Completely mad car change?!

Over Clocker · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:14

Hi guys,

So over the last few years, I've had a fair few cars.

E46 330i SMG - Loved it, but had back issues for a few years and ride was causing me issues.
Jaguar XF 3.0d S - Loved the car, loved the speed from the twin turbo, but hated having a Diesel.
Tried a BMW mapped 535d for 2 weeks, same as above.
Jaguar XFR. Absolutely love it. It stupidly fast, rides well, is seriously comfortable etc.
Tried an M5 for 5 days on a road tried, as above really, but overall I prefered the XFR for the road, so stayed with the XFR.

Don't get me wrong, I love the XFR, but we are planning a large extension next year and I could do with the extra funds.

I've been deciding what to do for ages, and I've come to 2 options.

Option 1: My old beloved E46 330i SMG lives with my brother in law. He absolutely loves it but his wife has an automatic only licence and it's classed as a manual, so he's looking to change. He did however want to keep it as well, if he can afford it.

Option 2 is an E46 330i Manual.

Spoken to a few people who think I'm mad going from a 3-4 year old luxury super saloon to a nearly 15 year old carm however I had a huge hard on for my E46.... I took it for a spin again the other day and still love it!

Madness, or car love!!!

Evo8 · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:34

How about a 335i M?

Over Clocker · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:39

Funnily enough I am driving a 335i this Sunday, however I'm seriously leaning to an old E46! Loved the chassis....

Uther · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:41

Is there a chance your back problems could come back?

Over Clocker · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:43

Uther said:
Is there a chance your back problems could come back?

Nope shouldn't do. My spine is held together with screws and touchwood has been trouble free for 3 years now.

Mal

dacads · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:48

Doesn't sound mad to me, if anything it's sensible as you are saving some cash!

Only other option is anything else you might want to try?

Evo8 · 7 Jun 2017 at 20:49

What are you going to be using it for? Are running costs an issue?

Over Clocker · 7 Jun 2017 at 21:00

Evo8 said:
What are you going to be using it for? Are running costs an issue?

My daily drive, although my daily drive isn't much at all. Family car, but we also have my Wife's car if needed. I go on a few driving trips a year too eg Lake District etc.

[TW]Fox · 7 Jun 2017 at 21:49

Don't do it. The time for an E46 has long passed. It'll be a pain to own and will spoil the happy memories.

Django x2 · 7 Jun 2017 at 22:01

Funnily enough I was just reading this quote from "Car magaizine" about the XF 3.0D but my head exploded by the end of the first line:

The new V6 employs parallel sequential twin turbocharging: most of the time, a variable geometry turbocharger does all the work, leaving the secondary turbo dormant. But when the revs hit 2800rpm, this smaller, fixed-geometry blower kicks in to provide additional puff.

Evo8 · 7 Jun 2017 at 22:15

Same as a Toyota Supra, the smaller turbo spools really quickly and then the bigger turbo kicks in as it takes longer to spool.

Jonnycoupe · 7 Jun 2017 at 22:37

Look at the SQ7 with triple turbo. First stage is a 48V electric one!

The XF 25d now also has 4 cylinder ingenium with twin turbo. (237bhp)

Django x2 · 7 Jun 2017 at 22:48

Evo8 said:
Same as a Toyota Supra, the smaller turbo spools really quickly and then the bigger turbo kicks in as it takes longer to spool.

So, sequential then....

Joe T · 8 Jun 2017 at 06:14

Evo8 said:
Same as a Toyota Supra, the smaller turbo spools really quickly and then the bigger turbo kicks in as it takes longer to spool.

The actual quote suggests the smaller one kicks in later, which makes no sense...

Rilot · 8 Jun 2017 at 07:21

Over Clocker said:
My old beloved E46 330i SMG lives with my brother in law. He absolutely loves it but his wife has an automatic only licence and it's classed as a manual

Is it really? This surprises me as I thought that any transmissions that can operate in a fully automatic mode was classed as an automatic.

Howard · 8 Jun 2017 at 07:33

Rilot said:
Is it really? This surprises me as I thought that any transmissions that can operate in a fully automatic mode was classed as an automatic.

That was my thought too - I always thought that two pedals = automatic in the eyes of the DVLA, regardless of the technology inside the box - isn't that why some manufacturers went through a brief period of making "proper" semi-auto boxes with no clutch but you had to either shift into gear or sequentially shift up/down via the shifter?

Edit: https://www.gov.uk/driving-test/using-your-own-car I think this makes it fairly clear - Scroll down a bit to 'manual and automatic'. So the OP's BIL's wife can drive it.

paradigm · 8 Jun 2017 at 07:37

It appears that SMG equipped cars sometimes ended up being classified as a manual on the V5C (I've seen one before), some as an auto and (anecdotally at least) some as semi-auto.

It seems to then come down to the insurer knowing what the car actually is before committing to insuring said auto-only driver.

Rilot · 8 Jun 2017 at 07:49

How bizarre. Even a Lamborghini Aventador is classed as an automatic and it's transmission is similar to the SMG in the E46 (in the sense that it's a single-clutch, robotised manual).

[TW]Fox · 8 Jun 2017 at 09:04

It sounds like a mistake on the V5 which you can apply to have fixed.

Irrespective of the technical situation it has no clutch pedal and changes gear for you.

Django x2 · 8 Jun 2017 at 10:14

Joe T said:
The actual quote suggests the smaller one kicks in later, which makes no sense...

It's also completely nonsensical in that usually the small turbo starts all the hard work before the larger one takes over. The small one would be at, if not beyond boost by the time the larger 1st turbo was maxed out.