Does it make sense to buy a 330d?

[gadgesxi]

Seen a decent 330d sport for 8k 2003 53 plate.

I maybe able to get them down to 7k.

I just fancy the car for the sheer power (i will remap it).

Thing is i only do about 8k miles a year, but having an astra vxr previously i was use to putting super unleaded in every 10 mins, so i would think i will still save money on the 330d.

What do you think?

[LocoBlade]

You only save if there's not an equivalent petrol car for less money that would do the same thing. At 8k a year mileage you arent going to save a huge amount on fuel really. Even if you get 40mpg out of the 330d, you're going to spend about £80 a month on diesel (about 75L). If you had a car that did 30mpg using petrol, you'd spend just over £100 (about 100L), so £20 a month saving. Given that, what about perhaps an equivalent spec/age 330i, I suspect costing maybe £1-2k less? That should do nearly 30mpg Id think, the engine is more powerful and obviously a straight 6 petrol sounds nicer than a 6 pot diesel. If you're taking out a loan to finance the car, then £1-2k less on the loan may save you £30-40 a month in payments, which would easily offset the extra monthly fuel bill.

Edited by LocoBlade on Sunday 21st June 12:45

[NicoG]

LocoBlade said:

You only save if there's not an equivalent petrol car for less money that would do the same thing. At 8k a year mileage you arent going to save a huge amount on fuel really. Even if you get 40mpg out of the 330d, you're going to spend about £80 a month on diesel (about 75L). If you had a car that did 30mpg using petrol, you'd spend just over £100 (about 100L), so £20 a month saving. Given that, what about perhaps an equivalent spec/age 330i, I suspect costing maybe £1-2k less? That should do nearly 30mpg Id think, the engine is more powerful and obviously a straight 6 petrol sounds nicer than a 6 pot diesel. If you're taking out a loan to finance the car, then £1-2k less on the loan may save you £30-40 a month in payments, which would easily offset the extra monthly fuel bill.

Edited by LocoBlade on Sunday 21st June 12:45

Amen to that - Spot on...

[Welshbeef]

You tend to find that as the loan value decreases the APR increases well there are thresholds so it might be more expensive.

Also there does seem to be a thought here that 330is are cheaper to buy than 330ds.... well Ive looked and not found that to be the case. Firstly there are far more 330d's than i's and only low ish miles i's which are more to buy.

Why not buy a £4-5k 184hp 330d and if you must chip it up then do that ?

[philmots]

I went from 330d to 330i, both autos. 330i averages 27/28mpg and the 330d averaged 32/33mpg so not a massive difference in consumption.

Added to the fact me 60k mile 330i drivers A LOT better than my 35k mile 330d and was 6k cheaper to buy! (although, it was a year older, more miles but still under average and less spec)

Go for the 330i..

[x12yhp]

Of course there is also the minor point that 330d is far from the most popular.... certainly on the 06 onwards, it seems that almost no one goes for anything but the 320d!

[Welshbeef]

x12yhp said:

Of course there is also the minor point that 330d is far from the most popular.... certainly on the 06 onwards, it seems that almost no one goes for anything but the 320d!

Well its only people with a £8k comp car lease allowence which could actually get one... i.e. snr mgt level.
ALso the 320d is very verygood anyway 177bhp near 60mpg 145mph... and 8seconds to 60 = very good car incl avery good family car.

[x12yhp]

Welshbeef said:

Well its only people with a £8k comp car lease allowence which could actually get one... i.e. snr mgt level.
ALso the 320d is very verygood anyway 177bhp near 60mpg 145mph... and 8seconds to 60 = very good car incl avery good family car.

Does no one buy their own car anymore?!

[reeventu]

Near 60 mpg ???????

My 55 plate 320D touring at best achieves 43mpg and on average 32mpg

the car has now done 40K ( just) and was chipped to around 196BHP.

I am not a boy racer and generally drive fairly steadily.

I have to say after my E39 530D, it is a very disappointing car.

[acquiescence]

reeventu said:

Near 60 mpg ???????

My 55 plate 320D touring at best achieves 43mpg and on average 32mpg

the car has now done 40K ( just) and was chipped to around 196BHP.

I am not a boy racer and generally drive fairly steadily.

I have to say after my E39 530D, it is a very disappointing car.

We digress, however, I drive 60 miles in my 2006 320D on the motorway (roundtrip) every day and the indicator is fixed at 52.3mpg (70 to 80mph). When I potter around my neighbourhood it drops like a stone. A diesel's fuel economy is great for motorway cruising and no better than a petrol engine at anything anything else.

[theboss]

With the sort of low mileage you're talking about I'd go for the 330i over the 330d every time. I have the 3.0d in my E39 and its an awesome piece of kit, but even doing 40k miles a year I wonder if the fuel savings really add up to much. What you've got to remember is that the 3.0 petrol six is by all accounts bulletproof, whereas the diesel is a far more complex affair as is much more likely to land you with an expensive service bill. A turbo replacement alone at 72k cost me £1500 by a main dealer (I wanted a proper warranty on the job) which wiped out all fuel savings for that particular year. Even my wife's old MK4 Golf TDI which has been uber-reliable through 140k needed a new turbo last month, £800 odd from a specialist. Injectors are another expensive but common failure on these engines, thats before you even read up on swirl flaps...

For 8k miles go for the petrol...

[gizlaroc]

Problem you get as they get to 6+ years old is people start to prefer the petrol again, so prices swap round.

[LocoBlade]

acquiescence said:

We digress, however, I drive 60 miles in my 2006 320D on the motorway (roundtrip) every day and the indicator is fixed at 52.3mpg (70 to 80mph). When I potter around my neighbourhood it drops like a stone. A diesel's fuel economy is great for motorway cruising and no better than a petrol engine at anything anything else.

Not necessarily, my 123d which is fundamentally the same engine as yours does 44-46mpg tank after tank and I don't go near a motorway on my daily commute, just 20 miles each way of rural A and B roads, driven with a degree of enthusiasm when the traffic allows. An equivalent performance petrol wouldnt get near that.

On occasions when I've done some motorway driving its actually made the average consumption marginally worse by 2-3mpg due to the slightly too low 6th gear on the 123 which annoyingly seems to harm economy above about 60-65mph.

[theboss]

LocoBlade said:

acquiescence said:

We digress, however, I drive 60 miles in my 2006 320D on the motorway (roundtrip) every day and the indicator is fixed at 52.3mpg (70 to 80mph). When I potter around my neighbourhood it drops like a stone. A diesel's fuel economy is great for motorway cruising and no better than a petrol engine at anything anything else.

Not necessarily, my 123d which is fundamentally the same engine as yours does 44-46mpg tank after tank and I don't go near a motorway on my daily commute, just 20 miles each way of rural A and B roads, driven with a degree of enthusiasm when the traffic allows. An equivalent performance petrol wouldnt get near that.

On occasions when I've done some motorway driving its actually made the average consumption marginally worse by 2-3mpg due to the slightly too low 6th gear on the 123 which annoyingly seems to harm economy above about 60-65mph.

Interesting that you say that. My boss has a well specced '08 123d (manual) and claims to average 42mpg. Car has 20k miles on the clock and is used predominantly for long journeys. I was disappointed to hear this as I would have thought high 40's or even 50 were possible, especially when I average 38-40mpg in my E39 530d auto (remapped) and I drive it hard. Every time I try and use the economy arguement to justify the thought of replacing the 5er with something newer (and hopefully more frugal) I simply can't do it, though I did find the prospect of the D3 biturbo coupe I sat in last week strangely appealing.

[reeventu]

theboss said:

LocoBlade said:

acquiescence said:

We digress, however, I drive 60 miles in my 2006 320D on the motorway (roundtrip) every day and the indicator is fixed at 52.3mpg (70 to 80mph). When I potter around my neighbourhood it drops like a stone. A diesel's fuel economy is great for motorway cruising and no better than a petrol engine at anything anything else.

Not necessarily, my 123d which is fundamentally the same engine as yours does 44-46mpg tank after tank and I don't go near a motorway on my daily commute, just 20 miles each way of rural A and B roads, driven with a degree of enthusiasm when the traffic allows. An equivalent performance petrol wouldnt get near that.

On occasions when I've done some motorway driving its actually made the average consumption marginally worse by 2-3mpg due to the slightly too low 6th gear on the 123 which annoyingly seems to harm economy above about 60-65mph.

Interesting that you say that. My boss has a well specced '08 123d (manual) and claims to average 42mpg. Car has 20k miles on the clock and is used predominantly for long journeys. I was disappointed to hear this as I would have thought high 40's or even 50 were possible, especially when I average 38-40mpg in my E39 530d auto (remapped) and I drive it hard. Every time I try and use the economy arguement to justify the thought of replacing the 5er with something newer (and hopefully more frugal) I simply can't do it, though I did find the prospect of the D3 biturbo coupe I sat in last week strangely appealing.

Stick with the E39 530D ( remapped), that is the car I had prior to the E91 320D . IMO the E39 is superior in every respect , except ultimate roadholding.

I also achieved approx 38mpg.

[huckster6]

Lookee here:
http://www.verdictoncars.com/jsp/vocmain.jsp?lnk=2...

I have a pre-facelift Touring, and it's quicker than the fabulous Rover SD1 Vitesse. I live in London, and am looking forward to my third consecutive annual drive to northern Italy.
I save up carbon miles during the year for this burst of pure, exhuberant joy.
Some things do not have to make perfect sense. I'd recommend you buy your 330D while you are still able.

[ipsg.glf]

gadgesxi said:

Seen a decent 330d sport for 8k 2003 53 plate.

I maybe able to get them down to 7k.

I just fancy the car for the sheer power (i will remap it).

Thing is i only do about 8k miles a year, but having an astra vxr previously i was use to putting super unleaded in every 10 mins, so i would think i will still save money on the 330d.

What do you think?

I had a 2001 300d touring with DMS chip. Pretty unevolving to drive, TBH. I kept it about a year then sold it.