BMW 320cd/Honda Acc 2.2/Lexus 220 - €10k...Help!

Damie

My head is wrecked

I've no idea what to purchase, Im buying something in the next week or two and I need help regarding the pro's and con's of the cars mentioned.

Im looking for a diesel, will be doing about 700km per week and have 10k cash to play with, please help o wise forum:)

Any help appreciated

doOh

Too little for IS220d. Accords diesels are fine but low power (145hp i believe). BMWs got some problems with turbo as well ... Drop in another 2/3k and go for IS220D

Zubeneschamali

Damie wrote: »

please help o wise forum:)

If you don't know what you want, why do you think you want one of those for that amount?

Why not a Rover 75 for half that?

Mr Benevolent

doOh wrote: »

Too little for IS220d. Accords diesels are fine but low power (145hp i believe). BMWs got some problems with turbo as well ... Drop in another 2/3k and go for IS220D

The Lexus diesels tend to be fairly poor on fuel. Accord is the one to go for.

Gumbo

BMW 320Cd would be my choice.

Accord is 143bhp but a nice car.
lexus is simply not a nice car, gearing is all wrong in them and they just dont do it for me.

320Cd is 150bhp, check history, get swirl flaps removed and change breather filter.

but it doesnt matter what people on here say, YOU still need to go drive them all yourself to make sure that YOU like them as its YOUR money at the end of the day and YOUR ass that will be sitting in it for the next few years

greenasgrass

Had a 320d for 18 months. Cost me over €4k in that time. Never had the turbo problem but alot of the other "common" issues. I think it's a bit of luck but I know a couple of other lads who had a lot of trouble with them. In the end I traded it as the catylitic converter and the exhaust were shot along with buckled alloys (driving onto a construction site over the years done that!) - another €3k predicted.

Have an '04 Accord diesel for the last 2 years. Fantastic car. Burns a bit of oil (which they all do). You might need to top up maybe 2-3 litres between services. Had a problem with the CD changer and one of the electric windows but both sorted relatively cheap. Great motorway car although a little bit noisy (the beemer was whisper quiet). Only major issue is the tax. It's 2204cc so €860 / annum :eek:!!! That's a shocker every 12 months I can tell you.

The IS220 is probably a slightly better car but a high spec accord (leather, sunroof etc) is a great buy imho. You wont regret it. Give the beemer a miss if you ask me.

Damie

I'll give you a taste of the journey so far then....

started off looking at Octavia VRS, then Golf, then Leon, then Volvo, then Supra:Dthen Passat, then Superb, then BMW 530D, then I just pulled what remaining hair I had left on my head and came down to the options stated.

I have a 'childhood hatred/nervous tick' when it comes to a Rover badge, I cant explain it but I just can't look at them, thanks for the suggestion tho.

With the 2.2 engines I think the prices are going to tumble on these cars because there is a bigger movement than before towards smaller engined Diesels due to the obvious rising expenses. Thats my opinion tho which Im sure can be countered.

I guess Im hoping someone can come up with a hidden gem, I've been trawling the interweb for weeks and I'm heading out on the road now on the lookout, my head is wrecked, I never thought trying to spend 10k would be so much hassle.....

Thanks again o wise forum for all your help and suggestions:)

Zubeneschamali

Damie wrote: »

I have a 'childhood hatred/nervous tick' when it comes to a Rover badge

That's one of the reasons they're so much cheaper than a 320d.

Damie

Somebody just sent me a link to this....another bloody option but I have no idea about them

Modeo St220 2005
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1835843

Anyone have experience with them?


"....Ted, I'm goin mad...."

Tea 1000

Damie wrote: »

Somebody just sent me a link to this....another bloody option but I have no idea about them

Modeo St220 2005
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1835843

Anyone have experience with them?


"....Ted, I'm goin mad...."

They're not an ST220, the 220 is a 220bhp 3 litre V6 petrol. That's the diesel alternative, I think it has 155bhp, open to correction, but around that figure anyway. There is some more info on these somewhere else on this forum, Might be one or two things to look out for on that engine, but by and large they'd be a good car.
Most of the interesting diesel options are 2008 and newer unfortunately!
What put you off the 530d? Should be possible to find a good E39 one.

Damie

What put you off the 530d?

Probably the cost of running it....I know a 2005 thats looking for 11k,but not sure of mpg, tax is high, tyres, servicing...all this pointed me towards the options listed....not that they are frugal by any means but more manageable.....

Tea 1000

Damie wrote: »

Probably the cost of running it....I know a 2005 thats looking for 11k,but not sure of mpg, tax is high, tyres, servicing...all this pointed me towards the options listed....not that they are frugal by any means but more manageable.....

€1295 tax is a bit of a kick in the stones, but tyres won't be any more, a lot of Irish 530d's were on 16" wheels. 17" tyres aren't that dear up to 235 width.
What about an E39 525d? Not the most powerful 6 pot diesel out there, but reasonably refined, reasonably frugal, and feck all more to tax than the 2.2 lot.

Idbatterim

I was just checking out donedeal and there are quite a few nice 320cd's, a few m sports too.

below is a list to the 320cd specs...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201101376589343/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/diesel/maximum-age/up_to_10_years_old/body-type/coupe/transmission/manual/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/model/3_series/make/bmw/radius/1501/postcode/bt39jp/page/1?logcode=p

Damie

My only fear with the 320cd is the usual swirl flaps/turbo horror stories. My head is fried trying to come up with something, I've never been so indecisive about anything in my life!:o

pburns

Damie wrote: »

With the 2.2 engines I think the prices are going to tumble on these cars because there is a bigger movement than before towards smaller engined Diesels due to the obvious rising expenses. Thats my opinion tho which Im sure can be countered.

I was going to contradict you but you're talking about pre-08 cars at that price and tax will be high alright. Post-08 it would be right up there.

If it was me, at that price, I'd chance a MG ZT. Has an ambience like nothing else out there and fairly reliable. I know it's strictly a Rover but:o...:cool:

PaulKK

Damie wrote: »

My only fear with the 320cd is the usual swirl flaps/turbo horror stories. My head is fried trying to come up with something, I've never been so indecisive about anything in my life!:o

Get a 320d. 04 and newer models shouldnt have turbo issues, and as a poster above said just get the swirl flaps taken out and breather changed. Its not going to be any less or more reliable than any other modern diesel. the 02 and 03 models had some issues but otherwised they are generally fine. I have one for the past year and i'm delighted with it, its enjoyable to drive and frugal.

Damie

oh jaysus, got another link about another option, I never heard of a A3 DSG....

Anybody know what these are like? http://www.carzone.ie/search/Audi/A3/2.0-TDI./201102200835586/advert?channel=CARS

I think my preference is going for a Lexus with the BMW coming in second....just have a week to make up my mind:o

This is wierd...wtf?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1807482 & http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1827558

coolbeans

I had a bad experience with a BMW diesel and so did two friends of mine. They just don't seem to be take big mileage without costing a bomb to keep them on the road. Anecdotally I've heard similar from friends of friends and mechanics. If it's not the turbo it's the injectors, if not the injectors the diesel pump, the suspension, the ECU etc. They seem to really have a lot of issues especially at 90,000+ miles. I'd go for the Honda for the value but I've never driven the Lexus.

PaulKK

coolbeans wrote: »

I had a bad experience with a BMW diesel and so did two friends of mine. They just don't seem to be take big mileage without costing a bomb to keep them on the road.

What happened yours if you don't mind my asking? What model was it?

coolbeans

PaulKK wrote: »

What happened yours if you don't mind my asking? What model was it?

It was a '04 320d saloon. Nice car, bought it at 80k miles with full BMWSH but it soon became apparent that it's best years were behind it at 90k. It required new injectors and a turbo, nothing to do with flaps, it just failed due to lack of lubrication. I found the suspension very prone to expensive failure too. The engine developed a funny knock around 110k so I moved it on.

PaulKK

coolbeans wrote: »

It was a '04 320d saloon. Nice car, bought it at 80k miles with full BMWSH but it soon became apparent that it's best years were behind it at 90k. It required new injectors and a turbo, nothing to do with flaps, it just failed due to lack of lubrication. I found the suspension very prone to expensive failure too. The engine developed a funny knock around 110k so I moved it on.

Thanks for the info. I have been putting injector cleaner through mine every 5k and changed the crankcase breather at 60k also, do you know if yours was changed when you had it? Apparently its the root cause of the turbo failures. In fairness any car can have injector trouble, its common enough on lots of makes. Suspension wear at 100k would be common too i would say... I suppose its run of the mill stuff for modern diesels these days though unfortunately, expensive parts can and do fail!

Damie

Update:
Brought a IS220 for a spin today, maybe its my height but I found the drivers 'cabin' very cramped. I remember I found the old IS pretty cramped but I thought the newer model would feel more comfortable, but unfortunately not.

Its looking more and more like the 320CD will be the option, if I can get my hands on a well looked after model with swirl flaps sorted and injectors changed, maybe such a model doesn't exist!

Thanks for all the help and keep it coming

Juniorhurler

I can verify from experience that the accords are bulletproof. Only issue is slightly excessive wear on brake discs. Brother has had 2 of them and says he will never leave them. He does 50000km per year so he should have come across any problems with them.

ciarsd

I'm planning on selling mine very shortly. It's an 05 M Sport, spec'd with harman kardon audio, bluetooth and the usual M-Sport interior and exterior spec. Has a brand new OEM turbo, EGR, MAF, breather filter as well as service history (BMW 5 year service pack). Just hit 107K miles.