Thinking of selling...

NickXX · 3 Jun 2006 at 23:29

Bes said:
arrgh don't tell me things like that! It makes my wallet cry as I get led to temptation

Anyway: I am going to try and make a few attempts to have a look at some vehicles I could realistically purchase within my budget... I'll let you know what happens

...Unless I get shipped off to France next week which work are threatening me with....

I'm off to France next week, I can give you a lift and show you how good 330's really are

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 13:22

Ok just heard that Seat UK will definately NOT contribute in any way to the £500-£700 needed to fix the water leak in my car, so in my eyes it is 100% going.

It's such a shame as it's really a fantastic car to drive and if it were not for this, there is absolutley no doubt I would keep it for a while longer yet. Anyone buying a Leon- I strongly advise you to confirm it has absolutley no problems with the seals or waterleaks before purchasing, as it is quite common amongst the Leons and it ruins an otherwise great car

Ok so anyway, whatever I replace it with I want to make sure it is absolutley right. As I said, I looked at some 330i's last week, but as this whole thread has been very BMW- oriented, I just want to get some more people in here to see if they can suggest anything else worth looking at:

It needs to:

-Cost NO MORE than £13K
-Be a good motorway mile muncher
-Be at least equal to a Seat Leon Cupra in terms of performance (i.e. ~7 seconds 0-60)
-Be reasonably economical on the motorway
-Not cost the GDP of a small African country to keep on the road
-Be reliable
-Be of a reasonable size, as I am quite often carting around a bootfull of my/ work's junk
-Be reasonable to insure (23 with 2 years NCB, 0 points)
- I don't mind if it's NA or turbocharged.

Thanks

[TW]Fox · 5 Jun 2006 at 13:23

Ford Mondeo ST220.

OllyM · 5 Jun 2006 at 13:24

Ford Mondeo ST220?

Edit: D'oh, beaten to it by Fox

ajgoodfellow · 5 Jun 2006 at 13:25

Ford Mondeo ST220
MG ZT 190+

EDIT: Beaten twice!

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 13:27

[TW]Fox said:
Ford Mondeo ST220.

My brother suggested that and it is something I looked at when buying the Leon (Couldn't afford one then though).

Thing is though, you then have to say would you rather drive a BMW or a Ford!!

I'm going to go browse one of these car supermarkets soon (just to testdrive a few cars really) and have another go in a 330, so I'll keep an eye out for a 220 then.

edit: I wouldn't drive an MG- I get the feeling I'd be trading in one set of problems for another.

Thanks for the suggestions tho!

ajgoodfellow · 5 Jun 2006 at 13:32

The ZT is based on the 75 so it's a modern design and pretty reliable

The V6 doesn't suffer from the headgasket problems common on the four cylinder K-Series engines

My Dad has owned a 2001/Y 75 2.0 V6 Club for four years and about 50/60,000 miles without any problems (from new as a company car). He's currently got an '04 75 Estate 2.0 CDTi with about 30,000 miles on it without any problems (bought used last year as the company car scheme has finished)

It's up to you though!

OllyM · 5 Jun 2006 at 14:07

Bes said:
Thing is though, you then have to say would you rather drive a BMW or a Ford!!

A Ford

I don't really like BMW's that much, and the ST220 is a very capable car.

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 15:57

Is this a billy bargain or what??

I would only need to find about £2K... Wonder what's wrong with it though

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/81653.htm

OllyM · 5 Jun 2006 at 16:01

Wow, that's a good price - see if you can go and have a look at it.

It looks a lot better in black, too.

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 16:03

Shame it's in bloody Carlisle though!- I'd have to fly Bristol- Newcastle :rolleyes:

gaz1234 · 5 Jun 2006 at 16:31

well i was torn between the leon c-r and the 330 but the 3L straight six did it for me, as ive said before its in a different class, maybe wait till the new 3 series models come out and prices may drop (hope not). Leon is a fun car though.

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 16:33

gaz1234 said:
well i was torn between the leon c-r and the 330 but the 3L straight six did it for me, as ive said before its in a different class, maybe wait till the new 3 series models come out and prices may drop (hope not). Leon is a fun car though.

When's it due? I can't keep the leon till past the end of summer really...

GSXRMovistar · 5 Jun 2006 at 17:01

gaz1234 said:
well i was torn between the leon c-r and the 330 but the 3L straight six did it for me, as ive said before its in a different class, maybe wait till the new 3 series models come out and prices may drop (hope not). Leon is a fun car though.

Gaz did you ever post those pics of your car in the end?

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 17:03

GSXRMovistar said:
Gaz did you ever post those pics of your car in the end?

He did.

Being a 330Ci owner yourself m8, would you say this is a veritable bargain? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/81653.htm

Do you think there is any chance it could be dodgy at all? What are the common problems/ things to watch out for when buying these? As a look around 'trader suggests it might be worth a flight to Carlisle to have a butchers...

GSXRMovistar · 5 Jun 2006 at 17:19

Bes said:
He did.

Being a 330Ci owner yourself m8, would you say this is a veritable bargain? http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/81653.htm

Do you think there is any chance it could be dodgy at all? What are the common problems/ things to watch out for when buying these? As a look around 'trader suggests it might be worth a flight to Carlisle to have a butchers...

Hard to say if that’s a bargain or not as the ad doesn't really list anything in detail.

When I was looking for mine I found AutoTrader to be on the higher side of prices, I ended up getting mine from www.bigmotoringworld.co.uk. They seem to offer good prices purely due to the amount of cars they sell. Dunno how local you are to that place (whats/wheres Brizzle?) but worth a trip just because they have some many cars there at one time.

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 21:49

OK rang the guy about the car:

(77,000 miles, black 330ci Y- reg £9250)

He says the bodywork condition is excellent bar one or two small dints from where some careless person has opened their door into it.

Tyres: Front 2 are new, backs have a 3-4 K yet (I would put my OZ Superleggaras on it anyway I think)

It's never been smoked in and interior is in good condition.

It's a mannual

The trim inside is alu and it has cloth seats.

He is the 3rd owner.

It has just had an inspection 2 service done.

The only work done on the vehicle (to his knowledge) is having a faulty airbag sensor replaced.

Now the reason he is selling: This is the bit that says to me one of two things:

1. He's realised it's a dog and wants shot of it

2. He's being genuine

His reason was that he bought the car as a replacement for his subaru. His mate was supposed to buy his subaru but couldn't do so in the end, so he's now stuck with both cars and needs to get rid of one of them. He seemed to suggest the scooby was also up for sale now and needed to get rid of whichever one he could.

Or did he simply realise it needed something expensive doing to it and decide to try and palm it off on someone else?

I guess I could go and have a look. My brother is doing a mechanics course at the moment and may be able to spot any dodgy goings on.... but I would also ask a BMW garage/ specialist to give it a once over and confirm it is OK (and I would get an HPI check done). Of course, if he is being genuine, he has no reason not to let me do this....

What do you think?

OllyM · 5 Jun 2006 at 21:56

How long has he had it?

According to the RAC...

Vehicle details
Manufacturer BMW
Model 330 CI SE
Body type COUPE
Colour BLACK
Fuel type PETROL
Date manufactured 02 May 2001
Number of previous owners 1
Last owner change 15 September 2004

Bes · 5 Jun 2006 at 21:57

1 month so he could well be telling the truth....

.... or he might have discovered it's a horrendous wreck.

[TW]Fox · 6 Jun 2006 at 00:03

The price could partly be explained by the fact its the 'wrong' spec - its a manual, with cloth, in SE trim.