A few BMW related questions.....

[merlin]

Passat goes back at the end of next month. Bye bye you great big fat ugly clumsy POS, burn in hell!

Right, now that's out the way - 90% decided it's replacement will be either a used skateboard off ebay or a 325D M Sport, both mamoth upgrades I'm sure you'll agree.

The skateboard speaks for itself.

The 325 raises some questions: -

1) It's the 330D engine I guess de-tuned, but how is it de-tuned exactly?
2) The 175bhp 320D I drove swept through the (small) rev range quite nicely - throttle (as so to speak) response was almost sharp, presumably the 6 pot 325D engine won't have anything near the same throttle response?
3) Remap - will it break if I remap it? If yes then presumably I could still remap it but opt for a conservative map to keep things sensible?
4) Transmission - I prefer manual but is the auto box any good?
5) Sun protection glass - is this ultra violet filtering or is it just a posh term for tinted glass?
6) Audio - it takes an I-pod but does that mean it'll effectively take any sort of mp3 player? Does it specifically ONLY accept an I-pod?

I've not driven the 325D yet but the 175bhp 320 went well enough so I'm hoping the extra 20 or so ponies & 2 cylinders will up the ante accordingly.

 

[rG-tom]

answering the audio question and gearbox question, the auto box was pretty good on the 320D I had as a hire car, and for all but the most enthusiastic driving spot on. This was due to the engine having quite a small rev range though, the 335i i drove shares the same gearbox apparantly, and that was MUCH better, could live with that!

The audio on my 07 plate was a headphone jack in the armrest so would work with any MP3 player, not sure how it differs now though

Tom.

 

[[TW]Fox]

1) It's the 330D engine I guess de-tuned, but how is it de-tuned exactly?

204bhp IIRC.

2) The 175bhp 320D I drove swept through the (small) rev range quite nicely - throttle (as so to speak) response was almost sharp, presumably the 6 pot 325D engine won't have anything near the same throttle response?

Other than a little bit of turbolag/boost threshold/whatever the hell its called this week I found the throttle response not to be an issue.

4) Transmission - I prefer manual but is the auto box any good?

Yes, for an autobox.

6) Audio - it takes an I-pod but does that mean it'll effectively take any sort of mp3 player? Does it specifically ONLY accept an I-pod?

It depends which options it has fitted. There is the option of a USB port which will take memory sticks etc.

I've not driven the 325D yet but the 175bhp 320 went well enough so I'm hoping the extra 20 or so ponies & 2 cylinders will up the ante accordingly.

I prefered the 325D for the 320D.

 

[merlin]

204bhp IIRC.

Sorry, I've not explained myself properly - what I meant was have they fitted a smaller turbo to the 325D, or is it purely an ECU boost reduction on the 325D?

Two candidates - both pre-regs with delivery miles, one £6k under list and one £7k under list.

 

[Dandle]

If its the same as the difference between the 525d and 530d(both 3.0) then the turbo is the same but the injectors are smaller, the exhaust valves are smaller and theres a few other engine differences. The auto box on the 525d is also rated for less power at 400nm. The 530d and 535d have a stronger gearbox rated for around 600nm.

Forgot to add that the manual 525ds dont seem to have swirl flaps either.

 

[merlin]

Deposit paid, collect end May:

325D M Sport 4 door saloon, full leather & various goodies. 3 litre 6 cylinder 200bhp engine goes some way to counter the unfortunate fact it drinks from the black pump.

List £32,000, but this has 14 miles on the clock and was registered a month ago so we're paying £23,850. God bless the recession and pre-registered motor vehicles.

 

[Housey]

Good stuff, I hate the recession as I have a car that no one wants to own and an a deposit on a car I couldn't afford to buy!

 

[Howard]

List £32,000, but this has 14 miles on the clock and was registered a month ago so we're paying £23,850.

:|

 

[ironman]

Good stuff, I hate the recession as I have a car that no one wants to own and an a deposit on a car I couldn't afford to buy!

I'll give you £10k for the RS4

 

[Housey]

I'll give you £10k for the RS4

Sure, left or right wheels, I'll throw in a tyre too!

 

[OllyM]

Deposit paid, collect end May:

325D M Sport 4 door saloon, full leather & various goodies. 3 litre 6 cylinder 200bhp engine goes some way to counter the unfortunate fact it drinks from the black pump.

List £32,000, but this has 14 miles on the clock and was registered a month ago so we're paying £23,850. God bless the recession and pre-registered motor vehicles.

Where did you find that?!

 

[merlin]

Where did you find that?!

Sytner, Oldbury.

 

[Sukh]

Housey what happens to your deposit on the gtr if you don't but it?

Do they keep it until you do buy one?

Sorry if I'm asking a bit much, just all my cars have been of autotrader

 

[Joe T]

Enjoy!

 

[Housey]

Housey what happens to your deposit on the gtr if you don't but it?

Do they keep it until you do buy one?

Sorry if I'm asking a bit much, just all my cars have been of autotrader

I didn't order a GT-R, I had a letter of intent for a Rev 2 997 GT3 which I didn't take the option on. No issue getting deposits back on such cars and I know quite a few people who have decided not to take their GT-R orders and again have had no issue getting their deposits back. If it were a 1.6 Focus it might be somewhat more tricky but on limited run specials it tends to be less of an issue. With these sort of cars deposits are typically placed when the car is not official and specs are not confirmed, so it is seen as being a little different. When Porsche officially annouced the GT3 Rev 2 they then come and ask you for your spec and 10% deposit and it as this point it becomes more firm and will be more painful if you spec, pay 10% and then want to get out of it.

 

[Sukh]

Thanks for the insight

Its years before im earning enough to be doing this, and Dad just goes to the normal Audi/Merc/BMW and orders the usual barges.

 

[Stolly]

Deposit paid, collect end May:

325D M Sport 4 door saloon, full leather & various goodies. 3 litre 6 cylinder 200bhp engine goes some way to counter the unfortunate fact it drinks from the black pump.

List £32,000, but this has 14 miles on the clock and was registered a month ago so we're paying £23,850. God bless the recession and pre-registered motor vehicles.

So whats the form with getting a pre-reg at that price ? Do you just rock on up to a BMW dealer and ask whats available pre-reg ? How about price, I assume there was some negotiation, what was the price pre-negotiation ?

Is it generally better to go in towards the end of the month when they may be sweating over their targets or doesn't it really matter ?

 

[merlin]

So whats the form with getting a pre-reg at that price ? Do you just rock on up to a BMW dealer and ask whats available pre-reg ? How about price, I assume there was some negotiation, what was the price pre-negotiation ?

Is it generally better to go in towards the end of the month when they may be sweating over their targets or doesn't it really matter ?

Basically the story goes I've been checking the BMW website for about 6 weeks and constantly varying the searches to catch any unusually priced stuff. I wanted a touring but opened the search to coupe and saloons.

About 4 weeks ago 6 or 7 x 325D M Sports just appeared out of nowhere on the website - all priced around £25,000. They were all Feb 09, all showed 10 miles. I thought wtf and started making phone calls, dealers basically said BMW want shot of these cars that have been sat gathering dust so they've pre-registered them and they're offering them to dealers for silly money. Dealers in turn are throwing them up for £25k each and unsurprisingly dealers phones are ringing off the hook.

I decided to play it cool (wondering whether prices might crash but also the cars weren't quite the spec I wanted) and so I waited and waited and waited and suddenly one popped up the colour I wanted and with full beige leather rather than alcantara and walnut trim, exactly what I wanted, it was priced at £24,995 - I offered £23,500, we settled on £23,850 inc tax and a few bits n bobs.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I'd rather have got a Passat?

 

[merlin]

I'd rather have got a Passat?

You so wouldn't.

Ironically I was in a highline 170 Passat a few weeks ago and whilst it still made me want to stab myself for excitement I thought it was a million miles better than my 140 'S'.