Buying a 320d E90 2005 or 2006 model

millhousegirl

Im off to the UK next week to purchase a 320d eithier late 05 or early 2006. Which model would people recommend SE, ES or M. Id be looking to spend around £10,000 and then vrt between €3500 to €5000 on top of that.
Is there any issues with the turbo on these models?
Wud I better off sticking to authorised BMW ownerships?

Anan1

SE adds rear parking sensors & climate control to ES specification, M Pack adds spoilers, bigger wheels & harder suspension - they can be quite uncomfortable on less-than-perfect roads. I'd be looking for a well-specified SE. Provided you check the service history and run a full HPI check, buying privately should be fine. AFAIK, the turbos on the E90 cars are fine.

mickdw

How about an 08 318d for a little over 20k total with a €156 tax. A €450 per year tax saving over the 2005/2006 car

millhousegirl

mickdw wrote: »

How about an 08 318d for 20k total with a €450 per year tax saving over the 2005/2006 car

How does the 318d compare to the 320d Mickdw? Its a 2.0l engine also?
Id consider that option alright. Are you selling the car yourself?

jon1981

going over to pick up a nice 320d on sat myself, cant wait! good value to be had over there for 05/06

imola94

A couple of words of caution.....Hyraulic ABS units.
Notorious for 05 3 series and without a manufacturers warranty dealers in ireland are quoting close to 3000 euro for replacement.

mickdw

millhousegirl wrote: »

How does the 318d compare to the 320d Mickdw? Its a 2.0l engine also?
Id consider that option alright. Are you selling the car yourself?

No but just looked at them on autotrader. Some cars there from bmw dealers for 16000 sterling asking price. Could surely be had for alot less on a straight deal. Vrt is 4800 euro for a 2008 318d ES so alittle over 20k.
Same engine as 320d but lower tune so 143 bhp I think on the latest low emmission ones.

jon1981

imola94 wrote: »

A couple of words of caution.....Hyraulic ABS units.
Notorious for 05 3 series and without a manufacturers warranty dealers in ireland are quoting close to 3000 euro for replacement.

is that the E46 or the E90?

imola94

jon1981 wrote: »

is that the E46 or the E90?

It's E90 and the E87 1 series. I know dealers will submit a claim to the manufacturer on your behalf for a goodwil gesture towards the repair but you'll still have to stump up some cash for the repair when the inevitable occurs. Might be no harm to ask for any repair invoices from seller to check whether it has been replaced by the modified one

jon1981

imola94 wrote: »

It's E90 and the E87 1 series. I know dealers will submit a claim to the manufacturer on your behalf for a goodwil gesture towards the repair but you'll still have to stump up some cash for the repair when the inevitable occurs. Might be no harm to ask for any repair invoices from seller to check whether it has been replaced by the modified one

cheers, ill bare that in mind if i opt for the e90 saloon...im leaning towards a 05 E46 coupe instead though.

copacetic

Anan1 wrote: »

SE adds rear parking sensors & climate control to ES specification, M Pack adds spoilers, bigger wheels & harder suspension - they can be quite uncomfortable on less-than-perfect roads. I'd be looking for a well-specified SE. Provided you check the service history and run a full HPI check, buying privately should be fine. AFAIK, the turbos on the E90 cars are fine.

msport pack also adds much better seats and more comfortable steering wheel and gear stick. if you prefer a sporty cabin feel it also adds an anthracite headliner as well as black gloss exterior trim.

it's a matter of personal taste, but the difference in comfort between an SE and a msport is minimal imo.

imola94

copacetic wrote: »

msport pack also adds much better seats and more comfortable steering wheel and gear stick. if you prefer a sporty cabin feel it also adds an anthracite headliner as well as black gloss exterior trim.

it's a matter of personal taste, but the difference in comfort between an SE and a msport is minimal imo.

Yes would have to agree there, personally it's Msport all the way for me, especially if on non runflats

millhousegirl

I'll take a look at those 318d's alright.
Would I better off paying a few pound for a car with lower mileage or is the BMW engine capable of high mileage

mickdw

Some of the older (2001 - 2005) seem to be money pits at high mileage(120 to 160k miles). Exhaust manifold, Cats, Turbo(causing engine failure) being v common. I honestly would go for a car with as much bmw warranty as possible.

Anan1

copacetic wrote: »

msport pack also adds much better seats and more comfortable steering wheel and gear stick. if you prefer a sporty cabin feel it also adds an anthracite headliner as well as black gloss exterior trim.

it's a matter of personal taste, but the difference in comfort between an SE and a msport is minimal imo.

You're right, the sports seats are much better than the standard ones. Of course they can be had on the SE too. I've driven both the SE and the M cars, the SE has a far better ride. Either car will be smoother without the RFTs, but they are undeniably good if you happen to get a puncture on a bad road at night in the p1ssings of rain. Really, a well-specified SE auto with heated sports seats & lumbar, adaptive xenons, and Logic7 is the way to go - trust me, i'm driving one at the moment.:)

copacetic

Anan1 wrote: »

You're right, the sports seats are much better than the standard ones. Of course they can be had on the SE too. I've driven both the SE and the M cars, the SE has a far better ride. Either car will be smoother without the RFTs, but they are undeniably good if you happen to get a puncture on a bad road at night in the p1ssings of rain. Really, a well-specified SE auto with heated sports seats & lumbar, adaptive xenons, and Logic7 is the way to go - trust me, i'm driving one at the moment.:)

I've driven a lot of the SE and Ms too (along with plenty of subarus when trying to decide what to go for) and I went the opposite way, I don't think there is that much difference although there is some. There can be a bit of variation from car to car too imo. Only thing I've jealous of is the logic7! (but the alpine retrofit can get you pretty close at a good price)

You seldom see an SE with sports seats in the UK though? As I said you really have to have driven both to make a decision for yourself imo.

Anan1

You're right, only a small proportion of UK 320d SEs will have sports seats. As you say, best thing is for the OP to drive a couple of cars here, that'll answer these questions very quickly.

jon1981

is a 05 320d with 70k on the clock considered as high or would this be standard mileage for a diesel? should there be anything i should be looking for with a car of this mileage?

rgunning

Just back this weekend from the North with a 06 320d SE. I'm quite happy with it, and it came with a few extras I wasn't expecting (I hear the VRT man rubbing his hands with glee, though). Having driven a few of them, I would go along with

-M sports is not as comfortable on back roads.
-ES is a little bare on features compared to the SE.
-Cruise control and Parking sensors on the SE very handy.
-SE has a better climate control system.

OP, if you want details of what I paid and where I went, etc. PM me

The newer 318s could be a runner, but beware of false economy. Take into account
a) how long you will have it for the absolute money saved on tax
b) a comparison of the MPGs of the two and how many and what type of miles you will be doing
c) what type of depreciation you will be looking at over the ownership period
d) the perils of going over budget, especially these days
e) the benefits of having a warranty

Otherwise, so far I find it brilliant.

mickdw

rgunning wrote: »

Just back this weekend from the North with a 06 320d SE. I'm quite happy with it, and it came with a few extras I wasn't expecting (I hear the VRT man rubbing his hands with glee, though). Having driven a few of them, I would go along with

-M sports is not as comfortable on back roads.
-ES is a little bare on features compared to the SE.
-Cruise control and Parking sensors on the SE very handy.
-SE has a better climate control system.

OP, if you want details of what I paid and where I went, etc. PM me

The newer 318s could be a runner, but beware of false economy. Take into account
a) how long you will have it for the absolute money saved on tax
b) a comparison of the MPGs of the two and how many and what type of miles you will be doing
c) what type of depreciation you will be looking at over the ownership period
d) the perils of going over budget, especially these days
e) the benefits of having a warranty

Otherwise, so far I find it brilliant.

Good points but the tax question is slightly misleading because the high tx car will be worth less for its entire life so really the benefit of buying an 08 318d over an 07 318d must be at least equal to about €4500 (giving the car 10 more years of useful life.) as when you come to sell (for example an 07 model,the new buyer is going to say that its worth less due to tax also. So not only will you be paying more to tax the older cars while you own them, you will also have to take an additional hit come sale time.Of course, if an 07 car could be bought for about 8k less than an 08, then it would be worthwhile.

zipup

mickdw wrote: »

Good points but the tax question is slightly misleading because the high tx car will be worth less for its entire life so really the benefit of buying an 08 318d over an 07 318d must be at least equal to about €4500 (giving the car 10 more years of useful life.) as when you come to sell (for example an 07 model,the new buyer is going to say that its worth less due to tax also. So not only will you be paying more to tax the older cars while you own them, you will also have to take an additional hit come sale time.Of course, if an 07 car could be bought for about 8k less than an 08, then it would be worthwhile.

I bought a 08 320d SE Editions in UK last month.
The main advantage of 08 over 07 is that you get the lower emissions engine in the O8.
Lower vrt and lower road tax.
The C02 for the efficient dynamics engines (Post end of 07) is 128 as opposed to 150 ++.

I bought from a BMW dealer in UK.
Would advise using RAC or AA to check unless your an absolute expert.

VRT was crazy.
I called them with chassis number and got a quote.
Whe I went to the VRT office to pay they did not even inspect.
"I admire you for going it alone" he said.

It was a very cold day though!

I see some people asking about buying 05/06 from BMW dealers, please note very few UK BMW Dealers will stock cars older then 4 years and/or with more than 60K miles.