices
Yes I am somewhat hesisant about dropping £22k cash on a car right now, which could drop about 20% of it's value in the near future. It's a great spec and looks to be perfect condition. I've been checking autotrader for the last 3 months and it's the first one that's met my criteria, as not many come up for sale.
Common issues with the B58 are oil filter housing which should of been resolved or replaced by now and the front radiators are a bit weak so from around 2018 that started fitting rock guards to add a bit of protection.
An F31 is a pretty rare car so should hold its value better then say a M140i which they sold loads off.
An F31 is a pretty rare car so should hold its value better then say a M140i which they sold loads off.
I’ve had one for about 18 months used as family car, previous family car was a E91 335i.
Overall it’s been great at doing its job. Main criticism is that the steering is numb, but I think that’s most epas systems. Also find the throttle response unbearable in anything but sport, so the only time it’s in comfort is when it’s on the motorway. Eco-pro makes it feel broken.
For me must have options were memory seats (as both me and my wife drive it), pro-nav and Harmon Kardon Audio. H/K isn’t that good, but standard audio is dire.
Mine also has HUD, which is surprisingly useful.
Servicing on the BMW value program is reasonable. As others have said, worth changing the oil more frequently.
Price wise, it’s hard to rely on guide books for these cars, as most people went for the 2L petrol and diesel options. When I bought ours I made a decision on what was available at the time. There’s not enough to really flood the market and the replacement cars (M340i) aren’t being sold in significant numbers anyway. Unless the government tax them out of existence, there will always be a market for a 6 cylinder BMW - and this was the only Petrol one in the range.
It suits us very well, used for short school runs and 1000s if miles through France in the summer.
Might get some flack for this, but I’ve toyed with the idea of swapping it for an M3, RS4 or C63 AMG, but having test driven them the gap between the most powerful ‘normal’ car and the M/AMG is much narrower now that everything is turbocharged.
For me, a 340i and a weekend car makes much more sense than a M/AMG/RS.
Overall it’s been great at doing its job. Main criticism is that the steering is numb, but I think that’s most epas systems. Also find the throttle response unbearable in anything but sport, so the only time it’s in comfort is when it’s on the motorway. Eco-pro makes it feel broken.
For me must have options were memory seats (as both me and my wife drive it), pro-nav and Harmon Kardon Audio. H/K isn’t that good, but standard audio is dire.
Mine also has HUD, which is surprisingly useful.
Servicing on the BMW value program is reasonable. As others have said, worth changing the oil more frequently.
Price wise, it’s hard to rely on guide books for these cars, as most people went for the 2L petrol and diesel options. When I bought ours I made a decision on what was available at the time. There’s not enough to really flood the market and the replacement cars (M340i) aren’t being sold in significant numbers anyway. Unless the government tax them out of existence, there will always be a market for a 6 cylinder BMW - and this was the only Petrol one in the range.
It suits us very well, used for short school runs and 1000s if miles through France in the summer.
Might get some flack for this, but I’ve toyed with the idea of swapping it for an M3, RS4 or C63 AMG, but having test driven them the gap between the most powerful ‘normal’ car and the M/AMG is much narrower now that everything is turbocharged.
For me, a 340i and a weekend car makes much more sense than a M/AMG/RS.
Not a 340i but I have an X3 with the same engine …. 20k miles and zero issues. Remapped by DMS and runs as sweet as but with more oomph,
The oil I change more regularly as the filters have a habit of collapsing …. It seems. No issues with mine so maybe cure now ?
Coolant loss seems a known issue too - due to the cap cracking. Not visible on the cap, it coolant lost …. And cured with a new cap.
The oil I change more regularly as the filters have a habit of collapsing …. It seems. No issues with mine so maybe cure now ?
Coolant loss seems a known issue too - due to the cap cracking. Not visible on the cap, it coolant lost …. And cured with a new cap.
HayesDC2 said:
DoubleSix said:
Mines been faultless, other than the ever present squeaky door seals which has been a feature of BMWs as long as i can remember.
If you have some interior cleaning spray add a coat to the seals around the door when its open and that stops it!In my experience, once you get any sort of substance (car shampoo, wax, gummi pfledge etc) on the inside edge you are into the world of creeks and no amount of cleaning with alcohol or otherwise will sort it…
Some people seem to just not hear it, for me it’s like fingers on a blackboard. Try and introduce a bit of torsion to the chassis by going over a speed bump at an angle or something and it will manifest if present, but only with windows up.
I had all seals replaced under warranty. BMW know its an issue.
Some people seem to just not hear it, for me it’s like fingers on a blackboard. Try and introduce a bit of torsion to the chassis by going over a speed bump at an angle or something and it will manifest if present, but only with windows up.
I had all seals replaced under warranty. BMW know its an issue.
I've had a 340i F31 for 3 years now and it's not gone wrong in 20k miles. Have upgraded diff, suspension and remap from Birds and it continues to be fantastic. It's an animal of a car that can do miles like any other 3 Series.
I can't see anything coming along that would persuade me to change it.
I can't see anything coming along that would persuade me to change it.
I was considering these last year. They really seem to be amazing cars on all fronts, performance, running costs, VED. So nice to learn people are running them with few "general issues" too. A great buy I think! No wonder prices are so strong on these.
OP, one of the PH staff was running one of these last year. Have a search on the PH Fleet section?
In the end I wanted more refinement so went for a G21, another great car. Not 6 cyl, alas...
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