Thinking of buying a 2005 BMW E91 320D touring- good choice?
Discussion
Good morning all
We currently have a Mercedes GLC as our family/ dog car and having found that 99% of our journeys are simply just to walk the dogs we are looking at something cheaper and spending the leftover cash on a camper eventually.
I'm quite taken with the E91 tourings and have seen a 55 plate for sale. It's a 320D with an auto box and 150k on the clock. Just under £3k and looks to be very well looked after.
Am I mad doing this?! I've seen these cars with 200k plus on the clock and going strong- I don't want it to be living in the garage needing repairs. The boot needs to hold two medium sized dogs for short journeys which looks like it'll be ok.
Is a 2005 a good year for the 320d? Any advice or tips most welcomed!
Many thanks
We currently have a Mercedes GLC as our family/ dog car and having found that 99% of our journeys are simply just to walk the dogs we are looking at something cheaper and spending the leftover cash on a camper eventually.
I'm quite taken with the E91 tourings and have seen a 55 plate for sale. It's a 320D with an auto box and 150k on the clock. Just under £3k and looks to be very well looked after.
Am I mad doing this?! I've seen these cars with 200k plus on the clock and going strong- I don't want it to be living in the garage needing repairs. The boot needs to hold two medium sized dogs for short journeys which looks like it'll be ok.
Is a 2005 a good year for the 320d? Any advice or tips most welcomed!
Many thanks
I owned a 320i of the same vintage, mechanically it was very solid in my ownership, the issue I did have which is specific to tourers is that where the boot hatch meets the main body the wiring harness is vulnerable to wear through the action of opening and closig the boot over time which causes numerous electrical gremlins at the rear of the car, lights etc.
I removed the rubber sleeve and found 7 or 8 snapped wires, and others wearing through, BMW wanted to replace the whole harness at significant cost but I repaired them all myself individually and insulated them, I traded the car in not long after.
An MOT check shows the car still on the road but I don't know if my repair is still holding up or not. My brother in law had a 5 series tourer of a similar age and had the same issues.
I removed the rubber sleeve and found 7 or 8 snapped wires, and others wearing through, BMW wanted to replace the whole harness at significant cost but I repaired them all myself individually and insulated them, I traded the car in not long after.
An MOT check shows the car still on the road but I don't know if my repair is still holding up or not. My brother in law had a 5 series tourer of a similar age and had the same issues.
We have an ageing 330D (2008 and now 150k miles).
It has had the tailgate wires problem fixed recently. This affected radio reception.
It needed something doing to reset an ECU in the passenger footwell (?) to get the rear number plate lights working for the MOT - i think this may also have been related to the above.
It recently required a new starter motor.
Other than that it has generally been well behaved for the 5.5 yrs we have had it.
But I am not sure I would enter E91 ownership with a 17yr old diesel at 150k miles and trust it not to start serving me up a steady stream of little bills.
I agree with the previous poster who suggested a petrol estate. Something like this Avensis would be dog friendly:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/toyota/2010-toyota-avens...
I'd keep looking, although I appreciate the market is rubbish at the moment and ULEZ seems to be inflating older petrol estates.
It has had the tailgate wires problem fixed recently. This affected radio reception.
It needed something doing to reset an ECU in the passenger footwell (?) to get the rear number plate lights working for the MOT - i think this may also have been related to the above.
It recently required a new starter motor.
Other than that it has generally been well behaved for the 5.5 yrs we have had it.
But I am not sure I would enter E91 ownership with a 17yr old diesel at 150k miles and trust it not to start serving me up a steady stream of little bills.
I agree with the previous poster who suggested a petrol estate. Something like this Avensis would be dog friendly:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/toyota/2010-toyota-avens...
I'd keep looking, although I appreciate the market is rubbish at the moment and ULEZ seems to be inflating older petrol estates.
I think they might have introduced DPFs on the 2005 model, you'll have to check somehow. If you are only doing short journeys to walk the dogs with, it might end up getting blocked and costing you a load of money to put right.
Otherwise, the M47 diesel that pre-2007 E9x 320ds have is a good reliable engine, unlike the N47 that replaced them. The fact it's an auto is good too as there is no clutch and flywheel to fail.
Make sure you get one with a good service history that has had it's oil changed at least every 10,000 miles or annually, whichever is less. The turbos can sometimes fail on them around the 150,000 mile mark, especially if they haven't had oil changed frequently, so that's something to be wary of. A new one will be in the region of a grand fitted at an independent BMW specialist.
Otherwise, they should be capable of 250,000 miles if properly looked after.
Otherwise, the M47 diesel that pre-2007 E9x 320ds have is a good reliable engine, unlike the N47 that replaced them. The fact it's an auto is good too as there is no clutch and flywheel to fail.
Make sure you get one with a good service history that has had it's oil changed at least every 10,000 miles or annually, whichever is less. The turbos can sometimes fail on them around the 150,000 mile mark, especially if they haven't had oil changed frequently, so that's something to be wary of. A new one will be in the region of a grand fitted at an independent BMW specialist.
Otherwise, they should be capable of 250,000 miles if properly looked after.
Edited by georgeyboy12345 on Tuesday 24th May 19:41
Thank you all very much indeed for your replies and apologies for my late return to the post.
I had heard about the rear tailgate wiring and have to admit it's a concern. With that and the turbo/otneitla dpf issues I think I'm leaning away from this one- It sounds like a lot of miles! It's ok if you know the car but I tend to wonder whether it's being sold for a reason.
It's a shame as the car looks awesome and I've always fancied a touring- funny as the seller is being v hard work to get hold of or get any info out of.
The avensis looks good- as you say petrol estates have shot up in price.
Wanting to stay sub 3k I have instead found a diesel auto 06 Octavia estate near me with 90k on it for 2.4k. Fresh MOT and service and the boot is huge. Will view that tomorrow- it's a diesel but no dpf so may be a good bet for a couple of years....
I had heard about the rear tailgate wiring and have to admit it's a concern. With that and the turbo/otneitla dpf issues I think I'm leaning away from this one- It sounds like a lot of miles! It's ok if you know the car but I tend to wonder whether it's being sold for a reason.
It's a shame as the car looks awesome and I've always fancied a touring- funny as the seller is being v hard work to get hold of or get any info out of.
The avensis looks good- as you say petrol estates have shot up in price.
Wanting to stay sub 3k I have instead found a diesel auto 06 Octavia estate near me with 90k on it for 2.4k. Fresh MOT and service and the boot is huge. Will view that tomorrow- it's a diesel but no dpf so may be a good bet for a couple of years....
SussexTrek said:
Thank you all very much indeed for your replies and apologies for my late return to the post.
I had heard about the rear tailgate wiring and have to admit it's a concern. With that and the turbo/otneitla dpf issues I think I'm leaning away from this one- It sounds like a lot of miles! It's ok if you know the car but I tend to wonder whether it's being sold for a reason.
It's a shame as the car looks awesome and I've always fancied a touring- funny as the seller is being v hard work to get hold of or get any info out of.
The avensis looks good- as you say petrol estates have shot up in price.
Wanting to stay sub 3k I have instead found a diesel auto 06 Octavia estate near me with 90k on it for 2.4k. Fresh MOT and service and the boot is huge. Will view that tomorrow- it's a diesel but no dpf so may be a good bet for a couple of years....
I'd go for something petrol if you can. The motors in these should last until at least 200,000 miles with basic maintenance, possibly 300,000 if you are lucky.I had heard about the rear tailgate wiring and have to admit it's a concern. With that and the turbo/otneitla dpf issues I think I'm leaning away from this one- It sounds like a lot of miles! It's ok if you know the car but I tend to wonder whether it's being sold for a reason.
It's a shame as the car looks awesome and I've always fancied a touring- funny as the seller is being v hard work to get hold of or get any info out of.
The avensis looks good- as you say petrol estates have shot up in price.
Wanting to stay sub 3k I have instead found a diesel auto 06 Octavia estate near me with 90k on it for 2.4k. Fresh MOT and service and the boot is huge. Will view that tomorrow- it's a diesel but no dpf so may be a good bet for a couple of years....
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I bought an E91 325i with 132K miles but full BMWSH in 2018 for just under £3K, but after a year I wanted a bit more grunt.
So in 2019 I replaced it with an E90 330i because 330 Tourings were fetching silly money. And petrol makes more sense for my low mileage, especially as my sister lives in a London Borough and next year any diesel of that era won't be welcome.
It isn't just the Tourings though as the Saloons also have lights on the boot lid. My E90 was at the mender's last week because the failed bulb warning light was on all the time due to a split wire.
So in 2019 I replaced it with an E90 330i because 330 Tourings were fetching silly money. And petrol makes more sense for my low mileage, especially as my sister lives in a London Borough and next year any diesel of that era won't be welcome.
Jamescrs said:
I owned a 320i of the same vintage, mechanically it was very solid in my ownership, the issue I did have which is specific to tourers is that where the boot hatch meets the main body the wiring harness is vulnerable to wear through the action of opening and closig the boot over time which causes numerous electrical gremlins at the rear of the car, lights etc.
It isn't just the Tourings though as the Saloons also have lights on the boot lid. My E90 was at the mender's last week because the failed bulb warning light was on all the time due to a split wire.
georgeyboy12345 said:
I think they might have introduced DPFs on the 2005 model, you'll have to check somehow. If you are only doing short journeys to walk the dogs with, it might end up getting blocked and costing you a load of money to put right.
Otherwise, the M47 diesel that pre-2007 E9x 320ds have is a good reliable engine, unlike the N47 that replaced them. The fact it's an auto is good too as there is no clutch and flywheel to fail.
Make sure you get one with a good service history that has had it's oil changed at least every 10,000 miles or annually, whichever is less. The turbos can sometimes fail on them around the 150,000 mile mark, especially if they haven't had oil changed frequently, so that's something to be wary of. A new one will be in the region of a grand fitted at an independent BMW specialist.
Otherwise, they should be capable of 250,000 miles if properly looked after.
No DPF on my 57 M47 320d Touring. Otherwise, the M47 diesel that pre-2007 E9x 320ds have is a good reliable engine, unlike the N47 that replaced them. The fact it's an auto is good too as there is no clutch and flywheel to fail.
Make sure you get one with a good service history that has had it's oil changed at least every 10,000 miles or annually, whichever is less. The turbos can sometimes fail on them around the 150,000 mile mark, especially if they haven't had oil changed frequently, so that's something to be wary of. A new one will be in the region of a grand fitted at an independent BMW specialist.
Otherwise, they should be capable of 250,000 miles if properly looked after.
Edited by georgeyboy12345 on Tuesday 24th May 19:41
Think mine is one of the last, basically downturned exhaust and no start stop is a non-DPF M47.
Find a pre-facelift E91 325i with the N52 engine and that should be pretty reliable.
On all E90/91/92s ABS pumps can fail as can ABS reluctor rings - if the ABS pump fails BMW want a small fortune for a replacement which still has the original design fault, but someone like ECUtuning can usually fix your old one for a lot less and they get rid of the design fault!
On all E90/91/92s ABS pumps can fail as can ABS reluctor rings - if the ABS pump fails BMW want a small fortune for a replacement which still has the original design fault, but someone like ECUtuning can usually fix your old one for a lot less and they get rid of the design fault!
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