M47 320d vs N47 318d or suggest a wildcard!

[SlowV6]

This is not my money! A friend (20k miles per annum motorway commuting) wants a diesel estate. She is a fan of german marques in the absence of any local Alfa 159 diesels turning up locally.

She has seen two E91s. A2005 '55 reg 320D and also a 2008 318D

Internet browsing suggests a the M47 powered 320D might be a safer bet than the N47 powered 318d because 2008 appears to be right in the snapping timing chain era. Were swirl flap and turbo problems on the M47 resolved(ish) by 2005?

Throw me a bone here people? I can't think of any diesel (£5k to £7k range) where hand on heart I could say "it will most likely be reliable". Spending less than that on a V70 D5 manual would probably be my recommendation, but she's already done V70 and that is ruled out cos V70=bad memories of failed relationship. So what else to trundle up and down motorway.

I am a SOTWO/Best-of-the-bargain-basement man so always worry about giving any advice to someone spending £5k+

Thanks!

[schmalex]

Audi A3 tdi? They must be pretty robust, as you see the photocopier paper salesmen ragging the tits off them everywhere

[thatdude]

The 55 reg 320d will likely not have a dpf, whilst the 2008 318d will likely have a dpf. As for swirl flaps, I noted on mine that they are metal and not plastic. We did have an issue with deposits causing them not to shut quite properly (think lean running symptoms), giving rise to idling issues, but was easily resolved by thorough cleaning / degreasing of the inlet manifold. I dont think that's a common issue though.

Edited by thatdude on Thursday 29th January 15:28

[SlowV6]

schmalex said:

Audi A3 tdi? They must be pretty robust, as you see the photocopier paper salesmen ragging the tits off them everywhere

Thanks for the suggestion. It needs to be a 3series/A4 size (or a bit bigger) estate as she has two children. A4s are a goer - is the 2.0TDI reliable (I know it isn't as robust as the PD130)? She doesn't like Passats from the VAG stable of cars with that engine.

[SlowV6]

thatdude said:

The 55 reg 320d will likely not have a dpf, whilst the 2008 318d will likely have a dpf. As for swirl flaps, I noted on mine that they are metal and not plastic. We did have an issue with deposits causing them not to shut quite properly (think lean running symptoms), giving rise to idling issues, but was easily resolved by thorough cleaning / degreasing of the inlet manifold. I dont think that's a common issue though.

Edited by thatdude on Thursday 29th January 15:28

Thank you.

[The Surveyor]

Has she looked at the Subaru Legacy 2.0D as an left-field choice:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

Also, the Honda Accord as another option to the usual German offerings:-

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/h...

[SlowV6]

Thanks - that is a wild card! Honda is a little out of budget.

Any more thoughts on M47 vs N47 roulette?

Is the 2005/06 era VAG 2.0 TDI similarly risky as the Beemer?