Discussion
Just had a look and the cheapest in the UK is £21k for a 325D SE while a 330D 231 SE start for £17.7k (didnt look at the 320D).
Also I plugged in the 535D for a laugh and to my amazement these start at £21k too for the SE and £23k for an M Sport saloon 65k milage....
Now that really throws everything into the air.
Also I plugged in the 535D for a laugh and to my amazement these start at £21k too for the SE and £23k for an M Sport saloon 65k milage....
Now that really throws everything into the air.
Welshbeef said:
Just had a look and the cheapest in the UK is £21k for a 325D SE while a 330D 231 SE start for £17.7k (didnt look at the 320D).
Also I plugged in the 535D for a laugh and to my amazement these start at £21k too for the SE and £23k for an M Sport saloon 65k milage....
Now that really throws everything into the air.
not if you check the mpg for a 535Also I plugged in the 535D for a laugh and to my amazement these start at £21k too for the SE and £23k for an M Sport saloon 65k milage....
Now that really throws everything into the air.
Well yes 330D Mpg range 42-46 & the 325D 47 but your getting 272bhp and not far off 500lbf of torque....
Its a totally different car - too big for my garage - but its at the same price range as the new 3 series 325D & 330D so it cannot be totally excluded.
I often see the 535d on the M ways and the owners are usually flying it looks very agressive.
Id love a 535d M sport but sensible head on 330D is the better choice - then again Golf 1.9 Gt TDi 150 is also a very good choice for £7k!
Its a totally different car - too big for my garage - but its at the same price range as the new 3 series 325D & 330D so it cannot be totally excluded.
I often see the 535d on the M ways and the owners are usually flying it looks very agressive.
Id love a 535d M sport but sensible head on 330D is the better choice - then again Golf 1.9 Gt TDi 150 is also a very good choice for £7k!
So should I also consider the 530D 204bhp & 231Bhp? 535D I think may be too much just now as the car I buy now/soon ish will in 3 odd years time become the Mrs's and I dont think she really needs a 535d power plant - & I may not be willing to give it up!!
What price range are these ball park for an SE & an M Sport?
Thanks again.
What price range are these ball park for an SE & an M Sport?
Thanks again.
I have had a 2004 330d 6spd man MSport tourer now for a couple of years so here are a few more points to note:
Tourers have slightly more noise inside at speed due to the larger volume of the cabin and lack of bulkhead between car and "boot". Saloons are noticably quieter
Manual sports are surprisingly rare, but get as mentioned between 3 and 5mpg better than the autos. The 6spd manual is a good box, although the car doesn't really need 6 gears, the biggest advantage and also the biggest annoyance is the short 1st gear, great when towing, about 20% to short otherwise
Later 204bhp cars are significantly better than early cars in a few areas, most importantly the DSC stability control, it's really so good i rarely turn it down or off. (it's a very very easy car to slide too should you be inclined to endulge in a little bit of roundabout action!)
i find the ride ok on my Msport, it's a little bit crashy over ridges etc, but still actually not too stiffly sprung. damping is good, being soft enough to maintain a reasonable ride,but able to keep body motion in check when in B road attack mode! (early 184bhp sports were VERY firm!)
I average 39mpg on my 50mile commute, can get 44 if i pussy foot along, and i think i would get onto Police, Camera, Action before i got it below 32mpg when hacking on a bit (even towing my rally car sees 30mpg)
A friend of mine has a chipped 320d, which once rolling matches my std 330d's performance, but it sounds like a tractor, and crucially needs at least 1900rpm to go anywhere, whereas my 300d is much more refined and pulls hard from just above 1200rpm.
The biggest problem with my 330d is also its biggest strengh, it is just so refined that you often are traveling faster than you think, but without much "reward" to the driver. On a recent 50mile B road dash (M1 closed again doh!) it covered the ground rapidly and maintained surprising comportment for a big heavy car, delivering good grip and braking etc. but no real fun to the driver. In reality i expect the absolute cross country pace was probably greater than my old Pug 306GTi-6, in the pug i probably would have turned around and done it again for fun, in the 330d i just got home, stuck car in the garage and forgot about the journey.
so to sum up, a 330d is probably all the car you could ever need, just not all the car you could ever WANT! (i'm currently in the process of trading it in for a E46 CSL!)
Tourers have slightly more noise inside at speed due to the larger volume of the cabin and lack of bulkhead between car and "boot". Saloons are noticably quieter
Manual sports are surprisingly rare, but get as mentioned between 3 and 5mpg better than the autos. The 6spd manual is a good box, although the car doesn't really need 6 gears, the biggest advantage and also the biggest annoyance is the short 1st gear, great when towing, about 20% to short otherwise
Later 204bhp cars are significantly better than early cars in a few areas, most importantly the DSC stability control, it's really so good i rarely turn it down or off. (it's a very very easy car to slide too should you be inclined to endulge in a little bit of roundabout action!)
i find the ride ok on my Msport, it's a little bit crashy over ridges etc, but still actually not too stiffly sprung. damping is good, being soft enough to maintain a reasonable ride,but able to keep body motion in check when in B road attack mode! (early 184bhp sports were VERY firm!)
I average 39mpg on my 50mile commute, can get 44 if i pussy foot along, and i think i would get onto Police, Camera, Action before i got it below 32mpg when hacking on a bit (even towing my rally car sees 30mpg)
A friend of mine has a chipped 320d, which once rolling matches my std 330d's performance, but it sounds like a tractor, and crucially needs at least 1900rpm to go anywhere, whereas my 300d is much more refined and pulls hard from just above 1200rpm.
The biggest problem with my 330d is also its biggest strengh, it is just so refined that you often are traveling faster than you think, but without much "reward" to the driver. On a recent 50mile B road dash (M1 closed again doh!) it covered the ground rapidly and maintained surprising comportment for a big heavy car, delivering good grip and braking etc. but no real fun to the driver. In reality i expect the absolute cross country pace was probably greater than my old Pug 306GTi-6, in the pug i probably would have turned around and done it again for fun, in the 330d i just got home, stuck car in the garage and forgot about the journey.
so to sum up, a 330d is probably all the car you could ever need, just not all the car you could ever WANT! (i'm currently in the process of trading it in for a E46 CSL!)
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 4th October 13:16
The description you posted there 1,200rpm and it pulls hard is exactly what Im looking for in a car - I want lazy performance.
Of course I enjoy chasing the red line and the engine noise but its very rare that I get the chance to do that & with the cost of fuel going up & up the savings between petrol & diesel will just keep growing.
When I had the Golf Gt TDI 115PD you had to make sure you were in the correct gear at about 1800rpm then you could sail past the car in front - conversly if you were at 1300 - 1500rpm it was guttless. So you had to learn how to drive around the quirk of the VAG engine (and a fine unit it is too & highly economical).
The ride in my Fiat Coupe20V Turbo is pretty "crashy" but Im used to it however when someone else has a ride in it from a run of the mill car they usually comment at how rough it is - so maybe the Sport wouldnt bother me too much + for the looks over the SE IMHO I'd put up with it.
Of course I enjoy chasing the red line and the engine noise but its very rare that I get the chance to do that & with the cost of fuel going up & up the savings between petrol & diesel will just keep growing.
When I had the Golf Gt TDI 115PD you had to make sure you were in the correct gear at about 1800rpm then you could sail past the car in front - conversly if you were at 1300 - 1500rpm it was guttless. So you had to learn how to drive around the quirk of the VAG engine (and a fine unit it is too & highly economical).
The ride in my Fiat Coupe20V Turbo is pretty "crashy" but Im used to it however when someone else has a ride in it from a run of the mill car they usually comment at how rough it is - so maybe the Sport wouldnt bother me too much + for the looks over the SE IMHO I'd put up with it.
Welshbeef said:
When I had the Golf Gt TDI 115PD you had to make sure you were in the correct gear at about 1800rpm then you could sail past the car in front - conversly if you were at 1300 - 1500rpm it was guttless. So you had to learn how to drive around the quirk of the VAG engine (and a fine unit it is too & highly economical).
Had a few nasty moments early on in my golf pd 130 owning years. coasting towards a round-a-bout, see a gap, still in second gear, floor it...............nothing happens.........panic.....depress clutch REV VERY HARD....drop clutch....elastic band acceleration. Narrow scrapes a-plenty.Olf said:
Welshbeef said:
When I had the Golf Gt TDI 115PD you had to make sure you were in the correct gear at about 1800rpm then you could sail past the car in front - conversly if you were at 1300 - 1500rpm it was guttless. So you had to learn how to drive around the quirk of the VAG engine (and a fine unit it is too & highly economical).
Had a few nasty moments early on in my golf pd 130 owning years. coasting towards a round-a-bout, see a gap, still in second gear, floor it...............nothing happens.........panic.....depress clutch REV VERY HARD....drop clutch....elastic band acceleration. Narrow scrapes a-plenty.emicen said:
Olf said:
Welshbeef said:
When I had the Golf Gt TDI 115PD you had to make sure you were in the correct gear at about 1800rpm then you could sail past the car in front - conversly if you were at 1300 - 1500rpm it was guttless. So you had to learn how to drive around the quirk of the VAG engine (and a fine unit it is too & highly economical).
Had a few nasty moments early on in my golf pd 130 owning years. coasting towards a round-a-bout, see a gap, still in second gear, floor it...............nothing happens.........panic.....depress clutch REV VERY HARD....drop clutch....elastic band acceleration. Narrow scrapes a-plenty.Welshbeef said:
So should I also consider the 530D 204bhp & 231Bhp? 535D I think may be too much just now as the car I buy now/soon ish will in 3 odd years time become the Mrs's and I dont think she really needs a 535d power plant - & I may not be willing to give it up!!
What price range are these ball park for an SE & an M Sport?
Thanks again.
I've not considered the 5 due to it's bulk affecting the mpg and accelerationWhat price range are these ball park for an SE & an M Sport?
Thanks again.
Apache said:
I've not considered the 5 due to it's bulk affecting the mpg and acceleration
My 535d Sport returned an average of 32.8mpg during my ownership. My 330d's have all delivered above 40mpg average. My current 204bhp E46 is averaging 43.8mpg. Conveniently that's exactly 11mpg more than the 5, or roughly 130 miles further per tankful. Bear in mind that the 5 has 2 more gallons of capacity than the 3 and the mpg picture is even more skewed. Can't say I enjoyed driving the 535d any more than I'm currently enjoying the 3 either. Horses for courses etc etc.
Matt
MattOz said:
Apache said:
I've not considered the 5 due to it's bulk affecting the mpg and acceleration
My 535d Sport returned an average of 32.8mpg during my ownership. My 330d's have all delivered above 40mpg average. My current 204bhp E46 is averaging 43.8mpg. Conveniently that's exactly 11mpg more than the 5, or roughly 130 miles further per tankful. Bear in mind that the 5 has 2 more gallons of capacity than the 3 and the mpg picture is even more skewed. Can't say I enjoyed driving the 535d any more than I'm currently enjoying the 3 either. Horses for courses etc etc.
Matt
I've got 83k in my E46 330d (remapped)
Just got the car back from the garage where it has been fixed and I thought I'd share some stuff with you.
Basically it wouldn't start last week having been very lumpy in the mornings the previous week ( I figured I take it in, but the non-start morning prompted action)
Turns out it was injectors 3 and 4 not really pulling their weight, and in fact saying quite clearly "we've had it"
Result: B&M Care of Staningley, Leeds fitted 2 new injectors the next day and had the car fixed in 36hours. Massive recommendation from me for them. Richard runs it and he KNOWS HIS STUFF.
Reason I post is thet they have cleaned out the very mucky/carbonated inlet manifold as the thing was all dismantled to get the new injectors in. Apparantly the inlet manifold has fins which get sooted up with carbon and these fins can drop off and go into the engine. Result: bent pistons and new engine rebuild needed.
So, I'm very pleased as it now drives like new again and I'm set for another 84k miles.
Cost, all in, £800, injectors are £275 each, larbour was 3hrs at £45. (independant) saved me £150 over main delaer.
Anyone got a 330d or 320d at 60K miles, bear in mind. B&M Care said they've rebuilt two engines after inlet manifold fins dropped into the engine. 2k+ bill. Ouch.
Will.
Just got the car back from the garage where it has been fixed and I thought I'd share some stuff with you.
Basically it wouldn't start last week having been very lumpy in the mornings the previous week ( I figured I take it in, but the non-start morning prompted action)
Turns out it was injectors 3 and 4 not really pulling their weight, and in fact saying quite clearly "we've had it"
Result: B&M Care of Staningley, Leeds fitted 2 new injectors the next day and had the car fixed in 36hours. Massive recommendation from me for them. Richard runs it and he KNOWS HIS STUFF.
Reason I post is thet they have cleaned out the very mucky/carbonated inlet manifold as the thing was all dismantled to get the new injectors in. Apparantly the inlet manifold has fins which get sooted up with carbon and these fins can drop off and go into the engine. Result: bent pistons and new engine rebuild needed.
So, I'm very pleased as it now drives like new again and I'm set for another 84k miles.
Cost, all in, £800, injectors are £275 each, larbour was 3hrs at £45. (independant) saved me £150 over main delaer.
Anyone got a 330d or 320d at 60K miles, bear in mind. B&M Care said they've rebuilt two engines after inlet manifold fins dropped into the engine. 2k+ bill. Ouch.
Will.
Will,
One of my previous 330d's did this. One of the butterflys in the inlet manifold broke off and made a mess of #5 piston. All in all I had new injectors, 24 valves, 1 head, 1 piston etc etc. Good job it was covered by warranty! LOL
Another one cracked the plastic inlet manifold which was then replaced, again under warranty.
Matt
One of my previous 330d's did this. One of the butterflys in the inlet manifold broke off and made a mess of #5 piston. All in all I had new injectors, 24 valves, 1 head, 1 piston etc etc. Good job it was covered by warranty! LOL
Another one cracked the plastic inlet manifold which was then replaced, again under warranty.
Matt
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