Discussion
For some reason I am drawn to the cheaper and more normal readers cars threads so in purchasing a new daily to replace my broken MK5 GTI I thought I’d start one too.
Initial budget was expected to be £12-£13k, but a house move going over budget (do they ever not!?) meant I had to cut that down to £7500. I drive a fair bit for work, so it had to be:
4/5 doors
Decent mpg
Quiet/comfortable on the motorway
Auto
Reliable
It didn’t need to be anything special, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger on something as dull a Corolla or the other obvious choices. We’ve had 3 golfs, all of which have been a headache. I’m a huge BMW fan but the 4 cylinder engines around my budget have a pretty terrible reputation and the ~30mpg of their 325/330i would sting.
So, after viewing some absolute dross (cheap car dealers, wow) I found this:
It’s a 330d, non x drive auto in Sapphire Black which seems to have a lovely gold/brown fleck. Purchased on 96k privately from a chap who bought it ex demo to go along side a 996. Matching continentals all round, a cracking service history and he seemed genuinely sad to let it go.
I’ve said in the past I’d never have a saloon, wouldn’t have another black car and didn’t want a diesel so I’ve done well there. Plan is to put some miles on it and check all is ok, then attend to a couple of minor issues. It’s an ‘old’ bmw, so am sure it’ll throw a few surprises along the way, but at least I’ll have a smile on my face before retiring to the side of the road.
There’s a few things to fix and improve, but plan is to put some miles on it first to make sure all is ok before making too many plans.
Initial budget was expected to be £12-£13k, but a house move going over budget (do they ever not!?) meant I had to cut that down to £7500. I drive a fair bit for work, so it had to be:
4/5 doors
Decent mpg
Quiet/comfortable on the motorway
Auto
Reliable
It didn’t need to be anything special, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger on something as dull a Corolla or the other obvious choices. We’ve had 3 golfs, all of which have been a headache. I’m a huge BMW fan but the 4 cylinder engines around my budget have a pretty terrible reputation and the ~30mpg of their 325/330i would sting.
So, after viewing some absolute dross (cheap car dealers, wow) I found this:
It’s a 330d, non x drive auto in Sapphire Black which seems to have a lovely gold/brown fleck. Purchased on 96k privately from a chap who bought it ex demo to go along side a 996. Matching continentals all round, a cracking service history and he seemed genuinely sad to let it go.
I’ve said in the past I’d never have a saloon, wouldn’t have another black car and didn’t want a diesel so I’ve done well there. Plan is to put some miles on it and check all is ok, then attend to a couple of minor issues. It’s an ‘old’ bmw, so am sure it’ll throw a few surprises along the way, but at least I’ll have a smile on my face before retiring to the side of the road.
There’s a few things to fix and improve, but plan is to put some miles on it first to make sure all is ok before making too many plans.
205pat said:
For some reason I am drawn to the cheaper and more normal readers cars threads so in purchasing a new daily to replace my broken MK5 GTI I thought I d start one too.
Initial budget was expected to be £12-£13k, but a house move going over budget (do they ever not!?) meant I had to cut that down to £7500. I drive a fair bit for work, so it had to be:
4/5 doors
Decent mpg
Quiet/comfortable on the motorway
Auto
Reliable
It didn t need to be anything special, but I just couldn t pull the trigger on something as dull a Corolla or the other obvious choices. We ve had 3 golfs, all of which have been a headache. I m a huge BMW fan but the 4 cylinder engines around my budget have a pretty terrible reputation and the ~30mpg of their 325/330i would sting.
So, after viewing some absolute dross (cheap car dealers, wow) I found this:
It s a 330d, non x drive auto in Sapphire Black which seems to have a lovely gold/brown fleck. Purchased on 96k privately from a chap who bought it ex demo to go along side a 996. Matching continentals all round, a cracking service history and he seemed genuinely sad to let it go.
I ve said in the past I d never have a saloon, wouldn t have another black car and didn t want a diesel so I ve done well there. Plan is to put some miles on it and check all is ok, then attend to a couple of minor issues. It s an old bmw, so am sure it ll throw a few surprises along the way, but at least I ll have a smile on my face before retiring to the side of the road.
There s a few things to fix and improve, but plan is to put some miles on it first to make sure all is ok before making too many plans.
Lovely car; great engine - congrats on the buy Initial budget was expected to be £12-£13k, but a house move going over budget (do they ever not!?) meant I had to cut that down to £7500. I drive a fair bit for work, so it had to be:
4/5 doors
Decent mpg
Quiet/comfortable on the motorway
Auto
Reliable
It didn t need to be anything special, but I just couldn t pull the trigger on something as dull a Corolla or the other obvious choices. We ve had 3 golfs, all of which have been a headache. I m a huge BMW fan but the 4 cylinder engines around my budget have a pretty terrible reputation and the ~30mpg of their 325/330i would sting.
So, after viewing some absolute dross (cheap car dealers, wow) I found this:
It s a 330d, non x drive auto in Sapphire Black which seems to have a lovely gold/brown fleck. Purchased on 96k privately from a chap who bought it ex demo to go along side a 996. Matching continentals all round, a cracking service history and he seemed genuinely sad to let it go.
I ve said in the past I d never have a saloon, wouldn t have another black car and didn t want a diesel so I ve done well there. Plan is to put some miles on it and check all is ok, then attend to a couple of minor issues. It s an old bmw, so am sure it ll throw a few surprises along the way, but at least I ll have a smile on my face before retiring to the side of the road.
There s a few things to fix and improve, but plan is to put some miles on it first to make sure all is ok before making too many plans.
I'd highly recommend if you look to refresh the suspension; go for the Bilstein B4S shocks with Eibach pro-kit springs and stick with 18" wheels, but revert to non RFTs
That's exactly what I run on our F31 touring; with OEM 18" 405Ms (forged wheels, 9kg a corner) with 235/45/18 non RFT Goodyear Assym6 tyres and it makes for a superb ride and great handling - much better than the bone rattling OEM M Sport suspension
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff