Diesel saloon/estate for £10k?

commited

commited

commited

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
5,367
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Recently, it has come to light that I might be able to opt out of the company car scheme soon. Budget will be somewhere around £10k (equates to about €20k with import tax), as I dont want to have to take finance out. I do 25-35k/year (depending on job demands) and only about 1/2 of that is on a motorway, so diesel is by far my best option.

I went to test drive an e46 non-sport 320d the other day. I really liked how it drove and there was enough power to keep me happy (and its chippable to 180bhp). It was a lovely cruiser too.

Unfortunately 530d/330d isnt an option due to increased costs in Ireland (insurance and tax are twice what it would be for a 320d).

So I'm very tempted by a 03 320d Sport tourer (going to test drive one next week) in black or red:
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Going to test drive an A4 avant 130bhp Sport once I can find one, but my question is:
Is there anything else worth trying?
 
Thats either stolen, a scam, or being sold by somebody who hasn't got a clue what he's selling.

Does the fact its the only sub 100k 320d Sport on all of Autotrader for less than 11 grand not make you wonder?

That 04 plate one for £9695 looks like a potential bargain though.

I'll happily get the saloon of which there is a huge choice out there for under £10k
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By 'huge choice' you mean '4 in the entire country' right?

I'm not saying you can't get one - you can - but its going to take a while to find out and you are going to have to be careful becuase most of them will be doggy at this price as they are worth more.

You are looking for a bargain - bargains happen but are rare with cars of this type.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Thats either stolen, a scam, or being sold by somebody who hasn't got a clue what he's selling.
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Well, it doesn't mention any history, so stolen could be a possibility :p
 
The import tax on any 04 is stupid and its high miles. I had a quick look around last night and there were a few sub 100k sports on autotrader for less than £10k.

There is an ES with the full sports kit & suspension on there for £8000 with 72k, which I thought was a bit of a bargain.

Like the look of this too:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-BMW-320D-Touring-Sport-Titanium-Silver-FSH_W0QQitemZ170118060648

Any suggestions of alternatives to try apart from the A4?
 
commited said:
The import tax on any 04 is stupid and its high miles. I had a quick look around last night and there were a few sub 100k sports on autotrader for less than £10k.
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They are all going to be high miles at this money dude - the lower mileage ones are rare and, IMHO, suspicious.

To give you an example of what you are up against, according to Glass's TRADE BOOK on a 80,000 mile 03 plate 320d Sport Touring with cloth seats is £9500 - thats how much a trader would give you for it, or what a nice one would fetch at auction. Private sale or dealer price? Wrong side of £10k, easily.

There is an ES with the full sports kit & suspension on there for £8000 with 72k, which I thought was a bit of a bargain.
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ES is poverty spec - you lose climate control, you lose cruise, you lose multifunction wheel. Don't do it.

That ebay one looks nice, however.
 
[TW]Fox said:
By 'huge choice' you mean '4 in the entire country' right?

I'm not saying you can't get one - you can - but its going to take a while to find out and you are going to have to be careful becuase most of them will be doggy at this price as they are worth more.

You are looking for a bargain - bargains happen but are rare with cars of this type.
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I counted more than that, but point taken. To find the right car, I'll stretch to £12k, but ideally I'm searching for that bargain.

When you say "doggy", I'm guessing as long as you stick to reasonably mileage ~100k, FSH and in decent visual condition then it is no more risky than buying any other second hand BMW?
 
[TW]Fox said:
They are all going to be high miles at this money dude - the lower mileage ones are rare and, IMHO, suspicious.

To give you an example of what you are up against, according to Glass's TRADE BOOK on a 80,000 mile 03 plate 320d Sport Touring with cloth seats is £9500 - thats how much a trader would give you for it, or what a nice one would fetch at auction. Private sale or dealer price? Wrong side of £10k, easily.

ES is poverty spec - you lose climate control, you lose cruise, you lose multifunction wheel. Don't do it.

That ebay one looks nice, however.
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140k would be a lot higher than I'd want, as if I keep that 2 years, that'll be knocking on 200k and over here thats an impossibility to sell unfortuneately.

That glasses trade price is interesting, thanks.

Yeah I want cruise ideally, wouldnt be fussed on losing climate, as long as I had basic aircon.
 
commited said:
I counted more than that, but point taken. To find the right car, I'll stretch to £12k, but ideally I'm searching for that bargain.
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£12k should give you a good selection.

When you say "doggy", I'm guessing as long as you stick to reasonably mileage ~100k, FSH and in decent visual condition then it is no more risky than buying any other second hand BMW?
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Personally I'd focus less on mileage and more on condition and number of owners - you are into cars young enough to be able to find a really nicely looked after 1 owner from new car. I like 1 owner new cars becuase generally speaking (There are of course exceptions) it'll have been looked after and cared for irrespective of mileage as you would expect a £25,000 car to be looked after becuase to the original owner, until he sells it, its worth to him what he paid for it.

I wouldn't even be put off the likes of the 140k mile ones provided:

a) I was not concerned about resale value - becuase it will have NONE
b) It was in exceptional condition with little signs of wear beyond the drivers seat bolster

It is possible for these cars to cover extreme mileages and STILL look fresh - so if you ever do spot a scabby one, don't listen to the seller, just walk. Scabby = not looked after. There is no reason why any one you view should be less than pristine.

Also budget for turbocharger replacement becuase they do tend to go with alarming regularity on the 320d, and it doesnt seem to be mileage related either.
 
in my experience of autotrader bargains do come up but to really find them you need know what you are buying, you must already have driven a few of the same model so that you can notice if your "bargain" is a dog or not. The Xantia I bought from Autotrader was a genuine bargain that bought at £1250 which at the time was some £650 below glass's trade price. However, it was cheap because the dealer wanted nothing to do with it and on test I knew the brakes were behaving strangely and the suspension was destroyed. I also knew that I could get the spheres renewed for £150 which would solve that problem and the braking problem would be air in the system which I could bleed out. This diagnosis checked out to be true and I was very happy. However, with these "bargain" autotrader cars you must know what to look for. At the other end of the spectrum a guy who I used to work for bought a top of the line audi a4 quattro fully loaded. Paid some 3k less than book price for it. It turned out to be imported, audi UK couldn't find any information on it, he had a mysterious 8 punctures in 4 months, horrible electrical gremlins, broke a fuel pump... The thing cost him about 6k in one year. That was just repairs not depreciation!!!! Do your research that's all i'm saying.
 
Thanks for all of the info - didnt know about the turbo chargers. I'd never buy a bad condition low mileage car, thats just a false economy.

I am definitely concerned about resale. If I choose carefully and sell after a year I should make minimal loss. The more frustrating thing is the import tax is the same price on a 70k car as it is on a 140k car, so the bargain doesnt really carry through.
 
I'm not saying you'd buy a bad one, more don't buy an average one either. It can and should be in excellent condition. If it isnt, the owner hasn't really cherished it, and it should be somebody elses problem.
 
I'm guessing the lack of suggestions means that the 320d Sport is pretty much the best choice for the money/requirements?
 
Prices of these have come down now and even 330ds are sub £10k if you are not fussy about age and can handle a car just over 100k. The new model has put paid to stupid premiums for this model now i reckon

EDIT: I'd also stay well away from internetcarshowroom if I were you. Horribly overpriced.
 
I prefer the looks of the estate over the saloon, and at the moment I drive a Nissan Pathfinder, as I need a lot of room. I reckon a touring would fit my needs much better than a saloon.
 
Ha ha, fair do's I guess mate.
I've fitted a big PA system, 8 piece drum kit, a 4x10 bass cab + head and a lot of other odds and ends into my 330d saloon before. It's amazing how much room there is.
 
pitchfork said:
Ha ha, fair do's I guess mate.
I've fitted a big PA system, 8 piece drum kit, a 4x10 bass cab + head and a lot of other odds and ends into my 330d saloon before. It's amazing how much room there is.
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But its not very practical room due to the boot opening the fact although its deep it isnt very tall.
 
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