E46 318i - owner opinions wanted! (downsizing from E39 535)

[Bill Carr]

Hi all, I am seriously thinking of downsizing from my 535i Auto and 2000-2001 318s look to be in my budget. Does anyone have any experience of running one - e.g performance (or lack thereof!), comfort, mpg and most importantly, potential issues. Are there service items to look out for when buying a 80-100k mile example? What's the best trim level to buy? (My priorities being AC, multi-cd, and heated seats) Does the autobox strangle performance to a ridiculous level? Any difference between the coupe and saloon, apart from number of doors? And finally, do the rear-seats fold as standard, or do you need to look for the "through load" system?

Any feedback would be most welcome (or pointers to other sites).

[fergy]

Through load system not standard on saloon, I believe it was on the coupe's..

Also, frameless doors on the coupe.

Edited by fergy on Wednesday 28th June 14:10

[mondeoman]

Dont

[Roman]

Expect 35mpg and be careful exiting roundabouts - nothing much below 2000rpm (143bhp version) - Goes fine once rolling though

[Bill Carr]

mondeoman said:

Dont

Why?

[mustard]

Best bet would be going for say a 325i circa 2001 on, you'd enjoy most of the benefits of the 535i but in a small cheaper to run package, with hardly any real sacrifices

[Dino D]

Bill,

Going from 3.5 v8 to a 318 is a massive step backwards....

Are you downsizing because of the fuel costs? If so have you considered LPG?

My 2002 330i is being converted as we speak to lpg. I bought it with the intention of converting it. The conversion is costing me 2.5k which I will recoup in less than a year as I do 30-45k miles pa.

(assuming a consumption of 21mpg and LPG cost of 49ppl it will cost me 8p a mile to drive!)

If you do the mileage then an LPG conversion will pay for itslef. Let me know if you interested as I have done loads of research into it recently and found an excellent outfit to the conversion (they have done anumber of V8 bmw's too).

[mustard]

21mpg out of a 330i.... what the f*** you doing to it!!!! you should get at least 27mpg overall even if you spank it

[Dino D]

mustard said:

what the f*** you doing to it!!!!

Driving it the way its meant to be driven??? !!!

Actually, I got an average of 25.9 over 4,5k miles(and yes I do spank it a fair bit!).

On lpg you get about 20% less mpg than on petrol so I've worked on 21mpg to get accurate running costs on lpg.

[off_again]

mustard said:

21mpg out of a 330i.... what the f*** you doing to it!!!! you should get at least 27mpg overall even if you spank it

Nah, I think you misunderstand - on LPG you should expect lower MPG. It can be lower by 10%-15% so assuming 21MPG is fine but then again its half the price as super and the sums obviously add up.

[off_again]

Why downsizing? I've got a 535i and its not bad on fuel. I have had it *cough* chipped by Chipped UK and I have seen an improvement of around 2-4MPG overall. Its no where near diesel, but I am getting a regular 28MPG over the whole tank. Then again, I probably do 60% motorway and 40% town / queuing traffic. Worth looking at for a bit of a saving.

Personally I doubt that I could step backwards to anything with less than 250BHP now. The 535i isnt the fastest or most powerful car available, but it does a lot of things very well and a 318i is still good just not quite in the same marketplace though.

[mondeoman]

Bill Carr said:

mondeoman said:

Dont

Why?

Because if you have an ounce of petrol in your veins, going to a 318 will squeeze the life out of you. Gutless and underperforming springs to mind.

[Bill Carr]

Thanks for the advice peeps. "a small cheaper to run package" - sounds like what I'm after! The 535 has been great, but I bought it because I wanted a nice comfy car and fairly quick car in which to cruise to work : was buying a house a bit of a distance from the office. That fell through at the last minute and I eventually ended up with a place just down the road. Hence my requirement has altered.

I'm getting about 18-20 mpg in the 535 (mostly town driving), and whilst it's nice to drive it's not the most chuckable car in the world (previous car was a MX5). I'd like something a bit smaller and more nimble, but still with the comfort levels I'm used to (plus a decent boot). I like the E46 3-series a lot, and whilst the 318 is slightly wimpy on the power I think I could live with it (just). A 320 or 325 (323?) might be a better bet, but they don't seem to be as cheap to buy as the 318 (lots of cars around the £7k mark). Miles don't scare me (got 104k on the clock at the mo!), it's just running costs that are a concern.

[Dino D]

6 CYLINDER BMW OR NOTHING

If mileage isn't a problem for you then you have to get a proper 3 series.

Ex police 330i SE with 116k miles 4,995 !!!
(ok it white but that means you can haggle for some discount)
http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/

Loads of e46 328i's here:
http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/

And literally hundreds of e36 328i's with lower miles around the 4-5k mark.

I REPEAT: 6 CYLINDER OR NOTHING
(or buy a golf 1.8t-at least you can chip it get some decent poke!)

[exboxster]

I've got a 325i sport and having seen it, a friend decided he wanted one. Bought himself a 318is because he could get nice spec for less money. Oh how he regrets it. Every time I seem him he says he wished he'd bought a 6 pot. And this from someone who's not a petrol head at all!

[Bill Carr]

So thumbs down for the 318 then! A 330 would be a bit out my league, both in price and probable running costs. What's the difference between the 323 and 325 (was the former the later revision?). There seem to be a few of the earlier E46's in my price range (V-X reg) -worth a punt?

[uuf361]

My 318 is OK, bt no more than that (my other car being a 996 C2 Cab)....The 318 does the job but is woefully slow until up til normal speed and driving to/from Cornwall in one day this week (600 miles, 10 hours in car) I found it to be woeful trying to accelerate uphill.......it does however, only have 188bhp so to be expected I guess.....

[Roman]

Power outputs & models changed in 2001

I'd try:
323, 325 & 328 (325 & 328 similar on power but 328 a bit more torque. 323 similar torque to 325). Have a look at honestjohn or parkers websites.

I found that the 6cyl 320 wasn't much quicker than the later 143bhp (after 2001) 318. I would expect 30ish mpg from all the 6cyl cars.

[mondeoman]

330
330
330
or if you want to

330D (with chips, of course!)


Repeat after me

330
330
330
330

[Dino D]

mondeoman said:

330
330
330
or if you want to

330D (with chips, of course!)


Repeat after me

330
330
330
330

I'll second that. But of course I would as I just bought a 330i. It went in for 5 days for an lpg conversion and I was almost in tears when I got back into the driving seat. My god it is a lovely car. (the lpg is working fantastic too but more on that later).

I was in your situation awhile back and I was looking at 323/328 but then when I drove the 330 there was no contest. I found the extra cash but funny enough, the 330 was cheaper than some of the 325's!

The running costs on the 330 will be no different to any other of the 6 cylinder range and if driven well, the 330 will be as economical as the smaller engines.

If you can't get the 3.0 then the 323,325,328 are super cars but I would avoid the 320. Although it sounded good, I found that it was too thirsty for the performance it delivered.