BMW 330e

carsfan

Proof of the pudding will be in the driving
If this car could average 50 plus mpg overall and has every day performance/flexibility that the headline figure of 0 to 100kmh indicates it may have in a nice m sport spec for less than 50k then I will be very interested.

carsfan

Spoke to dealer about this today.
One of those conversations where you know more about the product than the sales man does....
Why would I not consider a nice 318d?
When I explained my reasoning in fairness he took it on board.
Told me a bmw " genius" will contact about one and when demo etc available
Said he might have reservations about resale however.
Kinda out me off if I'm honest.
He asked me if the golf gti I would trade in was petrol or diesel!? Seemed surprised it was petrol. Doesn't give me much inspiration he will value it too highly.

vintagevrs

FFS, I know to a lot of salesmen it's just a job and they have little interest in cars. But firstly, he should know his product and what new products and tech his company will be selling as that's his job. To default to selling a 318d when a customer is inquiring about a specific product just shows what they normally do.

And not knowing that a GTI is petrol is just cringe worthy, no excuse. If you work in the motor industry you should know that.

I called my closest VW dealer last year before ordering my current car, which also is a petrol Golf. I said I want a 5 door, black etc etc. gave him the exact spec and asked for a price as I was ordering that week. It was clear there would be no "selling" needed, all I needed was a price. He tried to sell me a diesel Golf instead and didn't even price the car I wanted.

unkel

carsfan wrote: »

If this car could average 50 plus mpg overall

I'd say that depends completely on your driving pattern

This car will excel if you do a lot of small trips and a lot of city driving (compared to a 318d of similar value) and obviously plug it in every time you get the chance

It won't be good on long commutes / a lot of motorway travel

unkel

vintagevrs wrote: »

he should know his product and what new products and tech his company will be selling as that's his job.

In fairness that is getting harder and harder as technology progresses and the customers are far more knowledgeable than they used to be

That's why BMW dealers now have a "BMW genius" who is supposed to know all this stuff. Sounds preposterous but if you think about it, it does make sense

Casati

unkel wrote: »

In fairness that is getting harder and harder as technology progresses and the customers are far more knowledgeable than they used to be

That's why BMW dealers now have a "BMW genius" who is supposed to know all this stuff. Sounds preposterous but if you think about it, it does make sense

Are you serious?? Surely all BMW sales folk should be expert on all models and receive training etc for each one and not expect to be educated by their customers

carsfan

I would be very surprised if it turns out the BMW " genius" knows a lot more than me about this car.
I got the impression I was the first to enquire about it at all. It won't matter if I like the car anyway if he can't value my trade in competitively then there will be no point.
In the past I've been given poor trade in prices against bmw cars for non bmw cars so won't hold my breath. I would want to be getting the same as I was offered against the new model A4 a few weeks back.

mickdw

carsfan wrote: »

I would be very surprised if it turns out the BMW " genius" knows a lot more than me about this car.
I got the impression I was the first to enquire about it at all. It won't matter if I like the car anyway if he can't value my trade in competitively then there will be no point.
In the past I've been given poor trade in prices against bmw cars for non bmw cars so won't hold my breath. I would want to be getting the same as I was offered against the new model A4 a few weeks back.

Its a joke tbh. Not a peep back from the bmw gut who gave me the quote without the grant included.
I've seen a few of these bmw genius jobs advertised. Sounds like it should be a lovely job for the right person but I get the impression that it's just marketing crap and the genius is really a low level sales guy and general dogs body who may be required to educate himself on new models.

Voodoomelon

Genius? I thought you's were having a laugh.

Take a look at this sh1te:

http://www.bmwretailjobs.co.uk/roles/bmw-genius/

carsfan

Ok, I managed to watch half that video before I had to turn it off. That actually has put me off the BMW brand. Absolute rubbish.
The sales people should know their product. I bet those happy smiley geniuses are paid buttons too.
BMW have come a long way from the ultimate driving machine to that.

vintagevrs

It's obvious what goes on here though.

Brainstorming, out of the box, blue sky thinking around a table. BMW asking themselves what are other big corporate companies doing well and what do they do? Oh I heard Apple have geniuses (http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/geniusbar/), that's something we could do. We should run a genius program, train up some apprentices on our latest tech so when the salesmen that should know our product don't, they can grab a genius to come in and wow our customers....

High fives all round

stesaurus

Talk to Conor in Joe Duffy. He knew his stuff when it came to the fully electric i3 and is actually interested in the newer technology. With only Joe Duffy and Kearys in Cork being able to sell the 'i' brand I would imagine only they have an interest and knowledge with the PHEV's and EV's. The rest will stick to what they know, i.e. diesels

Leonard Hofstadter

carsfan wrote: »

Ok, I managed to watch half that video before I had to turn it off. That actually has put me off the BMW brand. Absolute rubbish.
The sales people should know their product. I bet those happy smiley geniuses are paid buttons too.
BMW have come a long way from the ultimate driving machine to that.

Truth is BMW will sell any old s**** if they think they can get away with it.

God be with the days when BMW meant: rear wheel drive, 50:50 weight distribution, naturally aspirated petrol, manual gearbox, straight six, and to use one of their other marketing slogans, sheer driving pleasure.

The 'M' in BMW most certainly does not stand for 'motor' (engine) as it once did, the M is very much 'marketing' these days. They are a triumph of marketing over sheer brilliance. I mean seriously, what does a 1 series (M135i aside naturally) do that a Focus or even a Toyota Auris doesn't? And don't say rear wheel drive, very soon it won't even have that. I'm intrigued by the 330e and I very much like the idea of the 330d, but there is way too much rubbish in the model range these days. I don't like the fact that practically all the petrols are four cylinders (or worse, three) and I don't like the fact that you have to get a '30d' model to get the right number of cylinders on the diesels. And I certainly don't see the attraction of that MPV thing or that crossover thing with front wheel drive either, they just make me go zzzzz. If you want an MPV or crossover, save a pile of cash and buy whatever Ford or Hyundai or Toyota offer, unless you really do have 10 grand plus burning an enormous hole in your pocket (and if you do have the 10k+ extra to spend to get the BMW badge on the bonnet, get some common sense, you could have a lovely holiday to Australia or somewhere exotic for that kind of money and still have money left over).

Even not too long ago, BMW still were getting the basics right, they even went to the trouble of creating an ad that very eloquently explains why rear wheel drive is better than front wheel drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHejSP27wis&ab_channel=motoroidsmag

maddness

BMW still build some fantastic cars the problem is we don't buy them in Ireland.
When I was a kid if you had a BMW it was special and something for petrol heads to aspire to, 6 cylinders etc. Now 99% of BMW's on the road are 316D/520D's or even those bloody 2 series things. I've been looking at changing my car recently and enquired about a 330i in two separate dealers and they looked at me like I was insane. Why do you want a petrol??
It's very difficult to be a car enthusiast in Ireland as costs of ownership and running any kind of interesting car here are just so prohibitive.

MetzgerMeister

Before I settled on my 330d I was looking into importing an F30 335i from the UK. I can't remember the exact figures but the main things that put me off were the cost of it all and the fact that by the time I would come to sell it, no one would want it.

I also looked into M3s etc. but at the time I did honestly think that a 330d was the best option for me despite the fact that I don't do anywhere near enough mileage to properly warrant a diesel but I wanted a newer BMW with power and 6 cylinders and I was never going to buying new.

Looking back on it I regret nothing and I love my car despite the fact that I never owned a diesel or an auto before.

carsfan

Unfortunately 330d m sport is 12 k approx more new than this 330e model.
Beautiful engine alright no doubt there.
Effortless performance all day long.

No word from the "genius" yet..

Idbatterim

I've been looking at changing my car recently and enquired about a 330i in two separate dealers and they looked at me like I was insane. Why do you want a petrol??

the main reason a lot went diesel, was due to lower motor tax, even the large cc recent bm's have relatively cheap tax now. When you are landing out the kind of money on a car, who cares about the irrelevance that is e100-200 a year in tax! Maybe the next time you are in with them, you should ask them do they know what bmw were renowned for, tell them it wasnt 4 pot tractor engined cars!

Most people looking for the 6 pot petrol engines, will be coming or used to the outrageous motor tax on the old system, the new rates will be a joke for most petrol models in comparison!

carsfan

Has anybody heard any further info back from the dealers on this car?
Nothing from mine despite his promises re. the genius.
Good review in the Irish Times today.

mickdw

carsfan wrote: »

Has anybody heard any further info back from the dealers on this car?
Nothing from mine despite his promises re. the genius.
Good review in the Irish Times today.

Nope.
Emailed another yesterday and nothing.
I'm wondering if the grant is a done deal at all yet.

Voodoomelon

Heard nothing. I've lost a little interest I have to say, passed a few 3 series over the last few days and they just aren't doing it for me. Would probably suit my needs perfectly, but they're a little to ordinary I think.

mickdw

Yep. I couldnt see you going from a 7 to a 3. The next 5 series, 530e is where its at imo.

bazz26

Even going from a 5 Series down to a 3 Series is a fair drop, not to mind from a 7 Series.

Voodoomelon

mickdw wrote: »

Yep. I couldnt see you going from a 7 to a 3. The next 5 series, 530e is where its at imo.

I agree. But in the spec i'd want, I couldn't afford a new one. A few years of waiting ahead me thinks, i'll survive.

Still interested to see how this 330e pans out.

carsfan

Yeah
I couldn't see you being happy in a 3 series after the 7 really. No matter what extras are in it they're just not the same quality or feel.
The only good looking one is the m sport for me anyway.
Will wait and see if they come back to me and if demo is available will take it but in truth after talking to the sales people my enthusiasm has reduced.

vintagevrs

The salesman I enquired with sent me this yesterday:

http://www.businesscar.co.uk/tests/2016/bmw-330e-test-drive-review

carsfan

That's another positive review.
UK company car tax rules seem to make it a winner there.
Here for me as a private buyer, some of those things are irrelevant.
The sales guy not the genius came back to me to say bmw Ireland have said there will be demos sometime in March but not sure when for certain.
He says he will contact me then re driving it.
I'm still reasonably interested and it can't hurt to test drive.
If anybody can suggest a reasonably quick automatic well equipped alternative for under 50 k new I would be all ears.

useless

carsfan wrote: »

If anybody can suggest a reasonably quick automatic well equipped alternative for under 50 k new I would be all ears.

Golf R DSG?

MetzgerMeister

Another +1 for the Golf R. Fantastic car from what owners have said.

carsfan

Actually drove the R, loved it and was offered a very good deal for a 161 coming from my gti but and I know people will say its stupid when you're contemplating a car of this price I was put off by 570euro road tax, sub 30 mpg, 50 grand for a golf!, plus the fact that VW have brought out cheap "R line" body kits for every golf model that make them look the same as the proper golf R.
It is a savage car and I can't take anything away from the driving experience but in day to day driving probably not much better than my golf gti.

Leonard Hofstadter

I thought Golf Rs were going for around €40k, or has that low price ceased? If they're still going for €40k it's an absolute bargain for the amount of performance on offer!