Used Car Issue (BMW 118i)

KatieDee

AdrianC wrote: »

Eight years old, then.

How are you calculating the economy?

Brim the tank, zero the trip meter. Brim it. Divide distance travelled by fuel used? Ideally, over several tankfuls to reduce error according to varying click-off levels?

What conversion between litres and gallons? 4.5 or 3.8?
The car's on standard-size tyres, and the odometer is reading correctly?

Is there a smell of fuel, either near the car with the engine running, or sniffing the exhaust?
If you leave it idling on wet tarmac, then move it, there's no oily glisten on the ground?
Have the garage checked fault codes and emissions?

Thanks for reply.

Each time I have refilled, I have waited until the alert comes on explaining that my fuel is low. I then reset my trip calculator so I could monitor exactly how many miles I was getting out of a full tank. I understand its much better tk do this several times forworked it out as follows (my maths is terrible!).

46 litres to fill the tank
46 litres to gallons = 10.11
Getting 230 miles to a full tank
230 ÷ 10.11 = 22.7mpg

So slightly higher than my original post with the maths, but still quite low in my opinion.

No leaking which I can see, no fuel smell (although I did smell some kind of burning rubber to the back rear tyre - this could have been me being a bit sensitive though). All the tyres are as standard and they are actually new. Thanks for the suggestions though.

The garage didn't check for anything. I called him to explain the issue, he said to bring it in so the garage could have a look, then while I was there he called another garage who said it was normal (the cynic in me thought the conversation was a bit too orchestrated but...hey ho) and then he sent me on my way telling me he would speak to his manager and call me.

AdrianC

KatieDee wrote: »

Each time I have refilled, I have waited until the alert comes on explaining that my fuel is low.

And filled until the click-off?

The garage didn't check for anything. I called him to explain the issue, he said to bring it in so the garage could have a look...

Right, and?

KatieDee

AdrianC wrote: »

And filled until the click-off?



Right, and?

So I drove the car in, he made a phone call in front of me to a garage, then told me that the mpg was normal and refused to have a look.

And yes, filled until the click off. I actually triple checked this in case I hadn't filled it up properly.

thescouselander

Why don't you take it to a proper BMW dealer and let them have a look to confirm if there's a problem?

The mpg does sound very low to me. Even my old 3 litre 3 series did better than what you're getting.

DUTR

pinkshoes wrote: »

What year is it?

2017 since January the 1st.

DUTR

KatieDee wrote: »

So I drove the car in, he made a phone call in front of me to a garage, then told me that the mpg was normal and refused to have a look.

And yes, filled until the click off. I actually triple checked this in case I hadn't filled it up properly.

20mpg does seem low, even if you were red lining it all the time.
Mid to upper 20s on the mpg front with 30 something on a run.
On Honest john they are quoting over 30 mpg for that age type of car.

Jonesya

KatieDee wrote: »

Alternatively, is there anything which could be causing such high fuel consumption? I'm realistic about it, it's a heavy car, but it does seem low. I can literally see my fuel gauge going down on a journey :eek:

Is the engine running smoothly?

Are any of the brakes dragging? After a good drive at high speed are any of the wheels getting noticeably hotter than the other on the same axle?

KatieDee

thescouselander wrote: »

Why don't you take it to a proper BMW dealer and let them have a look to confirm if there's a problem?

The mpg does sound very low to me. Even my old 3 litre 3 series did better than what you're getting.

I spoke to BMW who said it sounds very low, but were reluctant to commit to saying it was abnormal as "driving style can greatly influence fuel consumption". I would be happy to take it into BMW for them to have a look, but a diagnostics test costs £140 and I literally just paid almost £8000 for the car itself. I could have got a similar car cheaper from a private seller, but wanted that security if something went wrong. Ideally I wanted to try and sort it with the dealer first, but he seems to think it isn't an issue.

DUTR wrote: »

20mpg does seem low, even if you were red lining it all the time.
Mid to upper 20s on the mpg front with 30 something on a run.
On Honest john they are quoting over 30 mpg for that age type of car.

Yes, I reviewed all this prior to purchasing the car, so was really surprised when it was giving much less. I know to never go on the manufacturers figures but even owners average mpgs sound loads better than mine.

And I can promise you, I do not red line it anywhere now, especially not with how much it costs me :rotfl:

KatieDee

Jonesya wrote: »

Is the engine running smoothly?

Are any of the brakes dragging? After a good drive at high speed are any of the wheels getting noticeably hotter than the other on the same axle?

Engine does seem to run smoothly, I have no complaints there really. I do feel that maybe this issue has caused me to be really sensitive to noises on the car, but I can't say it's running rough.

As for the wheel issue, I dont know if this would be relevant but one of the previous MOT's had an advisory of one of the rear tyres binding. This wasn't picked up in any more recent MOT's though, so I am assuming it was fixed. The car has also had two brand new rear tyres. I personally have not really noticed any excessive heat after a long drive, but it's not something I have actively searched for. Perhaps I'll check next time I do a long run.

New brake pads as well, they seem really responsive. I don't think they are dragging but I'm not sure I would be able to notice this anyway.

Regardless, the seller is stating that the mpg Is normal and it isn't an issue with the car.

zooks

Do you have access to a obd2 code reader?
They can be bought quite cheaply now (<£20ish on amazon) and whilst its not going to be as wonderful as a bmw dealer service it will at least tell you if the car is carrying any fault codes before you commit to stealer services.