BMW 340i | High Mile Club
Everybody should experience a B58 at some point - especially at just £6k
Back when the BMW 340i launched in 2015, nobody could quite have predicted what was being unleashed. On the face of it, here was nothing more than the latest non-M 3 Series flagship, with one 3.0-litre turbo six replacing another and making the name on the boot a little more confusing. It was a lovely machine, as expected, though only slightly more so than the 335i that it had succeeded.
But in the decade and a bit since, the B58 straight six that debuted in the F30 3 Series facelift -part of a modular family that also includes the 1.5 triple and 2.0-litre four in Minis - has become an internal combustion legend. Powerful, sweet sounding and efficient out of the box, the aftermarket has come to love the B58 because it’s also tuneable, durable, and usually hooked up to the very good ZF eight-speed.
So as well as being seen in a host of OEM installations - think Supra, the Morgans from Plus Six to Midsummer, the Ineos Grenadier, the manual Z4 - an assortment of B58 powered machinery has gone onto much wilder things. Significant gains cost little, and there are cars out there with four-figure horsepower outputs using the B58 as their base. All of which means that, despite plenty of 40i badged BMWs being sold, the reputation of the engine keeps values buoyant. There’s a single M140i on PH below £15k, despite the earliest cars being a decade old. Those pre-OPF, pre-MHEV B58s really are as coveted as everyone else has led you to believe.
But there are cheap ones out there. You might remember a little while back the 340i manual that was for sale at £23k - this one is more than £15k less. £6,995 is the number in the ad, which must have a bit of wiggle room given the odo is reading… 196,000 miles.
A lot of driving for 10 years on the road, though it doesn’t look bad for it. The colour scheme isn’t tremendously flattering, albeit without any significant blemishes from the pics. Same goes for the interior, with precious little wear on the driver’s bolster for the mileage, suggesting a lot of time sat on the motorway. Yes, the wheel is icky, but nothing that can’t be saved. We’ve all seen old 3 Series that look worse than this. Probably owned one or two, in fact.
An MOT last month was returned without advisory; you’ll want to make sure the servicing is up to date as well, though it’s encouraging to see. And if tinkering with a 200,000-mile engine seems a bit too brave, there’s plenty to enjoy about a plain old 340i - after all, 326hp was plenty to begin with. Though that £10,000 saved over any other in the classifieds might soon burn a hole in your pocket…
SPECIFICATION | BMW 340i
Engine: 2,998cc straight-six turbo
Transmission: 8-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 326@5,500-6,500rpm (standard)
Torque (lb ft): 332@1,380-5,000rpm (standard)
CO2: 159g/km (NEDC)
MPG: 41.5 (NEDC)
First registered: 2016
Recorded mileage: 38,000
Price new: £38,125 (standard)
Yours for: £22,995
But why would you when you can buy a similar aged car with one-third of the mileage on AT right now, for £2000 less? Even lower if you buy privately.
Madness.
But why would you when you can buy a similar aged car with one-third of the mileage on AT right now, for £2000 less? Even lower if you buy privately.
Madness.
But why would you when you can buy a similar aged car with one-third of the mileage on AT right now, for £2000 less? Even lower if you buy privately.
Madness.
But why would you when you can buy a similar aged car with one-third of the mileage on AT right now, for £2000 less? Even lower if you buy privately.
Madness.
Apart from a new condenser ( a common problem ), it has never required anything beyond regular servicing and currently runs the same as it did when I bought it, bar a small thirst for oil ( about a litre every 1000 miles ).
I think these cars are perfect examples of peak auto - they have everything you need, do everything fine but don't have any of the bells, whistles and distractions of more modern cars. I'm going to run it till it or I die - can't think of anything more modern I would replace it with....
I'm not usually one for high mileage cars, but this seems decent value to me, although I'm not an expert with the current market though.
Seems like pretty good value to me, check it over, make sure it has some records of oil changes and it should be fine, the B58 seems to be a very tough unit, drive it and does it go like it should ? It wont have rusted, the interior looks to have stood up well. My concern would be suspension, could be quite tired but imagine its had some work in that department.
A change to silver for the wheels would make a huge difference.
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