That's a nice suggestion! Tbh I quite enjoy my current ride for long drives (NA Preve), bar the lack of power and terrible NVH (turn radio volume louder and settle everything).

Just wondering about upgrading the car hence why i stumbled across this old thread 😂 since i feel that mainstream b-seg sedans aren't really worth the upgrade (or downgrade in my eyes), which led me to looking at the civic FC. But post FL prices are around 120k for the midspec turbo variant, which then brought me upon seeing f30s going for 20-30k lesser than the FC lohh 🤣

Anyhow to all sifus, huge thanks for the car advices and even more importantly, life advices! I'll most likely be staying with my trusty Preve (actually plan to keep it for years to come even if I upgrade) until it gives up on me, or till I'm making enough to afford the cars I want! 😆

*PS sorry newbie lowyat forum user here not sure how to use the formatting

On a sidenote though, are the N20 engines that scary? I've read about it being notorious for the defective polycarbonate timing chain guides, but on the other hand, users have also claimed to never have met this problem over 7-8 years of usage. Not sure if those who have been plagued by the timing chain issues are just more unfortunate or solely due to neglecting car maintenance 😯

Asking for more info, who knows I might be able to afford an older 328i or 528i in the future haha!

Im driving Exora Turbo - which is a rocket family MPV and also used for long distance drives.

If you talk about NVH - sadly yes, the engine is abit loud (I dunno about the NA version) compared to my parents HRV . But I never need to turn on the radio loudly (and even that, sometimes my kids will drown the noise )

if you wanna lessen the vibration, do check the engine mountings. Mine is already 8yrs old, having some vibration now. Maybe my mountings is on its way out.
Touch wood my turbocharger and CVT is still in one piece.

BTW I'm not into modern BMWs, but rather into classic Mercs, especially my aim is Merc W140 or W211. For BMWs , I prefer E60.

saving for ur child la...
need to school...

dont spend on car, car can drive enough!
dont need instalment car is the best!

e39 ♥️

pick term correctly n clear installment on time ^^ happy mans

This post has been edited by ktek: Oct 26 2022, 10:23 PM

I did change my engine and transmission mountings 30k km ago, still not really bothered by any vibrations so far. Preve is a really solidly-built car, and translates to superb highway driving at the expense of "lembap" pickup in slow traffic. I'm fine with it since most of my driving is jb - selangor 😆 Since its the NA variant, i dont have to worry about any OCH or turbo issues. Really easy to maintain and just drive.

Habis lahhh car also susah mau afford sudah think of child... Hahaha i'm not really at that level yet, haven't thought of it. But definitely useful advice!

You want piece of mind, just change the timing chain guides & tensioner whole set after 5 years or 100k. Besides that, for early batch N20 engine the lower oil pump chain also can break and cause oil pressure warning, my mechanic encountered 2 units with this issue and propose 1 time change whole set.

If want to know when want to change the timing chain set, just ask mechanic to open the lower oil pan and if got plastic debris in it the chain guides already broken and degrade and better change it quick before totally broken and chain n engine gg.

For newer guides, timing chain & pretensioner from what i heard already improved and updated with new part no. So mostly can drag longer after the change.

1 time change of full timing chain set is around 1k~2k budget, better prepare around 3k for any other parts to change.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Oct 27 2022, 09:46 AM

E60 is not a good car to restore, my mechanic own and fix at least 2~3 units and quickly sold off afterwards (too many electronics issues). He never kept E60 for over a year, but good thing is a lot of people like it and easy to sell. The best 5 series he feedback is still the E39 era, really long lasting and easy to fix.

Only got 1 exception that 1 of his customer brought in a 520d E60 from UK and that engine really last long and not much issues thus why my mechanic always propose people to own European diesel if want less issues.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Oct 27 2022, 09:51 AM

Why not give your trusty car simple upgrades.

1. buy soundproof material from taobao, over weekend you can DIY sound proofing for bonnet, car doors, and boot, took me a few weekends, doing it slowly, not hard at all. but do note that you will be adding weight to your car, so FC will impact a bit la. But again, fuel is cheap in MY.
2. spend $ upgrade your radio unit to a android HU, maybe throw in a underseat active sub and slightly better speakers

these 2, add up can be less than 5k rm la, but i think it's a good improvement to your drive

but E9x and E6x really age well... rike their design compared to Merc and Audi in same era.

eyeing Merc W140...

E9x is more better & simpler car to fix & maintain compare to E6x. E6x until today u go do research around the net also most people complain about electronics issues.

nil

This post has been edited by monkeybar: Oct 27 2022, 05:45 PM

i got 1 house instalment monthly 1600
and 2 car full payment already...
i got extra money will go vacation with my daughter and wife...
so i just feeling like car if can travel far, then no damage,
can go for point A to B then Back to A. good already.
if ts can afford with his 9k salary is ok. he want enjoy in life.
hahaha