Tell me all about Diesel BMW's

[Mr POD]

Okay, so there I was searching the length and breadth of the country for a decent Alfa 156 JTD, when on the company intranet message board, there is an advert : Thus

Posted At: XXXXXXXXXX
Posted To: Young_Engineers_Community
Subject: For Sale - BMW 320D Estate (03 - 2003)


BMW 320d ES Estate with optional extras from new.

In Silver with M-Sport kit and alloy wheels.

2.0 Diesel, 150 Bhp engine with 5 speed box.

MOT April 12, Tax due end of Sept 11

6 months tax - £90.75

12 months - £165.00

98K Loads of receipts, full service history mainly BMW Main dealer, all previous MOT’s

4 recent tyres

New stainless steel front pipe

Disks and pads all round in March 11

Full sports seats in black leather, some slight wear on bolster (drivers – but she is 8 years old)

Full length roof rails

Electric windows (F)

Proper BMW Mats

Climate control (which is awesome!!)

Massive boot with fully folding flat seats.

Retractable boot cover/pet guard

Tow bar and full electrics

Split boot opening

All books/manuals and All KEYS (Rare to find this!!)

In immaculate condition for age, there are a few little knocks and scratches on it

All other refinements you would expect from a car like this

Easy does 50 mpg, general knocking about its 45 mpg,

HPI Clear and have paperwork for this

Im going to leave the Alpine head unit and IPod connectivity fitted. (proper job, not a cheap patching lead, charges Ipod/Iphone as well as giving full control to music through stereo)

It’s a lovely drive and happy cruises as well as kicking about round town.

I have owned this car for the last 18 months and only getting rid as I am awaiting delivery of a 530d….


£5999 ono




Now I vaguely know the guy but I thought I'd ask him a couple of questions and he tells me that he'd actually take £5K which was the start of a little investigation on Autotrader

and it’s got me thinking.

Things to think about (for me)


1) Do I want to pay more for “extras” like leather and an estate body ? (a little but not alot !!!)

2) Would I prefer an auto ? (Probabally not)

3) Would I take the financial hit (fuel and insurance) of a 3 litre for the extra performance ? (ditto)

4) Would a 5 Series suit me just as well?

5) Is there more or less risk buying privately ?

6) Even at £5K the car in the advert is overpriced by £1000. (Which begs the question how guliable does he thinks “we” are?)


I conclude that I could save myself £2000 on my £5K budget

And get an Older 330 estate with similar miles

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

or £1000 saved for an older model but lower miles but not an estate

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...


Or for £500 saved an auto 330 which is Newer

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...



Finally an estate with lower miles same age and similar spec from a private seller

For a smiggin over £4K (which sort of proves to me that

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...


So assist my random thoughts -

I think i’d rather spend £3K on the car at the top and have a £2K contingency and 3 months warranty .


What's to consider, what do I need to know, what do I need to look out for?

Plan is to run it for 4 years up to about 150K miles and then pass it on to the wife for a 'hack'

[Fox-]

The ES is the worst 3 Series you can possibly buy. It is truely terrible in every way - you even get twirly knobs for your air conditioning and windup windows in the back. It's completely base spec, they even strip out the cruise control.

Buy all means buy a 320d (Though my personal opinion is that reliability wise they are more trouble than they are worth) but make it an SE, not an ES.

[Mr POD]

Fox- said:

The ES is the worst 3 Series you can possibly buy. It is truely terrible in every way - you even get twirly knobs for your air conditioning and windup windows in the back. It's completely base spec, they even strip out the cruise control.

Buy all means buy a 320d (Though my personal opinion is that reliability wise they are more trouble than they are worth) but make it an SE, not an ES.

I think I'd prefer a 330d. This is a step change in car for me, so may as well do it in style.

You mention features which on my list of requirements are nice to have, but I'll conclude that I need to understand the exact specs before going hunting.

[BUG4LIFE]

Fox- said:

The ES is the worst 3 Series you can possibly buy. It is truely terrible in every way - you even get twirly knobs for your air conditioning and windup windows in the back. It's completely base spec, they even strip out the cruise control.

Buy all means buy a 320d (Though my personal opinion is that reliability wise they are more trouble than they are worth) but make it an SE, not an ES.

Why have you got that personal opinion mate?

[motco]

Isn't there a swirl flap issue with them at that age? Someone I know bought a 53 reg 320Td Compact and the seller made a big thing about the flaps having been removed.

[BUG4LIFE]

motco said:

Isn't there a swirl flap issue with them at that age? Someone I know bought a 53 reg 320Td Compact and the seller made a big thing about the flaps having been removed.

Yeah the swirl flaps can be as issue, so I've read, but they can be easily removed, problem solved

[gizlaroc]

The later E90 320d's are now down to £6k for that sort of mileage and spec.

That's were I would rather put my money.

[Jonny944]

Some of my experiences my be of interest?

I bought a 156 JTD 2.4 in 2005 at three years old, it was brilliant, fast (for a diesel) excellent poise and handling (again for a diesel) but boy did it break a lot. I took the mileage from 50k to 100k in two years and from memory I spent around £3k on maintenance. There was never a time when a repair wasn't pending, a warning light lit or a creak or rattle form something (anti-roll bar bushes on a cold morning are comical!) It got to the point after the alternator stranded me in Inverness that much as I loved it it had to go.

My mileage dropped considerably at the same time so I plumped for a 2003 330ci (petrol) in 2008, what a lovely car, smooth, quiet, powerful and in almost three years and 20k all I spent on were tyres and a battery, the variable servicing works out so much cheaper. I would see 35mpg on the motorway and 28mpg around town.

After a brief romance with a 2004 911 my commute rose again so I purchased my 2002 320D SE tourer in March for £3900 (1 owner, 97K, full BMWSH)and it suits my purposes perfectly. I trog up and down the motorway from Stockport to Blackburn every day doing a 600 mile a week commute getting 45mpg week in week out. The trip now shows 108K after five months and it hasn't missed a beat with nothing spent other than a service........ it only has one problem....... it's just so damn dull!!!!

In my opionion the diesel tourer is at least £2000 overpriced. If it were my money and your annual mileage doesn't push you to diesel I would go for a 330 petrol tourer anytime, bulletproof engines, build quality and very reasonable running costs in my experience. Hope this is of help.

[ism123]

The E46 sounds way overpriced. ES is definitely poverty spec. The touring version is more practical, as for example in the saloon the rear seats don't recline as standard (it was an option). As someone said, the E90 is a better driving proposition, though the cabin doesn't seem as well made as the E46. Whatever you go for just buy wisely at your budget and keep some behind for repairs and maintenance, which are inevitable at the mileages you've mentioned. Oh yes, and the 6 cylinders are lovely, though obviously heavier on fuel.