BMW diesels with high mileage - OK?
Discussion
Got to agree with the poster above. My first VAG diesel was brilliant until it hit about the 130-140K mark, then alot of thing started to need replacing. Not really what I would call unreliable, just bits needed replacing, but almost all of the parts required, and cost to fit them was expensive.
Changed to another VAG diesel, because still more economical than petrol, but this time I'm budgeting to replace the car at around the 120K mark.
I imagine a high mileage BMW diesel will throw up some heavy bills, as a matter of general wear and tear. Things like the injectors, are the killers, VAG items from the PD engines were £500 each, high pressure fuel systems on the BMW's can be £3k to replace.
Changed to another VAG diesel, because still more economical than petrol, but this time I'm budgeting to replace the car at around the 120K mark.
I imagine a high mileage BMW diesel will throw up some heavy bills, as a matter of general wear and tear. Things like the injectors, are the killers, VAG items from the PD engines were £500 each, high pressure fuel systems on the BMW's can be £3k to replace.
Thanks for the advice. Yeh, your probably right tbh. I just sold a Vectra diesel as I couldn't be ar*ed with the potential expensive problems that these modern diesels are prone to. The BM's appear to a lot more reliable than other derv's though I guess even they reach a point where they need work. 150k is a lot of miles!
My E46 is coming up on 110k, in the 40k I've covered in it it's needed a MAF sensor and a new inlet manifold.
Turbo and injectors still fine and I'm hoping they will last a good while yet. Plenty around with 200k but I've no idea how many are on original turbo/injectors. Mine is the older engine so I was able to fully disconnect the EGR which should prevent too much sludge building up in the engine, I'm planning on running this car into the ground.
Turbo and injectors still fine and I'm hoping they will last a good while yet. Plenty around with 200k but I've no idea how many are on original turbo/injectors. Mine is the older engine so I was able to fully disconnect the EGR which should prevent too much sludge building up in the engine, I'm planning on running this car into the ground.
EDLT said:
I've just seen your auction thread. DO NOT BUY A HIGH MILEAGE 530d FROM AN AUCTION. It will have been put in there for a reason.
lol. Thanks for the advice.Nah, I'm just all over the place at the mo trying to choose a new car. I'm gonna go have a look at the auction on Thursday just to get a feel for it. The 530d I'm interested in is at a dealer near me. 150k on it though (it is a manual so at least there is no potential autobox probs!)
I had a 530d with around 220k on the clock, apart from needing to replace the fuel pumps, and the crankshaft sensor, no problems, went like a 60k car. I would highly recommend one, of course budget for maybe having to replace the odd part, but you'll be getting it cheap so that should be fine.
You've got to remember, people only buy these cars to do the mileage, and they're all pushing 10 years old now, so you'll not find many low mileage ones.
I don't understand why people on this site perpetuate the myth of high mileage being a problem on 10 year old cars. It's not relevant at this stage, a 10 year old car which has been used for local journeys and only clocked up 60k, but has mostly been driven cold, and or subject to mutliple cold starts and short runs will just not be a better proposition than a car which has done 10k or more per year.
More parts will have been replaced on the higher mileage car, and some parts will just need replacing after 10 years regardless of mileage.
Only buy a high mileage car if you want good value, if you want to get fleeced go for one with a lower mileage, safe in the knowledge that it's probably been clocked anyway!
You've got to remember, people only buy these cars to do the mileage, and they're all pushing 10 years old now, so you'll not find many low mileage ones.
I don't understand why people on this site perpetuate the myth of high mileage being a problem on 10 year old cars. It's not relevant at this stage, a 10 year old car which has been used for local journeys and only clocked up 60k, but has mostly been driven cold, and or subject to mutliple cold starts and short runs will just not be a better proposition than a car which has done 10k or more per year.
More parts will have been replaced on the higher mileage car, and some parts will just need replacing after 10 years regardless of mileage.
Only buy a high mileage car if you want good value, if you want to get fleeced go for one with a lower mileage, safe in the knowledge that it's probably been clocked anyway!
V8Wagon said:
Thanks for the advice. Yeh, your probably right tbh. I just sold a Vectra diesel as I couldn't be ar*ed with the potential expensive problems that these modern diesels are prone to. The BM's appear to a lot more reliable than other derv's though I guess even they reach a point where they need work. 150k is a lot of miles!
The Merc 220 diesel is bulletproof if serviced correctly. I have had 3 now, the last one did 320k miles and the current one is on 285k miles with no issues,and still run ning well. It's not true to say that all high mileage diesels are a risk.bozmandb9 said:
I had a 530d with around 220k on the clock, apart from needing to replace the fuel pumps, and the crankshaft sensor, no problems, went like a 60k car. I would highly recommend one, of course budget for maybe having to replace the odd part, but you'll be getting it cheap so that should be fine.
You've got to remember, people only buy these cars to do the mileage, and they're all pushing 10 years old now, so you'll not find many low mileage ones.
I don't understand why people on this site perpetuate the myth of high mileage being a problem on 10 year old cars. It's not relevant at this stage, a 10 year old car which has been used for local journeys and only clocked up 60k, but has mostly been driven cold, and or subject to mutliple cold starts and short runs will just not be a better proposition than a car which has done 10k or more per year.
More parts will have been replaced on the higher mileage car, and some parts will just need replacing after 10 years regardless of mileage.
Only buy a high mileage car if you want good value, if you want to get fleeced go for one with a lower mileage, safe in the knowledge that it's probably been clocked anyway!
Why are you yourself perpetuating the myth that all low mileage diesels are clocked?You've got to remember, people only buy these cars to do the mileage, and they're all pushing 10 years old now, so you'll not find many low mileage ones.
I don't understand why people on this site perpetuate the myth of high mileage being a problem on 10 year old cars. It's not relevant at this stage, a 10 year old car which has been used for local journeys and only clocked up 60k, but has mostly been driven cold, and or subject to mutliple cold starts and short runs will just not be a better proposition than a car which has done 10k or more per year.
More parts will have been replaced on the higher mileage car, and some parts will just need replacing after 10 years regardless of mileage.
Only buy a high mileage car if you want good value, if you want to get fleeced go for one with a lower mileage, safe in the knowledge that it's probably been clocked anyway!
Having seen the result of high mileage on the psa/bmw diesel engines and the financial black hole these can become,personally and from the amount of customers Ive had to break the bad news to over the years,I would have to disagree with you cocnerning buying one with high miles over one with low miles.
The same bits will go wrong,pumps injectors,turbos,etc. but you will have the added problem of high usage wear that wont usually be present in a lower mileage engine car
It sounds like you have been lucky with yours,my experience of these and the four cylinder unit is that they dont get tired they just die with little warning.
EDLT said:
One of the writers in PPC has one with a mystery electrical gremlin nobody can fix.
I'd avoid high mileage diesels altogether tbh, too many very expensive bits to potentially go wrong.
I had a 300k mile 325 tds and it was bang on. If it had been serviced properly and looked after I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.I'd avoid high mileage diesels altogether tbh, too many very expensive bits to potentially go wrong.
No one has mentioned turbos, or swirl flaps?
The more general thing with older diesels vs petrol is that when they start playing up it can be very difficult to fault-find and the fault could be small issues with serveral components rather than one specific thing.
If you're paying a garage to work on the car then it's very costly in terms of time to diagnose and they can replace expensive parts like injectors or high pressure pumps without fixing the problem.
The more general thing with older diesels vs petrol is that when they start playing up it can be very difficult to fault-find and the fault could be small issues with serveral components rather than one specific thing.
If you're paying a garage to work on the car then it's very costly in terms of time to diagnose and they can replace expensive parts like injectors or high pressure pumps without fixing the problem.
Deva Link said:
No one has mentioned turbos, or swirl flaps?
The more general thing with older diesels vs petrol is that when they start playing up it can be very difficult to fault-find and the fault could be small issues with serveral components rather than one specific thing.
If you're paying a garage to work on the car then it's very costly in terms of time to diagnose and they can replace expensive parts like injectors or high pressure pumps without fixing the problem.
This is actually a very relevant post, and reflects my own experience. My car had a fault, at 175K, and it ended up costing a fortune to try to pin down, with no results. The next step was the injectors, which at around £2k just ended up costing more than the value of car. So I jumped ship, took £2k out of the car in PX, saved another £2k in potential injector costs, and bought a '08 SEAT, for another £4k, including a 3 year SEAT warranty. It wasn't just the cost, it was the ever-growing lack of reliability, and confidence in the car, that went with it.The more general thing with older diesels vs petrol is that when they start playing up it can be very difficult to fault-find and the fault could be small issues with serveral components rather than one specific thing.
If you're paying a garage to work on the car then it's very costly in terms of time to diagnose and they can replace expensive parts like injectors or high pressure pumps without fixing the problem.
emicen said:
All those unreliable high mileage diesels. Its a wonder so many taxi drivers just keep throwing money in to the pit all the way up to 300k+ before finally seeing sense.
...And buying another
You'll find they're often spending money on them, but it's a different kettle of fish if the car is earning money for you and it goes wrong at 150K - you can throw some money at it and then run it for another 150K. Makes sense....And buying another
For a private user, if it's done 150K and you're humming and harring about changing it anyway, chucking money at it makes no sense at all.
Diesels seem to go wrong more with age than mileage. Certainly fuel line seal degrading over time causes all sorts of problems.
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