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Fri 1 Dec 2017 09:06
- Davidss
Re the 2005 BMW Z4 2.0i.
"The washer pumps routinely fail if the correct BMW washer fluid is not used. "
That car is 12 years old. Does the comment about the washer fluid / pump failure cause and effect still hold true for BMWs manufactured during the last five years, or even 'today'?
Thankyou, David S
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Fri 1 Dec 2017 19:42
- glidermania
Oh no! Not the supermarket v branded fuel argument again!

I ran a BMW 3 Series diesel on supermarket fuel for just under 220,000 miles. Guess what? NO ISSUES! Oh and I didnt use BMW screenwash and never had a failed water pump. I had another BMW 3 Series ran over 20,000 miles on supermarket diesel. Guess what? NO ISSUES!

My wife ran a Vauxhall Zafira for 90,000 miles on supermarket petrol. Guess what? NO ISSUES!

The 'problem' is people not having their cars properly serviced and using diesels for around town, stop \ start driving which does the damage not SUPERMARKET fuel.

A franchise dealer will always ask 'what fuel do you use?' because they want to shift liability off themselves.
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Sat 2 Dec 2017 08:11
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 02-12-2017 Part 1 - TTToommy

Like you I can only tell you what's happened to me over the years,older 2nd hand petrol cars have been more economical with Shell super-v, the few new cars I'm not sure I can tell much difference - still think I get 1 or 2 mpg more, the one diesel car (new BMW) was quieter with the shell premium fuel

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Sat 2 Dec 2017 08:03
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 02-12-2017 Part 1 - TTToommy

I believe it does, there was a recently reported case where BMW refused to repair the washer pump under the 3 year warranty as the owner had used someoneelses washer fluid

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Sat 2 Dec 2017 10:02
- Rodge1
"If you pay cash, you can probably get a substantial discount. Maybe even as much as 25%" No you won't! Discounting for cash is illegal, enforced by the FCA & all sorts of regulations. Also, why would a dealer give a better deal for cash when they would then miss out on the finance commission?

Quite right to do it whichever way is cheaper for you but paying 'cash' does not equate to a better deal.
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Sun 3 Dec 2017 17:45
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 02-12-2017 Part 1 - jchinuk
"If you pay cash, you can probably get a substantial discount. Maybe even as much as 25%" No you won't! Discounting for cash is illegal, enforced by the FCA & all sorts of regulations. Also, why would a dealer give a better deal for cash when they would then miss out on the finance commission? Quite right to do it whichever way is cheaper for you but paying 'cash' does not equate to a better deal.

I think you are confused, in this context 'cash' means paying for the vehicle in full, up front, not arriving at the dealers with a Tesco bag full of tenners. A bank draft is probably the method of payment or creditcard.

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Mon 4 Dec 2017 16:25
Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 02-12-2017 Part 1 - Rodge1

Not confused at all. I am well aware of the context in which the term 'cash' was used. Incidently, a bag of actual cash is also heavily regulated with money laundering laws. They don't want to wait for bankers drafts to clear either.

The point I was making is that paying outright to gain a discount is a myth. Dealers do not want your money, they earn commission on finance and although they cannot differentiate between a 'cash deal' & finance paying for the car out right does not always equate to the best deal.

For example, why would you forgo the 'Deposit Contribution' that many manufacturers were offering to pay out right? If you really are paying out right & not borrowing it elsewhere,why not borrow the minium they will lend, typically £2,500 over the minimum term (to attract the least interest) & then pay the finance off after you have collected the car. That way you get the deposit contibution minus negligible interest & the car has cost less than if you 'paid cash'. Hardly rocket science.

Edited by Rodge1 on 04/12/2017 at 16:28

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Sat 2 Dec 2017 17:07
- John Whitaker
Hello,

Re: your views on supermarket fuel.

I've driven cars since 1974 averaging 12,000 mile per year on nothing other than supermarket petrol and diesel with absolutely no problems. My current car, which I've owned for six years is a 2001 Toyota Corolla, has 137,000 on the clock and performs with no issues with this fuel. My previous car, a Citroen BX diesel did 185,000 on cheaper fuel. I am a keen follower of your website and advice but from my experience, I think you are mistaken..

JW
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Sat 2 Dec 2017 20:22
-

My Experience Of Premium Fuel

Never had issues with supermarket petrol in my 97 Primera, but decided to try v-power this year due to recommendations on this site and a friend commenting his BMW ran better on it. There is definitely more torque lower down the rev range so you can change up earlier and I have seen better fuel economy. Also the engine is a bit smoother. I think the benefits are greater for the newer diesels as they are more complex with the detergents keeping the injectors cleaner.

SR

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Sun 3 Dec 2017 17:49
- jchinuk
I am amused by the comments on 'supermarket' fuel, people would think it was okay if Waitrose sold it, but really they don't want to be seen in Tesco or Morrisons.

Tesco actually do a premium brand of petrol, Momentum.

I am sure any supermarket brand of fuel is better than the cheap stuff we got in the 80s, that was the dregs from storage tanks bought on the 'spot market' for fuel, it was cheap, but of very variable quality.
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Wed 6 Dec 2017 21:53
- Chris James
So if it is so important not to switch off the engine on a diesel car which is regenerating its DPF, then why don't manufacturers fit regeneration indicator lights to show when this is happening? - i'm not talking about the warning lights which illuminate when the DPF becomes blocked, i'm talking about a light which comes on when the regeneration process begins and goes off when it has completed.

When a car gets older and has performed many regeneration's it may no longer give off a smell, and some don't smell even when new so what happens then? are we to just randomly add a few hundred extra miles to our 30 mile journey just in case a regeneration has begun? or toss a coin to see whether we should turn the engine off yet?, there seems no other way to tell, other than risk switching it off mid-regeneration and risk further blocking or worse still diluting and raising the sump oil levels.

This seems a huge risk for the sake of an extra 5p led indicator in the dash cluster, the more skeptical consumer may believe this is done because of the huge costs charged by dealers to replace the DPF, the dealer fee's charged to regenerate an existing one manually for you and the fact that most manufacturers don't cover the cost of these replacements under the manufacturers warranty, all of which I would think is quite lucrative and repeat service work.
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