Need to swap my 330Ci for a temporary diesel, which diesel?!
Discussion
New field sales job has meant that my 330Ci is going to have to go. I am planning on getting a new 1 series, but, I'm buying my first house at the end of March, and although my mortgage has been approved, i've been told not to get any finance until after I have completed, would need to get a loan of about £15k on top of the money I've got, incase it affects my mortgage.
330Ci has only done 85k, I've owned it for a year but my step-dad had it for 9 years from new and I'd rather pass it on now before I start doing mega miles in it. I only used to do about 500 a month but will now be doing 2-2,500 a month, hence wanting a diesel.
As it's a new house i'm buying I know it could get pushed back a couple of months, so I want to spend maybe £5k tops on something to get me 50mpg until I have completed on my house and can take out a loan.
330Ci has only done 85k, I've owned it for a year but my step-dad had it for 9 years from new and I'd rather pass it on now before I start doing mega miles in it. I only used to do about 500 a month but will now be doing 2-2,500 a month, hence wanting a diesel.
As it's a new house i'm buying I know it could get pushed back a couple of months, so I want to spend maybe £5k tops on something to get me 50mpg until I have completed on my house and can take out a loan.
Keep the 330i.
It's only a couple of months and what you lose on fuel (a little) you will gain on not buying and selling another car (a lot) and any repairs on an unknown £5k car.
At 2500 miles the difference between a 30mpg car and 45mpg car is only £170. Not a lot for a short time.
Well done on the job and new house by the way.
It's only a couple of months and what you lose on fuel (a little) you will gain on not buying and selling another car (a lot) and any repairs on an unknown £5k car.
At 2500 miles the difference between a 30mpg car and 45mpg car is only £170. Not a lot for a short time.
Well done on the job and new house by the way.
Edited by A900ss on Sunday 2nd February 17:48
A900ss said:
Keep the 330i.
It's only a couple of months and what you lose on fuel (a little) you will gain on not buying and selling another car (a lot) and any repairs on an unknown £5k car.
At 2500 miles the difference between a 30mpg car and 45mpg car is only £170. Not a lot for a short time.
I agree. If you're trying to spend as little as possible per mile, which is presumably the goal here, then spending £5,000 on changing car is not a great idea. After all, at the point of purchase, you've now just spent £5,000, without driving even driven 1 extra mile. Or, you could spend £2,000 on petrol, or whatever - and then you've still got £3,000.It's only a couple of months and what you lose on fuel (a little) you will gain on not buying and selling another car (a lot) and any repairs on an unknown £5k car.
At 2500 miles the difference between a 30mpg car and 45mpg car is only £170. Not a lot for a short time.
One of the advantages for selling the BMW now is that it will be due 3 tyres, service and tax in the next 3 months at the rate I will be covering miles. That's probably £1k. Just been MOT'd 2 weeks ago.
If i'm driving a diesel i'll also literally be halving my fuel costs. Which will save about £200 a month.
The money I put in to the new car won't be lost as it will be sold in 3-6 months time, yes I'll make a small loss, but I feel that if I get the BMW closer to 100k it will lose some of the appeal it may have to a potential buyer as it must be one of the lowest mileage pre-facelift 330Ci's.
I don't want to turn this in to a petrol/diesel debate, I'm really looking for suggestions as to what diesel.
If i'm driving a diesel i'll also literally be halving my fuel costs. Which will save about £200 a month.
The money I put in to the new car won't be lost as it will be sold in 3-6 months time, yes I'll make a small loss, but I feel that if I get the BMW closer to 100k it will lose some of the appeal it may have to a potential buyer as it must be one of the lowest mileage pre-facelift 330Ci's.
I don't want to turn this in to a petrol/diesel debate, I'm really looking for suggestions as to what diesel.
Edited by alistair1234 on Sunday 2nd February 18:17
Most likely changing car twice in 6 months will cost you far more than your other costs.
I would suggest one of these if you want something under £5k that is great on fuel, goes well, very comfy seats on long trips (amazingly good seats for a small car) and you will be able to re-sell this quite easily when the time comes to replace
Its a Polo Gt tdi 130 6 speed newer shape model -
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
or its cheaper cousing the Ibiza FR Tdi
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
Or a Skoda Fabia VRS but these other 2 would be higher up my list than a Skoda.
I would suggest one of these if you want something under £5k that is great on fuel, goes well, very comfy seats on long trips (amazingly good seats for a small car) and you will be able to re-sell this quite easily when the time comes to replace
Its a Polo Gt tdi 130 6 speed newer shape model -
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
or its cheaper cousing the Ibiza FR Tdi
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...
Or a Skoda Fabia VRS but these other 2 would be higher up my list than a Skoda.
Any car you buy will need tyres. Any car you buy will need regular servicing. Most cars you can buy, will need tax. Whether you try to disguise the fact, by incorporating this cost in the purchase price, or whether you pay out in a lump sum, doesn't change the fact that it's a cost.
Rack up the miles on the 330, it sounds like you've got a good one. I've racked up 23,000 miles a year over the last 4 years in an E46 328. It's averaged 31 mpg and lost £600 a year in depreciation. Only changing it now, because I got such a good deal on an M135i. You won't be 'literally halving your fuel costs', well not unless you're looking at cars that can average around 70mpg!
If you do the figures properly, you'll find the cost difference between driving a decent 6 cylinder petrol, or a hateful 4 cylinder diesel, are so small as to not be worth bothering about.
Rack up the miles on the 330, it sounds like you've got a good one. I've racked up 23,000 miles a year over the last 4 years in an E46 328. It's averaged 31 mpg and lost £600 a year in depreciation. Only changing it now, because I got such a good deal on an M135i. You won't be 'literally halving your fuel costs', well not unless you're looking at cars that can average around 70mpg!
If you do the figures properly, you'll find the cost difference between driving a decent 6 cylinder petrol, or a hateful 4 cylinder diesel, are so small as to not be worth bothering about.
Remember that the seller of these magic diesel cars are also selling for a reason - like you are. Budget £500-£1k to get them up to spec, you also need to take off 10% due to the higher cost of diesel.
It makes no sense to change, quite aside from the far higher unreliability and the faked fuel economy figures of the diesels you are likely to be looking at.
It makes no sense to change, quite aside from the far higher unreliability and the faked fuel economy figures of the diesels you are likely to be looking at.
alistair1234 said:
One of the advantages for selling the BMW now is that it will be due 3 tyres, service and tax in the next 3 months at the rate I will be covering miles. That's probably £1k. Just been MOT'd 2 weeks ago.
If i'm driving a diesel i'll also literally be halving my fuel costs. Which will save about £200 a month.
The money I put in to the new car won't be lost as it will be sold in 3-6 months time, yes I'll make a small loss, but I feel that if I get the BMW closer to 100k it will lose some of the appeal it may have to a potential buyer as it must be one of the lowest mileage pre-facelift 330Ci's.
I don't want to turn this in to a petrol/diesel debate, I'm really looking for suggestions as to what diesel.
Well if you are really set on it then you could do worse than one of the SEATs. 09 plate Exeo 2.0TDi is basically a B7 A4 for less money. I had one for a while and it was a really quite nice drive for a 2.0 oi. burner. That or a Leon diesel. Or how about an Octavia? They are a Golf for Skoda money.If i'm driving a diesel i'll also literally be halving my fuel costs. Which will save about £200 a month.
The money I put in to the new car won't be lost as it will be sold in 3-6 months time, yes I'll make a small loss, but I feel that if I get the BMW closer to 100k it will lose some of the appeal it may have to a potential buyer as it must be one of the lowest mileage pre-facelift 330Ci's.
I don't want to turn this in to a petrol/diesel debate, I'm really looking for suggestions as to what diesel.
Edited by alistair1234 on Sunday 2nd February 18:17
alistair1234 said:
The money I put in to the new car won't be lost as it will be sold in 3-6 months time, yes I'll make a small loss, but I feel that if I get the BMW closer to 100k it will lose some of the appeal it may have to a potential buyer as it must be one of the lowest mileage pre-facelift 330Ci's.
It's just a ten year old BM with a big petrol engine, personally I'd run it into the ground while saving for the house/next car.I'd keep the BMW. A £5K Diesel has the potential to be a huge moneypit. If you have to spend £5K on a car to get you around, stick it into a Manual, Petrol Toyota Avensis, preferably a current shape 1.8 which you might just about get. It won't go wrong and will still return decent MPG.
Bill said:
It's just a ten year old BM with a big petrol engine, personally I'd run it into the ground while saving for the house/next car.
I disagree there. Mine is heading towards "just an old BM with a big petrol engine", as it's an early E46 with not-quite-the-best-engine and too many miles. A nice 330ci, though, that is always going to be valued as an M3 alternative.All this is by the by, because the OP doesn't actually want our advice about whether or not he should sell the 330ci (and I think the situation maybe says he should, and it's a reasonable time to be selling it too), he just wants to know what we'd buy in his place!
I'd love to say E46 320d but finding a nice one seems increasingly tricky and it'd be a bit samey. A nice S60 D5 would be really good. If you want to play it safe then a Passat or A4 TDI would be fine.
Bear in mind that this is also Golf Mk5 2.0TDI money now, if you fancy something like that.
McSam said:
I disagree there. Mine is heading towards "just an old BM with a big petrol engine", as it's an early E46 with not-quite-the-best-engine and too many miles. A nice 330ci, though, that is always going to be valued as an M3 alternative.
All this is by the by, because the OP doesn't actually want our advice about whether or not he should sell the 330ci (and I think the situation maybe says he should, and it's a reasonable time to be selling it too), he just wants to know what we'd buy in his place!
I'd love to say E46 320d but finding a nice one seems increasingly tricky and it'd be a bit samey. A nice S60 D5 would be really good. If you want to play it safe then a Passat or A4 TDI would be fine.
Bear in mind that this is also Golf Mk5 2.0TDI money now, if you fancy something like that.
I also disagree. An old 330i is hardly a Y Reg Ford Focus. It will continue being a nice car if kept up together. All this is by the by, because the OP doesn't actually want our advice about whether or not he should sell the 330ci (and I think the situation maybe says he should, and it's a reasonable time to be selling it too), he just wants to know what we'd buy in his place!
I'd love to say E46 320d but finding a nice one seems increasingly tricky and it'd be a bit samey. A nice S60 D5 would be really good. If you want to play it safe then a Passat or A4 TDI would be fine.
Bear in mind that this is also Golf Mk5 2.0TDI money now, if you fancy something like that.
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