330d advice please
Discussion
Hi guys, I've been looking for a diesel and I've discovered that the 330d is about in my price range £12k ish.... www.pistonheads.com/sales/100225.htm
What should I look out in them? Are they that much better then the 320es? Which I've read good things about of late.
Thanks in advance.
What should I look out in them? Are they that much better then the 320es? Which I've read good things about of late.
Thanks in advance.
That is a pre-facelift Sport model, so an early 330d. Things to watch out for on these are a dodgy turbo and blocked injectors. The turbo issues can be identified with poor performance - although with nothing to compare to, this might be hard to notice. Dodgy injectors can be identified by lumpy performance at low speeds.
However, the injectors are a part which tend to go at 120k miles, so you should be ok. Turbos are fairly solid on the 184bhp 330d's, so again should be fine on this front - worth asking if it has been changed though. FSH is essential. Listen for knocking noises when changing gear - this should help identify problems with suspension bushes/propshaft mounts.
One odd thing about this example is the shiney steering wheel though. It has either been used for town driving or, has done a lot more miles than the quoted figure suggests. I have a 110k 2002 330d with a lot less wear than that.
Personally I would go for a newer 330d with higher mileage than an older one with lower miles - they soak up miles particularly well. I bought mine for £12k back in February this year. I've covered nearly 12k miles in it - the last 2k I covered this week included stretches of Autobahn and a few laps of the 'ring
.
However, the injectors are a part which tend to go at 120k miles, so you should be ok. Turbos are fairly solid on the 184bhp 330d's, so again should be fine on this front - worth asking if it has been changed though. FSH is essential. Listen for knocking noises when changing gear - this should help identify problems with suspension bushes/propshaft mounts.
One odd thing about this example is the shiney steering wheel though. It has either been used for town driving or, has done a lot more miles than the quoted figure suggests. I have a 110k 2002 330d with a lot less wear than that.
Personally I would go for a newer 330d with higher mileage than an older one with lower miles - they soak up miles particularly well. I bought mine for £12k back in February this year. I've covered nearly 12k miles in it - the last 2k I covered this week included stretches of Autobahn and a few laps of the 'ring
.The only issues I have had with it were rear suspension bushes. The bushes were worn and needed replacing - these cost £150 fitted from an Independant BMW garage. Other than this, it has been flawless. Getting mine remapped in February
At the Ring:
Interior:
Seat wear at 107k miles:
Ask away if you have any more questions
Yes, the 184bhp engine became the 204bhp engine in 2003 (not sure of the exact date, but I think it was Spring).
The 204bhp one only came with 6 gears. The 184 with 5. You will struggle to find a 204bhp version for £12k but might be possible. A remap will happily take the cars to 220bhp/240bhp with crazy levels of Torque.
The 204bhp one only came with 6 gears. The 184 with 5. You will struggle to find a 204bhp version for £12k but might be possible. A remap will happily take the cars to 220bhp/240bhp with crazy levels of Torque.
In theory an SE can be specced up as a Sport. The differences if you were to do it are (quoted from BMWland):
Sport Pack:
BMW sports seats £414
Black Aluminum Cube Interior Trim £151
Anthracite headlining £134
Multifunction M Sport steering wheel £193
M Aerodynamic Body styling Kit £968
Alloy wheels - 18" M Sports Spoke, Style 135M £1,157
High gloss shadow line £280
Sports suspension £276
So mostly visuals
Sport Pack:
BMW sports seats £414
Black Aluminum Cube Interior Trim £151
Anthracite headlining £134
Multifunction M Sport steering wheel £193
M Aerodynamic Body styling Kit £968
Alloy wheels - 18" M Sports Spoke, Style 135M £1,157
High gloss shadow line £280
Sports suspension £276
So mostly visuals
Servicing isn't too bad. Needs doing every 13k-15k miles. It goes Oil service - Inspection 1 - Oil Service - Inspection 2.
Oil service is about £200, Insp 1 about 300, Insp 2 about 400 at a main dealer. My car has done 110k miles and only needed two Inspection 2 services. Using an Independant BMW garage will significantly reduce costs.
Parts aren't too bad - biggest cost for me has been the tyres on the Sport model. They are 225/40/18 on the front and 255/35/18 for the rear. They cost around £550-600 a set. The SE's 17" wheels are much cheaper to buy rubber for.
Oil service is about £200, Insp 1 about 300, Insp 2 about 400 at a main dealer. My car has done 110k miles and only needed two Inspection 2 services. Using an Independant BMW garage will significantly reduce costs.
Parts aren't too bad - biggest cost for me has been the tyres on the Sport model. They are 225/40/18 on the front and 255/35/18 for the rear. They cost around £550-600 a set. The SE's 17" wheels are much cheaper to buy rubber for.
I have a '04 plated sport tourer (6 speed)
i get an average of 39mpg on my daily 50mile commute, 42mpg if i just potter around 1 roads etc, if i drive it like i stole it i get about 34mpg, and towing a trailer and my rally car i have once got down to 30mpg!
The later 6 speed cars are quite a lot better to drive than the 5 speeders, although the "sport" early cars have a hard ride BMW softened it off for the "sport" 6 spd version. I find my sport fine for everyday commuting, but i might look at swaping in some M3 parts etc to get better body control when i am hooning! Also the M Sport wheel / tyre package comes with comedy 255 section rears, which totaly destroy the handling. I run the 235's allround and the car is soooo much better to drive (and slide!) The real diesel BMW handling holy grail is gonna be to get an M diff into the back, as the diesels have a different diff casing to the M cars this is gonna be hard, but should transform the handling when the TCS is off.
so far i have had some of the suspension bushes replaced (full marks to BMW here, zero cost to me, no haggling!) under warranty which has restored the handling and steering feel (car has done 60k miles). As mentioned so far my dealer experience has been excellent and servicing seems ok price wise (you pay a lot to have someone drain and refill the oil, which is pretty much what a service amounts to these days, but they might well spot other issues someone else would have missed while they are there etc)
as soon as it is outa warrenty i'm gonna chip it, probably with a freeflow exhaust to get rid of the cats i don't need for MOT exh emissions
so to sum up, so far, a brilliant car, not amazing at anything, but enormously competent at everything!
i get an average of 39mpg on my daily 50mile commute, 42mpg if i just potter around 1 roads etc, if i drive it like i stole it i get about 34mpg, and towing a trailer and my rally car i have once got down to 30mpg!
The later 6 speed cars are quite a lot better to drive than the 5 speeders, although the "sport" early cars have a hard ride BMW softened it off for the "sport" 6 spd version. I find my sport fine for everyday commuting, but i might look at swaping in some M3 parts etc to get better body control when i am hooning! Also the M Sport wheel / tyre package comes with comedy 255 section rears, which totaly destroy the handling. I run the 235's allround and the car is soooo much better to drive (and slide!) The real diesel BMW handling holy grail is gonna be to get an M diff into the back, as the diesels have a different diff casing to the M cars this is gonna be hard, but should transform the handling when the TCS is off.
so far i have had some of the suspension bushes replaced (full marks to BMW here, zero cost to me, no haggling!) under warranty which has restored the handling and steering feel (car has done 60k miles). As mentioned so far my dealer experience has been excellent and servicing seems ok price wise (you pay a lot to have someone drain and refill the oil, which is pretty much what a service amounts to these days, but they might well spot other issues someone else would have missed while they are there etc)
as soon as it is outa warrenty i'm gonna chip it, probably with a freeflow exhaust to get rid of the cats i don't need for MOT exh emissions
so to sum up, so far, a brilliant car, not amazing at anything, but enormously competent at everything!
I've run 4 of them. One of each incarnation. The silver one at Independant is a pre-facelift model. You can get post facelifts for your £12k. Still with the 184bhp/288ft/lbs unit. Will be 5 speed manual or auto. I'd recommend going for a facelift model if you can.
Turbos can go, so make sure that you warm them down after a run. The inlet manifolds are plastic and can crack. The usual E46 bushes, wishbones, and even driveshaft donut failures can apply.
Buy with your eyes open.
The leather can sag on the drivers side bolsters, but look out for excessive sagging. Is it in line with the mileage? Front ends will be stone chipped. Alloys are usually nibbled. They are over-tyred, but I've never found it a problem. Just wish they had an LSD fitted as standard.
Mine average about 41mpg and overall they're a fantastically competent car. I'd have another one.
Matt
Turbos can go, so make sure that you warm them down after a run. The inlet manifolds are plastic and can crack. The usual E46 bushes, wishbones, and even driveshaft donut failures can apply.
Buy with your eyes open.
The leather can sag on the drivers side bolsters, but look out for excessive sagging. Is it in line with the mileage? Front ends will be stone chipped. Alloys are usually nibbled. They are over-tyred, but I've never found it a problem. Just wish they had an LSD fitted as standard. Mine average about 41mpg and overall they're a fantastically competent car. I'd have another one.
Matt
Sorry to hijack this thread. I've just bought a 330d on an 04 plate from a main BMW dealer,pick up on Friday. I didn't ask the question, but would this be a 180 bhp or a 200bhp? I have moved from an A4 2.5TDI and it felt about the same in terms of power, although I was behaving myself on the testdrive
. It was a 6 speed manual carbon black edition and my first BM!!!
Any running advice and things to look out for would be appreciated.
. It was a 6 speed manual carbon black edition and my first BM!!! Any running advice and things to look out for would be appreciated.
I have a 51 plate SE. The only problem I have had and I believe is a common fault is the pre-supply pump going.
The symptoms are that the car will turn over but not fire similar to the immobiliser not cominng off(if you know what I mean).
The pump is situated underneath the car under the F/P/S. £130 to replace
The symptoms are that the car will turn over but not fire similar to the immobiliser not cominng off(if you know what I mean).
The pump is situated underneath the car under the F/P/S. £130 to replace
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