Discussion
Guys,
Looking at possibly selling my Astra VXR and moving towards a BMW. Looking at 330 coupes/cabs & 325's. What are they like? Running cost wise? I guesss at circa 60,000miles they are hardly run in so to speak? What should i be looking out for? I definitely want an M-sport kit, not too bothered about colours really.
If you had £6K, show me which of the above you'd buy and why?
Cheers
Looking at possibly selling my Astra VXR and moving towards a BMW. Looking at 330 coupes/cabs & 325's. What are they like? Running cost wise? I guesss at circa 60,000miles they are hardly run in so to speak? What should i be looking out for? I definitely want an M-sport kit, not too bothered about colours really.
If you had £6K, show me which of the above you'd buy and why?
Cheers
)i have a 2001 330ci m sport with 50 000 on it. probabaly worth no more than £5000 now.
DO NOT bother with the 325, every single running cost in ownership from parts to fuel will be identical to the 330 except you will have 40 less horses.
At this age and mileage you need to look for the following as they WILL 100% need doing as a matter of course and if you want to prevent any inevitable break downs.
Front suspension bushes and arms
thermostat and coolant tank
These are the weak points of this car and are very important to check they have been replaced when buying.
Also check its had the expensive inspection 2 done, this comes up circa 45k miles. FBMWSH is ideal.
i would recommend an interim oil change between services as 15000 miles is too long in my book and these engines have a thirst for oil. mine uses 1 litre every 7000 miles (totally normal)
they are very reliable apart from that and a very competent cruiser. i dont really drive mine fast down a roads as they are a heavy car and arent very chuckable compared to other cars ive driven but they eat up the miles on the motorway
For £6000 you will get a very tidy facelift car that benefit from 6 speed manual boxes and other minor interior refinements.
I need to update my "garage" but have a browse of my profile for an insight into these cars.
DO NOT bother with the 325, every single running cost in ownership from parts to fuel will be identical to the 330 except you will have 40 less horses.
At this age and mileage you need to look for the following as they WILL 100% need doing as a matter of course and if you want to prevent any inevitable break downs.
Front suspension bushes and arms
thermostat and coolant tank
These are the weak points of this car and are very important to check they have been replaced when buying.
Also check its had the expensive inspection 2 done, this comes up circa 45k miles. FBMWSH is ideal.
i would recommend an interim oil change between services as 15000 miles is too long in my book and these engines have a thirst for oil. mine uses 1 litre every 7000 miles (totally normal)
they are very reliable apart from that and a very competent cruiser. i dont really drive mine fast down a roads as they are a heavy car and arent very chuckable compared to other cars ive driven but they eat up the miles on the motorway
For £6000 you will get a very tidy facelift car that benefit from 6 speed manual boxes and other minor interior refinements.
I need to update my "garage" but have a browse of my profile for an insight into these cars.
From memory the Facelift was MY2004 for the coupe
From September 2003 production, so thats only cars on a 53 plate and onwards but obviously there are some non-facelift 53 plate cars which were late registrations.
The most obvious sign is the upswept indicators lenses and the 6 speed gearbox.
(BTW this doesn't apply to the M3 the lights didn't change shape on those cars)
From September 2003 production, so thats only cars on a 53 plate and onwards but obviously there are some non-facelift 53 plate cars which were late registrations.
The most obvious sign is the upswept indicators lenses and the 6 speed gearbox.
(BTW this doesn't apply to the M3 the lights didn't change shape on those cars)
Great advice from Taylor and St John. Watch out for rust bubbling on wheelarches, especially front - but I'd hope at MY04 you'd find a mint one.
I had a 330ci sport convertible. In my view the 330 offers 80% of the M3 for 50% of the cost (purchase and running).
Think about what options are important to you. Sport is pretty well loaded as standard. I had:
- electric front memory seats, really important to me as I'm tall, my missus is short and we both drive frequently
- rear view mirror on offside dips when you engage reverse (on my auto) not sure if this is standard, but massively useful if you parallel park every day as I did, to avoid kerbing nice MV alloys
- Harmon Kardon stereo upgrade - does sound a bit better than the standard, I'm not really into aftermarket ICE so wanted this
- Xenons - i didn't have these but would have really liked
You should get leather, cruise, auto lights, auto wipers etc etc as standard.
I had a 330ci sport convertible. In my view the 330 offers 80% of the M3 for 50% of the cost (purchase and running).
Think about what options are important to you. Sport is pretty well loaded as standard. I had:
- electric front memory seats, really important to me as I'm tall, my missus is short and we both drive frequently
- rear view mirror on offside dips when you engage reverse (on my auto) not sure if this is standard, but massively useful if you parallel park every day as I did, to avoid kerbing nice MV alloys
- Harmon Kardon stereo upgrade - does sound a bit better than the standard, I'm not really into aftermarket ICE so wanted this
- Xenons - i didn't have these but would have really liked
You should get leather, cruise, auto lights, auto wipers etc etc as standard.
Slurms said:
From memory the Facelift was MY2004 for the coupe
From September 2003 production, so thats only cars on a 53 plate and onwards but obviously there are some non-facelift 53 plate cars which were late registrations.
The most obvious sign is the upswept indicators lenses and the 6 speed gearbox.
(BTW this doesn't apply to the M3 the lights didn't change shape on those cars)
my father had a facelifted 03 plate 330d, with the 6 speed box and 204bhp engine...so must have been early 2003? trust me....was deffo a face lift!From September 2003 production, so thats only cars on a 53 plate and onwards but obviously there are some non-facelift 53 plate cars which were late registrations.
The most obvious sign is the upswept indicators lenses and the 6 speed gearbox.
(BTW this doesn't apply to the M3 the lights didn't change shape on those cars)
Zebrs said:
E21_Ross said:
my father had a facelifted 03 plate 330d, with the 6 speed box and 204bhp engine...so must have been early 2003? trust me....was deffo a face lift!
Week 9 production 2003 onwards 
My 330ci was March 2003 so one of the first
Taylor, St John and Eastsider have got it sussed. The only thing I would add is you may as well do the water pump while doing thermostat and expansion tank. And check the radiator for ballooning. The engine itself is one of the best production engines ever made, it's the ancillaries where BMW chose to sail a bit close to the wind.
Various bushes in the suspension will need refreshing for optimum driving but a bit of wallowing is tolerable depending on taste
Various bushes in the suspension will need refreshing for optimum driving but a bit of wallowing is tolerable depending on taste
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff