BMW E46 Touring.

Vita

Vita

Vita

Soldato
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Finally decided which estate I want for a long run and it's a E46 Touring, I'm specifically looking at the 320d's. Now what I wanted to know is, should I buy one with a manual or auto box. I've heard the auto boxes are a bit iffy, and because I do plan to remap it at some point I thought a manual would be ok.

I'm looking at the models ranging from the years 02-04, so the pre-facelift and facelift models. I have seen a nice 04 'M-Sport' facelift one for around the 4k mark and it's within budget, but has done 118k miles with FSH. I haven't gone to view it as I'm unsure on what to look out for on these cars, so I thought I would ask on here.
 
All 2002-2004 E46 Tourings are facelift cars as the facelift was November 2001.

I'd imagine an 04 plate 320d Sport (It isn't an M Sport on an 04 plate) would be fairly grotty for £4k. World+dog wants a 320d, its very 'desirable' amongst people after cheaper cars so the cheap ones are cheap for a reason. The 320d itself is not without its problems, the biggest issue is a design flaw with the inlet manifold - it has plastic flaps for emissions purposes which break down over time, are swallowed by the engine and write it off. You can remove them and replace them with blanking plates but this is a £300ish job you'll need to factor into the cost of the car. You'd be mad not to do that. That aside the usual diesel issues affect the 320d - it's a common-rail turbocharged diesel and its getting old, so injectors, turbos etc are likely to prove troublesome sooner rather than later on cars at this end of the market.

You'll need to be doing some big miles in order for the added risk of a 320d to be compensated for by its superior fuel economy. If you are after something with low running costs then an old 3 Series probably isn't it, if you don't mind running costs then do you really need a 4 cylinder diesel?

This will come as a surprise but I'd be tempted to look at the 318i with the later 2.0 16v engine. Performance is reasonable, they are economical, but they are not as troublesome as the diesels and because it's a 318i they are less desireable, too. This is a good thing with only £4k to spend as you want to buy a car that's £4k because nobody wants it rather than £4k because it's a massive pile of rubbish. They do a 318i Sport Touring as well if you want the Sport look and they are unloved compared to the 320d/330i's. Somebody will doubtless suggest a 330d before long - absolutely NO at this money. Spend more if you want one of those.

If you absolutely must have a 320d then I'd suggest a tidy 2002ish car for £4k is likely to be £4k because its 10 years old rather than because it's a nasty example, whereas newer/lower mileage cars at £4k are more likely to be £4k because they are iffy, if that makes sense.

Also bear in mind its what marketing bods call a 'lifestyle estate' which means in practicality terms its more like a massive hatchback than an estate. The loadbay isn't huge.

IMHO the best way to get a nice E46 Touring for your budget is to find the least desireable model and buy one of those. This means something like a 318i SE.
 
[TW]Fox;21882660 said:
All 2002-2004 E46 Tourings are facelift cars as the facelift was November 2001.

[TW]Fox;21882660 said:
I'd imagine an 04 plate 320d Sport (It isn't an M Sport on an 04 plate) would be fairly grotty for £4k. World+dog wants a 320d, its very 'desirable' amongst people after cheaper cars so the cheap ones are cheap for a reason. The 320d itself is not without its problems, the biggest issue is a design flaw with the inlet manifold - it has plastic flaps for emissions purposes which break down over time, are swallowed by the engine and write it off. You can remove them and replace them with blanking plates but this is a £300ish job you'll need to factor into the cost of the car. You'd be mad not to do that. That aside the usual diesel issues affect the 320d - it's a common-rail turbocharged diesel and its getting old, so injectors, turbos etc are likely to prove troublesome sooner rather than later on cars at this end of the market.
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Right I see. I doubt the one's I'm looking are have had that work done, if so, then I'm sure the seller would have mentioned it. Thanks for pointing that out.

[TW]Fox;21882660 said:
You'll need to be doing some big miles in order for the added risk of a 320d to be compensated for by its superior fuel economy. If you are after something with low running costs then an old 3 Series probably isn't it, if you don't mind running costs then do you really need a 4 cylinder diesel?
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I've done a lot of motorway miles in my Yaris, and since I'm travelling every other day, I do need a diesel. I do mind running costs and what you've stated about the 320d has made me think twice. I did look at a nice 318 which is down south, but that had the M-Sport kit and was IIRC £2.5k. I'm not sure if the car was sound or not, but there wasn't much of a description so thought I'd look at the diesel. How economical are the 318's? In the Yaris around town I get 34mpg and on a motorway run looking at 43mpg. Would it be around the same or better?


[TW]Fox;21882660 said:
Somebody will doubtless suggest a 330d before long - absolutely NO at this money. Spend more if you want one of those.
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I'm staying well away from those. I saw one for £2k with 180k on the clock. No thanks.

[TW]Fox;21882660 said:
If you absolutely must have a 320d then I'd suggest a tidy 2002ish car for £4k is likely to be £4k because its 10 years old rather than because it's a nasty example, whereas newer/lower mileage cars at £4k are more likely to be £4k because they are iffy, if that makes sense.

Also bear in mind its what marketing bods call a 'lifestyle estate' which means in practicality terms its more like a massive hatchback than an estate. The loadbay isn't huge.

IMHO the best way to get a nice E46 Touring for your budget is to find the least desireable model and buy one of those. This means something like a 318i SE.
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I would like one with the M-Sport kit as it looks much better then the SE Trim. I have noticed that the boot isn't that huge, but it's not much of a problem for me. I will look at the 318's and see if one appeals to me. I really appreciate the advice and time you've taken to post. Thank you. :)
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[TW]Fox;21882660 said:
IMHO the best way to get a nice E46 Touring for your budget is to find the least desireable model and buy one of those. This means something like a 318i SE.
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Agree with this entirely - especially the points about the loading space! My parents' 318i touring is a REAL squeeze for a large dog and barely beats my 325ti Compact in terms of usable loading space. If you're planning on using the boot space regularly I would personally look elsewhere.
 
Vita said:
How economical are the 318's? In the Yaris around town I get 34mpg and on a motorway run looking at 43mpg. Would it be around the same or better?
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I never found the facelift e46 318i all that economical- expect 25mpg around town and 35mpg on the motorway. 34/43 would require some serious nursing.

35/45 would be easy to get out of the 320d.
 
NickXX said:
I never found the facelift e46 318i all that economical- expect 25mpg around town and 35mpg on the motorway. 34/43 would require some serious nursing.

35/45 would be easy to get out of the 320d.
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Ah, well that goes out of the window. I don't think I can stretch to a good 320d. I want a car which will give me a good run for the money. I actually do need a good size estate with boot space, but because I live in a **** city with high insurance I'm trying to find something which is insurance friendly as well. The next I was looking at was a VW Passat, but I can't find many with leather or climate control.
 
150 miles a week really isn't a lot.

The potential for issues on a more modern turbo diesel engine potentially outweigh any fuel economy savings.
 
Vita said:
I'm doing just over 150 miles a week.
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Not worth the diesel...

I do similar now which dropped from approx 500 miles per week last year when I bought my car.

With the extra price in fuel cost & extra maintenace costs with a turbo diesel I would look at petrols.

Have you considered a Honda Accord estate?
 
It's normally 150 miles a week but I do a long trip down south every other month. I'm unsure if a petrol will be more economical with the miles I do than a diesel.
 
Vita said:
It's normally 150 miles a week but I do a long trip down south every other month. I'm unsure if a petrol will be more economical with the miles I do than a diesel.
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Your usage seems very similar to mine. I spend comparatively little on fuel and I have a 530i!
 
Best thing to do is to tally all the miles up and work it out - difference will probably be less than you think.

I have a diseasel but I admitedly don't really need one.

Lets say I do about 250 miles per week plus on average 4 x 800 mile round trips a year, lets say i do half the mileage on average when off work too.

48 *250 =12k

4 * 120 = .46k

4*800 = 3.2k

all in 15.5k (ok a touch more but to keep it simple)

Cost of diseasel at the moment is about £1.52 for the good stuff, which is what I use

£6.91 /g I average about 48mpg over the year I reckon £0.144 / mile x 15.5k = £2,232pa

Petrol using decent fuel again say £1.47 / l £6.68/g - Averaging say 35mpg over the year £0.191/ mile x 15.5k = £2,959pa

Extra cost of £727 a year, £61ish a month I've got to be honest that has very little influence on the car I drive. That saving could quite easily be offset against the expensive japanese parts when compared with many other makes for example, or servicing which isn't particular value for money. The list goes on really, cars aint cheap no matter the fuel.
 
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[TW]Fox;21884293 said:
Your usage seems very similar to mine. I spend comparatively little on fuel and I have a 530i!
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I spend about £30 a week, which gives my Yaris 140 miles. I used to spend £20 which gave me a 120 miles when the prices were £1.29/litre. If I was to get a petrol I'd like something quick but I cannot justify the extra cost. Yet I want something decent to own for a while, maintenance I'm not too fussed about as long as it isn't going to empty my pockets out every other week.
 
Vita said:
I spend about £30 a week, which gives my Yaris 140 miles. I used to spend £20 which gave me a 120 miles when the prices were £1.29/litre. If I was to get a petrol I'd like something quick but I cannot justify the extra cost. Yet I want something decent to own for a while, maintenance I'm not too fussed about as long as it isn't going to empty my pockets out every other week.
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Wow doesn't that mean you are only getting something like 31-33 mpg!? Just based on between £1.40-5 a litre
 
Funnily enough we are going to look at a 318 sport this weekend. Now I have the oil burner in the family my wife wants something a bit nicer than her Leon and won't need a diesel. Finally talked her out of a TT lol.
 
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