Considering an E46 Touring....

[Legend83]

...to fit the incoming twins in and everything that goes with having a new, much larger family!

So, good practical cars?

What should I look out for, what should I pay?

My commute is light so I would be looking at petrol variants, would want it to be relatively low mileage and as late as poss (these finished 2005?).

I guess budget would be £6-7k? Is that realistic?

Saw this one on Autotrader that looked good VFM:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Any advice, as always, very much appreciated.

[Legend83]

Just bumping as I had it moved from the BMW forum....

[Truckosaurus]

I have an E46 330i Touring. It is very good.

The petrol versions are much cheaper than diesels (as you've noticed).

They are not especially big, for Good or Ill.

[edo]

Legend83 said:

Saw this one on Autotrader that looked good VFM:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Any advice, as always, very much appreciated.

looks very nice.

[defblade]

I've recently bought a 318 touring. It's noticably much smaller than then A6 avant I had 2 cars ago and sometimes a bit surprising at what doesn't really fit in. I'd check your pram/buggie whatever goes in the boot first.

Much of this down to Right Wheel Drive sucking up boot space but also there seems to be a bit more room given to the rear passengers than in an E36, so that may have robbed an inch or two as well.

[geeteeaye]

IMO go bigger to a 5 touring, for your budget you can be looking at 2004/5 525i's, as has been said the 3 touring really isn't that big. There is a nice 03 plate 530i on autotrader for £6.5k.

[Pablo16v]

If you have twins you might find the E46 Touring a bit on the small side, especially if you plan to go on holiday in it. It's not a particularly big estate car. I had a 325i Touring and we struggled for space when travelling with our daughter last year and had to make use of the 60/40 split rear seats quite often. Something you won't be able to do with twins.

[Vroomer]

Legend83 said:

Saw this one on Autotrader that looked good VFM:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Any advice, as always, very much appreciated.

That looks very good value indeed. The 330 engine is a beaut and that example has a top spec.

[Vroomer]

Legend83 said:

Just bumping as I had it moved from the BMW forum....

Why?

[hogfisch]

I went through the same decision last year and narrowed my choices down to an E46 Touring or Mercedes C class (W203) Estate. BMW was a nice car, but I found just not roomy enough for the family (2 children under 5) and all the carp that comes with it. I ended up with the Mercedes.

[Minel]

got the 330D Msport touring variant and it isn't very big indeed, but good enough for 2 people and a dog

Mine is lowered/remapped but the performance on day to day roads is decent, good torque.

[Legend83]

Vroomer said:

Why?

3 hours in that forum with no response.

Ok, so looks like general consensus is 3 series might be too small.

So what about a Merc?

I have never even considered one before, know nothing about them, always assumed they were expensive to run and not that reliable for what you pay....

Can anyone give me some info?

[Legend83]

hogfisch said:

I went through the same decision last year and narrowed my choices down to an E46 Touring or Mercedes C class (W203) Estate. BMW was a nice car, but I found just not roomy enough for the family (2 children under 5) and all the carp that comes with it. I ended up with the Mercedes.

Did you go for the Merc and how has it faired?

[happyumbungo]

Congratulations on the twins, as dad of twin girls I can empathise with you about car choice!

I ended gong from a Clio 182 to a Scenic(missus loved it and is very family friendly and practical, although not very sporty!) but I would suggest as mentioned that you will need a bigger car than a E46 touring, especially if you want to go on holiday with them while they are still little, double buggy, high chairs, etc.

5 series or E class would be on my wishlist although an alternative would be a Saab 9-5 estate or Volvo V70?

[rob.e]

We came very close to buying almost exactly that car a few years ago, but in the end common sense (swmbo) prevailed and we went for a 318 instead for less money and improved mpg.

Its pretty good as a family wagon - well built, practical.

Our does 30-ish mpg overall which isn't bad given the urban use the car gets.

We use the skoda estate for family holidays but i think we'd be just fine if we took the bmw + roofbox. I have a 3yr old and an 18month old btw.

Some more info in my "garage".

Get leather if you can - its much more practical than cloth.

Will this ONLY be used for kiddie transportation? If so there's no point going for something quick - i never drive fast with the kids in the car. My Vrs wagon takes me every day to and from work on my own so needs to be quick, but the other car that just does family stuff can be a plodder.

[Legend83]

rob.e said:

Will this ONLY be used for kiddie transportation?

No, I will use it for my commute too, mostly B roads.

How much is a roofbox these days?

[rob.e]

Well in that case a 330 would be a good choice.

Roofbox - depends what you want, small cheap and cheerful from halfords or a proper full size quality make like a thule or similar. I have a thule atlantis which cost about 300 quid IIRC.


Here's a good site with lots of choice:
http://www.roofbox.co.uk/roof-boxes/roof-boxes-fam...

My thule on the skoda - I now also have thule pro-ride bike carriers to put the bikes on the roof alongside the box.

Edited by rob.e on Wednesday 9th March 13:24

[Cotty]

Pablo16v said:

If you have twins you might find the E46 Touring a bit on the small side, especially if you plan to go on holiday in it. It's not a particularly big estate car. I had a 325i Touring and we struggled for space when travelling with our daughter last year and had to make use of the 60/40 split rear seats quite often. Something you won't be able to do with twins.

Take less?

[6potdave]

Great cars! Avoid the diesels though, they went through a bad phase around 2000 - 2005 and I have first experience of that. New turbo, intercooler, breather modifier along with a list of other parts I have chosen to forget! Ironic thing is we chose the diesel over the petrol as it would be cheaper to run turned out not to be the case. However the 6 cylinder petrols are spot on and won't cause you too many problems.

[Ritchie335is]

Cotty said:

Take less?

Do you have kids?
Me and the missus went away over Hogmanay for 1 week with 1 6 month old child.
We had to take two cars.
That was my M5 and her E36 touring.

I am not kidding. I was fking raging!
"yes we really need that", "no we can't leave it here"


TWINS? She would need a Greyhound bus if we had twins.