Avalyn

Ok guys, yet another defector

Just sold my Litchfields Forester STi (330/330) due to a house move. Generally I'll be running around town with the occasional trip and since we now have a larger mortgage decided to be sensible and get something cheaper but still fun

I'm saving on the loan/insurance/petrol and road tax and that all adds up

I pick up a 330CD M-Sport this week. It's an 04 facelift, manual, silver with black leather. Only done 26K miles and it's immaculate. It does have rear parking sensors/6CD changer in the boot, cruise control but no Sat Nav/Xenons/Harmon Kardon/Bluetooth.

Apart from the Xenons which I would have liked I can't say I care about the other stuff all it does it add weight and give you more to go wrong

And come on, nothing can be as bad as a standard Scooby stereo.

Had a good test drive yesterday, it's obviously nowhere near as quick as the Foz was but I was fairly surprised how quickly it gained speed above 70, boy does that thing pull

Any other owners on here who could give me some things to check?

I also like to know the standard spec. What am I getting? Are there more options I'd have liked?

Cheers,
Avalyn.
P.S. .. and yes I have already looked into a remap

Tobisausage

Injectors Injectors Injectors

Be afraid, be very afraid

Andy M3

Sounds like a great car - should be cheaper to run too

Brendan Hughes

Webbie, please can we have a 330D forum?

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Care to elaborate?

I have an '04 330D. Having come from an '05 JDM STI, and prior to that, an MY00 UK scooby, I can confidently say it's the best car I've owned by some margin.

With over 200bhp and 300 lb.ft of torque, nobody could ever accuse it of being slow - performance in any kind of normal driving situation is plentiful. But the 330D is a much more rounded proposition than that: it's comfortable, well built and quiet, and yet still handles well and has plenty of grunt. It's certainly a much less compromised car than any Impreza.

I wouldn't worry about options too much - no doubt they'd be hideously expensive to retro-fit, and unlike the Japanese, BMW don't seem to fill holes in the dash with plastic plugs that fill the spaces where you'd have had a switch if you weren't such a cheapskate (That said, the DVD sat nav system is brilliant - it seems to plan much better routes than TomTom, you get TMC traffic information, and you don't have the fuss of dismantling everything and putting it in the boot whenever you leave the car. That alone is hard to put a price on in terms of convenience and feel-good factor).

Problems? Yes, there have been a few. I did get a leaky injector, which manifested itself as a slight reduction in power and economy - fixed under warranty within a day. I also had a broken valve in the vacuum system, which could (apparently) have been sucked into the engine, and that (of course) would have been expensive. That was a PITA as it was a proper limp-to-the-nearest-dealer breakdown, but all sorted now.

It seems a bit sensitive to fuel quality too - I've had a couple of tanks from my local Esso that have left the engine a tad rough and unresponsive. BP regular or Ultimate diesel both seem fine, though, and I can't tell any difference between them.

Economy? Worse when cold, but typically 35-37mpg on my usual run to work (about 12 miles dual carriageway with some queueing at beginning and end). On a motorway run @ 70mph, 40-42mpg is the norm. Best ever was 48mpg on a long run around 60mph.

Other costs? It eats through rear tyres and they're not cheap if you have 18" wheels as I do - budget about £150 each for Michelin PS2. Servicing every 18,500 miles but check the oil from time to time as it does use a little.

Enjoy it, it's a great car - I've not felt the need to mod it at all, and I'll probably keep it until it falls to bits.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Suprised a 330cd can be cheaper than a Scoob, here a 330 goes for nearly twice (yes, 2!) the price, and comes with half of the goodies you get there as standard!

To give you an idea, a 335d costs with "standard" specs, more than €70,000, and a 535d goes for over €80,000 with "standard" crap spec......

Second hand, they go for nearly the same price!!!

That is why no-one in their right mind buys them!

sbk1972

I think the most important thing here is warranty. Has the car got a BMW warranty that can be moved over to you, and extended ??

Andyc - I think your were very lucky regarding the broken valve, many werent, resulting in turbo's / engine replacements.

Mind you, at 26K miles it relatively new, and sounds a good car, How much ? and pics ?

I would be tempted at an auto, but I do release an auto takes mpg. Has it got the facelift LED rear lights ? Should do.

Sounds a good car.

SBK

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

If you're considering the BMW extended warranty, read the small print very carefully before signing anything. It specifically excludes consequential damage - which in my case, I took as meaning that they'd probably have paid to replace the broken valve, but not the wrecked engine it could have caused.

That's speculation, of course, but 3rd party warranties have a terrible reputation - and the one BMW sell IS a 3rd party insurance product, not an extension of the original cover.

I actually struggled to find manuals - most 330Ds around s/h when I was looking were autos. I don't think the auto is much thirstier than the manual, I just hate automatic gearboxes.

Avalyn

Thanks folks, I just wondered what was standard and what was optional.

I think the fact I've had 3 scoobies in a row tells you I'm not really into 'toys' or being fully loaded in a car. I want it to drive well and keep me entertained and that means driving it - not the fact I can try and use any combination of I-pod/I-phone/I-drive. I just need a steering wheel, a manual gearbox and good handling with enough oooomph and I'm happy

It's coming from the local BMW dealer, will come with 1 year road tax, 1 year MOT

It will be given a 1 year BMW warranty which can be extended. It's also on the free service plan till April '09.

It's a local car, serviced at the local dealer. I paid £19K for it (with no trade in).

It'll be fed ultimate or BP as they are the nearest garages, my main worry is I fill it with Ultimate Petrol as this is my first diesel

It has the facelift LED rear lights, strangely enough the sales guy was actaully very clued up which was a change from the normal (i.e. I usually end up telling salesmen about their car rather than the other way round )

Sounds like the CD changer, rear parking sensors, cruise control, multi function steering wheel etc are all standard .. the only option seems to be the leather ..

No pics as yet, get it on Friday

Avalyn.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I think the CD changer and leather are the only options you have there - rear parking sensors and cruise control are standard, and the fat-rimmed 'M' steering wheel is because it's a Sport rather than an SE.

writeofreply

BMW extended warranty isn't what it was, personally I reckon a good third party warranty is a realistic alternative.

Regarding spec the only must have for me was lumbar adjustment on the sports seats which doesn't come as standard for some reason. Also through load is useful but I think maybe it's standard on a coupe of this age.

Harman Kardon isn't all that great anyway.

Dream Weaver

Check the tracking often and start saving for tyres.

Our 320CD M Sport cost me £300 for 2 fronts which shocked me compared to the 205 (4 Yoko Paradas arrived for that this morning - £140 for all 4 )

Our turbo went at 60k, engine followed at 90k, all replaced under warranty.

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Guess the good part is that it was under warranty?

Dream Weaver

Yep, std BMW warranty. It now lives with Lordlucan off here and it has the new engine and turbo, so pretty much a new car engine wise

Invoice for the engine swap was £3,900 or so

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

When my MY00 scooby engine let go I was quoted even more than that by a main dealer to replace it - I actually expected a BMW engine to be more. Maybe the 330D engine would be?

lordlucan

Mr Weaver - still going well, debating whether to get the front end sprayed and wheels refurbed.
Had it remapped within 2 days and at 205bhp its interesting now, the M Sport suspension is awesome, can push harder than I ever did in my Scoob due to the feedback, in the wet or damp its interesting !

Dream Weaver

Hi Jason, glad to know its still going well. Have to say I do really miss it now, and I've been looking at 330's this week for if/when I sell the Pug next year

SW Sport Pilot

Ive Had My 330CI M Sport for 2 weeks now and i adore it. It has 100K on the clock for a 51 but has been so cared for people think its newer and younger, love the drive ADORE the torque, have yet to take the DSC off tho

Cheers

Ian