BMW People step-in!

Pug

Pug

Pug

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
5,184
Location
Over there...
My brother is selling his A4 2.5D Quattro estate, and is looking at a BMW 3 series (maybe 5, depending on price). He'll have about £6-8.5k to spend, and ideally wants a 330D MSport manual, MSport is negotiable i guess, but manual isnt. Estate is preferred, but not essential.

He is looking at 02 cars which we believe have lower power, smaller engines, 5 speed, or higher mileage 03 examples which have higher capacity, 6-speed and slightly more power. Is this accurate?

Any tips, suggestions, budget outlines expectations etc? Tips on places to look etc, specific examples of models where there is a better bargain?

Things to look out for on the car themselves, any expensive buills to be avoided?

Thanks in advance
 
02 and 03 cars are Sport not M Sport. Pre 03 are 184 bhp v 204bhp in post 03.

Expectations? A shabby 7 year old car owned by a chump and fitted with mismatched budget tyres I should imagine. Not many nice ones owned by nice people left.
 
sounds like you'd advise against? Yet dont you own similar? Happy to wait instead of rush-in... 5 series are very much on the table too, if you get better for the money.
 
Last edited:
he got his a fair old time ago and isnt the mismatched budgt tyre type... ie few and far between

see how much he wants for his 5er? ;)
 
Pug said:
sounds like you'd advise against? Yet dont you own similar? Happy to wait instead of rush-in... 5 series are very much on the table too, if you get better for the money.
Click to expand...

I do own similar but I bought mine at 4 years old and I am one of the few people with this sort of car who still bothers to service it at BMW and still fits 4 Continental tyres to it, etc.

The problem is that every halfwit wants a BMW - the brand really does attract complete knuckledraggers who think once they have a BMW, they will be better than everyone else. So they crave an 'M Sport innit' which they will buy and then spend as little as they can on it. Corners cut here, stuff bodged there, Ebay mods here, mismatching cheapo tyres there. This combined with the fact they get more fragile with age means at this end of the market you really need to find the needle in the haystack.

A good BMW is a fantastic car - there is a reason I put up with the appalling image, after all. But the less you spend the harder a good BMW is to find. Especially with said after models which the 330d absolutely is.

You do get more for your money with a 5 Series, and all facelift E39's (Any E60 diesel at this money will be a nasty liability) have the 194bhp variant of the 3.0d engine, but the newest of these are 2003 models.

There is always the potential for big bills, some you can't avoid, some you can. The diesels have the biggest bill potential with turbocharger and injector failure not unheard of.

Whilst the 3 Series is a better car than the A4, it's very much a sideways move assuming he has a 2001-2006 shape A4. A few years ago it would be a sensible sideways move as its a better car, but you must now ask if its worth the risk and faff of finding a good one to move sideways.
 
Thanks for the explanation.

The issue is the Audi has had a VERY generous offer made on it - more than he paid for it in fact, and probably more than it's worth. I'll pass the thoughts over.

Any suggestions of other models in the ranges which are better value/less abused?
 
There are some gems but they are few and far between. Agree that it's an odd sidewards step.

Does it have to be a BMW? Could probably get a newer other make estate with loads of toys.
Or, if he's getting more than it's worth just buy a newer a4 estate
 
On the plus side, 330d tourings attract a better owner than a 330ci.

The negative is that finding a 330d touring manual will be a PITA.
 
I looked at 330x tourings a little while ago for the same sort of money. While I think the 330d touring is a superb all rounder and the 330i is a wonderful drive, I just couldn't justify the cost. It was very difficult to find anything that wasn't a shed, and I'm not nearly as fussy as some other people here. At this age, there are probably some big bills imminent on either car - so they were good, just not good enough to make it worth the risk IMO

I ended up with a 55 reg Saab 93 aero - so a good 4 or 5 years newer than the BMW for the same price and better equipped. While slower on paper, it didn't feel that much slower because of the turbo and it was a trade of handling for comfort. While it's not a recommendation in this case, just saying there might be something without the badge that would do the job just as well, but without the risk
 
Last edited:
Matt82 said:
i wouldnt be so sure. youll have an element of omg-mpg penny pinching buyer. id say that youve got just as much chance of the owner cheaping out everywhere if its a diesel
Click to expand...

I think the point he was making was your local chavling Wayne has no desire to own an estate 3 series when he can get a 'wikkid' coupe.
 
If you are going for a touring, I wouldn't worry about M Sport / Sport. All tourings in the E46 range had Sport suspension anyway (for load / sprung / unsprung weight).

As long as you pick a nice SE, bar the subtle exterior mods, you won't miss a lot.

Best on Pistonheads is this withint budget:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1879453.htm

If you're not a fan of the wood, that can be changed quite easily and doesn't cost too much, it's also a facelift model.

Injectors like to break on these near this mileage, so does the woodruff balancer key. If you loose an injector, the replacement might need to be programmed to the ECU to work. Keep some Millers Diesel Plus through it on occassion and you shouldn't see any until you start to put the miles on. If you loose the woodruff key, the engine will bounce around like a well chested hooker on an 18 year old who's scored his first proper job. It gets annoying, so worth fixing.
 
Last edited:
I searched for a long time to get my new car, a 2002 black 330d Sport. 71k, one owner from new and FSH for £6700. It's an auto though which I don't mind as I do a lot of miles. I've looked at many 6-7k 3 series and generally they are not pretty. Lots of owners, nasty modifications, tatty bodywork and/or Ling Long tyres. I found it was just a case of being patient.

I did see a manual 330d identical to mine but a 52 plate and a few more miles (81k) which was up for £7000 from a dealer, so they are out there. Also, the tourers seem to sell for less than the coupe and saloon.

I guess it's all personal preference but I didn't want a 3 series without the Sport package as I found it (the SE) a little too understated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom