Bought my 330d sport today!

[Liam79]

And its great!. Couldnt stop smiling when i was driving it home. Its a 51 plate in silver with fsh, 55k, full black leather and carbon trim and all the toys (apart from xenons!). Could recommend anyone who is thinking about getting one to do it. Performance is excellent and it looks great with the mtech kit and alloys.
It has Michelon pilot sport tyres all round and its great driving home on the b roads today. Love it!

[emicen]

I'm on the case now myself. Looking at quite a few at the moment.

Thats remarkably low mileage for that year. Just cant understand people that buy a diesel to cover <10k miles a year. But hey, their depreciatory loss is your gain!

[Liam79]

I went to see an 03 reg the other week with 65k on, but it was nowhere near as clean as this one. It also was due a service. Ive just had the garage do a service 2, full mot and 12 months tax as part of the deal. Also i think the 330d sport is one of the slowest depreciation cars out there.

[Welshbeef]

Im finding that prices are pretty static at the £8-12k mark, however bearing that in mind and that a 55 Reg 330d M Sport can be bought for £22k it seems like there is a bulk all hovering around the £12-16k mark.

Clearly these will have to drop as the new cars come down in price.

Out of interest why did you choose the 184Bhp 5 speeder over the 204bhp 6 speeder?

Clearly £ no object it would have to be a 231bhp first choice every time (unluckily for me Im not within that group!)

[Liam79]

Didnt think there was a noticeable difference in perfomance between the 2 and also prices of the cars with the later engine were 14k plus for a good one.

[Welshbeef]

You'll see from my other topic on the 330D I quoted BMW figs for speed MPG etc and I guess tend to agree that the 184bhp is the better option and chip it to 204 power.

I really must have a drive in a 330D (Reading) to find out which one I'd accept, also if I'd accept an Auto over the Manual!!

[Welshbeef]

On Price the 184 seems to start from £6.5k up to £13k the 204 goes from £11k - £18k and the 231 from £21k - £35k

Does the extra few £k make it worth while to have 6 speeds over 5? And 11% more power? ive no idea - however if I bought the 184bhp I must ask how far behind is the VAG 150TDI unit on performance?? From stats alone it would appear to be neck and neck (please correct me If Im wrong here).

[anonymous-user]

emicen said:

Thats remarkably low mileage for that year. Just cant understand people that buy a diesel to cover <10k miles a year. But hey, their depreciatory loss is your gain!

They hold their value better actually. Also in many cases better to drive too.

[Welshbeef]

Have you bought the 184 Sport Auto or stick shift?

[Liam79]

I dont think you can go off prices on parkers etc. I was searching for a 330d sport for 2 months and the 03 with 65 was 13.5k and the one i got was 51 with 55k and was advertised to £12,800. Might be able to get one with higher miles and bit of a lesser spec condition, but ive always been the same with my cars. Id rather pay a bit extra for a good one and more likely to get money back to a fellow enthusiast which i have done in the past.

[Liam79]

Its an auto by the way with sports manual mode.

[Welshbeef]

Will you be giving it the DMS treatment?

[Liam79]

Maybe yeah. Im more than happy with the performance at the moment, but may have a trip to get it done after new year.

[Welshbeef]

Did you look at Golf GT 150PD'd and Leon Cupra TDI 150's too? These are similar performance cars (at a little less than 330D prices)?

[Liam79]

No, they didnt really interest me. I wasnt specifically looking for a diesel at first. Had a look at leon cupra r, audi a4 1.8 turbo, audi a4 tdi 130 and a few different models of bmw (330 coupe, 320), but none were as good imo as the 330d sport.

[Welshbeef]

One big issue is you can buy a 204bhp for c£15k but you can also buy an M5 for the same... one will lose £ the other far less and be such a remarkable car.

[Liam79]

Yeah, but the running cost on an M5 are astronomical! 5 litre. Also parts etc. Its the same for a lot of models, but would rather have something practical and easy to maintain.

[Welshbeef]

Well I have a £660pcm car allowence and need something newer than 8 years old (so really have to buy something 5 years old otherwise I'd have to change it @ 8 years).

I drive a 220bhp Fiat Coupe which ave about 28-30 combined.

I want a 4 door (maybe hatchback, maybe a touring maybe a saloon), I have driven diesel before and like the thrust it gives along with big economy.

Ive heard a lot about the 330D & the VAG 150TDI (similar ish performance), the timing belt is the issue on the VAG's but with the BMW the chain never needs changing only adjusting (which is a doddle).

Ive not had an Auto before and dont really want one but might be pushed into getting one.

So the list is 330D, 530D, Golf GT TDI 150, stretch to a Golf GT Sport 170, Leon Cupra 240bhp, or at the other end of the scale a £5-7k Skoda Fabia vRS.

[Welshbeef]

Also with the M5 yes parts will be pricy but as its losing less of its value then this lower depreciation can subsidise the higher parts costs??

I think the 20mpg is a big turn off (based on c15k a year) fuel would cost £3.3k vs a 330d 40mpg combined (Manual) £1.7k

So the 330D is £1.6k cheaper on Fuel....
Tax - £40 cheaper
Ins - £400 cheaper

So excl servicing & depn the 330D Sport is >£2k a year cheaper to run.

So I need to know what will a 204bhp 330D Sport worth £15k now be worth in 3 years time vs an M5 worth £15k.

[Ranger 6]

From experience of having had both a 3 series and a Golf at the same time I would say the the BMW is worth the premium.

Comparing the Golf 1.9 Tdi 150 and the 330d I found that the BMW is just so much smoother, real bottom end grunt and not as peaky. The handling is very different, the Golf is very soft in comparison. I've not however driven a MkV golf which is probably close in budget terms.