BMW 320CD Sport - Opinions?

jamieh

Hi all,

I'm planning on buying a 2005 320CD Sport this week.

Is there any known problems I should be looking out for?

.Longshanks.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=10842479

PaulKK

Hi OP

I recently bought a Nov 04 320d.

I don't know if you have researched the car much etc but there are a couple of things to look out for.

The main issues that I am aware of are:

Turbo failure
Manifold swirl flaps coming loose into engine.
Wear on front suspension


The most important things to look for with these is service history, regular oil changes and most importantly that the crankcase breather/oil separator has been changed regularly.

If it hasn't I suggest you replace it as soon as you buy the car, its a 60 quid part from the dealers and will lengthen the life of your turbo dramatically. The turbo was upgraded in Nov 03 and the newer ones are ment to be a lot better but I'd still change the breather.

Regarding the swirl flaps.. the flaps were upgraded mid 04 so hopefully mine and the car you are looking at should be ok.. but it is something to be aware of, there are blanking kits available. When I get the glow plugs changed I am considering having the blanking kit installed as the manifold has to come off to change them anyway.

Other things enthusiasts suggest is cleaning the EGR valve and cleaning the MAF at 20/30k miles. I did clean my EGR but tbh I don't know if its completely necessary.


Other than that I have to say its a great car, handles very well, loads of power and light on the juice.


Do you mind me asking what price/mileage/ colour is the one your looking at?
I was looking for a sport when I was buying but couldn't find a good one for reasonable money

Edit:
One other thing, if you do go for the car I would suggest you change the oil every 8/10k. The recommended interval is 20k and in my and a lot of peoples opinions that is waaay too long. Its suspected that this long interval, along with the lack of the breather being changed contributed greatly to the above mentioned turbo failures.

BMW are doing the oil service for the e46 now for €143, I got it done in Cahir a while ago, only takes 90 mins and you keep your service history.

jamieh

Thanks a mill for the advice.

It's a black sport model with 75k on the clock. That's not too high for a diesel is it?

It's taxed till September and nct till sept 2011.

We've more or less shook on €12,300

PaulKK

jamieh wrote: »

Thanks a mill for the advice.

It's a black sport model with 75k on the clock. That's not too high for a diesel is it?

It's taxed till September and nct till sept 2011.

We've more or less shook on €12,300

Very nice, leather or alacantra?

Nope its not high, but try and make sure the breather has been changed as I mentioned, or else make sure you change it immediately.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AS72&mospid=47635&btnr=11_3312&hg=11&fg=15

Just order part 15 in above link from the dealer, you can get the kit for 60ish which I did, but tbh, you only need the internal part itself.
I changed it myself but its not that straightforward tbh.

Mine has 67k on it and its going well so far touch wood

Is it a UK import? Might be worth doing a history check on the chasis number?

On the price.. just to put it in perspective I was pricing 2 04 sports around Dec and one was 10500 with 80k and the other was 11500 with 65k and a new turbo. These were saloons though mind you.

Oh one more thing, mine is sapphire black too, it is a complete bitch to keep clean! Make sure you get some meguiars wax to make life easier for yourself when you will undoubtedly be washing it as often as I wash mine!

JohnCleary

PaulKK - The price difference between the saloon/couple is Chalk and Cheese, totally different pricing.

OP, it has been summed up pretty well in the above posts.

Get yourself onto www.bmwland.co.uk/talker - But be warned, if I read those forums before I bought my car i'd never have gone for a BMW. Like with all forums, you only read about the bad stuff on forums.

My 320d SE is on 105k miles and I had the turbo re-furbished at 95k miles. It didn't blow, but the seals were on their way out so had it re-done (£350 from Turbo Technics) before it let me down. 10k miles later and no probs.

Also put in new shocks when I bought mine at 75k miles

At 105k miles, my front brake discs are slightly warped - I don't know if this is my fault or not, but it's no big deal to replace them.

Turbo (check for oil in the intercooler) and excess noise. Note though that these turbo's do whistle a lot so don't let that put you off.

The swirl flaps are supposed to have been modified in 2004 but i'd still remove them.

MAKE CERTAIN the oil separator has been changed. There is a new 'vortex style' one, same part number as the old 'loo roll' type. DO NOT let the dealers try to fob you off with a 'loo roll' type as it'll be old, redundant stock

jamieh

It's full leather and it's got xexons, aswell as all the usual M Sport bells.

Excuse my ignorance but what's a breather and is it hard to change?

As far as I'm aware it's not an import but I might run a check, she's a Donegal reg.

I'm thinking of getting an ECU remap done when I buy it, bit that's one for another day

PaulKK

JohnCleary wrote: »

PaulKK - The price difference between the saloon/couple is Chalk and Cheese, totally different pricing.

Get yourself onto www.bmwland.co.uk/talker - But be warned, if I read those forums before I bought my car i'd never have gone for a BMW. Like with all forums, you only read about the bad stuff on forums.

Note though that these turbo's do whistle a lot so don't let that put you off.

The swirl flaps are supposed to have been modified in 2004 but i'd still remove them.

I agree with all that John.

The part number I pointed out above is the new vortex one also.

JohnCleary

jamieh wrote: »

It's full leather and it's got xexons, aswell as all the usual M Sport bells.

Excuse my ignorance but what's a breather and is it hard to change?

As far as I'm aware it's not an import but I might run a check, she's a Donegal reg.

I'm thinking of getting an ECU remap done when I buy it, bit that's one for another day

Oil Seperator/Oil Breather - same thing and someone gave a link to it above. It's easy to change.

Xenon's = nice!
Leather = nice!

I wouldn't be too worried if it's an import, if anything it could have been taken care of better! Just verify milage etc.

Personally I wouldn't remap the engine, it's pushing enough BHP out of 2 litres. If you want more power, get a 3 litre!

PaulKK

JohnCleary wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't remap the engine, it's pushing enough BHP out of 2 litres. If you want more power, get a 3 litre!

Agreed, theres enough power as it is, and it seems that a remap will certainly speed up the turbo failure too!

I'd definitely get the mileage verified, I was looking at one advertised with 65k, and on a history check it had been recorded with 125k in 2008, well worth 20 quid for the check.

jamieh

Hi all,

Hopefully going to look at/buy the car tomorrow.

I'm bringing a mechanic with me to give a going over incase there's something wrong.

Wish me luck!

Leonard Hofstadter

OP - would you not consider a petrol one - these have superior reliability and the 6 cylinder engines sound great?

There is something slightly odd about a diesel Coupe, don't you think?

jamieh

Hey man,

I know it's an odd combo, I'd prob prefer petrol alright but the MPG is 45-55 on the diesel, don't think I could afford the fuel for a petrol - do lots of long journeys.

Leonard Hofstadter

Fair enough, just remember that the tax and fuel savings will more than likely be blown away by the cost of repairing the Dual Mass Flywheel(if you're interested in a manual).

Because of the reasons you mentioned the petrols are a lot cheaper to buy as well so I think you should do the maths and see will running the diesel actually be cheaper in the long run, especially if you're after a manual?

jamieh

captainspeed wrote: »

Fair enough, just remember that the tax and fuel savings will more than likely be blown away by the cost of repairing the Dual Mass Flywheel(if you're interested in a manual).

Because of the reasons you mentioned the petrols are a lot cheaper to buy as well so I think you should do the maths and see will running the diesel actually be cheaper in the long run, especially if you're after a manual?

Excuse my ignorance, but what's a Dual Mass Flywheel and what are the chances of it been in need of repair?

jamieh

Pics as promised

listermint

Join us - www.bmw-driver.net :cool:

Gumbo

listermint wrote: »

Join us - www.bmw-driver.net :cool:

+1

jamieh

listermint wrote: »

Join us - www.bmw-driver.net :cool:

Cheers for the invite

Joined last week!