2008 bmw 320d coupe.

teednab-el

Hi I'm going test driving one of these machines tomorrow, the car is for sale privately. Is there anything I should be aware of with this model car. I love the look of this car and may buy. Also the car has 19 inch alloys, which I'm not in love with. I would rather replace them with 17s due to the roads I drive on. They aren't the smoothest.

Any advice or tips on this car and how much would you expect to pay?
Car has 45,000miles on the clock.
Thanks.

Anan1

Make sure it has FSH. My mother has a 320d and it needed a new turbo (fortunately under warranty) at around 80k kms. Also try to get one with decent specification - most of the cars we see here have Mpacks, leather and metallic - and that's about it. Personally, i'd be looking at an 07 rather than an 08 - better value, and less to go wrong.

166man

Are the wheels on the car the M-Sport wheels? If so I have heard numerous stories on this website and others about problems with those wheels in relation to the alloys themselves actually cracking inside. I suppose if you are going to change them it would be fine though. Here's a link

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/cracks-prompt-bmw-wheel-review/247062

Otherwise a fine car!

Best of luck!

Just seen the above post, would a 08 not be better for tax purposes?

Anan1

166man wrote: »

Just seen the above post, would a 08 not be better for tax purposes?

That's why the 08s are overpriced relative to the 07s. The tax savings are buttons relative to depreciation, but the average Irish buyer is unable to get their head around this fact.:)

jhegarty

Anan1 wrote: »

That's why the 08s are overpriced relative to the 07s. The tax savings are buttons relative to depreciation, but the average Irish buyer is unable to get their head around this fact.:)

Won't the depreciation also be heavily affected by the 07/08 tax difference ?

jhegarty

jhegarty wrote: »

Won't the depreciation also be heavily affected by the 07/08 tax difference ?

Hence why 07s are bargains compared to 08s

teednab-el

166man wrote: »

Are the wheels on the car the M-Sport wheels? If so I have heard numerous stories on this website and others about problems with those wheels in relation to the alloys themselves actually cracking inside. I suppose if you are going to change them it would be fine though. Here's a link

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/cracks-prompt-bmw-wheel-review/247062

Otherwise a fine car!

Best of luck!

Just seen the above post, would a 08 not be better for tax purposes?

The alloys on this car are multi spoke alloys which I hate, especially the BMW ones. I would try and get the bmw 5 spoke ones, I think they are the nicest BMW have. I wanted to avoid paying huge tax and that's why I opted for a 2008 model. I know it sounds a bit silly but if I got a 2007 coupe, it would be five years old by the end of this year.

Anan1

teednab-el wrote: »

I wanted to avoid paying huge tax and that's why I opted for a 2008 model. I know it sounds a bit silly but if I got a 2007 coupe, it would be five years old by the end of this year.

That sounds silly because it is silly.:)

166man

Anan1 wrote: »

That's why the 08s are overpriced relative to the 07s. The tax savings are buttons relative to depreciation, but the average Irish buyer is unable to get their head around this fact.:)

Good point but would a 07 not be harder to sell on in say 3 years time due to the extra tax?

Gumbo

teednab-el wrote: »

The alloys on this car are multi spoke alloys which I hate, especially the BMW ones. I would try and get the bmw 5 spoke ones, I think they are the nicest BMW have. I wanted to avoid paying huge tax and that's why I opted for a 2008 model. I know it sounds a bit silly but if I got a 2007 coupe, it would be five years old by the end of this year.

but if you buy an 08 one, it will be 5 years old at the end of next year :eek:

OP, post a link to the car in question and we will evaluate it

Anan1

166man wrote: »

Good point but would a 07 not be harder to sell on in say 3 years time due to the extra tax?

It'll be worth less than an 08, but the difference will be a lot smaller than it is now. And that's before we even look at potential ED/DPF problems on the 08.