Late E46 or early E91?

thecremeegg

thecremeegg

thecremeegg

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So the missus has a new job that involves driving to various places across the South and her trusty Yaris isn't cutting it for comfort on longer journeys.
We've been looking and both like the 3 series BMW but are unsure of which to go for?

Budget is up to £6k and there are loads of 320i/320d E91s for that money with around 100k miles, conversely there are also a lot of E46 325/330 etc for the same dough.

Now tbh, the only caveats spec wise are that it needs to be auto and preferably have leather seats - everything else is a bonus.

Given the choice, what would people choose? She doesn't care that it isn't fast, but completely gutless isn't something I'm keen on :p It just needs to be fairly economical (40mpg maybe on a motorway run?) so I have no idea what engine would be the pick?

Any help appreciated!
 
I would choose neither for this usage. You want an economical reliable car for your wife to make various reasonable length journeys - a 10-15 year old BMW isn't the best use of £6k for this.
 
Agree with the above, don't see either as particularly suitable. Something like a civic would be newer and much less likely to annoy /her
 
Fair enough :p :)

Thing is we ideally want something 3 series size so any suggestions on something reliable and not completely boredom inducing to drive?
That said, we have looked at Civics, however again, no idea on what engine?
 
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You're not going to get:
1. Not completely boredom inducing to drive
2. Reliable
3. Not completely gutless
for £6k.

Well you might - but it's risky.

Now I can't recommend anything in particular, but I would look at a VTEC Honda Accord as a first guess. It's a far cry from a RWD executive German saloon, I'll admit.
 
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I run an E46 as a daily and it's been in the garage twice in my ownership of just over 18 months, which I consider myself lucky for.

To be honest it's relative to mileage, I work down the road and therefore my annual mileage is around 10,000, which includes trips to Scotland and plenty of leisure. If it were required for more miles because of work there's no way I'd use it as a "daily".

They are oldish cars now too, so random stuff might start popping up. Depends how much of that "random stuff coming up" you want to put up with.

Look elsewhere IMO! :D
 
Should manage a decent Mondeo for that money but it might be a bit too big?

It's really the wrong budget for a nice German saloon car though. Either spend less and go older, or more and go newer.
 
Had my 2004 54 plate E46 for just over 7 years and never had any major out of the blue issues. Only really stuck to the advised maintenance, normal service schedule, battery changed etc I can't fault it at all. Having said that its getting on a bit now and I wouldn't look at getting one now. Focus or Mondeo are a good shout.
 
As already mentioned, the Accord would almost certainly be a cheaper/more reliable option.

Personally, I'd avoid a 2ltr diesel BMW, just too many horror stories relating to DPFs, DMFs, injectors, turbos and similar.
 
I bought my 2005 E90 320d two years ago now it's currently got 132k miles on it and I'm still happy with it.

Last week I did 630 miles and I still find it a pleasure to drive. Granted it's not the fastest car in the world however it's quite happy sat on the motorway eating up those miles!

In terms of repairs, the only major "out of the blue" issue I had with it was a new clutch and dual mass fly wheel which needed replacing which cost ~£900 so that is possibly something to consider. Apart from that it's been fine to drive.
 
Howard said:
Aside from the usual Mondeo suggestions, how about a Lexus IS?
Click to expand...

That's a good shout. Very reliable and comfortable. Only downsides are that they are very small inside and are very thirsty if you buy the petrol (which you will because the diesel is utterly dire).
 
Probably get a 50K mile - 60k mile Mondeo 2.0 or 2.5 for that. Titanium X as well. But i suppose it's not exactly a thrilling drive.

Accord's a good shout.
 
swain90 said:
I bought my 2005 E90 320d two years ago now it's currently got 132k miles on it and I'm still happy with it.

In terms of repairs, the only major "out of the blue" issue I had with it was a new clutch and dual mass fly wheel which needed replacing which cost ~£900 so that is possibly something to consider. Apart from that it's been fine to drive.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it is "out of the blue". at that mileage it is pretty much guaranteed that the clutch is going to need doing at some point in the near future.

At this kind of price range I would be looking at Honda Accords or Civics with the 2.2 diesel.
 
Would be looking at volvos for this money as you can pick up a nice 4 to 5 year old c30 with less than 80k on the clock. Reliable safe and has really nice seats.
 
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