BMW 330 touring and other fast wagons..

[jimjim150]

Looking for a warm estate with decent grunt, ideally under £6K with the purpose of becoming a dog carrier and just generally be more practical than the 350z.

There are many hot to warm estates out there, and I'm a big fan of a lot of them which makes it hard to choose!

I think I've narrowed my search down, probably to something 3 litre-y from BMW, a lot of this is down to them being fairly common. The other options I really like, but are far rarer are the 2.8 V6 Saab 9-3 possibly with the 275bhp perfomrance upgrade or one of the fast Volvo V70Rs.


I don't really have affiliation to any particular brand and styling/ looks aren't the top priority either. Bottom line this needs to be a reliable car but I would like it to put a smile on my face and to be a bit of a sleeper at the lights or on the motorway.


So going out to wagon owners for some advice really. 330d's for exmaple, I know that the swirl flaps can degrade and cause damage. What other potential costs/ dangers things to avoid are there with some of these fast wagons?

Thanks

[andyeds1234]

e39 530i sport touring, and stick the rest of the money in your pocket.
I have owned a couple of e39s over the years, and love them.
Quick, brilliant build quality, reliable, easily fits animals, bikes etc in the back, and kind of cool IMO.
Ours has done 140k miles, and feels more like 60k.

We have a few nice cars in our household, but I still find myself jumping into the e39 wagon, more often than not.

[jimjim150]

andyeds1234 said:

e39 530i sport touring, and stick the rest of the money in your pocket.
I have owned a couple of e39s over the years, and love them.
Quick, brilliant build quality, reliable, easily fits animals, bikes etc in the back, and kind of cool IMO.
Ours has done 140k miles, and feels more like 60k.

We have a few nice cars in our household, but I still find myself jumping into the e39 wagon, more often than not.

Yes I think those are great looking cars as well! What are the bills like on those? How often is clutch replaced, any weak parts?

[hornetrider]

I've owned a 3 litre wagon and now a 5 litre wagon... my advice to you would be get yourself a V8.

Just a small tweak to your budget, et voila... http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Edited by hornetrider on Thursday 29th January 14:52

[jboy72]

hornetrider said:

I've owned a 3 litre wagon and now a 5 litre wagon... my advice to you would be get yourself a V8.

Just a small tweak to your budget, et voila... http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Edited by hornetrider on Thursday 29th January 14:52

I noticed that for sale. It looks nice. Seems a fairly punchy price, but what do I know about V8 depreciation.... I remember when I bought mine it only dawned on me later that my man maths might have failed me because when I came to sell my car it would be worth a lot less than a comparable 535d, and so it was not just running costs I should have factored in. Looking now though I think the 550i has actually depreciated a bit less than the 535d over the last two years which seems surprising...

Back to the topic, having owned an e39 530i and an e61 550i I agree, the v8 is just great. I loved the balance and smoothness of the 530i but it just wasn't quick enough for me and I swapped it for a 9-5 aero which was quicker if less well built. The 550i is the best of all worlds really.

[nitrodave]

sounds like you need a 5 cylinder turbo'd volvo of somekind

[andyeds1234]

jimjim150 said:

andyeds1234 said:

e39 530i sport touring, and stick the rest of the money in your pocket.
I have owned a couple of e39s over the years, and love them.
Quick, brilliant build quality, reliable, easily fits animals, bikes etc in the back, and kind of cool IMO.
Ours has done 140k miles, and feels more like 60k.

We have a few nice cars in our household, but I still find myself jumping into the e39 wagon, more often than not.

Yes I think those are great looking cars as well! What are the bills like on those? How often is clutch replaced, any weak parts?

All work is through Indys, so bills are minimised.
I have only owned autos, as the car really suits the auto, so don't know about clutch etc.
The cars I have owned have been super reliable, but The cooling system is a known weak point, so its worth buying a car with new fan/radiator, or budget a couple of hundred quid to change.

[philmots]

hornetrider said:

I've owned a 3 litre wagon and now a 5 litre wagon... my advice to you would be get yourself a V8.

Just a small tweak to your budget, et voila... http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Edited by hornetrider on Thursday 29th January 14:52

Noticed that too...

I'd rather put my money into the touring (I did!) than the saloon, they'll hold their value better because of the rarity..

I can't see that hanging around long at that price tbh.

[jimjim150]

Thanks for the replies. Biggest problem I'm facing is a lack of models in the southeast / London / Essex / Kent area which I find surprising, maybe the time of year?

I have seen a nice V70R near Birmingham on 111K miles on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-V70-R-AWD-300bhp-M...

It has just had the water pump and cambelt changed, is there anything I should be worried about at this mileage?

[chrisb92]

e39 540i? Was following one earlier. definitely a sleeper!

[philmots]

jimjim150 said:

Thanks for the replies. Biggest problem I'm facing is a lack of models in the southeast / London / Essex / Kent area which I find surprising, maybe the time of year?

I have seen a nice V70R near Birmingham on 111K miles on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-V70-R-AWD-300bhp-M...

It has just had the water pump and cambelt changed, is there anything I should be worried about at this mileage?

Yes plenty.. Main things are the angle gear for the 4wd system, and split cylinder liners.

Check T5D5 forum for more info, you're best with a 2.4 T5 (I had one) exact same engine and turbo etc apart from thicker stronger liners (hence slightly smaller capacity) and smaller injectors.

They map to over 300hp anyway.

I'd really not touch an R

[jimjim150]

Hmm I may look to stretch the budget then and go for a big engine 5 series touring...

535D - remap?

540i

545i

would ideally prefer manual, but I know they will be few and far between (damn autos!)

[hornetrider]

What's your budget?

[philmots]

jimjim150 said:

Hmm I may look to stretch the budget then and go for a big engine 5 series touring...

535D - remap?

540i

545i

would ideally prefer manual, but I know they will be few and far between (damn autos!)

There's a nice looking V70 2.4 T5 on the Trader at the minute. Maybe a bit miley. I'd have another of them..

Not over my current 550 though, it's ridiculous.