220 E46 Diesel shall i buy?
Discussion
Hi,
Recently decided i might want to change cars so have been looking through a range of options... Just thought that the 2l diesel ticket a lot of boxes but was wondering how it is to live with? Just drive a small revvy motor just now and could probably be doing with something a little less boy racer or alot more boy racer... (subaru, evo...)
I'm only 20-21 so insurance has to be cheapish...
can these be easily remapped to produce more power?
what is the standard power and quoted 0-60?
is it possible to buy one with lower millage for <4k?
how is the RWD in the winter?
anything in particular to look out for?
Just been in my sis's new Derv leon fr 170bhp, really nippy wee thing, dont know if i can get used to the limited revs though...
Help greatly appreciated.
Recently decided i might want to change cars so have been looking through a range of options... Just thought that the 2l diesel ticket a lot of boxes but was wondering how it is to live with? Just drive a small revvy motor just now and could probably be doing with something a little less boy racer or alot more boy racer... (subaru, evo...)
I'm only 20-21 so insurance has to be cheapish...
can these be easily remapped to produce more power?
what is the standard power and quoted 0-60?
is it possible to buy one with lower millage for <4k?
how is the RWD in the winter?
anything in particular to look out for?
Just been in my sis's new Derv leon fr 170bhp, really nippy wee thing, dont know if i can get used to the limited revs though...
Help greatly appreciated.
I've recently bought a 320td at 21 with 1 years NCB.
With Aviva and have a premium of £750, that's with adding on breakdown cover and a courtesy car.
Bought the car for £4600 at 82,000 miles, 53 plate.
Standard power is 150hp (for the newer engine, older one is 136hp), quotes for remaps are around 180-190hp.
With Aviva and have a premium of £750, that's with adding on breakdown cover and a courtesy car.
Bought the car for £4600 at 82,000 miles, 53 plate.
Standard power is 150hp (for the newer engine, older one is 136hp), quotes for remaps are around 180-190hp.
Edited by Patrick Bateman on Tuesday 16th March 17:34
That seems like a cracking deal you've got there bateman.
I'm usually not fussy, if the insurance is below 1k i'm happy.
Not 21 till october so another half year, i'll probably just wait out till then as the usual quotes i'm getting just now are £1147 cheapest from tescos.
i'll also have 3 years no claims in october aswell so should be fine.
only thing is, is the winter a nightmare? or you just get winter tyres and lower psi?
But i am returning to studying so might not be able to still afford it... better get saving!
shoould get about £3000-3500 for my car... if i'm lucky!
if not then its a trip to the bank of mum!
I'm usually not fussy, if the insurance is below 1k i'm happy.
Not 21 till october so another half year, i'll probably just wait out till then as the usual quotes i'm getting just now are £1147 cheapest from tescos.
i'll also have 3 years no claims in october aswell so should be fine.
only thing is, is the winter a nightmare? or you just get winter tyres and lower psi?
But i am returning to studying so might not be able to still afford it... better get saving!
shoould get about £3000-3500 for my car... if i'm lucky!if not then its a trip to the bank of mum!
Did you buy one?
I took my brother's 130hp TDI Golf for a quick spin a few months ago and it was rev-happy s
t off a shovel from a standing start compared to my car (facelift E46 320d). I imagine that 320d vs Leon TDI would be similar, except that the BMW would come off worse, as it's only 150hp. If you're expecting that kind of performance, I might suggest going for a decent test drive 
The BMW seems pretty good at accelerating at a steady rate, so it works out OK at higher speeds, but it's a bit of a dog (though I prefer the term "relaxed") around town unless you're prepared to really give it some with your right foot. Out of all the words I might use to describe it, "nippy" is most definitely not one of them; you'll probably be OK with the acceleration from 40-70, but when it does basically the same thing 0-30, you might be a bit disappointed. Still good to drive, though; nice steering wheel feedback, does a good job of hills, and cornering at speed does what you want. Anyway, whilst I've still got some slight misgivings over the performance, for my money the running costs are reasonable enough to make up for it.
My insurance at first was £800/yr with Admiral. I was 29, but I drive like a cock and had spent the previous year driving my Renault Clio into other people's cars. (That's probably about the same as being 21.) I put my mother on as a named driver, and this saved me something like £150, so you might want to try that. She won't have to drive it much... my mum had a quick go when I first got it, and that's been it. (Three years later, I'm paying £400/yr.)
Regarding the RWD, whilst it is fun it was not particularly awesome in the snow. That said, it behaves as you'd expect, if you know what to expect If your current car isn't RWD (and mine wasn't when I bought mine), then video game time spent in Gran Turismo or Forza driving high-performance cars safely round sharp bends without the benefit of traction control might be good enough. Worked for me, anyway... it's the same sort of thing, just a lot easier, because you're going so much slower.
I took my brother's 130hp TDI Golf for a quick spin a few months ago and it was rev-happy s
t off a shovel from a standing start compared to my car (facelift E46 320d). I imagine that 320d vs Leon TDI would be similar, except that the BMW would come off worse, as it's only 150hp. If you're expecting that kind of performance, I might suggest going for a decent test drive The BMW seems pretty good at accelerating at a steady rate, so it works out OK at higher speeds, but it's a bit of a dog (though I prefer the term "relaxed") around town unless you're prepared to really give it some with your right foot. Out of all the words I might use to describe it, "nippy" is most definitely not one of them; you'll probably be OK with the acceleration from 40-70, but when it does basically the same thing 0-30, you might be a bit disappointed. Still good to drive, though; nice steering wheel feedback, does a good job of hills, and cornering at speed does what you want. Anyway, whilst I've still got some slight misgivings over the performance, for my money the running costs are reasonable enough to make up for it.
My insurance at first was £800/yr with Admiral. I was 29, but I drive like a cock and had spent the previous year driving my Renault Clio into other people's cars. (That's probably about the same as being 21.) I put my mother on as a named driver, and this saved me something like £150, so you might want to try that. She won't have to drive it much... my mum had a quick go when I first got it, and that's been it. (Three years later, I'm paying £400/yr.)
Regarding the RWD, whilst it is fun it was not particularly awesome in the snow. That said, it behaves as you'd expect, if you know what to expect
If your current car isn't RWD (and mine wasn't when I bought mine), then video game time spent in Gran Turismo or Forza driving high-performance cars safely round sharp bends without the benefit of traction control might be good enough. Worked for me, anyway... it's the same sort of thing, just a lot easier, because you're going so much slower.Tesco are being really big pains atm...
Going to wait till october when i'm 21 and decide what i'm getting then its probably gunna be the 320D (providing i find one i like and is in good nick for the price) or a golf 1.8T GTI (again depending on conditions)
But these two have been the two front runners so far...
I usually like to go for Jap, but my mechanic and bro has somehow managed to talk me into Gerry's!
But will let yous know of what i get when i get it! 7 months away! lol
Going to wait till october when i'm 21 and decide what i'm getting then
its probably gunna be the 320D (providing i find one i like and is in good nick for the price) or a golf 1.8T GTI (again depending on conditions)But these two have been the two front runners so far...
I usually like to go for Jap, but my mechanic and bro has somehow managed to talk me into Gerry's!
But will let yous know of what i get when i get it! 7 months away!
lolI was in a similar position to you. I got my E46 320d last July and it is awesome. I presume from your age that like me you hadn't had previous "fast" cars. I got mine after owning a 115bhp Focus TDCI so it did feel like a massive step up.
Economy is good for a diesel, I average about 50mpg on the motorway, my average over the past 1500 or so miles is 38.3 which includes some town driving.
As for the snow, unless you've driven RWD in the snow, let's just say... It's an experience! It was probably made even more fun by the fact I had barely legal rear tyres.
Probably won't be able to find one with low mileage for less than £4k, unless you get a really early model.
I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you do get one though!
Economy is good for a diesel, I average about 50mpg on the motorway, my average over the past 1500 or so miles is 38.3 which includes some town driving.
As for the snow, unless you've driven RWD in the snow, let's just say... It's an experience! It was probably made even more fun by the fact I had barely legal rear tyres.
Probably won't be able to find one with low mileage for less than £4k, unless you get a really early model.
I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you do get one though!
Well i am incredibly interested, but I should point out that i'm quite fussy when buying the car. it must be either absolutely pristine with low miles, or, an absolute bargain/steal which with high miles low price but still running smooth.
Thats the thing i dont get, back in teh 70's 80's? most cars were RWD and in UK snow was a lot worse, but they didnt seem to have such a big problem... either they were better drivers back then or the council was just a lot better at clearing the roads back then!
I've seen one i like but because of my situation with insurance i'm not sure if i should go and see it ect... + i need time to sell my car and get my plates off ect...
Will definitely post here when i get a new car (probably in october when i'm 21 with 3 years ncb), regardless of what it is, as you've all been such a great help!
Thats the thing i dont get, back in teh 70's 80's? most cars were RWD and in UK snow was a lot worse, but they didnt seem to have such a big problem... either they were better drivers back then or the council was just a lot better at clearing the roads back then!
I've seen one i like but because of my situation with insurance i'm not sure if i should go and see it ect... + i need time to sell my car and get my plates off ect...
Will definitely post here when i get a new car (probably in october when i'm 21 with 3 years ncb), regardless of what it is, as you've all been such a great help!
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