3 Series Tourer Auto - Petrol or Diesel?
Discussion
I'm in the market for an estate car as my petrol Mondeo auto is starting to throw up some little niggles every so often.
I need a car with a low boot lip for my elderly dog and I also need an auto for my dodgy left knee.
I was initially looking at a newer Mondeo estate or a Honda Civic Tourer as both cars have boot lips less than 600mm of the ground. The Civic is quite lethargic from a performance point of view though and the Mondeo is probably a little larger than i would prefer. I did look at Leons too but the boot is too high.
Last night though I realised that the 3 Series Tourer also has a low boot lip so I've been to have a look at them today and also was given a test drive. The car was lovely to drive so the model is now definitely on the 'possible purchase' list.
The one thing that I'm not sure about though is whether to stick with a petrol car or go for the diesel on the BMW.
It would therefore be very helpful if anyone can offer any advice on this as I've never had a diesel before and I'm unsure whether one would be suitable for the generally short journeys that I do.
Any help or advice much appreciated.
I need a car with a low boot lip for my elderly dog and I also need an auto for my dodgy left knee.
I was initially looking at a newer Mondeo estate or a Honda Civic Tourer as both cars have boot lips less than 600mm of the ground. The Civic is quite lethargic from a performance point of view though and the Mondeo is probably a little larger than i would prefer. I did look at Leons too but the boot is too high.
Last night though I realised that the 3 Series Tourer also has a low boot lip so I've been to have a look at them today and also was given a test drive. The car was lovely to drive so the model is now definitely on the 'possible purchase' list.
The one thing that I'm not sure about though is whether to stick with a petrol car or go for the diesel on the BMW.
It would therefore be very helpful if anyone can offer any advice on this as I've never had a diesel before and I'm unsure whether one would be suitable for the generally short journeys that I do.
Any help or advice much appreciated.
What sort of age? I am assuming something not too old? I have an e46 touring and it has a fairly low lip but it's not a big boot by any stretch of the imagination - my Saab 9000 was as big and my old 900 is far bigger - both hatchbacks!
Personally, unless I was doing 30000 miles a year I wouldn't even think about the diesel. DPFs, swirl flaps, turbos, etc. I know newer BMW petrols are more and more complicated and have their issues, but even so.
I suppose you need to think that there will be more diesels around due to the big push on diesels, but with things tipping the other way there may be more punitive taxation coming...
Personally, unless I was doing 30000 miles a year I wouldn't even think about the diesel. DPFs, swirl flaps, turbos, etc. I know newer BMW petrols are more and more complicated and have their issues, but even so.
I suppose you need to think that there will be more diesels around due to the big push on diesels, but with things tipping the other way there may be more punitive taxation coming...
Thanks for the replies.
I'm looking at 2013 onwards although my budget of around £15k means the newer cars are likely to be out of range.
I know generally about the problems with diesels however I wondered if BMW were as prone to the mentioned issues as other cars. My annual mileage is around 8000 however some of those journeys will be of a decent length.
With the prices of diesels dropping there are some tasty temptations out there and 330's seemingly give an awful lot of performance for the money however I realise that may be a false assumption if service/repair costs gobble some of my hard earned money.
Here's one I found at a Honda dealers which comes with a 12 month guarantee.
http://www.westgatemotors.co.uk/honda/used-cars/75...
I'm looking at 2013 onwards although my budget of around £15k means the newer cars are likely to be out of range.
I know generally about the problems with diesels however I wondered if BMW were as prone to the mentioned issues as other cars. My annual mileage is around 8000 however some of those journeys will be of a decent length.
With the prices of diesels dropping there are some tasty temptations out there and 330's seemingly give an awful lot of performance for the money however I realise that may be a false assumption if service/repair costs gobble some of my hard earned money.
Here's one I found at a Honda dealers which comes with a 12 month guarantee.
http://www.westgatemotors.co.uk/honda/used-cars/75...
Toltec said:
The boot lip on my 530i touring is at 49cm, I doubt a 3 series will be any higher.
610mm according to RICA. My tape told me the same when I looked at them today.http://www.rica.org.uk/4907
Skirmisheer said:
610mm according to RICA. My tape told me the same when I looked at them today.
http://www.rica.org.uk/4907
Maybe you need a five then http://www.rica.org.uk/4907
Skirmisheer said:
Too big really. Trying to downsize a little from the Mondeo.
Which 5 series do you have as I'm struggling to find one with such a low lip on RICA.
E61, just been out and double checked, the top of the bumper is 49cm the boot floor is 4cm higher, it is an m sport so might be a bit lower than an SE.Which 5 series do you have as I'm struggling to find one with such a low lip on RICA.
I'll admit it is a bit of a barge and you really notice how much more car there is behind you than my wife's e46 compact.
depend on what type of journey you going
i would go for a diesel if you doing high milage Motorway/dual carriageway, or u constantly need towing a trailer or caravan
my E36 323i average about 23mpg driving mostly in town, while my E82 120d average 58mpg driving almost motorway
the high torque from diesel is also addictive,
however, it also have more component that could go wrong such as turbo and DPF, probably due to my motorway heavy driving, i never have DPF issue till 138000 mile when the DMF need replacement and i sold it
i would go for a diesel if you doing high milage Motorway/dual carriageway, or u constantly need towing a trailer or caravan
my E36 323i average about 23mpg driving mostly in town, while my E82 120d average 58mpg driving almost motorway
the high torque from diesel is also addictive,
however, it also have more component that could go wrong such as turbo and DPF, probably due to my motorway heavy driving, i never have DPF issue till 138000 mile when the DMF need replacement and i sold it
Just spoken to my local BMW independent specialist about reliability and advice on diesel v petrol.
He, like others on here was steering me towards petrol. However he also said that I should be looking at 6 cylinder engines rather than the 4 as the latter do have known problems. While I'd love a 6 cylinder, unfortunately used ones in the model I'm looking at are twice my budget! I suspect they gobble fuel too which is not what I want.
It would be useful to get some thoughts on whether there is a problem with the 4 cylinder engines or is it just a case that someone who repairs them is going to see a lot anyway.
He, like others on here was steering me towards petrol. However he also said that I should be looking at 6 cylinder engines rather than the 4 as the latter do have known problems. While I'd love a 6 cylinder, unfortunately used ones in the model I'm looking at are twice my budget! I suspect they gobble fuel too which is not what I want.
It would be useful to get some thoughts on whether there is a problem with the 4 cylinder engines or is it just a case that someone who repairs them is going to see a lot anyway.
I've recently sold my '13' F31 328i Auto. We owned it for 3 years, bought at 9000 miles, sold at 49000 miles.
The only warranty issue was a failed catalytic convertor, it used no oil between services. I think the issues with the 4 cylinder petrols are with the E90/1, but only time will tell with these later 4 cylinder turbos. A lot of it will be how they are treated, warm up and warm down as with any turbo.
The only warranty issue was a failed catalytic convertor, it used no oil between services. I think the issues with the 4 cylinder petrols are with the E90/1, but only time will tell with these later 4 cylinder turbos. A lot of it will be how they are treated, warm up and warm down as with any turbo.
Skirmisheer said:
I suspect they gobble fuel too which is not what I want.
The difference between 30mpg and 45mpg over 8000 miles is about £480. Make that 40mpg and 55mpg and that drops to less than £300.If I drive it fairly gently on A roads I can get 36mpg and a cruise at sub-prosecution speeds on the motorway about 32mpg. Mine has done over 100K miles and I suspect ther NOx cat or sensors are past their best so the car does not go into lean/stratified burn mode. In comparison our e46 325 compact auto easily gets 36mpg on the motorway and I have had 40mpg on a long run driven gently at a 70mph cruise. I would hope a modern 3 series could get high 30's on longer runs. A friend with an e91 320d used to get over 50mpg on a run and it was a nice car to drive and was not slow.
If you are not that sure which you prefer then just buy either based on condition and the options you want, you are far more likely to find a diesel touring than a petrol one as there are probably ten times as many to choose from, in the model and spec I wanted there are only 70 odd on the road for instance.
I had a drive of a petrol 320 today and yesterday a 318 diesel. Both were very nice to drive although the diesel was marginally noisier. Nothing to affect any purchase decision though.
I get the economics regarding MPG figures and cost and the miles I do mean that extra running cost is not really that great. having said that there are no 2.5 litre cars in the search I'm doing so it will always be a 1.6 or 2.0 when it comes to petrol models.
There are about 10 times as many diesels for sale though so if sticking with a petrol it does rather narrow my choice. Having said that I'm in no rush to change cars so am happy to wait until the right one comes along.
It's quite tempting to go diesel though but I know that in reality I'm taking a bigger risk due to the miles I do and the journey types.
I get the economics regarding MPG figures and cost and the miles I do mean that extra running cost is not really that great. having said that there are no 2.5 litre cars in the search I'm doing so it will always be a 1.6 or 2.0 when it comes to petrol models.
There are about 10 times as many diesels for sale though so if sticking with a petrol it does rather narrow my choice. Having said that I'm in no rush to change cars so am happy to wait until the right one comes along.
It's quite tempting to go diesel though but I know that in reality I'm taking a bigger risk due to the miles I do and the journey types.
Was speaking to my local BMW independent garage this morning and he said that most of the warranties that you can get can't be trusted and that you can't bank on one to help you out if trouble occurs with the car.
I presume a warranty from a main BMW dealer though will be pretty reliable?
Would this suggest that buying a diesel (or petrol) from a BMW main dealer will be a pretty safe purchase if anything should go wrong?
If that is the case would it be worthwhile negotiating for 2 years of warranty from such a main dealer which would give peace of mind during my full ownership as I'd be likely to swap in 2 years.
I presume a warranty from a main BMW dealer though will be pretty reliable?
Would this suggest that buying a diesel (or petrol) from a BMW main dealer will be a pretty safe purchase if anything should go wrong?
If that is the case would it be worthwhile negotiating for 2 years of warranty from such a main dealer which would give peace of mind during my full ownership as I'd be likely to swap in 2 years.
Skirmisheer said:
I presume a warranty from a main BMW dealer though will be pretty reliable?
Would this suggest that buying a diesel (or petrol) from a BMW main dealer will be a pretty safe purchase if anything should go wrong?
One of the main advantages of having the BMW warranty is that the dealer will sort out all of the paperwork for any warranty claims, and it puts you in a better place for out of warranty items being possibly covered goodwill by BMW.Would this suggest that buying a diesel (or petrol) from a BMW main dealer will be a pretty safe purchase if anything should go wrong?
Third party warranties typically involve paying for the work, and then separately claiming back from the warranty company yourself.
Skirmisheer said:
If that is the case would it be worthwhile negotiating for 2 years of warranty from such a main dealer which would give peace of mind during my full ownership as I'd be likely to swap in 2 years.
You should try to do this anyway. If they don't offer it, ask them for a price for the 2nd year anyway - it will be much cheaper than renewing it yourself after the 1st year has run out.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff