Thinking of changing to a 123d

C

Cornwall1888

Member
Had my Z4 3.0i for about 4 years now, I still love it. But I’ve been getting the itch to move to something new and potentially more economical.

I’m in no hurry to sell but being a convertible this might be a good time, do you really get a better price in spring?

My car has been very reliable but some wear and tear items have lead to some big MOT bills recently, brake lines and new suspension aren’t cheap!

I’m a big fan of the 123d quick little car that’ll do great mpg, although I only do 7000 miles a year I could potentially half my fuel and tax bills.

I’ve seen people do the opposite go from 123d to z4 and never look back....

Another option would be 120d with a remap I’ve read the 123d really short gears can be annoying

In an ideal world I’d sell mine and find a 123d for a similar price. My car is a 2004 3.0i manual (the one to have imo) with 65,000 miles the clock miles on the clock probably worth about £5500

Pros:

Newer car
Much better mpg
Cheaper tax and insurance
Diesel torque, quite quick in the real world
Potentially better looking

Cons:

Selling can take months
123d’s are pretty rare, might take a while to find one I like
Unlikely to have any in my area
Lose that incredible engine
Lose the soft top
Going from probably one of the most reliable bmw engines to one of the lease reliabile (timing chain issues, my Mini Cooper S chain snapped it’s not fun)

Also looking at other smaller quick diesel cars 320d coupe or Alfa guilietta could be options, small quick diesels in my budget are few and far between

What do you guys think? At the moment I’m thinking about advertising mine for sale and would be willing to wait ages until the right buyer came along
 
Sounds like you want to swap - and if you want to swap then do it.

I mean, from my perspective the idea of swapping a creamy smooth NA 6 for a rattly 4 banger diesel sounds horrendous.

I'm not gonna critique what you perceive to be 'pro's' too much, as something newer doesn't necessarily equate to better in my book, but I'll just say consider this:

7000miles @ 30 MPG/1.30 a litre (i.e. Your Z4...) = £1378.98
7000miles @ 50 MPG/1.35 a litre (i.e. a 123d) = £859.21

The difference is £519.77. That's one unwelcome trip to a garage on the 1 series, and you're basically level pegging. Any more than that and you're sat with a great big bitumen coloured turd on your driveway, if you're trying to justify it as a cost saving measure.

Naturally, the Z could s**t itself also, at which point the argument is moot. But if you've already replaced the consumables, then why not hold onto it to enjoy the fruits of those labours?

To my mind, 7k a year mileage just isn't enough to justify a diesel. I think I'd want double that before I'd consider it.

Naturally though - all your call.

Edit: If you're bent on a small fast derv though - consider that Seat thing or the fabia vrs....
 
I was looking to replace my Mk2 Audi TT last year and convinced myself that a 125d M Sport would be the ticket. Jumped in one and couldn't BELIEVE the pedal offset. The pedals were 5-6" offset to the side, relative to the seat and steering wheel positions. I hadn't even started the engine and knew I didn't want it. That forced me down the road of the auto gearbox (because BMW shuffle the pedals over a bit, thanks to the removal of the clutch pedal). The pedals are almost central on that, but in the end I decided the car wasn't worth the price tag. It was a really fun drive though. The 125i was dull in comparison, even though the stats lead you to believe they'd be similar apart from fuel economy.

I'm waffling. My note of caution is to check how comfortable you are after a longer drive in the 123d before you decide to buy one. I was shocked when I Googled BMW 125d driving position and read all the stories of back pain and people having to sell their cars! Also, a while back I looked into getting a 123d but the engine reliability stories put me off. I seem to recall people advising only to buy one if you have a solid warranty package in place, otherwise timing chain problem bills can hit you hard.
 
My personal opinion is that diesel cars are not the way forward - with everything that has gone on recently with the likes of VW and the current understanding that diesel emissions are really not great for the environment, I think the running costs on these cars will continue to increase - it wouldn't surprise me if the government started to increase the duty on diesel more than petrol and they have already started the move to increase tax on diesel cars above that of petrol cars.

Just my opinion, but if that trend continues then your cost saving will soon be eaten up.
 
As somebody who owns an E82 123d, I've been thinking of swapping it for something like an E82 125i. I'm a little scared of timing chain issues now my mileage is creeping up (89k). The 125i has a similar amount of power (both standard and mapped), and I'd trade MPG for the sound of a (more reliable) 6 cylinder petrol engine.
 
I had one of these back in 2008. Didn't keep it long, the manual gearbox didn't work very well with the diesel engine IMO, also found it really cramped inside and grip from a standing start in the wet was really poor. Also, mpg wasn't great, the 123d is geared much shorter than the 120d, so on the motorway it struggled to get 40mpg as it was revving so high, so what's the point... an automatic 120d and a remap would be a better proposition.

On the plus side, I had no reliability issues in the time I had it, approx 1 year, but it was only 6 months old. Handled pretty well too.

Always thought a 130i would be great fun.
 
I too am considering a BMW diesel, however, it's to swap from my Fiat Panda runabout to an E46 320d touring for the size and practicality. I cover about 16k a year, so the diesel makes sense for me, but if I was doing much shorter annual distances I'd not even consider a diesel. At 7k annual mileage around £5-6k if you want something fun but more economical have you considered - and this will be controversial - a hybrid like a Honda CRZ? Tunable little car that's actually fun to drive and great returns on economy, plus cheap on tax and can run on the cheaper fuel...

If you're set on a 1er diesel though, I'd recommend the 120d with a remap. Better bang for buck.
 
I think your mad, but hey it's your choice. I wouldn't touch the 4 pot BMW engines, far too fragile, if you really have to have a diesel why not a Golf GTD? I would take into consideration however, the governments U turn on diesel. Tax is climbing as is the cost of diesel. They have condemned it as "the devils fuel" so it is never going to go down in price only up.
 
Seriously :o You want to move from a Z4 to a 1 Series diesel. May be we are very different folk, but I suspect 6 months in you will wonder what the heck have I done. Different if it is because you need the money saved to improve life in other ways. But no way I would ever do that swap simply because I wanted a change of car. :?
 
I own a 125d as a family motor and imo a great all rounder, what's not to love, cheap insurance/tax/fuel/servicing, it's as fast as my 3litre zed and looks good. Only bad thing when buying one is you'll probably have to travel, there not cheap and there's not many about, but I doubt you'll regret it :thumbsup:
 
I own the 3.0si and a 120D (mapped) and the diesel isnt a patch on the Z. I use the 1er as a daily for the MPG (regularly get 550+ miles out of a tank). But it sounds like an agricultural engine and doesn't have anywhere near the thrill of the Z, although the turbo whistle is at least something to strain your ears for when you're bored.

With regards the timing chain, regular oil services and it will be fine. Mines on 106k and I've been told by my car person so long as you look after them they don't go bang.
 
We're on our second 123d msport coupe and we love them. Our first was a manual and second an auto. Good performance and economical. My wife adores her car.
 
I had a pre-reg 123d from January 2008 until July 2014 - when I got my 1st Z4.

So just over 6 years and 81K miles. I mainly sold it because of the potential cam-chain issues - this was before BMW introduced their "Quality Enhancement Programme", which I believe they have since stopped.

And to be honest I haven't looked back - a petrol 6 is just so much better! In fact I like them so much I've had petrol straight 6s for my dailies since 2015. I won't be going back to diesel 4s ever.

Still it had a decent amount of performance even if it didn't sound great, and it was pretty economical - mine averaged 48.7 mpg (calculated, not OBC) in the time I had it. The only non-routine replacements it needed were an AGM battery (that needs coding so £250) at 4 years and a starter motor after 6 (£600). I put them down to the stop/start malarkey and turned it off after that. And both the "long-life" LED number plate lights! I never even needed new brakes or wiper blades.

But it was lower-geared than a 120d, and soon after I bought it BMW started selling a 20 bhp upgrade for the 120d which would have been a better option IMHO.

My first straight 6 daily was an E46 325ti Compact which was just as quick, but so much better to drive. That's when I realised I should have tried a 130i before I bought my 123d. :headbang:

Still, apart from the cam-chain issue it wasn't a bad car. But if I really needed a diesel I'd probably go for a 330d now.
 
We have a 125d that the wife uses as a daily and it's a nice little car but completely different to the zed. I'd definitely miss the zed if I was forced to part with it and solely use the 125d
 
I posted the same thread on the babybmw 1 series forum and they all think I’m mad too haha

Perhaps I’ll stick with the zed, thanks for all the replies
 
Davz said:
Cornwall1888 said:
Potentially better looking
Click to expand...
are you for real? a 1 series is a real fugly car, only a blind man would buy one
Click to expand...
That, combined with the poor quality plastics, was what really turned me off the 1 series. Strong engine, good gearbox (for an auto), but the actual car package didn't do it for me. I don't mind the cheap plastics on the Zed because it's a cheap car!
 
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