330 buying advice please

[SPORTSTER]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 16 March 2010 at 20:55

[daveco]

A lot tends to go pop around the 100k mark and I see he's had a few things done which is good. Major services can be expensive but they are good on fuel. Expect mid 20's around town and 30-34mpg on motorways.
The price is a tad high imo.

[taylor86]

that is way over priced, i know its the toys but i bought my 330 m sport coupe with 31k on it for 7,500 a year and a half ago!

[richterswil]

Nice car the E46 - I had a 330d and loved it - always preferred the looks of the saloon over the coupe too.

Agree that the car you've linked looks a great spec but it's expensive.

Some of the extras are barely worth paying for in my view - 10 year old SatNav as an example.

If you can get the right car in a good colour with leather, Sport spec, gearbox to suit your own preference and decent history I would consider any other options a bonus.

[dooosuk]

Agree, it's overpriced. I paid nearly a grand less than that for a 2002 330Ci MSport with 64k on the clock back in September (Xenon's, HK stereo, leather, folding mirrors etc - no sat nav though)

[Vee]

I'd agree with earlier advise that that is significantly overpriced.

Check when ball joints/wishbones were last changed - the wishbones on a sport are much more expensive than on an SE an they don't last 100k+ miles.
Also check the state of the tyres as they're not cheap (225 fronts, 255 rears).
One more thing to check is that there are no funny noises when the car is idling and the a/c is switched on. I've heard them start to tick quite badly when the compressor starts to go. Not a cheap repair.

As a poitn of reference I sold my 2002/52 for £5.5k a year ago. FBMWSH, 70k miles, 3 minor bumper scuffs, auto, HK, folding mirrors, black/black nappa leather, heated seats & bi xenons. I was the 7th owner though.

Edited by Vee on Tuesday 16th March 17:06

[andyscole]

I think that is well overpriced! For comparison i have just brought a 330i touring SE (m sport would be worth more admittedly) with identical spec except for sat nav, 83k full service (all history receipts ect) for 3.5k. Interior immaculate and exterior has 3 bad bits (door scratch, wing dent and arch dent) but excellent otherwise. It does need new control arms and front rear bushes but even with that work done still under 4k..