E90 320d Touring

Malc · 23 Nov 2014 at 11:48

All,

Due to a recent change in circumstances resulting in me doing 20,000 miles per annum and the girlfriend no longer needing a car, I'm in the middle of making a swap from owning a Z4 3.0 and a Focus 2.0 petrol to an E91 LCI 320d Touring.

I effectively want a car that is good at most things whilst being comfortable on my mainly motorway commute and well spec'd. Whilst I'm at it, it may as well have low guaranteed running costs (fuel, tax, insurance, servicing etc).

The E91's that I'm looking at are all 1 owner ex fleet cars with around 100,000 on the clock for the £10k mark (or less). The reason I'm looking at these is because if I bought a 60,000 mile car it would cost £2-3K more which is more depreciation when I shortly go over the 100,000 mile mark anyway. I aim to keep it for the foreseeable future i.e. 3 years+

I'm looking at the SE Business Edition models as they seem to have a good base spec. However very few have Cruise Control which is something I'll look to retrofit (shocking that this isn't standard).

The resulting cost to change is around £3-4K as my focus is worth about £600 and the Z4 between £5-6k depending on how I sell it (private or trade). However I will save £2k per year only having to run 1 car and on reduced fuel consumption. Therefore the change to a more efficient single car that is better suited to motorway commuting seems like a good decision.

So you straight talking motors lot, give me your opinions.

Cheers.

mjt · 23 Nov 2014 at 11:52

My concern is the threat of the chain snapping.
No idea how common it is but there are some horror stories out there.

If it's purely a motorway mile why get a crappy spec BMW only to have to mess around retrofitting cruise control. I presume they'll have Business Nav as well?
You say you want a well spec'd car but you're looking at cars with no spec. Makes no sense :confused:

Get a Mondeo or something. You'll get a newer, better spec car for your money.

Alternatively.... Run the Focus into the ground?

dacads · 23 Nov 2014 at 12:08

Seems you're not reading again mjt, OP is doing 20k miles therefore looking for an efficient and well specced car, a 2.0 petrol focus hardly ticks the box does it?

Malc · 23 Nov 2014 at 12:10

The chain is a concern but I've read they got better from 2009 onwards.

The spec is good as standard. The only thing it's missing is Cruise.

I've looked at Mondeos in this price range and you don't get much more for your money. Granted a 100,000 4 year old Mondeo is about £1k cheaper but unless it's Titanium X spec, it's not as good as the E91's I'm looking at. Also, with the little niggling problems that my Focus has had, mainly the suspension components being made of cheese, I'm a bit put off by high mileage Fords.

You are correct though, the cheapest way forward is to run the Focus into the ground. It needs about £500 of work to get it "right" again though.

Malc · 23 Nov 2014 at 12:44

The Focus is actually pretty good on fuel, it gets 40 mpg on my commute.

Also I've just realised the title should be E91 320d

OhEsEcks · 23 Nov 2014 at 13:35

In regards to a timing chain, you'll hear and notice a chain starting to go before it eventually gives. Belts are more likely to go ping without warning. The audible sign of a chain that's loosening and starting to stretch is it sounds like the freewheel of a bicycle over the top of the engine. "How can you hear that over the clatter of a dag dag?" Don't worry, you will.

Dis86 · 23 Nov 2014 at 14:16

I always thought the business edition did come with CC!

Considered looking at the efficient dynamics version?

Malc · 23 Nov 2014 at 16:29

Just managed to get hold of the price lists from 2010. The Saloon in SE Business Edition has cruise control. The Estate however doesn't. Go up to M-Sport and they all have cruise with the side effect of stiffer suspension and larger wheels therefore greater tyre costs.

It's completely illogical. I should be able to retrofit for ~£250 so it's not a massive deal. The leather seats and nav are greater priorities as they cost a lot more.

I think the Business Edition is Efficient Dynamics. I think that's a change that came in on the facelift for all 318's and 320s.

Conanius · 23 Nov 2014 at 16:44

What I would say Malc, is BMW's are pretty decent fuel wise regardless if you pick petrol or diesel, or small engine or large.

Use this to inform you buying a car with good spec. I'm averaging over 30MPG in mixed driving with very little motorway travel in a 2002 E46 330i. I'm told the E90 3.0 Petrol is better performance both in fuel economy and power.

Malc · 23 Nov 2014 at 20:52

I've averaged 35mpg out of my 3.0 Z4. My travel has been mainly 20 mile+ journeys though, but it's still impressive. They are good engines for the performance they give.

However, to warrant getting a new car other than just running the Focus till it breaks, it needs to not be too expensive. The running costs of the 320d will be cheaper than the Focus for 20,000 miles per year, however there is probably greater risk of incurring large repair bills. The money I'm going to outlay for the 320d is to pay for a more suitable car for the journey's I'll be doing. It's also a lot newer.

The running costs of the 330i would be higher than the Focus.

Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised by the power of the 320d. It's really not bad. It sounds like someone has thrown a bag of spanners into a washing machine when cold though

Havana_UK · 23 Nov 2014 at 23:20

I drive a 2011 E91 320d (for the next five months, anyway) Exclusive Edition. The exclusive ed was basically an SE with metallic paint and full leather for an extra £700. When I spec'd it I added cruise control, visibility package (adaptive xenons, auto lights, auto high beam), and pro nav.

I've had it since new, done an average of just over 25k per year in it and it's been mostly faultless. The only issue I've had is the juddering clutch, BMW fixed that. It's good on tyres (current set are on 50k, and the rears now need replacing, fronts are OK), great on fuel (I average ~55mpg generally), comfortable, and, despite what many here will say, very capable and plenty powerful enough. With its carrying capacity with the seats down it's a great all-rounder.

A colleague got a 520d at almost the same time and had the timing chain go at ~120k miles. It lunched the engine and cost about £5k to put right. BMW picked up the bill (as they should!).

Unfortunately many 320ds are picked because they're a BMW and are often standard spec. Keep looking, I'm sure you can find what you're after.

The standard 320d has some Efficient Dynamics features (auto start/stop, brake energy regeneration, etc.) but is different to the 320ed, which was a special low company car BIK model, only available as a saloon.