thinking of buying?

bmw 320d

hello i am thinking of buying a 2003 bmw 320d,i'm just wondering if anyone owns one or has any advice on them.e.g common faults, things to look out for

bazz26

Failed turbo on the 2002 to late 2003 MY 320d is the main one that comes to mind. Expensive to put right afaik.

E92

Apart from the aforementioned turbo they're fine(though E46s are noted for suspension trouble, so give that a good look too, nothing else I can think of really).
And all the usual things anyone should do when looking at a car anyway, e.g. get it checked thoroughly by a mechanic that knows what they're talking about, get a HPI check(if from the UK/NI) or a Cartell check(for an Irish one), make sure it has full verifiable service history etc.

Or buy a 320i instead, 6 cylinder petrol noise and more power comes as standard:D!

bmw 320d

thanks for your replies,also do you think i would be better off waiting until july when the new v.r.t rules come into play.

Anan1

bmw 320d wrote: »

thanks for your replies,also do you think i would be better off waiting until july when the new v.r.t rules come into play.

If you're importing, then definitely.

bmw 320d

how much of saving do you reckon on the vrt as oposed to buying the car now,also if buying one here in ireland now will the prices drop by much after july.

oldzed

i bought a 2003 320d last june with 55k miles on it , It has ran like a dream up untill a month ago but has given me the world of crap since then . first she did the famous white smoke trick and the oil light came on , turbo gone,
so new turbo , exhaust system ,primary and secondary cats seals etc etc , 3800, appprox Thank christ I was still under the bmw used car warranty so it only cost me 240€. I had it back a week and it was running ok , then it died on the road , fuel pump gone , back to bmw 1400€ again it was covered thank god . I really love the car but I would be very slow to buy one again if it didnt have the warranty , fyi I drive around 1200 mile a week , I commute from mullingar to limerick and back every day , i change the oil and filter every 6k and try and leave the car run for a minute or 2 every time I complete a long journeyto circulate cool oil to the turbo .There is 89kmiles on the car now . I hope thats the end of my problems for a while , zed

bmw 320d

thanks for the info;i would like to know will an 03 bmw drop price in garages around ireland after the new vrt comes into play

Ferris

I did a lot of research on the 320d as I was going to buy one.

The pre '05 320d is not worth the risk of a total engine failure imo, there are a lot of instances of the turbo's going on the euro 3 engines and inlet manifold swirl flaps flying into the engine on the euro 4 (post facelift). If i was going to go for one it'd be post feb '05 because this is when they finally sorted that engine. Im kinda convinced that these issues are due to carbon build up in the egr value and this is not cleaned by a routine bmw service (or any service for that matter). Basically what i picked up from motoring forums was that lumps of carbon could dislodge from the egr valve and enter the turbo, possibly knocking off a swirl flap along the way.

I'd rather go for a 318 2.0L 16-valve as its almost as powerful (143hp) and pretty frugal. Also don't buy without a warranty.

CountingCrows

bmw 320d wrote: »

hello i am thinking of buying a 2003 bmw 320d,i'm just wondering if anyone owns one or has any advice on them.e.g common faults, things to look out for

Aircon fan speed is another common (and expensive to fix) fault. Manually move through the different fan speeds to check.

Mc-BigE

oldzed wrote: »

i bought a 2003 320d last june with 55k miles on it , It has ran like a dream up untill a month ago but has given me the world of crap since then . first she did the famous white smoke trick and the oil light came on , turbo gone,
so new turbo , exhaust system ,primary and secondary cats seals etc etc , 3800, appprox Thank christ I was still under the bmw used car warranty so it only cost me 240€. I had it back a week and it was running ok , then it died on the road , fuel pump gone , back to bmw 1400€ again it was covered thank god . I really love the car but I would be very slow to buy one again if it didnt have the warranty , fyi I drive around 1200 mile a week , I commute from mullingar to limerick and back every day , i change the oil and filter every 6k and try and leave the car run for a minute or 2 every time I complete a long journeyto circulate cool oil to the turbo .There is 89kmiles on the car now . I hope thats the end of my problems for a while , zed

i have a 02 320d touring and its pretty much the same story as above, Bought from main dealer 49K and BMW 12 month warranty, at 65ish miles the turbo went one day, while i acclerated in 1 first gear, i never red lined the car in that time, or drove the car with extreme revs. and the Turbo shaft snapped, i was told. New turbo and front cat only, covered under warranty, and last year while out of warranty the orange glowplug light came on one day and 1 mile later the car coasted to a stop. rear plastic fuel pump.
250 plus labour.

Thats it, if you buy one, make sure to ask has the turbo been replaced on 02-03 facelift models. if not, make sure you get a discount to cover an independents garge cost of labour + Turbo 1200ish +vat for turbo + labour (i think it was someone else can correct me)

Bushes go at around 80,000 miles budget for around 500euro if not done.

Thats it. other than that is a very fast 2litre diesel for its age 150BHP and 45/50 mpg. and drives/corners better than a B6 Audi A4 IMO.
I would buy one again no problem.

Mc-BigE

CountingCrows wrote: »

Aircon fan speed is another common (and expensive to fix) fault. Manually move through the different fan speeds to check.

yes forgot to mention i had this problem also, the resistor or Hedgehog is 90 euro from BMW and is a pain to fit, need to get behind the clutch pedel i.e. sitting on your back on drivers seat, with you head in the footwell:eek:

E92

Ferris wrote: »

I'd rather go for a 318 2.0L 16-valve as its almost as powerful (143hp) and pretty frugal. Also don't buy without a warranty.

The 4 cylinder petrols are supposed to be underpowered(AFAIK it's the old 8 valve engines that are guilty of this really), but even if they're not, the sound alone is reason enough for the more powerful 6 cylinder 320i.

BMW 6 cylinder petrol engines are one of the best sounding engines ever made IMHO(they're easily the best sounding 6 pot engine this side of a performance car anyway).