2018 BMW 330e best BMW on sale in Ireland?

Carney97 · 11-02-2018 9:08pm #1

I was lucky enough to spend a day with a 2018 BMW 330e. After spending hours studying the brochure and talking to a number of BMW salesman I couldn't help but the think its the best BMW on sale in Ireland. For just over €42,000 you get a car that will get fantastic fuel consumptions and has the performance ability to keep most hot hatchbacks humble?

Is there a better package?

What do you guys think?

Gumbo · 11-02-2018 9:17pm

Have one in work.
Realistic range of 20km.

Personally not a fan.

Carney97 · 11-02-2018 9:21pm

The range for these german hybrids always seems to fluctuate from what the brand states. My friend who owns an Audi A3 E tron gets 42km of electric range even though it is meant to get 35km.

Other owners are less fortunate.

Casati · 11-02-2018 10:35pm

Carney97 wrote: »

I was lucky enough to spend a day with a 2018 BMW 330e. After spending hours studying the brochure and talking to a number of BMW salesman I couldn't help but the think its the best BMW on sale in Ireland. For just over €42,000 you get a car that will get fantastic fuel consumptions and has the performance ability to keep most hot hatchbacks humble?

Is there a better package?

What do you guys think?

Yeah value for money I think they are possibly the best BMW in the market, the only big issue I’d have is the small boot. Outside of that as they are a hybrid

Heres Johnny · 12-02-2018 9:23am

If you have a 20km commute and can charge in work then they are a good option for you. However, I drive a gas guzzling older bmw and a 20km commute for me is still less than 3 euro. Makes a bit of a difference over a year but you should see the depreciation on a 330e it's savage. Can pick them up in UK for 19k so add on a bit extra for exchange rate and vrt and you could have a 16 reg car for low 20s euro.
When bmw release a 3 series that can do the mileage of an i3 on electric only with a rex these will plummet further.

That said I've test driven a 330e and it's a really nice car. I think a 330e will be my next car, maybe next year.

ELM327 · 12-02-2018 9:38am

It's a compliance car.

The only BMW with a battery and an ICE that you should consider is an i3 rex. Otherwise either get the best fossil car or the best BEVx,

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 12-02-2018 9:48am

Like all cars the actual real world MPG will be a fraction of the claimed figures, having said that the claimed figures are terrific. Performance is indeed pretty good. The 3 series is a good package with good dynamics.

Is it the best BMW on sale.....no.But it depends on your metrics. The 640d gc will return 50mpg and is a better package with much higher cost. The i8 delivers better performance. Any M car, or a 340i has a better engine. X cars are more practical. A second hand BMW offers better value. But you migh be correct that as a new car on a budget that has to be a BMW its a good choice.

Casati · 12-02-2018 10:02am

ELM327 wrote: »

It's a compliance car.

The only BMW with a battery and an ICE that you should consider is an i3 rex. Otherwise either get the best fossil car or the best BEVx,

The market disagrees, the I3 is a very niche car , ie it’s a fairly high performance 4 seater city car with a tiny range compared to the 330e

ELM327 · 12-02-2018 10:15am

Casati wrote: »

The market disagrees, the I3 is a very niche car , ie it’s a fairly high performance 4 seater city car with a tiny range compared to the 330e

The market disagrees?
Is that just on your say?
If we're going by anecdotal evidence I've seen many I3 around but only 3 330e. One on the m50 which was a BMW Ireland car, one plugged in and not charging in Dundrum, and one plugged in on the fast charger in blanchardstown.

Casati · 12-02-2018 10:32am

ELM327 wrote: »

The market disagrees?
Is that just on your say?
If we're going by anecdotal evidence I've seen many I3 around but only 3 330e. One on the m50 which was a BMW Ireland car, one plugged in and not charging in Dundrum, and one plugged in on the fast charger in blanchardstown.

Apologies, if your seeing loads of i3’s and practically no 330e’s then I must be wrong

ELM327 · 12-02-2018 10:54am

Casati wrote: »

Apologies, if your seeing loads of i3’s and practically no 330e’s then I must be wrong

As opposed to "the market" then?

And sales figures can always be skewed when they arein the 2 or 3 figure range. And are not necessarily relevant to the "best-ness" of the car.

http://www.irishevowners.ie/best-selling-irish-phevs-in-2017/
http://www.irishevowners.ie/best-selling-irish-evs-in-2017/

Carney97 · 12-02-2018 11:21am

I live in Kildare and I would say I see one 330e every day. They seem to be the most popular hybrid around my area. Certainly more popular than the i3

ELM327 · 12-02-2018 11:24am

Carney97 wrote: »

I live in Kildare and I would say I see one 330e every day. They seem to be the most popular hybrid around my area. Certainly more popular than the i3

If you refer back to the post I made... I never mentioned popularity.
I said the best "product".
And I'm sorry but paying north of 40k for a pathetic 20-25km EV range is quite frankly shanefully ridiculous. I wonder if many of these were company car BIK tax vehicles as opposed to private purchases.

Carney97 · 12-02-2018 11:38am

ELM327 wrote: »

If you refer back to the post I made... I never mentioned popularity.
I said the best "product".
And I'm sorry but paying north of 40k for a pathetic 20-25km EV range is quite frankly shanefully ridiculous. I wonder if many of these were company car BIK tax vehicles as opposed to private purchases.

I am aware you didn't mention popularity I was purely stating my personal experience.

Yes while €40,000 + is still a substantial amount of money for a car it does offer good value. If you are in the market for a new BMW it does make sense.

I wonder would it be a popular company car? Typically you have to be doing reasonably high mileage (e.g 30-40,000km a year) in order for it to make sense.

billy few mates · 12-02-2018 10:25pm

Yes I tried one a couple of weeks ago, beautiful car alright, lovely to drive, nicely specced and quite reasonably priced for a new BMW, I seriously considered ordering one.
In the end I decided not to, the main reasons were the very limited electric range and the fact that that model is an aging design, likely to be replaced by a new model this year.

thierry14 · 13-02-2018 3:05am

kceire wrote: »

Have one in work.
Realistic range of 20km.

Personally not a fan.

Range would be ok for commuting, but that little 80bhp motor in electric mode and nearly 2000kg, is what would piss me off.

Its a complicated mess too

Dual clutch, turbo charged engine, so many things to go we wrong in them

xl500 · 13-02-2018 3:11am

Casati wrote: »

The market disagrees, the I3 is a very niche car , ie it’s a fairly high performance 4 seater city car with a tiny range compared to the 330e

Well the 330e has a large range due to its ICE Engine and Battery

The I3 has a Large Range due to its Battery and REX

Both Have Range as long as you put petrol in them but I3 has way larger electric range

spyderski · 13-02-2018 12:59pm

ELM327 wrote: »

I wonder if many of these were company car BIK tax vehicles as opposed to private purchases.

330e doesn't qualify for BIK exemption, so I doubt thats a big factor.

KCross · 13-02-2018 6:03pm

https://speakev.com/threads/bmw-330e-se.100937/

Lets say you negotiate £19500, thats €21,909
Add on the VRT which comes out at €1,886 (VRT Stat code: 41987721)
Add another €200 or so for flight and ferry.

Total: €23995 landed and registered in Ireland for a 162 BMW 330e (they are €51k new!!!)

Heres Johnny · 13-02-2018 11:24pm

KCross wrote: »

https://speakev.com/threads/bmw-330e-se.100937/

Lets say you negotiate £19500, thats €21,909
Add on the VRT which comes out at €1,886 (VRT Stat code: 41987721)
Add another €200 or so for flight and ferry.

Total: €23995 landed and registered in Ireland for a 162 BMW 330e (they are €51k new!!!)

They're not really 51k though I have a quote for a brand new one with pro nav and metallic and no other extras for 42k. It's an msport too.
That's including

9% sterling marketing rubbish discount
Government grants of 7500 I think
An extra 2k reduction for straight sale

So the list price is much higher but depreciation starts at 42k not in the 50s.

Still quite the drop though

unkel · 14-02-2018 2:31am

KCross wrote: »

Total: €23995 landed and registered in Ireland for a 162 BMW 330e (they are €51k new!!!)

Not a great deal. Our own stesaurus got a 171 330e Sport landed for €27k

If only those cars had a range of say 50km instead of 20km. I would have been very tempted to sell my Ioniq for pretty much what I paid for it a year ago and stayed on compliance PHEV until I could land a Tesla Model 3

KCross · 14-02-2018 10:57am

unkel wrote: »

Not a great deal. Our own stesaurus got a 171 330e Sport landed for €27k

If only those cars had a range of say 50km instead of 20km. I would have been very tempted to sell my Ioniq for pretty much what I paid for it a year ago and stayed on compliance PHEV until I could land a Tesla Model 3

The difference in price between SE and Sport is €1k so thats not significant.

Sure, stesaurus got a great deal. At €24k for a 162 its in the same ballpark.

Im just pointing out how much these things are depreciating, its ridiculous.

Casati · 14-02-2018 11:01am

KCross wrote: »

The difference in price between SE and Sport is €1k so thats not significant.

Sure, stesaurus got a great deal. At €24k for a 162 its in the same ballpark.

Im just pointing out how much these things are depreciating, its ridiculous.

320d’s depreciation in the UK is as bad if not worse, the 330e is an ideal car to import as the vrt is much lower as it’s a hybrid

ELM327 · 14-02-2018 11:27am

OSI wrote: »

Wasn't there someone on here with a 330e from new who was told it was already in negative equity on the PCP plan not much more than a year in?

Considering the massive discounts now given by BMW on new models I'm not surprised to hear that.
I'd say anyone who took a PCP on a 330e based on the ~50k RRP will be handing it back with negative equity (absorbed by the PCP) at the end of the deal.

liamog · 14-02-2018 12:26pm

Most PCPs should be in negative equity during the first year.

unkel · 14-02-2018 1:29pm

KCross wrote: »

The difference in price between SE and Sport is €1k so thats not significant.

BMW seem to be making this confusing. There is:

SE €50960
Sport €51860
M-Sport €54120

I was presuming stesaurus got the M-sport and I wasn't aware of the Sport version (probably a few spoilers and badges LOL and no proper sport suspension)

And I presume all these prices are before the €7,500 subsidy?

KCross · 14-02-2018 1:41pm

unkel wrote: »

BMW seem to be making this confusing. There is:

SE €50960
Sport €51860
M-Sport €54120

I was presuming stesaurus got the M-sport and I wasn't aware of the Sport version (probably a few spoilers and badges LOL and no proper sport suspension)

And I presume all these prices are before the €7,500 subsidy?

According to earlier poster its pre-grant prices on their website. Which is interesting because all the other EV/PHEV manufacturers include the grant in their advertised prices on their websites, so that is confusing here.

It looks like you can take the bones of €10k off those prices if you are going in with a straight cash deal.

The difference in SE and Sport seems to be sports seats, sports steering wheel, and different alloys. Not much else. It can't be much anyway with only €1k in it.

bp_me · 14-02-2018 3:06pm

KCross wrote: »

The difference in SE and Sport seems to be sports seats, sports steering wheel, and different alloys. Not much else. It can't be much anyway with only €1k in it.

One thing to look out for (certainly in UK models) is they don't all get the split folding rear seats. If it wasnt specified the seats dont fold at all (afaik!) and there doesnt even appear to be a ski-hatch.

stesaurus · 14-02-2018 6:58pm

unkel wrote: »

BMW seem to be making this confusing. There is:

SE €50960
Sport €51860
M-Sport €54120

I was presuming stesaurus got the M-sport and I wasn't aware of the Sport version (probably a few spoilers and badges LOL and no proper sport suspension)

And I presume all these prices are before the €7,500 subsidy?

Mine's an M-Sport with the pro-nav. I got a great deal but won't be hanging on long term to it.

stesaurus · 14-02-2018 7:03pm

OSI wrote: »

Wasn't there someone on here with a 330e from new who was told it was already in negative equity on the PCP plan not much more than a year in?

It's how they're designed. All PCPs will be in negative equity until probably the last few months.
I'm sure there will be some odd cases alright but there's very little chance you've paid off more than the depreciation with low PCP monthlies within the first year. It's only when the depreciation curve starts to tail off that you will start catching it and creating some equity. HP on the other hand will have higher monthlies so it's easier to be in some form of equity early on.

stesaurus · 14-02-2018 7:20pm

I'm getting around 45-50mpg in mine. Battery lasts around 30km but you have to realise that it only works below 80km/h, once you go above that the engine kicks in. Hell if you put the foot down it kicks in. So the battery is only useful for city/town driving and not tearing around back roads or motorway.
Now in saying that it works for me. I have plenty of places to charge so I can make the most of it. If I drive to work its a 70km spin and easily the last 20-30km of that is heavy traffic so the battery is great to save petrol. Same on the way home once I charge at work. It's also nice to pop into and around town without using any petrol so it does have its uses.

Negatives hmmmm, it's heart breaking queueing and paying at petrol stations or just even remembering and having to alter my journey to swing by the bloody petrol station. It's poke is nowhere near the i3. Even in Sport unless you floor it. There's just no comparison to the instant torque of a proper EV. Having said that it will leave an i3 for dead above 100km/h but i'm too old for that ****. I like to cruise around 140km/h and the i3 was easily capable of that anyway and would easily have more poke at those speeds than 90% of what's on the road.

The charging timers are a pain in the arse. Actually so is the i3 in this regard. If you want to only use night tariff you have to set a departure timer. Very annoying if you don't know what time you'll leave at. In the i3 you can get around this by setting it for a week in advance if you wanted. The 330e of course won't give you the option of choosing a day so you need to set a departure time for every night. I wfh so my departure times are never predictable so its incredibly annoying. My workaround is a physical timer rated for 13a that only makes my granny evse active during night tariff. Such a pain that they won't allow further options.

2018 BMW 330e best BMW on sale in Ireland?

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