Best 3.0 (or thereabouts) car for my money? BMW 330Ci, Mondeo ST220, etc. Thoughts?

Tediore

Tediore

Tediore

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Hi.

I'll just cut straight to the chase here.

I'm starting a new job in the next few weeks, and I'm going to be doing varying amounts of traveling, so will need a car. I know it makes more sense to go for a 2.0 diesel or something, but I haven't had need of a car in just over 2 years, and I don't drink or smoke, so I want something I can enjoy.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of a 3.0 normally aspirated engine along the lines of a BMW 330Ci, Mondeo ST220, etc. and just wanted some opinions on these cars and suggestions of other options I might have overlooked.

I've tried my friend's Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6, and while I do love the car, it's not been the most reliable thing ever, and I'm 6' 4" so find it hard to get my legs in and out when in tight spaces. The driving position just isn't suited to tall people at all.

My only criteria are no diesels, no automatics, and nothing that shouts "LOOK AT ME!" too much. I'm going to be representing a business when visiting clients, so can't be turning up in a Civic Type-R with an exhaust louder than God :p

I am open to other engines though such as 2.5s, 3.5s, etc.

I'm looking at spending around £3 - £4,000. I've seen some nice 330Cis and Mondeos for that sort of money - I'm after the pre-facelift 330Ci because I prefer the headlights on them.

If I think of anything else, I'll edit it in later.

Cheers! :)
 
How many miles a year are you expecting you'll be doing?

I wouldnt want a 3k 330i personally

Do you want a hatch or coupe though - the Mondeo is a large hatch/saloon/estate and the 330Ci is a coupe
 
I got a 3k(2.7k) 330Ci, spent £1500 fixing cooling system and powersteering/alternator.

You'll get about 25mpg if you drive very sensibly, depending on the miles you do it can get very expensive!
 
acemastr said:
I got a 3k(2.7k) 330Ci, spent £1500 fixing cooling system and powersteering/alternator.

You'll get about 25mpg if you drive very sensibly, depending on the miles you do it can get very expensive!
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I got more MPG than that out of a far less efficient 1992 325i (M50B25)!

I'd not have any problems with a £3-4k 330 (i or Ci), as this is the level they have now reached, it's neither overly cheap, nor unexpected.

Just be prepared to do a bit of maintenance work.
 
With that budget i think you would do well to get a 406 Coupe with the D9 variant of the v6 engine (Basically a later 406 V6 Coupe)
You should have plenty left over for servicing and general fixing up after the purchase price and it will work as well as the alternatives.
The D9 has more power as well as better MPG thanks to VVT
 
paradigm said:
I got more MPG than that out of a far less efficient 1992 325i (M50B25)!

I'd not have any problems with a £3-4k 330 (i or Ci), as this is the level they have now reached, it's neither overly cheap, nor unexpected.

Just be prepared to do a bit of maintenance work.
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Got 21mpg out of my last tank, but that was with a bit of car park fun on snow. I can see 32 on a run but you'd be hard pushed to get more than 25 around town. My journey to work is about 2 miles of start stop, 7 miles of several roundabouts on an A road and 3 miles of country B road.
 
Thanks for the replies so far! :)

I expect I'll be doing below average mileage, even accounting for business use. My commute will only be about 6 miles to where I'm based, but I'll be traveling from Telford to the surrounding areas and possibly out as far as Birmingham and Stoke. I won't know exactly how much traveling I'll be doing until I actually do it, but it'll vary from week to week.

I forgot to mention I'll be getting 45 pence per mile fuel allowance for any traveling I do, so I'm not too concerned about that. I'm also used to sub-30mpg, having owned a Nissan Primera eGT with a few engine mods in the past, so 25mpg really isn't much of an issue for me.

As paradigm said, I've been looking at 330Cis, and a 2003 model is about £3 - £3,500 for a good one with full BMW service history. I realise I'll have to factor in some maintenance though. Are the cooling system and power steering common faults on these?

As far as coupé versus saloon/hatchback, I'm not bothered. I'll be the only one using the car 90% of the time, so don't need easy access to rear seats or a large boot. I'd just like a nice, 6 cylinder engine that's not going to go wrong every 5 minutes, and that's going to be fun on the B roads, but quiet and comfortable on A roads and motorways. I'm not planning on taking it to a track, but it will be driven across Europe in the next couple of years or so.

I do like the 406 Coupé, so I'll have a look at those. I'm generally not all that keen on French cars though, and from what I've read, the V6 isn't all that quick, at least in the earlier models. I'll have a look on Parkers for the D9! :)
 
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If you're willing to factor in the maintenance costs and take the advice on what to look out for to get a good one, the 330i/ci will be a great car

Do you mind autos?
 
Well, if my 330d was anything to go by, the PAS failed on me, the cooling system was however solid. My 325i on the other hand liked to eat thermostats for dinner, and the expansion tank is made of cheese.
 
Cooling system is a well documented weak point. Some have more luck than others with this though.

I've had the both the power steering pump and alternator replaced on mine as well.
 
I have no problem with a bit of maintenance, as long as it's not going to be in the garage every 5 minutes. My friend's Alfa has had more spent on it than he paid for the car so far.

I absolutely don't want an auto. I just can't get on with them. I don't fancy that SSG gearbox either.

Well, I suppose every car has it's own set of problems, so I'm not too concerned unless bits are going to start dropping off it :p

For those of you who have had parts replaced, how much were they if you don't mind me asking? Something to factor in to an offer if they haven't been done.

For reference, this and this are the sort of things catching my eye at the moment.
 
If you liked the GTV but found it impractical, then how about an Alfa 156?

OK, so it isn't as great on fuel as some of the alternatives (my 2.5 does about 30-31 on the motorway at 70 thanks to 6th being pretty low), but they're much more comfortable than a GTV (less weird seating position and the seats themselves are so much comfier and more supportive), much more interior and boot space, better quality interior, look great without being in-your-face and are fairly similar to the GTV to drive.

Wear-and-tear issues can crop up (wishbones, cambelt changes, etc.) and they aren't cars you can ignore the service interval on but you'd have half your budget spare to spend on that sort of thing and unlike BMWs and such, they actually use sensible-sized 16in wheels so tyres are cheap.
 
Fair enough, I was going to suggest a Lexus IS300 as an alternative to the 330 - similar layout (3.0 I6, RWD). Brilliant cars, but auto only. I had owned an IS200 - the "pointless" one - and it was a very good car. Theyre "pointless" because they have the fuel economy of the 3.0 but with 2.0 performance - unfortunately the 3.0 is auto only, I didn't want one either so thats why I got the 200
 
I have considered an Alfa 156 in the past, but the one I'd really want is the GTA :D

I have to agree on the GTV seats though! They're not very comfortable at all, with almost zero lower back support.

I've always had FWD cars too, so I guess one of the big selling points of the 330 is RWD. I'm not going to go kicking the tail out around every roundabout I find, but as good as the GTV is in the corners, when you start to push it, it just wants to understeer into the nearest tree.

Thanks for the suggestion of the IS300. It's not something I'd considered. I don't mind the shape of those, but an automatic really is a deal breaker for me.
 
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RWD isnt just about getting the tail out, they're just generally better, more balanced etc. Thats what made me think of the IS

I really wish they made an IS300 manual - my 200 was such a great car, the 300 with a manual box would have been stonking. Alas, its a moot point as they dont exist!

You could get a GT 3.2 V6 for that sort of money - not GT is the newer coupe, built on the 156. It's a lot roomier than the GTV
 
iaind said:
RWD isnt just about getting the tail out, they're just generally better, more balanced etc.
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Pretty much this :)

There are so many automatic 330s out there. Some really nice ones too... I couldn't live with an automatic though! I'm astonished they provided a manual gearbox for the 200 but not the 300, honestly. Very odd.

Completely forgot about the GT! I looked at Breras and was sad they're a little over what I want to spend. I've read mixed opinions on the way the GT drives, so I guess I'd just have to go and try one.

My dad suggested a Mondeo Zetec S with the 2.5 engine, but a 2.5 with 170bhp seems a little lacking to me when the 3.0 has 220+. They are considerably cheaper though!
 
A lot of 330s will be auto but there are plenty manuals around too.

I think the manual box they used in the 200 wasnt strong enough for the 300. I think the americans got a manual 300 though - which is a bit back to front!

GT replaced the GTV, Brera replaced the GT - so you're looking at a generation of car thats way over budget if you're looking at the Brera. The GT is based on a 156, so it drives pretty much identically but has a better interior. Bonus points for looking like a coupe but actually being a hatchback too.

The ZS mondeo is nice enough, I used to have a diesel one a few years ago. You are better off with the 3.0 though - they did a ~200nhp 3.0 in "normal" spec mondeos too
 
Yeah, nice manuals seem easy enough to find.

That is very odd, actually. I imagine the car would have sold much better here had it had a manual gearbox available.

I was never really expecting to get a Brera, I guess I was just curious what they'd come down to now. Surprisingly cheap, honestly. I'll take a look at the GT, but I'm still thinking I'd like something with RWD with 200bhp+

They're not bad looking cars at all, but I do think I'll go with a 3.0, or at least a 2.5 with a bit more grunt. Never knew they did a 3.0 outside of the ST220, honestly.
 
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