E46 diesel any advice?

[Anonymous]

Morning all, once I've got rid of the wife's RX8 I'm looking to replace it with the old model 3 series/E46. It needs to be a touring diesel as I'm starting my own business and need to keep costs down.

No doubt there will be a few on here who've had one or two of these over the years and can offer some honest insights? The budget is going to be £6k ish and if possible I want to stretch to a 330d rather than 320d, but beggars can't be choosers! I'm aware of the common problem with them blowing turbo's as I had experience of a couple of 320d's as company cars where I used to work.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Cheers

Simon


P.S. Don't worry, haven't completely lost my marbles, my Z is going nowhere and is now safely sitting in my garage and has become an official a weekend car!

 

[srhutch]

I've had to a 2002 320d SE and a 2005cd M Sport both the 150bhp facelift versions. Both nice cars and witout any problems for the five years combined I had them.

If I was to go back though, it would have to be the 330d, as you say Turbos seem to be the weakest link, other than that all I can say is good luck.

 

[JimExpl]

I'm running a 2004 320d at the moment (and looking to sell it to make way for a Z4). I doubt that the 320 is any more susceptible to turbos than the 330, but it is the highest volume bmw in terms of UK sales so problems are noted on forums more frequently.

Being the first daily driver that I have had to keep for 5 years (previous jobs have given me access to cars that I need for specific occasions, from diesel saloons to 500hp supercars...) 150hp and a small power band bored me pretty quickly. £300 and a 185hp remap later the car is transformed.
It handles noticeably more swettly than a 330d and get over 50mpg on the motorway if you keep it below 80. I've never managed better than low 40s in a 330d, and what;s the point in driving a diesel unless you're getting a significant cost saving? I'm only thinking of selling mine because I'm not doing as many business miles anymore (about 1,000 a month)

Turbos on any used car are an unknown quantity as you have no idea how the previous owner(s) have treated the car from cold starts etc. Just treat the engine with respect at the start and end of a drive and hopefully you'll be one of the (thousands) of lucky ones that won't need to touch the engine.

Shameless plug I know, but I do have a 320d SE on 17" 103 alloys going for a sensible price if you're interested!

James