BMW 320d m sport 2008

Fire1985

Hi lads & ladies,

I am currently looking at a 320d m sport 2007 or 2008 hopefully,

I would love some opinions on the car. Pros & cons.

I know its 177bhp but I hope its an economical car if I dont drive it hard.?

Any alternative cars welcomed?

I look forward to your replys.

Thanks

JustLen

Get an Audi A3 2.0Tdi

Terrontress

JustLen wrote: »

Get an Audi A3 2.0Tdi

You make a convincing argument sir.

ian87

I get about 50mpg in mine. It will do 55+ no prob on N roads. The suspension is quite hard. Nice car all round. I'm selling my one due to change in circumstances. Pm me if you want details.

Fire1985

ian87 wrote: »

I get about 50mpg in mine. It will do 55+ no prob on N roads. The suspension is quite hard. Nice car all round. I'm selling my one due to change in circumstances. Pm me if you want details.

Sorry i thought you were trying to sell me an a3,

im looking to buy from a dealer because im trading in.

Thanks for info.

ian87

Fire1985 wrote: »

Thanks for the offer but im looking for a bigger car.

So do you know anything about 320d?

I'm taking about a 320d. Mine is a 2008
Ask away.

Fire1985

ian87 wrote: »

I'm taking about a 320d. Mine is a 2008
Ask away.

whats the worst thing and best thing about the car from your experience? Cheers

bmwguy

Fire1985 wrote: »

Thanks for the offer but im looking for a bigger car.

So do you know anything about 320d?

I think Ian has just offered you a chance to look at his 320d!

Edit: just saw you have it sorted

Fire1985

bmwguy wrote: »

I think Ian has just offered you a chance to look at his 320d!

I know, my bad. Have you got advice on 320d?

s14driftking

go for the older 07 one if possible as the newer engined 08 ones give trouble with timing chains snapping reguardless of mileage high or low.
as a conparsion my 330d sport gets about 40 mpg with a mix of town and main road driving

ian87

Pm sent fire. I love mine but it's the car or a deposit for a house for me. Can't have both! It's so solid on the road, great to drive. Country roads are a blast, as the car feels like its on rails. Costs about 90 to fill it and I get about 650 miles to the tank. I've leather and a lot of toys so it's a very nice place to be. Seats are comfy, my commute is 45 mins each way and my back gets sore easily in some cars but not in this. It's reasonable to service and get parts for.

Fire1985

s14driftking wrote: »

go for the older 07 one if possible as the newer engined 08 ones give trouble with timing chains snapping reguardless of mileage high or low.
as a conparsion my 330d sport gets about 40 mpg with a mix of town and main road driving

I have heard that about the chains alright. It would probably cost a fortune to fix too. Cheers

bmwguy

Fire1985 wrote: »

I know, my bad. Have you got advice on 320d?

Not really, I've had BMWs but not a 320d. As a brand they're excellent cars to drive, very well built so feel solid and premium. They're not any more reliable than other brands, theres a lot in them to go wrong and parts are expensive, so just be prepared for that. You might get lucky though, I would recommend them overall. Good luck with your search

Anan1

Fire1985 wrote: »

Hi lads & ladies,

I am currently looking at a 320d m sport 2007 or 2008 hopefully,

I would love some opinions on the car. Pros & cons.

I know its 177bhp but I hope its an economical car if I dont drive it hard.?

Any alternative cars welcomed?

I look forward to your replys.

Thanks

As s14driftking said, i'd favour the earlier 163bhp - it should be cheaper to buy too. I'd avoid the MPack as it makes the car quite uncomfortable on anything but very smooth roads, and IMO looks tacky. IMO automatic is a must, and a well-specified car will be a much nicer place to spend time.

bazz26

I have a 2008 318d M Sport for nearly 3 years. Yes the M Sport suspension is firm but I test drove it and found it wasn't nearly as bad as some people were making it out to be. 3 years on and I don't even notice the firmer ride and mine came with 18" rims from the factory. They are excellent to drive especially on the twisties and the M Sport setup means it sticks to corners like it is on rails. I had mine remapped about 2 years ago so now it putting out around the same as a stock 320d.

Now the bad news, the N47 engine in the 318d/320d from late 2007 to early 2010 is a ticking time bomb regarding the timing chain. There is no set time or mileage interval at which it can start getting noisy and then snap resulting in a big bill that BMW will only contribute goodwill towards if the car is out of warranty and has a full BMW service history.

Now mine has 75k miles and fingers crossed, it has no signs of any noisy chain yet but there has been cases where cars with either half that mileage or twice that mileage have had chains snap so my advice is if you do decide you still want to buy one, I recommend you buy one with a full BMW service history from a BMW which will come with 2 years warranty. Yes you will pay over the odds for it due to the long warranty but it will be peace of mind for at least 2 years. I'd also recommend halving the 30k km service interval that BMW have on these engines too. It is way too long without changing the oil imo.

I'm very happy with mine so far but I am considering changing it for something else towards the end of the year but finding it hard to find a worthy replacement so far, I'm edging towards a 325d/330d but they are thin on the ground over here.

Any other questions, let me know.

declan_8

bazz26 wrote: »

I have a 2008 318d M Sport for nearly 3 years. Yes the M Sport suspension is firm but I test drove it and found it wasn't nearly as bad as some people were making it out to be. 3 years on and I don't even notice the firmer ride and mine came with 18" rims from the factory. They are excellent to drive especially on the twisties and the M Sport setup means it sticks to corners like it is on rails. I had mine remapped about 2 years ago so now it putting out around the same as a stock 320d.

Now the bad news, the N47 engine in the 318d/320d from late 2007 to early 2010 is a ticking time bomb regarding the timing chain. There is no set time or mileage interval at which it can start getting noisy and then snap resulting in a big bill that BMW will only contribute goodwill towards if the car is out of warranty and has a full BMW service history.

Now mine has 75k miles and fingers crossed, it has no signs of any noisy chain yet but there has been cases where cars with either half that mileage or twice that mileage have had chains snap so my advice is if you do decide you still want to buy one, I recommend you buy one with a full BMW service history from a BMW which will come with 2 years warranty. Yes you will pay over the odds for it due to the long warranty but it will be peace of mind for at least 2 years. I'd also recommend halving the 30k km service interval that BMW have on these engines too. It is way too long without changing the oil imo.

I'm very happy with mine so far but I am considering changing it for something else towards the end of the year but finding it hard to find a worthy replacement so far, I'm edging towards a 325d/330d but they are thin on the ground over here.

Any other questions, let me know.

I also have a 320d sport 2008 and love it. Agree with all of the above plus no one ever points out that bmw have fixed lots of these under warranty claims and you could be lucky enough to pick one of these up and then you'd have no worries. But if you buy direct from bmw you will be covered also by their 24 month used car warranty.

Tea 1000

I'd try and get one with upgraded seats if you don't end up with an M-Sport, the standard seats are average and the height adjustment is a joke on them.
I'd also say the auto is a better option.

Anan1

Tea 1000 wrote: »

I'd try and get one with upgraded seats if you don't end up with an M-Sport, the standard seats are average and the height adjustment is a joke on them.

+1, an SE with heated sports seats (if you can find it) would my preference.

Tea 1000

Anan1 wrote: »

+1, an SE with heated sports seats (if you can find it) would my preference.

Slightly off topic, but those seats with the retarded height adjustment have followed to the F30 unfortunately.

longhorn2013

Sorry for hijacking the thread lads but having similar thoughts on buying a car. Seen this one advertised with a BMW dealer

http://www.autotrader.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320d-M-S/33913649653138660/advert?channel=CARS

Any thoughts or advice?

Seems like a good motor...low milage, diesel etc

declan_8

longhorn2013 wrote: »

Sorry for hijacking the thread lads but having similar thoughts on buying a car. Seen this one advertised with a BMW dealer

http://www.autotrader.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320d-M-S/33913649653138660/advert?channel=CARS

Any thoughts or advice?

Seems like a good motor...low milage, diesel etc

Link is not going to a specific car.

longhorn2013

Sorry...edited there to include correct address

bazz26

longhorn2013 wrote: »

Sorry for hijacking the thread lads but having similar thoughts on buying a car. Seen this one advertised with a BMW dealer

http://www.autotrader.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320d-M-S/33913649653138660/advert?channel=CARS

Any thoughts or advice?

Seems like a good motor...low milage, diesel etc

Its an original Irish car and it's got the older and safer 163bhp M47 engine. No timing chain issues to worry about with that engine. The biggest things to worry about with that engine is to change the turbo breather filter every second service and have the swirl flaps replaced with blanks. Cheap enough things to do. Price is on the high side but not surprising from a main BMW dealer.

Advert says it has an Alcantara seats but the photos show that it has Dakota leather seats. Verify with the dealer which one it has as the leather interior can command a small premium over the Alcantara.

Anan1

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Slightly off topic, but those seats with the retarded height adjustment have followed to the F30 unfortunately.

If you ask me, seats are something BMW never really did well. Their non-sports seats have always been quite flat and uncomfortable, and the adjustment is about as counter-intuitive as you can get.

longhorn2013

Thanks for that....yea I thought price was a bit on the high side alright..another grand or so and ya could get a nice 3 series coupe even.

Any experience of dealing with BMW dealers and any scope to haggle?!

bazz26

longhorn2013 wrote: »

Thanks for that....yea I thought price was a bit on the high side alright..another grand or so and ya could get a nice 3 series coupe even.

Any experience of dealing with BMW dealers and any scope to haggle?!

The same car is advertised here at a higher price and when you look at the reg it is 2008.

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/BMW/3-Series/320-E90/34113650979401550/

I don't think the one in your original link has the correct photos.

weekaizer

I've just bought one of these, I found a m sport "edition", i wud definately recommend this model! it has black Dakota leather, built in I drive, USB connection, bmw motorsport alloys, business sat nav and BMW connectdrive over the standard m sport pack!. Absolute cracker of a car, i think they are only available in silver, grey or carbon black (mine)!. IMO much more appealing car.. My only concern is that engine with the alleged timing chain issue, hopefully I keep mine for a year until warranty runs out!

bazz26

Mine is an Edition M Sport also in graphite grey. How much did you pay for it if you don't mind me asking? I'm thinking of selling mine towards the end of the year so just want to gage how much they are going for at the moment.

longhorn2013

That one in the updated link costs around 15.k? Seems a bit expensive to me considering you could get the following for less than a grand more when exchange rate and VRT is taken into account. The coupe looks a serious motor! Any known problems with the attached car?

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/BMW/3-series/Coupe/details-586530-BMW-3-series-Coupe.asp?viewtype=0

bazz26

longhorn2013 wrote: »

That one in the updated link costs around 15.k? Seems a bit expensive to me considering you could get the following for less than a grand more when exchange rate and VRT is taken into account. The coupe looks a serious motor! Any known problems with the attached car?

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/BMW/3-series/Coupe/details-586530-BMW-3-series-Coupe.asp?viewtype=0

The Coupe shares most of the running gear of the saloon so the same issues apply to both. You also have to take into account that the Coupe you are looking at there is a SE model. M Sports fetch more money than SE models, both saloon and Coupe plus the UK car is probably out of warranty at this stage so it's not really a fair comparision.

weekaizer

I bought mine at the main dealers in the north for £11300, 63k fbmwsh, full service, 4 new tyres, 4 new brakes, full tank of diesel and 1 year warranty thrown into price. Vrt has taken it upto €16k, car is immaculate and just what I wanted!:)