Valuation Request (330Ci Sport)

[Kingy]

Hi guys,

I'm getting itchy feet again, and thinking of either remapping my Octavia vRS, or selling it and buying something different.

I've found a facelifted 2003/03 330Ci Sport Manual in Silver with 74k on the clock, and wondered how the price compared to book value, and also, what mine (2003/53 w/71k in Black) is worth in comparison. Has anyone got an up to date Glass's guide to hand?

What's the servicing patterns/costs like on the 330? Any big cambelt or similar bills to look out for? What sort of fuel economy/range could I expect?

 

[Kingy]

330 has a camchain - so no belt change. It doesn't need servicing or changing.

£150 Oil service
£250 Insp 2 service
£350-400 Insp 2 service

Service routine is Oil-Insp1-Oil-Insp2, interval of 15,000 miles. No other big bills to expect other than £600 for a set of tyres.

Expect around 25mpg mixed. Closer to 20 with more town driving, closer to 30 with more motorway driving.

231bhp, 0-60 in 6.5, Top speed 155mph.

Cheers, I take it we're talking a set of 4 premium tyres for that sort of money?

Are the servicing prices for indys or dealers?

 

[Kingy]

I'd expect to pay £13xxx for the 330 from a dealer and they'll offer you about £5k for yours.

I'm looking at a private purchase / sale. Apparently the guy would take £10.5k for the one I'm looking at, and had hoped to push for £5.5k for mine...

Do the rear seats fold flat as standard? Was Leather standard? The one I'm looking at is Alcantara, and I'm not sure if that's better or worse than leather in spec terms... How much to retro fit proper Xenons?

They are prices for decent tyres and prices for main dealer servicing.

If you take a few precautions (ie supply your own oil) main dealer servicing is very competitive.

Is that a CostCo thing, or is the Oil easy to come by in the right quality / quantity?

 

[Kingy]

If you want to save a little on that front it might be worth swapping the wheels to the 17" Sport wheels.

No chance, I like the MV2's, just wanted to make sure that was for proper kit...

 

[Kingy]

No, its a rare option.

Arse. I thought it was only optional on the Saloon for some reason...

No, Alcantara was standard, Leather was a cost option. The Alcantara comes in conjunction with a really rather nasty feeling cloth

Arse again. I like the half leather in the Octavia, and although i've never tried a full leather sports seat, I prefer the half leather in mine to slipping around on the Full Leather that was in my old mans old Accord.

He's got a 530d with cloth interior now, and it just doesn't seem right... I'll have to see what this one is like, trouble is, it's a long way to travel...

£150-£200 for a decent kit, works best with projector lights which I think the facelift Coupes are.

\o/

 

[Kingy]

Yup - Indy for any sort of proper work, Dealer for the stamps.

What sort of other work have you had to do on top of servicing?

 

[Kingy]

All coupes come with a ski hatch as standard (option on the saloon). The reason the seats don't fold is that the cars with fold down seats have a different chassis to the ones that don't. The cars with fixed seats are stiffer as a result.

Full leather sport seats in the e46 are fantastic - you won't be slipping around at all. Mine are great on the road and the track.

What's a ski hatch?

I'm a bit put off now... I'm not sure what to think, I don't want to play at 3 series ownership, but this one sounds in particularly good condition, with FBMWSH, parking sensors and cruise control (which I wanted), the only other thing I really wanted was Xenons, which are apparently easy to upgrade to, and possibly the Sat Nav. I only really want the Nav because it improves the centre console, I'd still have TomTom so I could keep my camera database up to date.

The other obvious thing is that it's very well priced, and looking at higher mileage examples, the projected depreciation would be much lower than one with leather and nav...

 

[Kingy]

Dude, just get it remapped and fit a rear ARB and youll be happy. I am.

I know, I keep thinking about mapping it and keeping it a bit longer, it's certainly cheaper and more practical...

How much was the rear ARB? Did it make much difference?

It's a nice car, and stonking value, and I'm not convinced I'm finished with it, but I don't 'love' it...

 

[Kingy]

Are Air Con and Climate Control interchangeable terms?

This one states Air con, but others list climate control. Is this just an ad glitch, or was CC not standard?

 

[Kingy]

Good choice on the car... the price should be around £14k or less with that mileage.

I keep coming back to this. If the specific car I'm looking at turns out not to be as good an option as I'd thought, then I may well stick with my Octavia and spend ~£500 on a custom map, trouble is, I'd usually expect to lose ITRO 3 grand a year in depreciation on a 330Ci Sport, assuming ~25k miles a year, but at £10.5k, that would drop to 2 grand a year (there's a few 2001 130000 mile examples up at £6.5k), and that's not massively dissimilar to what I'd expect to lose on my vRS if I mapped it.

Having started this thread though, I'm now not sure if I've stumbled accross a bargain, or just a cheap poverty spec example...

How much would be a sensible annual budget for servicing / repairs?

 

[Kingy]

Not sure about BMWs but to me air con blows cold air in your face and climate keeps the cabin at a preset temp. Having had both climate is the way to go.

Sorry, I should have been more clear... I appreciate there is a difference between the two, I meant in the context of the 330Ci. As in, is climate control standard kit, but the ad says A/C because that's what the owner calls it...

I don't mind spending £200 on a Xenon kit if the beam pattern is going to be as it should be, and I wouldn't lose a tremendous amount of sleep over not having the nav, but despite having most of the options I wanted, I'm starting to feel like no leather and certainly only having A/C might be something I'd regret.

Imo, 'Prestige' cars should have proper engines, and decent kit levels, otherwise I might just as well go out and get a 318i ES.

I've got precious little time atm so I could do without the trip down to Poole, and if it weren't for fact that sporty stuff tends to go up in price when the sun comes out, while I can afford it, it would be sensible to leave an upgrade for 3-6 months, it's just that having spoken to the guy, he seems genuine, and the car sounds like it's in good nick, and a steal apparently...

*headache*

 

[Kingy]

Every coupe (e36 and e46) I've seen has fold down rear seats.

\o/

Maybe that was the Ski hatch that was mentioned? Does anyone know what this is?

 

[Kingy]

I keep a grand in the bank for unexpected bills.

That's sensible on any daily drive tbh...

Do you know if Climate Control was standard? Is it possible/how much to retro-fit it if not?

What E46 forums should I be looking at?

What are your thoughts on the spec / value?

Manual, 74,000 miles, BMW 330CI MSport.ABS, Air conditioning, Alarm, Audio remote control, Body coloured bumpers. Sparkling Silver metalic, Full BMW Main dealer service history, 18" Alloy wheels, Rear parking sensors, electric seats (driver memory), BMW Integral Multichanger, Cruise Control, Facelifted model with six speed gearbox, Alcantara sports seats, Stunning Condition throughout, This car is garaged and meticulously cared for, It is totally unmarked, no stone chips, no car park dents and alloys have not been kerbed. The car is in brand new condition. First genuine viewing will buy. Car has Tomtom satnav and blue tooth hard wired in. Also has Snooper hardwired into dash which can be negotiated for. This car has been lovingly cared for but regretably has to be sold as baby has now arrived.

 

[Kingy]

Climate Control is standard.

\o/

With the exception of the electric seats that one appears to be base specification with no option. Some people like the Alcantara but I dont - the Alcantara itself is nice but its only the sides of the seats, the bolsters and the front extendable bit that are Alcantara. The centre of the seats and the doorcards is some sort of weird man-made fibre.

If you've got leather then all the door cards etc are trimmed in leather which is really nice.

Is there anything obviously prohibitive about buying a leather interior, possibly with heated seats, or having the interior re-trimmed?

What sort of costs are likely to be involved with either process?

Other than nav, (not massively fussed) leather (likewise, although could retro-fit), and Xenons (bothered, and would upgrade), what other options would I be missing?

How do you tell if it's a UK car as opposed to an import?

What is the best HPI check to go for?

Thanks for everyone's help so far...

 

[Kingy]

The BMW options list is massive!

Some main ones:
bluetooth
folding mirrors
heated seats
TV
hifi option
harmon kardon option
rear blind
front parking sensors
rain sensing wipers
auto lights

The list goes on, if you configure one on the website you can get some scary prices!

The only real want on that list is the Bluetooth, but it's got a 3rd party version anyway, there's plenty of cool gadgets / nice to haves on the list, but bar the Xenons, all the real wants are standard anyway...

Is retrimming / buying a leather interior realistic?

 

[Kingy]

You forgot the Marmet repeller.

?

The seller rang me today and said he'd had a trade in value of £10,250, but I could have it at that if I wanted it... TomTom 710 + Blue tooth + Snooper are £250 extra.

Bloody Chris Knott closed at 5, so I couldn't get a quote, but I'm going to try and go and see it on Friday...

 

[Kingy]

Are there any 3 series forums out there that aren't full of people going Nawww maaan?

 

[Kingy]

The 3 series forum on bmwland is pretty busy:

http://bmwland.co.uk

With regards to a leather interior, they appear quite regularly on ebay for under £500, make sure you get a sport one though as the seats are so much better at holding you in!

Cheers...

Is there much science to fitting it, or is it just unscrew the old one, and screw in the new one?

I wonder if anyone would buy the non leather sports seats...

Trouble with the leather interiors I've seen on ebay so far is that the leather seems too baggy...

Not sure about the M3 interior though... possibilities...

 

[Kingy]

I've yet to find a decent BMW forum which isn't infested with people sticking godawful ebay wheels on their car and aftermarket light clusters

Moo.

I suppose if they've grown up putting Angel Eyes on Corsa's, it stands to reason they're going find different ways to chav it if it's stock kit...

 

[Kingy]

Hey Kingy, I'm a fellow vRS owner, sent you a email via trust just in case it might interest you.

Cheers, I'll have a look when I get back...

Chriss Knott have thrown a spanner in the works, they say that Highway won't insure me because I haven't got any RWD experience. Zurich quoted me £1600, and the cheapest after a quick look at Confused/Moneysupermarket is £1150 ish. Either option would mean cancelling my current policy and losing the 5 extra months NCB.

Aged 25
Full License since Jun 04
3yrs NCB
~25000 miles a year
Class 1
Value £15k
LE3 postcode
0 Voluntary Excess

Since we have so many *30 owners on here, who is insuring you, and how much for?

Does anyone else work away from home and stay in digs? If so, what do you tell insurance?

Also, technically, as I'm contractor, I work from home, but travel to a client site every day. This means that my business mileage is sky high. Is it worth declaring this as business mileage, or as it's really just a case of commuting to work, could I get away with just saying it's my commute?