Which should i choose?- Finally found a car!

bigdogbarking

I finally narrowed down my search.
Has anyone any experience of them?Which of the following would you recommend? and why?
pro's and cons for both?
Running costs? Reliability?
What realistic offers should i make?

THIS
or
THIS

I'll be test driving them both by the end of the week so that'll really make up my mind but i'm torn between them, performance or looks? afaik both give decent fuel economy and both are above average looking. Just can't decide.

MagicMarker

Depends, which do you like more, apples or oranges?

mini mouse

bmw hands down!!

bigdogbarking

ok but could you elaborate on why?

freighter

Golf definitley its manly looking that beemer looks like a snow plough with that front bumper/splitter.

Golf is a more acceptable on the road as opposed to that type of bmw.

Gumbo

id pick the BMW 320d too.

better looking.
better handling.
SE/ES spec but still a bit better specced than the golf.

make sure you check it out properly as its been lowered, now theres nothing wrong with that imo once its done with a decent set of progressive springs such as Eibach or similar.

the 163bhp engine is good in the E90 and even better after a remap if you would consider that. leather is a big plus, the radio system in the E90 is decent as it has bass boxs under the front two seats and AUX/ipod connection in the arm rest too.

si_guru

Is that BMW Irish reg?

CianRyan

BMW, no questions.

bigdogbarking

si_guru wrote: »

Is that BMW Irish reg?

no its on northern plates, not much of a problem

Voodoomelon

freighter wrote: »

Golf is a more acceptable on the road as opposed to that type of bmw.

What does this mean?

Vertakill

I'd say, judging by the OP's location as 'on the brink', that he's on the border and probably has a means of dodging VRT legally or illegally.

I'd go BMW all the way btw! But if you ARE in the south and you have to pay VRT, that's going to bump that price up significantly.

Absurdum

ehhh it's a strange choice to be narrowed down to...there are zillions of other cars around too you know

Atomic Pineapple

BMW, Golf doesn't come close to it!

bmw535d

defo the bmw in this case

high horse

The sound deadening in the MkV golf is terrible! I drove my friends one before and couldn't believe how loud it was compared to my E46 320d

bigdogbarking

Vertakill wrote: »

I'd say, judging by the OP's location as 'on the brink', that he's on the border and probably has a means of dodging VRT legally or illegally.


I'd go BMW all the way btw! But if you ARE in the south and you have to pay VRT, that's going to bump that price up significantly.

very much on the brink lol but i've no intention of dodging vrt, you can't get away with it now anyway, customs have come down hard on it, so i've no problem taking it through, should work out roughly the same as the golf costs, especially if i can work my charms and get a wee reduction;)
Going with revenue's site, it'll cost just over €2500 to take over so not that much extra, should have it for around the same as the golf's asking price.

Absurdum wrote: »

ehhh it's a strange choice to be narrowed down to...there are zillions of other cars around too you know

Thats the problem,too many to chose from! but after weeks of tearing my hair out, i narrowed it down, I like beemers, my significant other prefers golfs so we found a golf that had plenty of oomph and extras at a decent enough price and a flashy looking bmw with decent mileage that is within our budget(14k) we just have to argue it out and test drive both

draffodx wrote: »

BMW, Golf doesn't come close to it!

bmw535d wrote: »

defo the bmw in this case

Cheers guys, but can you elaborate on that? apart from the obvious, you see a close friend of hers and her friends brother both had 3 series, '07 318i and '07 320d, but thay had nothing but problems, constantly needing repairs eg a/c pipes breaking, problems with runflats, engine lights coming on etc. they both had to sell them and cut their losses (about 10k each!) and have warned her off them. so my wife is now a little weary of them:(

Thats why i'm looking for opinions on pro's and cons of each

Thanks all so far

Atomic Pineapple

bigdogbarking wrote: »

Cheers guys, but can you elaborate on that?

As already said really, the BMW looks far nicer, will handle better, be better spec'd.

Dont be fooled into thinking the Golf will be reliable

si_guru

bigdogbarking wrote: »

Thats the problem,too many to chose from! but after weeks of tearing my hair out, i narrowed it down, I like beemers, my significant other prefers golfs so we found a golf that had plenty of oomph and extras at a decent enough price and a flashy looking bmw with decent mileage that is within our budget(14k) we just have to argue it out and test drive both

...jeez, ya best buy the Golf or get used to the sofa at night!

bigdogbarking

draffodx wrote: »

As already said really, the BMW looks far nicer, will handle better, be better spec'd.

Dont be fooled into thinking the Golf will be reliable

Really? it's just commonly accepted, as far as i was concerned, that vw diesels were more or less bullet-proof.

bigdogbarking

si_guru wrote: »

...jeez, ya best buy the Golf or get used to the sofa at night!

or buy the beemer and sleep in that?

Gumbo

bigdogbarking wrote: »

Really? it's just commonly accepted, as far as i was concerned, that vw diesels were more or less bullet-proof.

ive also heard that the 2.0TDi in the VAG range is less reliable than the older 1.9TDi, but could be just hear say as ive no personal experience with them.

Tea 1000

The 320d would be quicker than the Golf, far better handling, more comfortable, nicer interior, quieter and more refined, and looks better. I'm not sure why you'd pick a Golf over it. The fact that your wife prefers it proves my point that Golfs are really womens cars!! They're a mid-sized hatch back, the Beemer is a junior exec saloon, very different categories.
Reliability will be similar in both, chances of buying a dog are equal, the 2 litre PD engines weren't VW's finest hour.

Atomic Pineapple

bigdogbarking wrote: »

Really? it's just commonly accepted, as far as i was concerned, that vw diesels were more or less bullet-proof.

Thats a common misconception that VW play on in their marketing campaigns, the Golf would be no more reliable than the 320