BMW 320D SE

cork-spotters

cork-spotters

cork-spotters

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Joined
2 Apr 2009
Posts
372
Location
Cork, Ireland
I'll be entering the big bad world of work soon and need to get myself a motor. For the last 5 years I've been driving one of my parents' Focus 1.6l petrols. I'll probably be doing significantly more mileage/commuting though.

Hence I've been looking at getting a circa 2006 320D SE, but I'm not too sure what to look for. Its decent grunt with 163BHP and efficiency up to 60MPG make it an attractive proposition. What are the key things to look for in these? What's high mileage? I'm wondering if a high mileage example with key work done to it like timing belt/clutch/turbo etc would be better than an original 80,000 miler?

Is there and obvious alternative I'm missing? A4 would be similar but probably a bit more pricey, and not quite as good (at least on paper). Should I just get a boring old Focus or Golf diesel instead as a sensible option?

I'm 22, so no 3l petrols or anything mad like that please! Budget approx £7000.
 
You are not going to get 60mpg from a £7000 320d. Infact its probably the least reliable engine BMW have ever made so you'll probably get an equivilent of 20mpg once you divide the miles you do by the bills for new bits :p

How many miles do you do a year?
 
You probably don' really need a diesel for that sort of mileage, and living in the ROI you'll probably want to keep the engine size around 2 litres to avoid the huge tax on larger engines.

A petrol Golf?
 
That's probably the bones of my question really!

Something of a newer (08/09) Golf/Astra/Focus/C4 etc would probably suit too but not sure where I should start looking! What I'm not looking for is a 1/1.25l petrol Polo/Fiesta that wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding!
 
Robbie G said:
"Which diesels are cheap to run" probably needs to be a thread on here. They can't all be massive liabilities.
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There are some which are not - the most notable of which are certain variants of the VAG 1.9 TDI.

But generally the reason many diesels are liabilities as they get older (And, lets face it, a 2006 car is now a 7 year old car) is because pretty much all of them have the same plethora of complicated, irritating and emissions driven ancilliary crap waiting to go wrong.
 
Robbie G said:
"Which diesels are cheap to run" probably needs to be a thread on here. They can't all be massive liabilities.
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The unrefined ones that don't make much power or meet strict modern emissions standards. Old VAG PD lumps in the lower states of tune, the pre HDi Peugeot lumps or even older non turbo charged diesels all lasted well as they were fairly simple and very unstressed. They're horrid though.
 
cork-spotters said:
Tax on petrols in ROI is sky high. The government charge about €650 for the above 1.6l Focus. The 320D is €270!!
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Those tax rates only apply if you're set on a car less than 5 years old. Bear in mind that most Irish drivers are obsessed by the number on the reg, cost of tax and MPG (a bit like the UK) so cars that are seen as "hard on fuel" and "expensive to tax" can be picked up for a song - often the difference in value can pay for a couple of years worth of fuel and tax.

I'd avoid diesel if I were you for those miles, petrol is generally a much nicer place to be.

My suggestion would be a well cared for 04/05 petrol Mazda 6 - they look nice, drive well and aren't terrible on fuel. Then put the savings towards road tax and repairs for the next few years. If you want a smaller car, then usual Golf/Focus aren't a bad shout - just don't buy the 1.4 in either. Make sure you shop around for Insurance too.

Btw - I was 22 with a 3.0 in ROI and the tax was painful (€1200/year) but then again I got to drive a fantastic car and I did a lot of miles so cost per mile wasn't extortionate.
 
The twin-charged version, the only version worth having imo, isn't exactly safe motoring with a turbo and a supercharger, then if you add dsg you're sitting on lots of potential problems and are arguably in no better position reliability wise than if you'd bought a 320d.
 
Robbie G said:
The twin-charged version, the only version worth having imo, isn't exactly safe motoring with a turbo and a supercharger, then if you add dsg you're sitting on lots of potential problems and are arguably in no better position reliability wise than if you'd bought a 320d.
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Disagree with this, the little 1.4 120 is a great engine especially in a car the size of the Golf/A3.
 
cork-spotters said:
Suppose I just want something that's fun to drive tbh. I've been driving for 5 years, full licence over 4 years, so not exactly new to it. Have a job after I graduate so hopefully won't be on the poverty line.
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If you want fun to drive then get a hot hatch/coupe or similar, not a diesel repmobile!
 
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