BMW 02 5 series vs 3 series

Underpaid Mike

Currently have a 318ci and am thinking of changing for a 520i auto/tiptronic
Just wondering is this complete lunacy in terms of running costs/service costs etc
Is the 2.2l auto a cause for concern in terms of reliability and/or fuel consumption ?
Something giving me 20mpg would not be a runner for me but im not looking for something to give me 55mpg either as i generally do low mileage.
At a stretch i think the 2l 3 series was doing 30-32mpg.

Any thoughts etc hugely appreciated. Thanks

furtzy

I have a 03 manual 520 2.2 and have been logging fuel consumption for the past year using the fuel logger app. 23 mpg urban and 34 mpg extra urban ging an average of 28 mpg.

Idbatterim

what year is your coupe OP? the 5 series will use id say 25% if
not more fuel, heavier, auto and 6 cylinder. also bear in mind tax will likely go up in the budget. the 2.2L 6 cylinder engine is much much nicer though. 0-100 would be pretty much the same...

bmstuff

I know a guy who has a lovely 01 or 02 525i SE, MPG will around the same as the 520i 2.2.
The car is blue with beige leather interior in really tip top condition with 75k genuine miles.
He was looking for 2500 euros when I spoke to him yesterday.
PM if you want the number.

Underpaid Mike

Tax would be far too high for me im afraid but thanks for the offer bmstuff.

furtzy

If its mostly urban driving then they are a pig on fuel but motorway driving they're not that bad. They have a tendency to over heat so check all hoses etc as one over heat can cause serious damage. The other thing that they all seem to suffer from, mine included, was leaking rear door seals. Check for wet rear foot wells and condendsation build up on the rear windows. The beading on the vapour seals break down over time and allow water ingres. It was an €80 fix from the local indy

Rowley Birkin QC

Is your 318ci an M-Sport Op?

Underpaid Mike

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3905158
Thats it there rowley
Why do u ask ?

Rowley Birkin QC

PM Sent.

Idbatterim

what is your budget op?

Underpaid Mike

3500 id imagine will be my top
Thinking 2.2l is too big given tax and rubbish mpg as it will predominately be city driving so 2.5l is definitely off the table
What you thinking idbatterim ?

Idbatterim

well i drive the 2.5L facelift coupe like yours. how many miles do you per week? see if its very little like me, i doesnt matter so much, met a guy a few weeks ago who drove 325ci auto and said it was a pig on juce... how come you want to change?

Alanstrainor

The 320ci will be a pig on juice around town too, if you think you'll save substantial amounts over the 325 i'd think again tbh.

325 driver here, i would recommend. Mines a manual, 2001, have it 6 months or so. Any questions just ask away.

Idbatterim

i agree with the above, the difference between the 520 and 525 would be very small in terms of fuel consumption...

challengemaster

Underpaid Mike wrote: »

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3905158
Thats it there rowley
Why do u ask ?

Something doesn't seem right about this car... and I'm not talking about all that chrome

02 e46 coupe, with full facelift m-sport front... yet the coupe facelift wasn't until 04. And it's SE spec.

MetzgerMeister

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Any questions just ask away.

No problem, why are you gay for your car?

Chuck_Norris

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

No problem, why are you gay for your car?

Pot. Kettle. Black.

MetzgerMeister

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

Pot. Kettle. Black.

No one asked you Skoda boi! :P

Idbatterim

i have seen a few 02 facelifts, they must have been very late registrations in that year...

Alanstrainor

Idbatterim wrote: »

i have seen a few 02 facelifts, they must have been very late registrations in that year...

Yup, I came across a couple when I was looking for mine in May, they're there alright.

challengemaster

Idbatterim wrote: »

i have seen a few 02 facelifts, they must have been very late registrations in that year...

Saloon and estates had a facelift in 02, coupe wasn't til 04...

Strange one tbh

Sobanek

Retrofitting? Hello?

A friend of mine did it to his 2002 745Li. Changed the front and back to the facelift one. It's not THAT hard.

Underpaid Mike

Car was as is when i purchased it, perhaps its aftermarket im not entirely sure ill be honest.
Looks well to my eyes so im not overly worried if its stock or not.

Thinking of a change as 3door is becomming pretty unpractical for me.

Finally as for the suggestion to go to 325 or a 525, tax and higher insurance along with higher fuel consumption (even if its only marginally) makes this pretty unattractive option for me.

Idbatterim

hey mike, i have 325ci went for the 2.5L engine over the 2.2L as tax is only marginally more and its puts out extra 25bhp, there will be a lot more 520's on the market than 525's. Then again there is no point in telling everyone to go for the 2.5L engine, as even the 2.2L is a stupid amount of tax. (but well worth it in my opinion as the cars are just fantastic, particularly the later E39's... I would definetly take the 5 series over the 3 series saloon though! just took a look at carzone and some of these might be worth looking at...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/5-Series/520-AUTO/17313409593202050/advert?channel=CARS

saw the above, spec is quite good and it is taxed to may! tax alone is worth about E516.25 according to my calculation, i.e. 7 full months left on it...

Gumbo

Sobanek wrote: »

Retrofitting? Hello?

A friend of mine did it to his 2002 745Li. Changed the front and back to the facelift one. It's not THAT hard.

We know its not that hard, but the cost to retrofit a facelift front onto a pre facelift car in lunacy.
it would tend to be only done when the car had a smack as you would be spending 75% of the costs involved in anyway.

I would deffo be cautious if buyingthqat or any car that had the facelift/LCI add ons added with a good reason from the seller and maybe proof.