e46 Petrol vs Diesel

[Wise]

Getting fed up with my MK4 Golf GTI and looking at getting a new car within the next few months, looked around at different cars etc and decided that am going to get an e46 next. But trying to be as sensible as I can as am trying to save to get a mortgage in the next few years as well.

But what ones better to go for in the long run petrol or diesel, as in cost of fuel,tax, servicing, re-sale valve and the chance that something will go wrong etc. Am doing about 15-20,000 miles a year. Which is about 80% motorway,A and B road driving and the other 20% is town driving. And my Golf is averaging around 36-37MPG in these kind of conditions, working it out tank to tank.

So what's the real world MPG like on BM's? Not looking to start a "the best MPG I have ever got was..." thread I have read that all the petrol engines including the 318 get about the same MPG is that true? And would only be looking at 320D's because the 330D's get about the same as my golf for what I have seen..

Got around £3000-3500 to spend and am thinking that am going to get a better condition, better spec'd petrol for that kind of money...

Thanks for any advice.

Anyone got any

[JimexPL]

My 320d (6speed, remapped) averaged 41mpg over 25,000 miles in a similar situation to you.
My z4 3.0i (basically the same but a bit lighter) averaged 30mpg over 25,000 miles.
My e46 328i has averaged 32mpg over 24,000 miles.
The diesel is capable of more if you are a careful driver - I could manage over 50 of I tried, but it soon became tiresome.
I could never better 35 out of the z4 and the 328 can do 36 on a tank if you keep the speed down.
If I was buying another tomorrow, it would be a 328 or facelift 330. The extra mpg of the 320d is soon eaten up by a remap, swirl flap removal and potential cost of a turbo at some point.

[to3m]

I drive a E46 330d (185hp) and reliably get 31mpg driving round town at an average of 18-19mph. For motorway journeys, 45mpg, mostly around 70mph.

The 320d (150hp) I had before was more 34mpg driving round town, or 49mpg on the motorway. I am told that if you were to generally drive at 85mph on the motorway, using cruise control, then you would get about 44mpg.

[AlfaSpider]

My 330d has averaged about 39mpg over the last 40k, if you go on what the computer says its more like 43mpg. The general consensus is that there is little difference in economy between the 320 and 330 diesel. If this is the case I would put it down to not having to rev the 330 as hard to get the power. There reliable cars just expect to change suspension bushes front and rear if they haven't been done. If your looking for mpg I'd go for the manual it's easier to keep the revs down and less to go wrong. To be honest if your getting 37 out of a gti there's always the risk of more things to go wrong on a diesel.

[aizvara]

E46 325i (190-odd hp). I do three or four short journeys a week, 6-7 miles each, rural and town, with some longer trips out on weekends and my long term average is 31 mpg. That's the trip computer talking, but its broadly in line with what I'm spending on petrol.

[AlfaSpider]

[Fox-]

If you have £3k to spend and are that bothered about fuel economy then you dont want an old BMW anyway, as presumably you'll be even more annoyed with the repair bills.

[Wise]

Not to bothered about MPG really it's just that am starting to do quite a lot of miles and will probably end up doing more this year, and makes sense to get something that's not that bad on fuel. Not really looking for a car that's better on fuel then my golf it's just that I don't want something that's a lot worse...

But if I could get a car that's better on fuel like a diesel then that would be a bonus but I know that diesel engine cost more to sort when they go wrong so might not be the wise choice in the long run specially on a high mileage car.

My golf is on 120k just now and had it since it was on 80k so know about having to replace stuff, but am quite handy with a spanner and have managed to do 90% of the work/repairs myself which does keep the cost down a lot as well!

[Mr-B]

Got a remapped 330d (204 bhp originally) and get high 30's doing a lot of short local journeys. Sometimes its difficult to be restrained though with all that torque! With a lot of motorway miles you should get into the 40's I would imagine.

[muthaducka]

I've used two e46 petrol beemers for the last couple of years, in your budget and covering the same miles. Mainly motorway treks across the country but rush hour traffic thrown in a the odd shorted journey. There have been a couple of threads of people looking for Beemer diesels at your budget. I reckon you would have to shop very wisely to find a good diesel on that budget. I used a 323i (38 ave) and now a 325i Touring (36 ave) and both are great mile munchers. Both have been very reliable cruising at all kinds of speeds in all weathers and very comfy. I haven't got the stomach to try a BM 4 cylinder in case I like it.

I would say look around for oddballs like the 323 or 325 and you might spot a bargain. Most people I know look for the 330, 320 or 318 so that might give you a better chance of finding a low miler that's been looked after.

With my sensible hat on, I would say if you are trying to save cash, keep your golf or go for something that should cost less to run like a Ford or Vauxhall. Funny though because it's advice I didn't follow and I'm more than happy. Helps a great deal if you can service the car yourself or have a trusted local garage to do the fiddly bits.