330 Touring - too good to be true, or just bad colour?

[callahan]

Hi,

First poster here etc, but just had a look at buying my first BM today and found a rather nice 330i SE Touring for only 8,995. It's a 2001 '51 plate with leather (grey unfortunately), sports seats, Double spoke wheels, xenons etc. Only problem is, it's 'light yellow' which looks more like a champagne or even pale gold colour, but it definitely isn't my first choice.

However, with 68k on the clock and from a main dealer, this does look like a bit of a bargain.

So, is this a good buy? Should I look for anything in particular? I'm hoping it will give me much more space over my Alfa 156 V6 saloon as my wife just had our second child!

Thanks for any help

[M5Dave]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

When you say a main dealer, is it a BMW dealer with the approved used car warranty. If it is, then this seems like an excellent buy, and you can guarantee it will be an outstanding example, because the BMW dealers don't normally keep them at that age and mileage. You might even manage to chip another couple of hundred quid off it.

I think I know the colour you're talking about, and while it wouldn't be my first choice either, I don't think it's all that bad. I don't think these cars have any real issues mechanically, and the warranty you get is cast iron anyway. My advice would be, if you like it, go for it.

Edited by M5Dave on Wednesday 14th February 23:20

[callahan]

Sorry, I did mean a BMW dealer and it does have the 12 month warranty.

The car looks and drives very well, I've never tried a 6 cylinder BM before and it does have some nice options, particularly the wheels.

Any more tips?

Thanks for the help.

[deutscher]

Colour combo will be few people's choice - hence price. But if it's OK with you, sounds like a bargain.

[callahan]

Excellent, hopefully I'm having another drive of it tomorrow so I'll see what the salesman can come up with...

Anything in particular to look for?

Thanks

[deutscher]

If it's a BMW Approved Used Car you really don't have to worry - the warranty is as good as a new car and if there's anything wrong, they'll fix it!

[Vee]

It's a pre-facelift car and due to the colour combo they'll have trouble shifting it.
A cheeky £8k bid might buy it - certainly don't pay the asking price for it.

ps. congrats on the new arrival & welcome to PH

Edited by Vee on Thursday 15th February 09:20

[DJFish]

So it's like this, just a bit bigger:

[Andrew D]

Judging by the mileage, it seems to me that they'll have had a little spare space on the forecourt, recieved this car as a part-ex, and decided to hold onto if for a little while to see if they can shift it before sending it on the the auctions (or similar approved). Which means it must have a spotless history, otherwise they'd be taking on a big risk on the warranty. The unconventional colour combo (most buyers are sheep to the fashionable black/silver) coupled with the mileage probably accounts of the lower price. Sounds pretty good to me.

What transmission does it have? From the price I assume it's not loaded down with options, but that's not too big a deal with the 330i, as it had a lot of range-topper kit as standard.

Congratulations on the new arrival, I trust everything goes well. Welcome to PH.

[callahan]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Yes, that's the colour, although it is slightly bigger...

It's a manual, which would be my preference with the petrol engine. I was actually looking for a 330d auto, but this one looked too good to miss. Unfortunately they've offered me a really low trade in price for my Alfa, so it's a bit more difficult to change.

Decisions, decisions....

Thanks & thanks for the welcome!

[callahan]

Too slow! Just arranging to get the family out to see it this afternoon and got a call from the dealer - they just sold it to someone else.

Oh well, have to start looking again

[dontfollowme]

There is a 330i SE salooon at BMW in Birmingham if that helps at all? I am keeping my eye on 3 litres at the moment as I hope to upgrade later in the year.

[callahan]

Thanks, but I need the touring really. Either that or I go for a 5 series saloon, but I assume they're not so much fun to drive.

Still a bit peeved that I missed the one earlier, doubt I'll find another with that spec and at that price.

Hey-ho.

[Andrew D]

The E39 5-Series is actually pretty good, especially the 535i (V8 power!). Certainly worth a test drive.

[callahan]

Ah yes, a V8 would be very tempting. On the sensible side, it's probably pretty bad on fuel isn't it? Worse than a 330i anyway? Mmmmm, v8...

Thanks

[the t boy]

The V8 5 series isn't too bad on petrol but it really depends on the type of driving you do.

I use my 540 Touring almost only for the 70 mile round trip to work on slowish dual carriageway with a bit of motorway so no town driving. I get about 28-30mpg which isn't much worse than when I had my 325 or even my old MR2 which I tended to drive a bit more enthusiastically.

[callahan]

Good news - I managed to find an E46 330i Touring in Topaz Blue with grey leather and just about every gadget you could dream of, including sat nav / tv and electric seats! And it's the sport, so looks better too and has the 12 month warranty.

One question though, it has rear side airbags and we will be fitting two non-isofix child seats, will the airbags need to be deactivated by the dealer (I can probably get this done before delivery for free) or not?

Thanks for any help.

[peaktorque]

Andrew D said:

The E39 5-Series is actually pretty good, especially the 535i (V8 power!). Certainly worth a test drive.

I can highly recommend one of these
Whats wrong with Grey leather?

[callahan]

peaktorque said:

Whats wrong with Grey leather?

Ummm, not meaning to offend anyone, but it reminds me too much of '80's slip-on shoes.... you had to be there, probably.

Then again, the car I've ordered has grey leather, so it can't be that bad!

I can't wait to get it...

ps. any clues about the child seats?

Thanks

Edited by callahan on Saturday 17th February 21:00

[peaktorque]

callahan said:

One question though, it has rear side airbags and we will be fitting two non-isofix child seats, will the airbags need to be deactivated by the dealer (I can probably get this done before delivery for free) or not?

Thanks for any help.

I have never heard of the need to de-activate these. I think my E39 has them and I have kiddie seats in the back. To be honest I think I prefer the idea of them being "live". It is only normally rear facing seats in the front that necessitate the need for de-activation. Though I could be wrong........