BMW 330d sport touring auto

BMW 330d sport touring auto

Author
Discussion

draytonians

Original Poster:

42 posts

90 months

Friday 30th September 2016
quotequote all
Afternoon all,

Im a little naive when it comes to cars and as such am looking for some assistance as Im just in the process of buying a 54 plate with 80k and full bmw fsh and wanted to ascertain if there is anything specific I should ask/look for before buying,

All HPI checks are ok, as is previous Mots and FSH but is there any particular common faults that I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance

Gtamaddog

105 posts

149 months

Friday 30th September 2016
quotequote all
If the FSH checks out as it did with mine then the following is what I looked out for/kept in mind.

Main thing for me bodywork wise was rust, primarily on the rear arches. Fronts arches can also suffer the same problem, but for me not a huge concern because the front wings are bolt off/on and you can buy ones pre-painted in your colour code on eBay. Mine had solid looking arches so before the first winter hit I had both rear wheels off and cleaned all of the muck out of the rear arches and applied some rust proofing and so far they've stayed solid. Fronts are starting to go though.

Engine wise for me was swirl-flaps. Mine had them (204BHP manual), but I made sure they were one of the first things I got sorted after buying the car. If possible you also want to check when the oil breather was last changed. If the car is still using the filtered type then changing this every year or two does a little bit towards helping the turbo. I bought the revised 'Vortex' breather before checking mine, and took all the engine covers off to find the car already had one fitted.

A quick check of the rear springs to make sure they are intact. A decent test drive over bumpy and also undulating roads to highlight any potential problems with suspension bushings. It's difficult to describe, but if the front bushings are worn out you may feel excess movement in the steering wheel going over bumps slowly. Mine developed this problem after a few months and I just replaced the entire wishbones + new bushings and it made probably the biggest difference I've ever felt in a car.

For you I'd make sure the auto-box also changes smoothly and look out of any juddering in low gears. I can't be any more technical than that because I have no experience of them, but I did read they can become an issue at higher miles.

Theres probably a few more points that hopefully someone else will highlight, or they may correct what I have said. Other than that just general checks on overall condition and make sure it accelerates smoothly and stops with no brake judder, etc. Although the one you're looking at has only done 80K miles it is still a 10+ year old car so at some point you're likely to need to replace the occasional 'consumable' part in addition to general servicing and brakes. So far I've replaced both rear shocks and top mounts, the previously mentioned wishbones, and I've got a couple of drop links ready to be fitted. I've also had two sticking brake calipers. Mine is a bit more run in and has now done 128,000 miles though.



Edited by Gtamaddog on Friday 30th September 19:35