Another big bill in less than 12 months, time to go..

[Martyn76]

So my 2006 330d started picked up a tough/lumpy idle and a stutter when accelerating, took it into the garage today and it's going to be another big bill, over £320 so far (diagnostic and now compression test on cylinder 1) been quoted £500 for a new injector...

So looks like it's time to move on, what to replace it with? I don't want another diesel, so petrol, auto preferred, got teenage twin girls so needs to be big enough for family holidays, shopping etc,

Performance wise similar to the 330, 6-7 secs to 60 with decent midrange oomph, I'm not a diving good but like to get out of situations/over take comfortably when needed.

Can spend up to £15k really Inc the BMW.

[Scrump]

Having to keep splashing out for repairs does get annoying.
If you like the 3 series maybe treat it as a springboard to a 5 series.
They are great for families, especially the estate but be careful when buying as they can mask high mileages.

[Wagonwheel555]

If you are used to the BMW range then perhaps one of the later Fxx series?

We have a 330D and its a lovely car.

My wife tested the F30 320D which was £15k as an AUC and she was happy to get it but I encouraged her to test a 330D despite it being £3k more expensive. Needless to say we ended up stretching our budget.

Fairly sure the F30 320D is 6-7 seconds ish to 60?

Failing that, you may be able to get a 320i with the B48 engine in your budget but they seem to be few and far between. Latest B48 petrol engine has no known major issues thus far and can get 45-50mpg on a run.

[Martyn76]

I don't fall into the diesel driver profile tbh, my commute is about 10 miles all 30, 40 and 50 zones with some longer drives (100-200) a could times a month, I'm leaning towards a VAG car I think, the Octavia Vrs seems to tick the boxes re space, performance and price.

The 320i is quite pricey compared to the Vrs too for less performance?

[Wagonwheel555]

Martyn76 said:

I don't fall into the diesel driver profile tbh, my commute is about 10 miles all 30, 40 and 50 zones with some longer drives (100-200) a could times a month, I'm leaning towards a VAG car I think, the Octavia Vrs seems to tick the boxes re space, performance and price.

The 320i is quite pricey compared to the Vrs too for less performance?

Fair enough, we have both a diesel and a petrol and both average 38-40mpg.

Even as a BMW fan, I would go VRS over a 320i. You will likely get more for your money. Seems to be few 320is around in a decent spec anyway but plenty of the Petrol VRS.

Perhaps fine a local Skoda dealer with a VRS in and see if you can test drive a used one

[scoey1001]

Maybe I am out of touch but is it really £320 for a compression test/diagnosis of faulty injector?

[Martyn76]

scoey1001 said:

Maybe I am out of touch but is it really £320 for a compression test/diagnosis of faulty injector?

Apparently so, labour seems to be most it tbh.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'm boring on this one but if you want a nice estate & don't mind FWD then the Mondeo in Vignale form is the pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103290...

Or a Titanium with the XPack

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105122...

These are a better steer than the Skoda's.

Insignia VXR SuperSport an underrated car with lots of performance make sure the Haldex Diff is serviced (this is true of VAG cars too) & you'll have a nice family set of wheels:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104050...

328i M Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105162...

Seat Leon Cupra 280

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104221...

290

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104161...

vRS Octavia

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103220...

Superb L&K 220

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010295...

Leftfield:

R36 Passat

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105112...

V60 T6

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105102...

E63 AMG now this has a bulletproof drivetrain & can be maintained at a sensible budget, it will cost more to run than the cars above but it's low depreciation will offset the maintenace (not fuel) costs.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105052...

[Martyn76]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'm boring on this one but if you want a nice estate & don't mind FWD then the Mondeo in Vignale form is the pick:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103290...

Or a Titanium with the XPack

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105122...

These are a better steer than the Skoda's.

Insignia VXR SuperSport an underrated car with lots of performance make sure the Haldex Diff is serviced (this is true of VAG cars too) & you'll have a nice family set of wheels:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104050...

328i M Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105162...

Seat Leon Cupra 280

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104221...

290

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104161...

vRS Octavia

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103220...

Superb L&K 220

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010295...

Leftfield:

R36 Passat

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105112...

V60 T6

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105102...

E63 AMG now this has a bulletproof drivetrain & can be maintained at a sensible budget, it will cost more to run than the cars above but it's low depreciation will offset the maintenace (not fuel) costs.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105052...

Great list, Mondeo does look good although the performance doesn't look good on paper compared to the Vrs.

I did show the SWMBO a Lexus ISF with the comment they're appreciating but not sure in my heart I could deal with the fuel bill especially as your looking at the older cars with my budget but there's is something about a V8 estate!

[ZX10R NIN]

Martyn76 said:

Great list, Mondeo does look good although the performance doesn't look good on paper compared to the Vrs.

I did show the SWMBO a Lexus ISF with the comment they're appreciating but not sure in my heart I could deal with the fuel bill especially as your looking at the older cars with my budget but there's is something about a V8 estate!

How many miles will you be doing a year? Also you can update the ISF infotainment to a unit that has DAB Android Auto Apple Car play etc which brings it bang up to date.

Fuel wise my 63 gives me 18mpg around town 27mpg on a run. the ISF is a special car & really gets under your skin along with maintenance costs more akin to a 335i/340i.

IS-F

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104091...

Android Unit

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&...

[Wagonwheel555]

Martyn76 said:

Great list, Mondeo does look good although the performance doesn't look good on paper compared to the Vrs.

I did show the SWMBO a Lexus ISF with the comment they're appreciating but not sure in my heart I could deal with the fuel bill especially as your looking at the older cars with my budget but there's is something about a V8 estate!

Does seem odd, 240bhp and only 8 seconds to 60?

I realise 0-60 isn't everything but at 37mpg combined and £275 year for tax, it doesn't really look like a decent option.

[Martyn76]

ZX10R NIN said:

How many miles will you be doing a year? Also you can update the ISF infotainment to a unit that has DAB Android Auto Apple Car play etc which brings it bang up to date.

Fuel wise my 63 gives me 18mpg around town 27mpg on a run. the ISF is a special car & really gets under your skin along with maintenance costs more akin to a 335i/340i.

IS-F

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202104091...

Android Unit

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&...

I stalk the ISF owners forum so I'm aware of the issues with the ISF, water pump, cracked manifolds and a radiator issue for the gearbox...

Even before lockdown I was 8-10K a year, occasionally for work I have to travel but I can get a rental for that usually.

Day to day it's 10 miles to work and back (max 40\50mph, some light queueing),bit less on some weekends and sometimes more when visiting my parents or out and about, the same for everyone I guess, I could probably get away with (say it quietly) an EV but there is there is nothing out there that is as easy on the eye as the current available ICE cars for the money I have.

I'm getting on average 350 miles from the BMW between fill ups more if I do any longer trips obviously.

[Wagonwheel555]

Martyn76 said:

I stalk the ISF owners forum so I'm aware of the issues with the ISF, water pump, cracked manifolds and a radiator issue for the gearbox...

Even before lockdown I was 8-10K a year, occasionally for work I have to travel but I can get a rental for that usually.

Day to day it's 10 miles to work and back (max 40\50mph, some light queueing),bit less on some weekends and sometimes more when visiting my parents or out and about, the same for everyone I guess, I could probably get away with (say it quietly) an EV but there is there is nothing out there that is as easy on the eye as the current available ICE cars for the money I have.

I'm getting on average 350 miles from the BMW between fill ups more if I do any longer trips obviously.

Most modern 2.0T petrol engines would give similar MPG to your 2006 330D. Ours averages 38-40mpg which is about 60/40 driving in favour of motorways. We did 750 miles to Cornwall and back including 200 miles of A/B roads around Cornwall and got 44mpg for the whole trip which is great considering we had a roofbox on too!

[Martyn76]

Wagonwheel555 said:

Most modern 2.0T petrol engines would give similar MPG to your 2006 330D. Ours averages 38-40mpg which is about 60/40 driving in favour of motorways. We did 750 miles to Cornwall and back including 200 miles of A/B roads around Cornwall and got 44mpg for the whole trip which is great considering we had a roofbox on too!

This is my thinking, as bland as they might be these modern 2lt turbo engines do generally return good MPG, plus they're pretty tried and tested so most issues are known about by know.

Still can't get the though of V8 out of my head though!

[ZX10R NIN]

Wagonwheel555 said:

Martyn76 said:

Great list, Mondeo does look good although the performance doesn't look good on paper compared to the Vrs.

I did show the SWMBO a Lexus ISF with the comment they're appreciating but not sure in my heart I could deal with the fuel bill especially as your looking at the older cars with my budget but there's is something about a V8 estate!

Does seem odd, 240bhp and only 8 seconds to 60?

I realise 0-60 isn't everything but at 37mpg combined and £275 year for tax, it doesn't really look like a decent option.

Ford limits the torque in the first 3 gears which blunts the 0-60.

[Wagonwheel555]

Martyn76 said:

This is my thinking, as bland as they might be these modern 2lt turbo engines do generally return good MPG, plus they're pretty tried and tested so most issues are known about by know.

Still can't get the though of V8 out of my head though!

If you get one out of warranty, they seem to Stage 1 map well also if you are ok with that. A 150bhp 2.0T engine is massively de-tuned so a map from a reputable company could safely see 200bhp+. Ours is 189bhp and a map sees 260bhp safely without affecting the MPG much unless you lead foot everywhere.

The only reason we went for the 330D over a 330i was availability, BMW seem to have a almost all diesels if you want something with a decent spec for under £20k.

[ZX10R NIN]

Martyn76 said:

This is my thinking, as bland as they might be these modern 2lt turbo engines do generally return good MPG, plus they're pretty tried and tested so most issues are known about by know.

Still can't get the though of V8 out of my head though!

Go for a V8 you won't regret it.

Or something in the middle like the VXR I listed earlier or an S4:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105102...

Out of the 2.0T's it'd be the Mondeo/328i/L&K Superb

[Martyn76]

Wagonwheel555 said:

If you get one out of warranty, they seem to Stage 1 map well also if you are ok with that. A 150bhp 2.0T engine is massively de-tuned so a map from a reputable company could safely see 200bhp+. Ours is 189bhp and a map sees 260bhp safely without affecting the MPG much unless you lead foot everywhere.

The only reason we went for the 330D over a 330i was availability, BMW seem to have a almost all diesels if you want something with a decent spec for under £20k.

I love my 330D can only imagine what the new Fand G series 30D cars are like, mine is 15 years old now and still pulls like a train.

Seem to be the issue in general, across most car models diesel outnumbers petrol, also they are getting more complicated so more and more to go wrong, makes a N/A V8 look even more sensible.

[Martyn76]

ZX10R NIN said:

Go for a V8 you won't regret it.

Or something in the middle like the VXR I listed earlier or an S4:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105102...

Out of the 2.0T's it'd be the Mondeo/328i/L&K Superb

What's the S4 like for reliability, it's one of my main bug bears, why can't a car just work? These are supercharged, does that bring additional maintenance? They are nice....

[ZX10R NIN]

Martyn76 said:

I love my 330D can only imagine what the new Fand G series 30D cars are like, mine is 15 years old now and still pulls like a train.

Seem to be the issue in general, across most car models diesel outnumbers petrol, also they are getting more complicated so more and more to go wrong, makes a N/A V8 look even more sensible.

All modern cars are complicated & that's before you look at the turbocharged ones be they petrol/diesel all have high pressure pumps that have the potential to fail the same emissions kit & the direct injection petrols will need a clean out at some point.

As you say a large capacity makes a lot of sense:

VXR8

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114811709871?hash=item1...

C55 AMG these have pretty much done their depreciation & have been at this price point for a few years now.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202103069...