BMW 3 series Touring

Morba · 17 Mar 2011 at 15:18

Cheaper to buy a normal sized car for day to day very short journeys and hire a bigger car when you need it?
£14k 3 series touring for 1-3 mile journeys seems like mad over kill

PMKeates · 17 Mar 2011 at 19:24

mark66 said:
Is it therefore not a fixed price scheme dependent on model / age?

I suspect they ask for the reg plate because it's easier than selecting from a very large list of BMW models and derivatives.

mark66 · 17 Mar 2011 at 22:38

Morba said:
Cheaper to buy a normal sized car for day to day very short journeys and hire a bigger car when you need it?
£14k 3 series touring for 1-3 mile journeys seems like mad over kill

Its not just 1-3 mile journeys

Sure Monday - Friday it will mostly be that, but there's family visits across the UK and plans to explore and enjoy a lot more of the UK rather than going abroad each year.

[TW]Fox · 17 Mar 2011 at 22:51

mark66 said:
enjoy a lot more of the UK rather than going abroad each year.

I wouldnt bother, go abroad whilst you still can, there are loads of places far better than the UK.

Save the UK for the future when an airline ticket is £5000.

Morba · 18 Mar 2011 at 00:16

For a family to fly sOmewhere half decent it's about £5k already, so can understand his point

mark66 · 10 Sep 2011 at 19:22

Ok, finally getting around to viewing a Touring tomorrow. Its a private sale of a 07 Plate 320D M Sport Auto, with full BMWSH on 45k in high spec (I-Drive, Sat Nav, Leather)

If I call a BMW dealer should I be able to check its history or is this a service they will charge for? I also intend to purchase a BMW warranty, what do I need to check that this will be accepted?

Are there any specific things I should look for with the 320D? Is there something I can check on the computer, eg service due etc?

Any other tips for buying from a private sale greatly appreciated!

Thanks

mark66 · 10 Sep 2011 at 23:32

Sorry to bump, but I would really like to hear any thoughts reference my viewing tomorrow (post above) and especially any details like what info can be checked from the computer?

Thanks

[TW]Fox · 10 Sep 2011 at 23:36

Make sure it has Xenons because they are a nightmare to retrofit and not having them means you get horrible reflector headlights which not only suck but also ruin the front end appearance of the car - you don't even get Angel Eyes, so in effect the front lights are poorer and less modern than those on an 11 year old 5 Series. Inexcusable really on BMW's part but there we go.

The iDrive will have a Vehicle Information menu, one of the info sources in this menu is Service. This will tell you when everything is due.

mark66 · 10 Sep 2011 at 23:50

Excellent, thanks.

Yep this one has Zenons, Prof Stereo with DAB radio, iPod connectivity, bluetooth, folding mirrors. Fingers crossed it is as good as described.

My only concern at the moment is that it will be my first proper viewing of one within our budget and I always prefer to compare when buying something of value!

How about the BMW warranty position?

The_Abyss · 10 Sep 2011 at 23:51

mark66 said:
Ok, finally getting around to viewing a Touring tomorrow. Its a private sale of a 07 Plate 320D M Sport Auto, with full BMWSH on 45k in high spec (I-Drive, Sat Nav, Leather)

If I call a BMW dealer should I be able to check its history or is this a service they will charge for? I also intend to purchase a BMW warranty, what do I need to check that this will be accepted?

Are there any specific things I should look for with the 320D? Is there something I can check on the computer, eg service due etc?

Any other tips for buying from a private sale greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Check, if you can, the nature of how those miles have been applied by the owner. I'd assume it is one owner at that age.

If there are lots of short journeys the engine may well be in less than tip top condition - EGR and DPF are expensive elements that can fail.

I appreciate that you want this car, however given your original requirements some 8 months ago it doesn't really match.

[TW]Fox · 10 Sep 2011 at 23:52

mark66 said:
How about the BMW warranty position?

It's within the criteria for the lower price warranty - and you can buy it at any point. Be aware that there is a 30 day period after buying it before it takes effect. Pretty sure you need FSH. Other than that, it's all good.

I echo Abyss though, this is not really the best choice of model for doing lots of short 3 mile journeys.

mark66 · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:00

The_Abyss said:
Check, if you can, the nature of how those miles have been applied by the owner. I'd assume it is one owner at that age.

If there are lots of short journeys the engine may well be in less than tip top condition - EGR and DPF are expensive elements that can fail.

I appreciate that you want this car, however given your original requirements some 8 months ago it doesn't really match.

The car is on it's second owner, I will enquire on the details of it's past as best as possible tomorrow.

As for our usage, I think I may have exaggerated the small trip usage. Sure it will do its fair share of short journeys, but my wife regularly has to travel further afield for her job. Sure it's not going to be doing hour commutes every day, but also not just around the corner all the time.

These EGR and DPF failures, are they covered by the warranty? Can you give some more detail?

Cheers

[TW]Fox · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:03

DPF's are not normally covered by warranty, no.

mark66 · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:05

This is the car

[TW]Fox · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:07

Nice spec, infact it's an absolutely exceptional spec for a 320d, you'd expect that sort of spec on a 335 not a 320. The 17's make a change to the ride-destroying 18's. Black really does the E90's dull interior no favours, mind, but it's more practical than the more interesting colours. Not helped by the arces of silver trim, though.

It's the pre ED engine though so it's pretty slow.

Still, once you've got the comprehensive warranty on it it'll be reasonably cheap to run and the myriad of issues that may plague it will not be your problem.

Run the car through http://www.bmw-warranty.co.uk to view your policy options. I recommend zero excess - if cost is an issue bin Emergency Service before you go increasing the Excess.

mark66 · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:13

Yeah does stand out some what, especially at that price. Black with silver interior would be my first choice, the only thing I would change would be the colour! Le Mans Blue and it would be perfect.

Will it not be the 177bhp?

[TW]Fox · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:16

Not afaik, no. It's 160ish.

Le Man's blue is a nightmare to keep clean, never again

The_Abyss · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:18

Looks decent. Make sure you can put up with the ride, as Fox says, especially at slow speeds. It will not be terribly comfortable.

DPF and EGR valve are the bane of the modern diesel engine, and are not at all cheap to put right. The DPF needs longer, hotter runs to prevent clogging, and the EGR will seemingly clog up regardless, but will be less so if the car is driven Italian style more frequently.

I had a go in a colleagues 320D ED the other day. Ignoring the fact that it was a horrifically bland and souless experience, the engine is good. Well over 50 mpgz (40 mile single track A road commute mostly), and the engine does its very best to make you forget that there's an engine at all. My god, it is a completely emotionless car though.

mark66 · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:22

Oh well, I am sure it will be enough for the wife and certainly an upgrade from our X reg Focus!

Thanks for your inputs Fox, feel more assured about it now, will post back on how I get on.

Cheers

mark66 · 11 Sep 2011 at 00:30

The_Abyss said:
...I had a go in a colleagues 320D ED the other day. Ignoring the fact that it was a horrifically bland and souless experience, the engine is good. Well over 50 mpgz (40 mile single track A road commute mostly), and the engine does its very best to make you forget that there's an engine at all. My god, it is a completely emotionless car though.

Oh I was hoping it would be more of a drivers car? I've only driven one BMW before and that was an early 1 series, which I think many slated, but I enjoyed - RWD for starters! Hopefully the goodies in this one will improve experience.

However, we've also got a MX5 so not short on driving fun at the moment