Would you have saved the old girl?!?!?

[torqueofthedevil]

I've had a 52 plate e46 330d for the last 3 years. I bought it for about 12k on 87,000 and have taken it to 142,000. About a year / 20k ago it developed a rumbling under acceleration. Reading on here and from the feel of it I knew it was a transmission problem.

Early mis-diagnosis put this down to engine mounts which were replaced but failed to address the problem.

By driving it carefully i managed to get about 20,000 miles out before it finally gave up. I have managed to get a reconditioned gearbox fitted for a little under 2 grand.

Some people will probably think that is a bit too much for a car that is not worth too much anymore, but the way I saw it was:

- it was a non runner when the box went so would basically be worth nothing 2nd hand.
- providing nothing else goes (touch wood) the car should go on for many more years (my dads is flying towards 250,000)
- I had paid off all outstanding credit on the car so was providing cheap motoring
- If i had bought a new car (15 - 20k), a few months of credit payments would see me spending that 2 grand anyway
- I love the car!

So what would you have done in that situation? Flogged it for nothing or got it fixed up and carried on?

[Neil.D]

I would have done what you had.

Bearing in mind the rest of the car has been (so far reliable), 2k - as you spent on the gearbox wouldnt get you a 330d. Or at least one you have owned, cared and paid for.


Like you say, with a little more maintenance she should hit 250k.

[martin mrt]

Absolutely, the way I see it is what sort of car could you get for 2k? Not a 330d by any stretch of the imagination

As it's bought and paid for it should continue to give you trouble free motoring for years to come

[blondini]

I vote to save.

torqueofthedevil said:

- (touch wood) the car should go on for many more years (my dads is flying towards 250,000)
the car so was providing cheap motoring

Have you removed the swirl flaps?

[Noisy]

Seems a lot for a gearbox? is it a auto? who did the work? I must admit I would have fixed it but likely to do some of the spanner work myself to keep costs down. Better to fix it than spend £2k on another car that could have other issues anyway.

[williamp]

torqueofthedevil said:

- I love the car!

This is reason enough! I have spent more, on less. The trick is to enjoy it, rather then count the pennies at every opportunity

[torqueofthedevil]

great to hear everyone agreeing!

Yes there is always the risk with new cars that something like this could be round the corner anyway. When you do get a new car (2nd hand) there is usually a fair bit to put right anyway way - bits of bodywork damage, bushes, suspension, servicing etc!

Not done anything about swirl flaps - dont think its as much an issue with 330's and it is 320's (famous last words)!

It is an autobox. Would be totally out of my depth with that - a lot of components - gearbox, torque converter, lock up clutch, sensors, electrical components, oil which has to go in a specif temps etc etc!

[MattOz]

You've done the right thing so far.

Please sort the swirl flaps out though. I've had one of my 330d's eat a flap and it mashed #5 piston and required 24 valves, a head and said piston. It was under warranty at the time, so didn't cost me anything, but it would've been expensive otherwise. Get onto the chaps at PMW and get it sorted.

Matt

[everitj]

Just done exactly the same thing to our 330d. £1900 for a new box. Made it to 150k on the original. Did the injectors and the fuel pump last year so should be good for a while now... What else can you do in that situation, you can't get a new car of that standard for 2k and the car is worth nothing broken. I would do the same again.

Still not easy parting with the money tho.....

[Rog B]

£2k's is alot to be spending on a car of that era/value/milage, if it was a Mondeo or the like then scrapping it would've been my answer, but being a 330d I'd say it's definately worth spending the cash as your likely to get alot more mileage out of it.
As said above, if you take your 2 grand and buy something else, it's only somebody else's old sh*t that you don't know anything about, atleast you know what you have, and know the history of the car.
It is ofcourse important to realise that everything has an expiration date, but that BMW's last that bit longer! :-)

[LordGrover]

I'm getting to the same position with my 330Ci - tried selling it but no-one wants a 125k miles car so I'm going to run it till it dies. I really like it so when the diff whine gets too loud I'll be forking out to get it sorted.

[E21_Ross]

i'd have done the same, or converted it to a manual

either way, you made the right choice IMO. my dad had a 204bhp 6spd manual 330d 2003-2006 and it did 84k miles faultlessly. not 1 problem ever. great car IMO.

eta - old? it's 8 years.... see my profile pic

if you care for it well, it should see another 8 years until the box blows again.

Edited by E21_Ross on Wednesday 25th August 13:07

[yinujim]

The likely reason why your gearbox failed is because it had never had the oil and filter changed.

[E21_Ross]

yinujim said:

The likely reason why your gearbox failed is because it had never had the oil and filter changed.

not sure if they are the sealed boxes, but those fitted to the 330d's are notorious for failing. manual box all the way

[MattOz]

yinujim said:

The likely reason why your gearbox failed is because it had never had the oil and filter changed.

Spot on. Sealed for life is a load of bks. You should change the oil and filter and check the strainer in any auto box at around the 70k mark and then every 50k or so thereafter. You'd be amazed at the difference.

[Fox-]

You paid £12k for it. You love it.

It broke, you had the money to fix it. Thats all there is to it. Peoples obsession with car value is ridiculous. You cant buy another 330d you've owned for 3+ years for the cost of the repair, therefore its a no brainer.

[E21_Ross]

Fox- said:

You paid £12k for it. You love it.

It broke, you had the money to fix it. Thats all there is to it. Peoples obsession with car value is ridiculous. You cant buy another 330d you've owned for 3+ years for the cost of the repair, therefore its a no brainer.

This exactly. I'm in 2 minds as to sell my E21 or not. owned for 3 years and (extremely!!!!) well cared for, no expenses spared; and get a 525i E34....but i'm sure i'd miss the E21, and i'd NEVER find another in the same condition with the upgrades i've done to mine ever.

decisions decisions.

[torqueofthedevil]

Got my car back yesterday! Its brilliant. like a new car again!

Also got the swirl flaps removed. I was in two minds because i couldn't face shelling out more money, but i thought i might aswell whilst its in the garage. Only cost a few hours labour. They were very concerned when I said they hadn't already been done. Said it was very high risk. I'd strongly recommend any other owners get this done. For the price of an oil change its a bit of "no-brainer" really.

Cheers for all the comments. Only thing i need to sort now is the little spoiler / lip off the boot (its a sports model) as some scrote has had s screwdriver under mine and ripped it off.