Buying a high mileage BMW 330d - what to look out for?

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2006 at 23:10

atpbx said:
Cant, found a nice car though:

http://www.berkshiremotorworld.co.uk/92_c.htm

Not a diesel, but even i would have that one.

Not bad but you can actually get a nicer facelift one for that

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2006 at 23:11

Nice 530d but WHY OH WHY DID BMW DESIGN THOSE HORRIFIC WHEELS.

Everyone responsible for that awful design of alloy should be shot.

Scania · 3 Feb 2006 at 23:13

[TW]Fox said:
Nice 530d but WHY OH WHY DID BMW DESIGN THOSE HORRIFIC WHEELS.

Everyone responsible for that awful design of alloy should be shot.

Agreed, my old mans 528i has those same alloys, they look 'oribble & are a complete bitch to keep clean. - Surprised there still available on a 2001 model, perhaps, that cars had its wheels swapped for some strange reason???

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2006 at 23:13

Some of the earlier facelift models had them before they fitted the standard 16" multispokes to the SE like Dads has.

Then they died... UNTIL... BMW re-introduced them in 19" form on the facelifted E65 7 Series. NOOOOO!

The_Dark_Side · 4 Feb 2006 at 17:18

sormicoft said:
the 3litre straight six is a lovely lump but a tad agricultural (tho they do chip well)

in most cases i'd take an Audi over a BMW,but i can't see where your criticism of the straight six range of engines comes from.
IMHO they don't have a bad engine in production at the moment.

GSXRMovistar said:
....and fun in the wet.

Anyway the beemers come with a whole host of electronic gizmos to cover that if needed.

..that don't,and indeed can't,compensate for bad weather.
a friend of mine is a serving police officer and would be more than willing to tell you that when the weather gets bad,R.W.D turns into a W.O.T (waste of time).
they had to temperarily convert their ML Mercs into armed response vehicles as the 5+3 series saloons and E class Mercs couldn't even get out of their compound in a straight line.another traffic copper told me recently he would have his T5 Volvo back anyday as his 5 series is less than useless in the rain.
fancy electronics can only do so much.

Slackworth · 4 Feb 2006 at 22:16

[TW]Fox said:
Please justify this opinion - in what way is it far and away better? I've driven the 3 Series but not the A4, the A4 would have to be exceptionally good to be far and away better, which is not what general opinion seems to be? What is it that makes it better?

I have driven a 320D and my current car, Audi A4 2.5TDi Quattro.

Performance - Obviously the Audi is the quicker car due to the bigger engine. I'm not sure what it would be like against the older 2.5 BMW unit but I followed a BMW 325D new shape the other day and we were pretty matched I'd say.

Handling - BMW slightly better due to it being RWD. However, I much prefer the grip of "proper"

Quattro and just feel that little bit safer driving it over the BMW. Obviously the 3 Series is a little more fun but in everyday dual-carriageway driving, this wouldn't affect myself much.

Exterior - Don't mind either of these cars. The BMW I drove was an SE without all the bits on but my Audi is the Sport model so it has some of the extras which do make it look nicer which is something that made me buy mine over the BMW. Obviously a Sport BMW would be fairly similar and IMO, they look both as good as each other.

Interior - This is my biggest problem with BMW. Apart from the latest models, I really do not like BMW interiors. They seem so bland compared to the Audi and the seats are also comfier on mine compared to the Beemer.

I really do love my Audi and am glad I went for it over the BM. If it had been a new model then things may be different but for around the 02 age, the Audi came up trumps for me and I just wasn't gone on the BM.