E46 330ci Running Costs
Discussion
Hi all,
I wanting to start the search for a new car, but am hoping I can get some info on running costs before I get too sold on the idea. I fancy an E46 330 ci Sport manual, and with a budget of £4k to
£5k, I think I would be looking at a 2000/01 with 100,000+ miles on it?
Questions are :-
-how does the servicing regime work? I have had Sufis with variable servicing, but I think I'm right in saying that the 3 has variable servicing, but may have fluid changes in between these services? Can anyone explain? What kind of costs should I expect for these services at a decent Indy?
-is 30mpg possible under A road conditions (45mph to 60mph commute)
-what size tyres (same on back and
front?)
-anything specific to watch out for on a car this age?
-am I right in saying the engine is chain driven rather than belt?
We have a diesel zafira for family duties (I know, I know) so it doesn't need to be massively practical, and will probably do less than 8k miles p.a. so as long as fuel economy isn't appalling, I'm hoping it should fit the bill!
Any experiences/anecdotes from current past owners would also be helpful!
-
I wanting to start the search for a new car, but am hoping I can get some info on running costs before I get too sold on the idea. I fancy an E46 330 ci Sport manual, and with a budget of £4k to
£5k, I think I would be looking at a 2000/01 with 100,000+ miles on it?
Questions are :-
-how does the servicing regime work? I have had Sufis with variable servicing, but I think I'm right in saying that the 3 has variable servicing, but may have fluid changes in between these services? Can anyone explain? What kind of costs should I expect for these services at a decent Indy?
-is 30mpg possible under A road conditions (45mph to 60mph commute)
-what size tyres (same on back and
front?)
-anything specific to watch out for on a car this age?
-am I right in saying the engine is chain driven rather than belt?
We have a diesel zafira for family duties (I know, I know) so it doesn't need to be massively practical, and will probably do less than 8k miles p.a. so as long as fuel economy isn't appalling, I'm hoping it should fit the bill!
Any experiences/anecdotes from current past owners would also be helpful!
-
-how does the servicing regime work? Variable - Oil service, insp 1, oil service, insp 2 repeat.
Can anyone explain? What kind of costs should I expect for these services at a decent Indy? - £150-£350.
-is 30mpg possible under A road conditions (45mph to 60mph commute) - Yes
-what size tyres (same on back and front?) - I think they are staggered, size depends on wheel spec
-anything specific to watch out for on a car this age? - cooling system maybe, suspension / bushes and normal used car checks
-am I right in saying the engine is chain driven rather than belt? Yes
Can anyone explain? What kind of costs should I expect for these services at a decent Indy? - £150-£350.
-is 30mpg possible under A road conditions (45mph to 60mph commute) - Yes
-what size tyres (same on back and front?) - I think they are staggered, size depends on wheel spec
-anything specific to watch out for on a car this age? - cooling system maybe, suspension / bushes and normal used car checks
-am I right in saying the engine is chain driven rather than belt? Yes
pbarlow0032 said:
Hi all,
I wanting to start the search for a new car, but am hoping I can get some info on running costs before I get too sold on the idea. I fancy an E46 330 ci Sport manual, and with a budget of £4k to
£5k, I think I would be looking at a 2000/01 with 100,000+ miles on it?
Questions are :-
-how does the servicing regime work? I have had Sufis with variable servicing, but I think I'm right in saying that the 3 has variable servicing, but may have fluid changes in between these services? Can anyone explain? What kind of costs should I expect for these services at a decent Indy?
-is 30mpg possible under A road conditions (45mph to 60mph commute)
-what size tyres (same on back and
front?)
-anything specific to watch out for on a car this age?
-am I right in saying the engine is chain driven rather than belt?
We have a diesel zafira for family duties (I know, I know) so it doesn't need to be massively practical, and will probably do less than 8k miles p.a. so as long as fuel economy isn't appalling, I'm hoping it should fit the bill!
- As said above ^^. At a good BMW Specialist i paid £320 for my Insp 2 (inc coolant, brake fluid and microfilters AND, most importantly, using OE parts.)I wanting to start the search for a new car, but am hoping I can get some info on running costs before I get too sold on the idea. I fancy an E46 330 ci Sport manual, and with a budget of £4k to
£5k, I think I would be looking at a 2000/01 with 100,000+ miles on it?
Questions are :-
-how does the servicing regime work? I have had Sufis with variable servicing, but I think I'm right in saying that the 3 has variable servicing, but may have fluid changes in between these services? Can anyone explain? What kind of costs should I expect for these services at a decent Indy?
-is 30mpg possible under A road conditions (45mph to 60mph commute)
-what size tyres (same on back and
front?)
-anything specific to watch out for on a car this age?
-am I right in saying the engine is chain driven rather than belt?
We have a diesel zafira for family duties (I know, I know) so it doesn't need to be massively practical, and will probably do less than 8k miles p.a. so as long as fuel economy isn't appalling, I'm hoping it should fit the bill!
- Just about - i'm averaging 27.1mpg over about 7000 miles at the moment (70% of those miles were done on A roads, with the remaining 30% done on the motorway).
- Tyre size for MV1 and MV2 alloys (on the sport models) is 225/40/18 (front) and 255/35/18 (rear).
- Ha, how long have you got? Most important thing to look out for is the seller. Most have been owned by chavvy idiots who have no idea about servicing and maintenence, and they've put LingLong tyres on the car and fake alloys. Tyres are a great indication to see if a car has been maintained properly. If the owner has stuck on a £600 set of Potenzas/Eagle F1's/Conti's etc, when they could have easily put on a £300 set of tyres - it's probable they haven't skimped elsewhere. Make sure the car has been serviced properly and on time every year (dealer serviced is a ++). Obviously, try and go for a low ownered (?) one. 1 or 2 owners is ideal. Suspension bushes will be shot on a 100k car - get these replaced if you want to experience what a 330 should be like. It's often said that BMW shock absorbers are knackered as soon as 20k, so see if these have been done. Check to see if the rear heated screen affects the FM radio when activated. Check for any abnormal noises under the bonnet. Ask if the cooling system has been changed. Check under the oil filler cap for anything abnormal (a small amount orangey/rusty colour sludge isn't anything to be alarmed about - it just means the car has been used for short trips). Look through all of the paper work and see that the mileages add up.
Oh, and DEFINITELY go to http://www.ukmot.com and have a look through all of the old MOT's the car has been through - it will tell you what the car has failed on in the past, what it was advised about in the past and what mileages the MOT's were done at. This tool is invaluable and it is great at finding car's that have been clocked (i've seen it happen!).
Thanks for the responses so far! Apologies if the OP seemed abrupt or made no sense, wrote it on IPhone and couldn't seem to edit it properly!
Servicing costs seem ok from what has been said? Does anyone know of a decent BMW specialist or good independent in Durham area?
Has anyone on here owned a TTV6 and a 330ci and can give a comparison? Owned a TTV6 a few years ago and still miss it for the noise, but think the 330ci seems a great blend of performance, class, and ok running costs?
Servicing costs seem ok from what has been said? Does anyone know of a decent BMW specialist or good independent in Durham area?
Has anyone on here owned a TTV6 and a 330ci and can give a comparison? Owned a TTV6 a few years ago and still miss it for the noise, but think the 330ci seems a great blend of performance, class, and ok running costs?
Maybe worth trying BMW main dealers for servicing as any 330ci you buy will qualify under their 4+ scheme which brings their prices down a bit, and then barter the local ones off against each other. There always seems to be around 20% difference between the most expensive and cheapest.
But then you've got to put up with the snotty b
ds at their service departments !
But then you've got to put up with the snotty b
ds at their service departments !Why bother taking a car of the age your looking at to a main dealer. If your able do it yourself as they are very easy to look after. Did over 100k on top of the 80k it had when I got it with just me servicing it every 10k miles and it never missed a beat. Averaged just over 30mpg in that time to. Great reliable cars so long as you look after them.
Have only done oil changes on a little old corsa we had, with the help of my father in law who is mechanically minded! Would consider doing oil and filter change and brake pads and discs myself, but would not attempt anything else! Given the cars age by the time I sell it, I shouldn't think there would be any downside of working on it myself?
Out of interest, someone mentioned replacing suspension bushes and shocks. Any ideas parts price wise, labour cost, and if it's a possible DIY job?
Thanks again for responses!
Out of interest, someone mentioned replacing suspension bushes and shocks. Any ideas parts price wise, labour cost, and if it's a possible DIY job?
Thanks again for responses!
For the average car DIY'er with the usual tools neither job is a problem.
Front control arms are a pretty simple DIY, the hard part is getting the old one off as it will have worked pretty tight over the years it's on the car. Parts will be about £250 for the set, M-Sport model another £50 or so. If it's just the bushes (as opposed to the control arms) parts are about £60 and an easy DIY, but often it pays to replace the control arms at the same time as you cannot replace the arms without replacing the bushes too.
Springs are simple provided you have a spring compressor, but if you are not confident it's probably best to entrust it to a garage because the spring compressors are dangerous if not used properly. Springs about £100 per pair, dampers £150-£200
Front control arms are a pretty simple DIY, the hard part is getting the old one off as it will have worked pretty tight over the years it's on the car. Parts will be about £250 for the set, M-Sport model another £50 or so. If it's just the bushes (as opposed to the control arms) parts are about £60 and an easy DIY, but often it pays to replace the control arms at the same time as you cannot replace the arms without replacing the bushes too.
Springs are simple provided you have a spring compressor, but if you are not confident it's probably best to entrust it to a garage because the spring compressors are dangerous if not used properly. Springs about £100 per pair, dampers £150-£200
Edited by john_p on Tuesday 19th October 11:46
Oil change will be easier than the Corsa! the filters in plain view from the top and very easy to get to, sump draining is the same so all very DIY.
Bushes mentioned are normally the rear mounts on the front lower arms. Bushes are £25 of Gay bay and dead easy to fit! so long as someone gives you the heads up of what to do. PM me if you want a write up. Just did my mates and it took longer to jack the car and get the wheels off TBH!
Airfilter - easy, plugs - easy and only every 50kish, just buy one and put fuel in it.
The only thing I did outside of the norm was to change the gearbox oil at 100k as preventative maintenance as the "filled for life" BMW talk about is bks! Even that was not to bad TBH.
Bushes mentioned are normally the rear mounts on the front lower arms. Bushes are £25 of Gay bay and dead easy to fit! so long as someone gives you the heads up of what to do. PM me if you want a write up. Just did my mates and it took longer to jack the car and get the wheels off TBH!
Airfilter - easy, plugs - easy and only every 50kish, just buy one and put fuel in it.
The only thing I did outside of the norm was to change the gearbox oil at 100k as preventative maintenance as the "filled for life" BMW talk about is b
ks! Even that was not to bad TBH.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff