warbs

The Scooby's gone now

So I'm looking hard for a BMW 330d or 530d estate.

I don't like Automatics - but there's plenty about. I understand that the Autos are not as efficient on fuel as a manual, does anyone know if this is also true of the semi automatic ones?

cheers

Chris

Tiggs

the BMW box is an auto with the the option to select the gears yourself. (only other option on BMW is the SMG manual but with no clutch).

this is not a great place to ask about autos because to many people think its "not a drivers choice"...however, in either of those cars you HAVE to test the auto. I had a 540 and tested the 530d......apart from 100mph + there was little in it yet the 540 did 18mpg the 530d was doing 40mpg (hard driving)

Its only when you live witha GOOD auto then go back to a manual that you relaise autos are the way forward.

T

bloke

Only trouble with the auto box is it costs you a good 5 mpg, otherwise it suits the (superb) torquey engine well...

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I think the MPG is pretty even with the diesels though, as is performance, as the auto takes better advantage of the diesels torque (which is why auto vs manual 0-60 on the BMW derv engines is hardly affected).

Although 5mpg can be a bit of an exaggeration though, its very dependant if your round town or on the motorway. On the motorway the auto is direct drive - just like a manual because the torque converter is locked out, so transmission losses are almost equal. In the town however, they are far more inefficient.

J1nxy

The auto compared to the manual, at least on the 330d is at best 5mpg worse at worse nearer 10. I had a 204BHP with the 6 speed manual and returned almost 45mpg day in day out, regardless of driving and towns etc, bloke at work with same car but auto was lucky to see 37 on a motorway cruise. With the manaul you can leave it in 6th most of the time if you want as the torque is so high.

Steve

Tiggs

how is cruising on a motorway more thirsty in an auto?????

chiark

I was in exactly the same boat... Sold my scoob on a Friday, and picked up my 330D sport touring last Thursday. Ended up travelling 200 miles to get the one I wanted, but bloody hell was it worth it!

The 330D, particularly in sport guise, will not disappoint. Even the SE is a fairly sporty drive. I was truly blown away by how good these cars are... I am absolutely amazed at how good the car is. I've been boring friends to death about it already, so I'll shut up!

The manual seems eerily "unthirsty". I reset everything last night, and drove to work this morning in a traffic queue - 30 mins to do 6 miles. Fuel consumption? 36mpg! On a motorway run, I got 45mpg without even thinking about economy...

Try the auto before you buy: I did, and didn't like it much. Sure, it's smooth, but the steptronic felt like a real compromise that I didn't like. I couldn't get on with me selecting a gear and then the system deciding how long it'd be before it engaged. I daresay I would get used to it, but with the reduction in MPG and my preference for manual meant that I ruled it out...

The manual box isn't the world's most sportiest, but it works well, never graunches (yet).

Official consumption figures drop 5mpg for the auto, which is surprising.

I didn't try a 5 series because it wouldn't fit in our garage, but from what I've been told it's a completely different animal.

Tiggs: I dunno why it's more thirsty, but given that cruising at a constant 56mph gives 53.3 for a manual and 44.8 for the auto according to official figures (http://www.bmw.co.uk/apm/new_bmw/mid...1494__,00.html) then it seems to do something fairly drastic!

Try before you buy, but the car's stonking

Tiggs

lol...if you are getting over 40mpg then who cares about the rest!

warbs

I'm trying to avoid this, but all the ones I've seen that are the right colour/mileage/spec etc are at least 100 miles away - perhaps it's a conspiracy!

I'd prefer the 5 because you can fit bikes and speakers into the boot at the same time, but is it a different animal in a positive or negative way? I'm trying hard not to compromise too far on the performance of the Scooby!

Thanks for all the advice so far - it's cleared a few things up.

Chiark, I probably ought to start a new thread for this comment, but have you put amps and subs in the 330 yet - is it possible to conceal them adequately so they don't get in the way or damaged or stolen?

cheers

Chris

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

The 5 series is the better car, handling and comfort..always has been. Just take note it's not "that" bigger than a 3 series, just 12" longer, but it a fair few inches wider.

I wouldn't looking too hard at the official fuel consumption specs...they don't truely reflect the true consumption on both types. Knock about 3mpg off both varients, plus it doesn't cover motorway fuel consumption, which is about the same bteween auto an manual from my experience.

Interestingly, a 325auto petrol can do 35mpg (ok ok, 34.6 ) on 75-80mph motorway runs. So the statement of the auto diesel doing 37mpg on the motorway seems a little suspect.

chiark

Warbs - where in the country are you? There's a couple that were on my shortlist that are still around...

One thing worth doing is going and having a play at a BMW dealer to see if you can at least find the model that you like. I discounted the thought of a 2 litre diesel by doing this

You can fit stereo in a stealthy way in any car, all it'll take is a little ingenuity. There's plenty of space under the standard floor for amps, and I can already see how the sub (s) will fit quite nicely too

TopBanana

Looking at buy a 530d touring myself this week.

When did the new shape come out? I might treat myself..
[scratch that - they still look too expensive!]

STI Craig

i know of a 530d sport (M5 kit on it)(3 years old) 90000miles on clock (90% of which is on a motorway) will up for auction soon as it is my dads company car, the mileage is so high because he lives in the northwest and works down south.

could be a very good buy for some1

if any one is interested i could find out where it will be auctioned

warbs

Chiark,

I'm in Leicester.

Did you come across any obvious common problems? A Taxi driver told me his mates 330d had a number of new engines due to the Turbo continually consuming all of the oil!

cheers

Chris

chiark

Ah - one was in County Durham that was worth a look... I think that that was a 2002 car with about 70k on the clock for about 17 something.

What sort of budget are you thinking of? I got a 51 plate 330D Sport Tourer with 53k on the clock, full service history, 1 owner, recent I2 service, year's warranty and a few little scuffs for just over 16k. There's some daft prices out there...

The "sport" spec adds an extra 53 toys according to BMW, Worth knowing that the sport has PDC, DSC, cruise control, all sorts of things as standard just in case you're told it's tooled up the to nines

For problems, look at honestjohn.co.uk. Failing turbos seem quite rare from what I've heard... Check for white smoke when accelerating and that'll show the turbo seals have gone - same as a scoob really.

This car just makes me grin from ear to ear. it's great fun being grown up and practical

If you do get one and want a hand fitting audio, my folks live in Rugby so I could arrange to help you out en route...

TopBanana

Went to see a 52-reg 530d se touring with 31k and FSH go through blackbushe auctions this afternoon. It went for £21,500 IIRC.

warbs

Thanks for that.

My budget is around 14K for one with leather and upto 80'000 miles. For the right car I can stretch another £2K or so.

I do 20,000 miles a year and plan to keep the car for 3 years, so a car that is still under 100,000 miles when I've finished with it I would pay more for! The bottom line is it's over £2000 a year cheaper to run than the scoob, and that doesn't include depreciation!

I've just got to sit tight until a good one crops up a bit closer to home.

Thanks for the offer with the ICE. I did my first (and last) installation on the scooby, I think the thing I learned was to do some overtime and pay someone else to do it!

cheers

Chris

(This is just like Scoobynet used to be )

mike_330

my manual returns between 40 - 45 mpg dependant on driving style.

test drove a new steptronic version and could get on with it call me old fashioned

chiark

There's one in doncaster - just up the road - for 14k. Facelifted version too. Company is "GC car sales". I was going to go and see it, but decided that I really preferred the sport spec. I don't think it had leather, but you'll be lucky at that money IMHO.

A facelift happened in 2001, so it's worth looking for a facelifted one if you can find it. The front side lights turn "up" rather than "down" is the giveaway.

Y reg cars seem to drop a bucketload for just being on a "Y" plate rather than a 51, too. There's a bit of a stigma attached to the old numbering system for no real reason - if it bothers you, put a private plate on it.

Tiggs

the sport looks so much better and hasnt aged to bad compared to the new model. The face lift was end of 2000, i had an X plate 2001 car with the facelift, big saving by having the "old" style numbering against a new one yet only 6 months difference!

chiark

Cheers for that tiggs - I'm still green with all the different revisions around etc

'spose I ought to kick the *** out on this corner just for the giggles

warbs

Thanks for all your advice....

I was right to wait for one locally, I work in Corby and found one there.

Only managed to get half leather interior, 51 plate and 66K miles, for £14.5K which I thought was OK for the mileage, although it was £500 over budget








but then it is a sport model!

I've yet to pay and collect it, so I won't say too much just yet....watch this space.

cheers

Chris

chiark

Sounds like a better deal than mine then - good stuff!

warbs

The cars collected and paid for (ouch!).

I brought it through a trader on ebay called ukautosite who are acting as an agent for inchcape. They're selling approx 20 cars a week through ebay as an experiment.

So far I'm very pleased. Not quite the urgency of the scoob, but a lot less fuss about getting there. Roll on the miltek exhaust and chip!

I thought a CD changer was standard, but I can't find it! am I being dense? My Wifes got a similar 3 series saloon and the CD changer is easy to find on the left hand side in the boot?

cheers

Chris

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Yep, that's where it should be behind the pull out cover on the left...next to the Huuuuuge amplifier.

I knew they weren't standard on earlier models, don't know about later ones.

Although I did a have a friend who bought a 5series off a dealer with a changer in the boot...and because he haggled the price, they nicked the changer out of it. They denied it, and said the spec listing was incorrect

You can get conversion kits so you can use a standard off the shelf cd-changer instead of BMW's (IIRC BMW changer is £250 if you haggle).

chiark

They're not standard... As Ali says, either add a BMW one - they go on ebay for under 100 quid - or get a new changer and a "personality unit" from Connects2.

Welcome to boredom . I'm already tempted by the 60+ lb/ft and 60+ bhp... Having been in one with a miltek on it, I don't think it's worth replacing the exhaust.

MattOz

Nick,

I'm enjoying the boredom! LOL

For those that don't have one, the "mileage" left in the tank is the bottom figure and the mileage already covered is top right. Not bad for a 3 litre turbocharged car!



Matt

chiark

I am seriously tempted to chip it sometime in the future.

The reason?

My mum and I have a standard "performance test" for cars, which is to see what speed can be achieved from a standing start until hitting the footbridge at the start of the M45 coming from Rugby. The coal fired tosserwagen is about 15mph down on the WRX, although it was wet this morning and traction control reined things in a little...

So my mum's megane 225 is currently faster. This situation cannot be allowed to continue

Van Aaken? AMD?


Need to save some pennies first, but if I bank the money that I'm saving in petrol, I'll be there in a couple of months

MattOz

<<cough>>

AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD, AMD,

<<cough>>

chiark

I'm sure you're trying to tell me something, but I'm not quite sure I'm getting the message...