30K to spend help wanted!

rossy00

hi folks,

sold my car and got my loan approved so have all the cash ready to go.
im looking for a 2008 320d m sport. ive found one or two i wanted in the last week and when i rang they were sold:mad:
anyway my last two cars i bought i got up north, i know the exchange rate isnt great at the moment but i think there is better variety and spec up north, but i have noticed that up north seems to have gotten a little more expensive then England. is there any new websites about for looking for cars ive been using the likes of usedcarsni, autotrader, motors.co.uk. also find this site good for keeping a eye on exchange rate http://www.eurorateforecast.com/.

Any info be much appricated:)

Kenny_D

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1869307.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1824817.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1777596.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1793990.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1872708.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1803655.htm

The coupe with leather is what i'd be going for. Best of luck. Hoping to buy the same car in March

rossy00

thanks for the reply and the links lad's.

Should of mentioned in my first post that i was looking for a coupe, but that black saloon on pistonheads looks amazing.
i've been looking all day and found the perfect 08 msport, black, sat nav the works, rang and it was sold, typical.
the search continues

smash

Any reason for a 2008? you can get a 2007 for just over 20k...

pajo1981

steve06 wrote: »

Any reason for a 2008? you can get a 2007 for just over 20k...

I got my 2008 SE 320d for just over 20k

ed: the new ED 177 engine that appeared in 2008 is streets ahead of the older unit.

Theboinkmaster

GStormcrow wrote: »

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1869307.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1824817.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1777596.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1793990.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1872708.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1803655.htm

The coupe with leather is what i'd be going for. Best of luck. Hoping to buy the same car in March

This is the one I'd go for:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1872708.htm

Kenny_D

steve06 wrote: »

Any reason for a 2008? you can get a 2007 for just over 20k...

Cheaper tax and better resale I presume

Kenny_D

Might be able to work out a deal on this if it's not sold yet:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1228393

bazz26

GStormcrow wrote: »

Cheaper tax and better resale I presume

The difference in purchase price between a 07 and 08 needs to be substantial before you really make any savings on the cheaper motor tax.

Also ED was introduced on the 3 Series from late 2007 so there are still a good few 07 reg 320d with ED especially in the UK where registrations don't change at the start of the calendar year.

Kenny_D

http://www.whatcar.ie/usedcardetail.php?id=198372

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201028198790019

bmw535d

haven't got time to look it up but ya could a 520d/525d for that money.

have ya considered these?

rossy00

gstormcrow, wouldnt be interested in silver but that said getting one with a service pack like that one, would be good to get.
Wouldnt be interested in a 5 series either.

yes i was thinking 2008 because of the better road tax and resale value.
I'm looking out for the msport kit 19'' alloys and i'd rather try get one with idrive (sat nav).


i didnt know that the engine was changed in 08 what did they change?
What does 'ED' mean?

Kenny_D

Efficient Dynamics

Lower carbon emissions and better MPG

http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/efficient_dynamics/phase_2/introduction.html

pajo1981

rossy00 wrote: »

I'm looking out for the msport kit 19'' alloys and i'd rather try get one with idrive

m-sport on 19s would be seriously uncomfortable :eek:

rossy00

two lads in work have 320d and they both have 19'' and I've been in them a few times and didnt think it was that uncomfortable. plus i've yet to here them complain.

stealthyspeeder

30k to spend on a car looking at normal 320d's that only have the fact they are newish on their side

I'd be halving that figure, buying something special from a few years back and putting 5 g towards running costs!

OP, M3's are very affordable for you.

rossy00

5k towards running cost? to much hassle for me lad. id say i'll get it chipped and that will be it till next time it's due a service.

stealthyspeeder

rossy00 wrote: »

5k towards running cost? to much hassle for me lad. id say i'll get it chipped and that will be it till next time it's due a service.

Your money OP! you do whatever you want with it and but whatever car makes you happy or fulfills your needs!

on a side note, this is the general attitude to cars in Ireland and this is why we have the lower standard of cars than the UK, this saddens me a bit.

sk8board

rossy00 wrote: »

5k towards running cost? to much hassle for me lad. id say i'll get it chipped and that will be it till next time it's due a service.

saw something in the Indo at the weekend that insurers are clamping down on chipped diesels; they made a thinly veiled ref to the bmw 177bhp 2.0D too (boosting it to 230bhp). In short, you're not insured if you don't declare it, although they didn't say what effect it would have on your premium.

if it only made a small diff in premium, I'd be all for it.

PaulKK

rossy00 wrote: »

5k towards running cost? to much hassle for me lad. id say i'll get it chipped and that will be it till next time it's due a service.

If your going to remap your 320d I would definitely recommend shortening your service interval, not waiting until its "due".

In fact you should service it much earlier than the ridiculous 15k/20k mile interval anyway, I do mine at 7k/8k. Your wallet will thank you in the long run when you don't blow your turbo.


W00T 500th post

rossy00

ya i agree with servicing it more regularly then recommended. my previous car was a bmw and the service intervals are ridiculous. that's not to say that because my car will be chipped I'll be driving it full tilt all the time.

As for the insurance don't think i'd bother declaring that it's chipped they will only screw me, and the remap is only a plug and play arrangement so it wouldn't be to hard to revert back to 177bhp.
your also recommended to take it out before a service if the car is still under warranty or bmw will void the warranty if they see it.

p.s found three cars so far and all were already sold. why don't people take there adverts down when sold, i did. or am i the only one:mad:

Vertakill

sk8board wrote: »

saw something in the Indo at the weekend that insurers are clamping down on chipped diesels; they made a thinly veiled ref to the bmw 177bhp 2.0D too (boosting it to 230bhp). In short, you're not insured if you don't declare it, although they didn't say what effect it would have on your premium.

if it only made a small diff in premium, I'd be all for it.

I hope you're joking, but I really don't think you are!
The article you're referring to is complete and utter horsesh1te. And that's doing horsesh1te a disservice.

The likelihood, and practicality, of an insurance assessor coming and checking your car and finding out it's been remapped (not chipped..) is really really unlikely.


Back on topic, OP, if it were me, I would go with what stealthyspeeder is saying and start looking at slightly older, but better cars. Like the M3.

Despite the 320D looking quite good, it's not going to be a special driving experience.

But with that being said, you could be 'one of those people' who are obsessed with those 2 little numbers at the beginning of a cars' reg plate and just want something new....!!

Kenny_D

Might be a little over budget but this is really nice:

http://www.usedcarsni.com/50743600

Sure its a 3 litre but it'll be a lot nicer to drive and the tax wont be that much more expensive

Or if your dead set on the 320 then this is really nice too:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6341445

rossy00

funny ya put the link up for that white one up north i was only on to him last night trying to bargain him down. the vrt on that works out around 9k so id have to get that for 25k coz 34k would completely leave me broke id probably have to wait awhile before id even have all the money for the vrt.
anyway i wasn't getting him down close enough to 25k.
As for the m3 lads, no im not obsessed with the number on my reg i look more along the lines of resale value and running costs, i generally change the car every 2 years and i think trying to shift a m3 would be a nightmare. a lad in work was trying to sell his 3 litre Z4 recently and only had it for less then a year and ended up having to trade it in. so im not after the reg. well i do want a 08 put thats more to do with the lower tax which i think would help resale in a year or two.

thanks everyone for all your links for different cars ive chased most them up, but to no avail.

rossy00

im not dead set on the 320d id love the 330d if i could get it for the right money i just think the 330 would strech the budget to far.

Kenny_D

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1439785

Doesnt have leather but there's a fairly big saving to be made. You might be able to get that for around 25k all-in

Kenny_D

How about one of these?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1827261.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1786713.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1882645.htm