BMW 323/5/8

fitzgese

Looking at getting an E46 6 cylinder petrol BMW. Considering a 323, 325 or possibly 328/330. Is there a major difference between these engines? (Besides the obvious differences in power with the newer 325 and 330, I mean in everyday driving terms).

Anyone got a rough idea of running costs, in particular servicing? According to figures I can find on the web, there's not much of a major difference in mpg between them all, around the 31 mpg mark. Is this the case in the real world?

Anything major I should look out with these cars, either with any one model in particular or with them all in general?

unkel

fitzgese wrote: »

According to figures I can find on the web, there's not much of a major difference in mpg between them all, around the 31 mpg mark. Is this the case in the real world?

Yes and no. There's not much of a major difference in mpg between them all, but you will not see anywhere near 31mpg in the real world

fitzgese

Sorry I should have said I mean an ideal 31 mpg on long motorway journeys
Yeah 31 overall would be a bit optimistic!

unkel

fitzgese wrote: »

Sorry I should have said I mean an ideal 31 mpg on long motorway journeys

I do better than 31 mpg on long motorway journeys in my 4.7l 310BHP old Porsche*

*if I stuck to the speed limits

x in the city

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/C.i.-M-S/200939195327614/advert?channel=CARS



this seems dirt cheap, are cars that low now in price...!

Eoin

unkel wrote: »

Yes and no. There's not much of a major difference in mpg between them all, but you will not see anywhere near 31mpg in the real world

I'm getting 25MPG in an auto 525 in traffic. 31MPG doesn't seem that unrealistic in a manual 3 series?

fitzgese - I think your thread on bmw-driver.net has probably covered most of it already, but my pick would be the 325. Cheaper to tax than a 328, and I wouldn't say it's that much slower either as it's a much newer engine.

SpannerMonkey

eoin wrote: »

I'm getting 25MPG in an auto 525 in traffic. 31MPG doesn't seem that unrealistic in a manual 3 series?

fitzgese - I think your thread on bmw-driver.net has probably covered most of it already, but my pick would be the 325. Cheaper to tax than a 328, and I wouldn't say it's that much slower either as it's a much newer engine.

as he says and as i said on bmw-driver.net

Tropheus

I owned a 330 coupe and a 330 convertable after that. Great cars with lots of grunt. 30 mpg isn't unrealistic for motorway driving but you will struggle to get 25 mpg if crawling around town.

Serving is not cheap. I recall paying €300 for an oil service from a BMW dealer not long after getting the car.

However, if you were to use an independed it could be a lot more affordable. DIY is also an option if you're up for it. There are also lots of good quality non OEM parts available.

As with all cars, the smaller the engine, the cheaper it is to run.

Eoin

ksimpson wrote: »

As with all cars, the smaller the engine, the cheaper it is to run.

Motor tax aside, I don't know if there will really be that much of a difference between a lot of the engines in running costs. Some smaller engines can be more expensive on fuel as well.

Seweryn

ksimpson wrote: »

As with all cars, the smaller the engine, the cheaper it is to run.

Not exactly in this case. All the BMW 6-cylinder engines from 2.0 to 3.0 have 6 plugs, more less the same amount of oil and coolant, all give very same mpg figures. The only difference is the ownership cost, as the OT (Ownership Tax) is higher for the bigger engined car. I would go for the 325iA.

cianclarke

A bit of insight into MPG - my auto 325ci gets 27mpg in mixed city traffic and motorway driving, with the occasional heavy right foot.

fitzgese

Cheers guys, thanks for the info, as I said on bmw-driver.net, probably gonna go for the 325i, it's the best all rounder.