160,000+ mile 330d opinions?

[darren9]

I've been looking at a new car to replace the petrol passat I'm currently using and high mile E46 330d's are within budget.

Are they at high miles (160,000+) worth a punt?

[dooosuk]

What's your budget, do you have a spare £2k for repairs if needed after purchase and how much will you be using the car?

[darren9]

dooosuk said:

What's your budget,

About 4k

dooosuk said:

do you have a spare £2k for repairs if needed after purchase

No.

dooosuk said:

and how much will you be using the car?

Daily to and from town (about 9 miles away) and occasional longer journeys.

From your answers I'm guessing that it's not a good idea then?

[NickXX]

Is it a Black one on a 52 plate by any chance?

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

For that sort of mileage I think petrol might be a better choice.

They are cheaper to purchase and run than the equivalent diesel in my view (for the sort of mileage you envisage).

[dooosuk]

Personally, I wouldn't ever spend £4k on a car with 160k miles...but that's just me.

Modern diesels have some pretty expensive parts (should they need replacing) and if you don't have any spare cash to sort any problems and you need the car daily only you can decide whether it's worth it to you or not.

I'll let other more knowledgeable types comment on the realiability of this model/mileage but at least you've given them a clearer picture of your situation and usage now.

[darren9]

NickXX said:

Is it a Black one on a 52 plate by any chance?

I've seen a couple on the auto trader.

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

For that sort of mileage I think petrol might be a better choice.

They are cheaper to purchase and run than the equivalent diesel in my view (for the sort of mileage you envisage).

If I'm going forr petrol I'll just be keeping the passat I have. I was thinking of changing for the lower tax band and higher MPG.

[NickXX]

My old 330d was up for sale a couple of weeks ago. I sold it with 140k on the clock and knew the new owner who traded it in recently at 160k.

It was 6.5yrs old when I sold it, and I didn't have any diesel related costs - or anything significant at all really (my biggest non-service cost was a new alloy to replace a cracked one.

The owner after me, however, replaced the turbo and intercooler and a few other niggly things (PAS piping, A/C compressor, dampers). I'd imagine the car now has a fair few miles of relatively cheap motoring left in it now before things start to go again.

If you can find FP52 FLG (was up for sale in Nottingham recently) - it would make a good buy for £4k!!

[jboy72]

I bought my e46 330d with 142k on the clock in March and have done 5,000 miles of trouble free driving. It DID need work to the handbrake after purchase, but I paid £4,200 for it and wasnt too unhappy to have to spend £500 to get it propertly sorted. e46s have a few known faults - make sure you check these. Other than that, turbos / injectors can go at any time if a car has been abused so better to get the right car with the wrong mileage than the wrong car with the right mileage IMHO

[Gaygle]

Why get a diesel for "popping into town"? :/

[darren9]

Gaygle said:

Why get a diesel for "popping into town"? :/

Because even "popping into town" it will work out cheaper than what I have.

[PJ S]

darren9 said:

Daily to and from town (about 9 miles away) and occasional longer journeys.

So about 7-8K per annum?
Pointless going diesel if not steady runs for a fair mileage - your stop-start/urban mpg will 4-5 more than petrol.

With £4k to play with, but no slush fund for turbos/injectors, then you're not wise to be looking at anything you can't drive away in for £3-3.3k, which on the diesel front, isn't going to get you much.
£3.5-3.7k could get you a nice petrol engine.

[darren9]

But the petrol is tice as much to tax for the year. If the figures don't work out well then I'll just stick with the passat I have.

[Fox-]

darren9 said:

Because even "popping into town" it will work out cheaper than what I have.

There is nothing cheap about a £4k 330d - you'll just spend money fixing broken stuff instead of as much on fuel. With low mileage, fuel is a far smaller proportion of your car expenses.

I would be happy to own a 160k+ mile BMW but I wouldn't buy one. I'd want to have taken it there myself from either a young age or a lower mileage so I'd know exactly how it'd been looked after. Buying into one of these at this end of the market just seems like a pointless potentially expensive gamble.

darren9 said:

But the petrol is tice as much to tax for the year.

Firstly it's not - it's capped at £260 for E46 Saloons so it's about £50 more for a year. Secondly if this is really your thought process and the very thought of paying a bit more on tax is 'too much' for you then this really isn't the type of car you want to buy at this budget!

[darren9]

Fox- said:

darren9 said:

Because even "popping into town" it will work out cheaper than what I have.

There is nothing cheap about a £4k 330d - you'll just spend money fixing broken stuff instead of as much on fuel. With low mileage, fuel is a far smaller proportion of your car expenses.

I would be happy to own a 160k+ mile BMW but I wouldn't buy one. I'd want to have taken it there myself from either a young age or a lower mileage so I'd know exactly how it'd been looked after. Buying into one of these at this end of the market just seems like a pointless potentially expensive gamble.

darren9 said:

But the petrol is tice as much to tax for the year.

Firstly it's not - it's capped at £260 for E46 Saloons so it's about £50 more for a year. Secondly if this is really your thought process and the very thought of paying a bit more on tax is 'too much' for you then this really isn't the type of car you want to buy at this budget!

The tax for the passat I'm using is £110 every 6 months, the tax for a 330d is about £85. half was an exagaration. But, When you factor in the added improved MPG and the lower insurance (will save about £20 per month on quotes gathered elsewhere) it's not a bad option and my running costs will be significantly less.

Also I've never needed 2k or close "float" on any car I've ever owned. My old man is in the trade so parts are slighlty cheaper and labour involves me giving him a 6 pack of guiness. If repairs came to 2k on a 4k car I'd get rid of it. Quickly and just take the loss.

So, regardless of my personal situation. Is a 160k mile BMW320d with FSH likely to be a decent buy?

Edited by darren9 on Friday 2nd September 17:12

[Fox-]

I'm sorry but with the frankly trivial amounts of money you are quoting here as if they mean anything I cannot think of a worse idea than a 160k+ 6 cylinder BMW either petrol or diesel.

They are not cars for people who only buy 6 months tax at a time and care if tax is £200 or £260 a year.

Tax on a 330d is £115 per 6 months anyway, not £85. Tax for the 330i is £143.50 for 6 months.

Edited by Fox- on Friday 2nd September 17:14

[Fox-]

darren9 said:

I'm not happpy with the tone of your posting

Well I'm really very sorry to hear that.

darren9 said:

Coming accross a little "I'm considerably richer than you" I'm afraid.

I've run exactly the type of car you are considering for the last 5 years you might find it useful to stop looking for hidden meaning in what I'm saying and take my advice on board. In one month last year for example my 170k 5 Series cost me over a grand.. it's just something you need to be prepared for on these cars.

If the idea of a bit of extra tax is a problem for you what are you going to do when it needs a turbocharger fitting or you need to replace the injectors or something?

Edited by Fox- on Friday 2nd September 17:19

[darren9]

Fox- said:

Why, because I'm injecting a little bit of reality into the idea that a 160k mile 330d is a good choice of car for somebody who is bothered about saving 20 quid every 6 months on tax? I'm sorry if you don't like my tone but as I've run exactly the type of car you are considering for the last 5 years you might find it useful to stop looking for hidden meaning in what I'm saying and take my advice on board. In one month last year for example my 170k 5 Series cost me over a grand.. it's just something you need to be prepared for on these cars.

If the idea of a bit of extra tax is a problem for you what are you going to do when it needs a turbocharger fitting or you need to replace the injectors or something?

It's the tone of your posting I'm afraid. I'm not looking for hidden meaning but just being honest about the way I'm reading your posting.

Fox- said:

you might find it useful to stop looking for hidden meaning in what I'm saying and take my advice on board

You might find it useful to not be so patronising.

The idea of the extra tax isn't a problem but I'm reaching the point where I'm struggle to justify shelling out large amounts of money each month running vehicles which cost a lot in tax, fuel and insurance. If it needs a turbo charger fitting ot the injectors replacing then that will happen, the same as it would happen with any car I own.

[Fox-]

darren9 said:

I'm reaching the point where I'm struggle to justify shelling out large amounts of money each month running vehicles which cost a lot in tax, fuel and insurance.

Then don't buy an old high mileage BMW. You can see the costs associated with mine in my profile The most notable thing is that the fuel cost per year is lower than the other costs associated - ie repairs, servicing, tyres etc. Fuel isn't the primary cost of motoring if you don't do big miles.

darren9 said:

If it needs a turbo charger fitting ot the injectors replacing then that will happen, the same as it would happen with any car I own.

So you'd happily spend £600+ to replace a turbo but wouldn't want to shell out the 30 quid a month more in fuel a 330i would use over a 330d?

These cars can be a massive drain. They make little economic sense and you can own a much newer car for the money it costs, on average (There will always be the odd one who never needs to spend a penny) to run one.

Which of course begs the question 'Why bother?'.

Sadly many of them are brilliant which means to some of us nutcases its worth throwing the money into the black hole to keep them on the road.

[Targarama]

darren9 - you post asking for opinions, then you don't like what people with relevant experience say. Come on!

IMO if you're tight for cash then don't buy a car that might need expensive work doing on it. Simples.