2011 320d ed thinking of buying...

[Jamesemt]

Thinking of buying one. Seen a low mileage on here at £14k and interested in your thoughts. Can I post a link?

No idrive, but looks spot on otherwise. Rear tires are at 3 mm tho. How much would dealers be willing to haggle over this?

[kambites]

I'd guess somewhere between nothing and the cost of two new ditch-finders.

[thatdude]

Is it on run-flat tyres? They can be expensive - check prices.

Generally alright cars, but check the service history - BMW I think state 15,000 mile oil change intervals so if it hasnt even met that it might give yuo an idea of the sort of care it's had

have you test-driven it?

[Jamesemt]

Not checked it yet as it's 300 miles away...but I'm travelling down there anyway on Tuesday to pick my 205 up.
Am I allowed to post links? I've been booted off sites before. Can't see it being a problem as it's on here for sale.
I'm presuming it's going to be a massive step up luxury wise from my 2006 Ibiza Cupra...

[Accelebrate]

If it's anything like the F30 the ED model has non-runflat skinny Michelin eco tyres. I'd imagine they're quite cheap to replace.

[Jamesemt]

Tbh I'm not looking forward to it. Haven't bought a second hand car since my teens - Last three cars have been bought off the net to the cheapest new price. In these cash strapped times is there still a bit of movement price wise? Parkers are showing the car as bang on price wise for an indie.

[CraigyMc]

Accelebrate said:

If it's anything like the F30 the ED model has non-runflat skinny Michelin eco tyres. I'd imagine they're quite cheap to replace.

I have a 2011 320d ED with 44K miles on it to date.
New tyres (star marked, so BMW spec OEM Michelin Energy saver 205/55/R16) are about £85-£90 or so.
Mine lasted 34K miles, and I don't hang about (last set of Yoko LTS on my old elise lasted 4K miles, for comparison).

No iDrive means no sat-nav, I think. My car has the Pro one (big screen).
There's an intermediate "business" one that has a screen about the size of a tomtom, but I think that'd have an iDrive dial too.

On a run (say, 80mph) the car will do >60mpg.

[Jamesemt]

Lol the model is sounding spot on

[CraigyMc]

A few other things, while we're at it.

The car doesn't have runflats. They are an option on the F30 (current one) but weren't when I was buying my E90.

The car cannot tow anything - the ride height is lower than any other 3-series so a towing ball would be right on the deck, and in concert with the non-runflat tyres BMW don't permit towing with it - there's no towing capacity on the V5c.

The car has both low ride height and non-sports suspension, as well as squidgy tyres. It rides better than any other 3 series.

The transmission gearing is insanely long (it's got a very tall final drive). First gear is very long for a diesel car, and has caught my missus out a few times (she just stalls). 80mph is 2000rpm in 6th gear. There is no auto version of the E90 320d - that only came in with the F30.
In common with many BMWs, folding rear seats were optional, as were many other things lots of people take for granted in standard spec.

I don't have the full list of options, but this is the build sheet off mine.
Everything on this list was an optional extra, and I think all but the smokers pack deletion was a cost option:

BMW 3 Series E90 4DR SALOON 320d 4DR SAL 2.0 EFFICIENT DYNAMICS

Colour: Blk Sapphire m
Trim: Black Dakota L

Factory Options:
255 3 Spoke Sports Leather Steering Whl
320 Model Designation Deletion
322 Comfort Access System
358 Climate Comfort Windscreen
418 Extended Luggage Features
430 Rear View Mirror/Ext Mirrs Auto Dmmn
441 Smokers Package Deletion
465 Split Folding Rear Seat
481 Sports Seats Front
488 Lumbar Support - Front Seats
493 Extended Storage
494 Seat Heating- Front
4UA Electric Seat Adjustment-Part FrtSts
508 PDC - Front + Rear
540 Cruise Control
5DC Folding Rear-Seat Headrests
688 Harman/Kardon Loudspeaker System
6FL USB Audio Interface
LC Dakota Leather Upholstery
Metallic Body Paint
ZP3 Media - Professional
ZV3 Visibility Package M+431

If you have a modern phone (iphone 5s, nexus5, that sort of thing) your car will probably need part of the bluetooth stuff flashed to support it. It can be done with any USB key, just copy a file from BMW's website onto the key and then put that in the USB port in the glovebox, and select the update firmware option. I've had to do that a couple of times so far to support new phones.

If you have any questions, fire them over here and I'll try to answer them.

[Accelebrate]

CraigyMc said:

I have a 2011 320d ED with 44K miles on it to date.
New tyres (star marked, so BMW spec OEM Michelin Energy saver 205/55/R16) are about £85-£90 or so.
Mine lasted 34K miles, and I don't hang about (last set of Yoko LTS on my old elise lasted 4K miles, for comparison).

Sounds about right, I suspect the tyres are a relatively hard compound. I triggered the ABS without meaning to a couple of times during the month I spent with the car. It is surprisingly low, there are a few speed bumps around here where the rubber skirt at the front would catch, my M135i goes over the same bumps without any problems!

I found the ride to be refreshingly comfy, however it made my prone-to-travel-sickness other half queasy.

As much as I agree with all the threads on here about 19" wheels on everyday cars being pointless I did find it hard to get too excited about the way the ED model looks. I appreciate that's entirely subjective though.

[RobM77]

From memory I think the ED runs 20mm lower than the non-ED (ETA - online reviews are quoting either 10mm or 15mm, so I remembered wrongly). It's part of a number of changes that contribute to the better fuel economy. My Dad's seeing 70mpg+ on long motorway runs in his.

Edited by RobM77 on Friday 11th July 11:32

[Jamesemt]

Thanks for all the replies. Drove a local car and loved it...going down to see the car in question on Tuesday.

[RicksAlfas]

I'll echo what the others have said. The ride is very supple and it can cover bumpy B-roads very well indeed.
It is low though!!!

[RobM77]

Does anyone know what the handling on them is like? I'm not bothered by the lack of power or diesel engine, but I am very much into handling. I've currently got an '07 320d on 16"s and I'm very happy with it indeed, but I may have an option to buy my Dad's 2001 320d ED from him at some stage. I had assumed it'd be the same as mine, just a little stiffer due to the lower ride height (fine by me!), but I tried a new shape 1 series recently and whilst I loved the M-Sport version, the standard suspension was horrible and understeerey - I've been told the new 3 series is like that too without M-Sport. Is the E90 ED like my older E90 handling wise?

[RicksAlfas]

Can't you have a go in your Dad's?!

Evo raved about it when it was launched, but I can't find the review. The only thing you might not like is the electric steering. Mine's got the variable job (servotronic?) and it can have the odd lifeless moment. Don't know if the standard setup is like that though.

[Jamesemt]

I found the handling OK - although it's the first BM I've ever driven and it did feel quite large on roundabouts. Suppose you have to realise it's about economy and not all out driving pleasure.

[RobM77]

RicksAlfas said:

Can't you have a go in your Dad's?!

Nope - we don't drive each other's cars in my family. We all get on fine etc, but it's just always been like that with cars. My Dad's the loser there as my Lotus 2-Eleven's in his garage at the moment! If I wanted to buy the ED then he'd insure me for a day, we've agreed that, but before I trouble him I thought I'd ask the question about handling whilst the opportunity was there.

RicksAlfas said:

Evo raved about it when it was launched, but I can't find the review. The only thing you might not like is the electric steering. Mine's got the variable job (servotronic?) and it can have the odd lifeless moment. Don't know if the standard setup is like that though.

Thanks.

I've moved the ED in the driveway and have noticed the steering's totally different, yes. I had ePAS in my Z4C and it felt weird at first, but I got used to it. There's virtually no feel in my hyd. PAS 320d anyway.

[RobM77]

Jamesemt said:

I found the handling OK - although it's the first BM I've ever driven and it did feel quite large on roundabouts. Suppose you have to realise it's about economy and not all out driving pleasure.

To be honest in my opinion (and that of a few other PHers who I've chatted to, but we get attacked for saying it on here...), the lowlier models such as the 320d, 318d etc actually drive much better than the likes of the 330i, 335i etc. I know a fairly well known person who works for a competitor to BMW who says the same about their lower down models too. I'm not sure of the engine weight difference (2.0d vs 3.0i or 3.0i TT), but I think most of it's down to the big wheels normally specced on those 'sportier' models, and the laggy throttle that petrol Beemers have these days. My standard 320d's got a very linear and organic feel to the way it drives and it's an absolute pleasure to hoon - genuinely. The M3 I do prefer, but that's obviously got totally different suspension specifically tuned for the 19" wheels and obviously optimised for handling. What I'm saying is that if you didn't like the handling on a 320d you probably won't like a 330i, unless it's the engine you didn't like and how that links up with handling.

Edited by RobM77 on Friday 11th July 17:19

[CraigyMc]

Jamesemt said:

I found the handling OK - although it's the first BM I've ever driven and it did feel quite large on roundabouts. Suppose you have to realise it's about economy and not all out driving pleasure.

If you're anything like me you'll end up rolling into them faster and faster, and then trailbraking into them to keep the weight on the front.

The engine isn't going to win any dragraces, but fast in a straight line isn't all that much fun to me anyway. It has enough oomph to drag the car out of corners, and can kick the rear sideways if you want (on the other hand, so does the 8bhp engine in a rental kart).

I enjoy driving my 320d/ED more than my old (much faster) 2.0 TT, but not as much as my old elise.