[Rialas]

Originally Posted by deeebo8452

I come from having been paying over £500 road tax on my R8 so similarly road tax cost isnt a deciding factor for me.

Ok, so 335i/335d it is then. There I've decided for you .

it isn't far off your budget if you shop around.

[russ9898]

Originally Posted by Rialas

It shouldn't really be a deciding factor as the difference seems minimal (a days worth of petrol?). I paid £290 for my 335i great value imo. My wife's road tax is double with nowhere near the performance of the 335.

I whole heartedly agree, my previous car was a 2007 V6 TT which was in the £400+ tax bracket.

I was originally looking for a 330d however couldn't find one that satisfied my criteria of age, spec, mileage etc and simply ruled out the 325d until I saw one that ticked all the boxes and I realised could be remapped upto 300bhp...it was just an observation on the tax cost thats worth mentioning

335d's at the time were generally out of my budget or tired looking examples unfortunately so I never researched much into those.

[E60525d]

Tax is also 180 on my lci 330d

[deeebo8452]

Do the coupes and 4 doors have the exact same engine and suspension drive? i.e. does a 330d coupe drive the exact same as a 330d 4 door except there would be a weight difference, but in terms of engine performance and suspension etc are they identical?

From what Ive seen on autotrader there seems to be a lot more coupes than 4 doors, and as a result I think the coupes are cheaper. Would you agree?

[deeebo8452]

I test drove a 325d pre lci coupe and 330d 4 door lci yesterday and I noticed quite a difference in performance. I haven't test driven a 335d yet, is the difference between a 335d and 330d significantly more than the difference between the 325d/330d?

[Aragorn30d]

Bear in mind, the 325d only got the N57 engine really late in production, like 2010/2011 sort of years. Most LCI 325d's will have the older engine.

On paper, yes the difference is the same again.

However, a lot of people have said that comparing the two, its actually a lot less obvious than you might think. The 335d has much more urgency low down as its smaller turbo gets things moving earlier, but top end they supposedly dont feel that different, especially when comparing the N57 330d to the 335d. I've not driven one my self to confirm either way. Personally i cant see how you cant notice the best part of 50hp extra.

[deeebo8452]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Bear in mind, the 325d only got the N57 engine really late in production, like 2010/2011 sort of years. Most LCI 325d's will have the older engine.

On paper, yes the difference is the same again.

However, a lot of people have said that comparing the two, its actually a lot less obvious than you might think. The 335d has much more urgency low down as its smaller turbo gets things moving earlier, but top end they supposedly dont feel that different, especially when comparing the N57 330d to the 335d. I've not driven one my self to confirm either way. Personally i cant see how you cant notice the best part of 50hp extra.

How would I know whether it is the N57 engine or not when looking on say autotrader? Is it that:

325d N57 = 204bhp
325d M57 = 197 bhp
330d N57 = 254 bhp

Alternatively is there any website/app in which you can input the Reg No and it gives you full details?

Are the N57 engines a lot better than M57 in other aspects apart from BHP? i.e. reliability, potential issues, etc?

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by deeebo8452

How would I know whether it is the N57 engine or not when looking on say autotrader? Is it that:

325d N57 = 204bhp
325d M57 = 197 bhp
330d N57 = 254 bhp

Alternatively is there any website/app in which you can input the Reg No and it gives you full details?

Are the N57 engines a lot better than M57 in other aspects apart from BHP? i.e. reliability, potential issues, etc?

Almost correct, 330d N57 = 245 bhp.

I have a 330d N57 and found the N57 much more refined than the M57.

[deeebo8452]

Originally Posted by E60525d

Almost correct, 330d N57 = 245 bhp.

I have a 330d N57 and found the N57 much more refined than the M57.

Is there a 330d LCI M57 engine? I havent come across a 330d LCI with a BHP other than 245, which made me think all 330d LCI have N57 engines.

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by deeebo8452

Is there a 330d LCI M57 engine? I havent come across a 330d LCI with a BHP other than 245, which made me think all 330d LCI have N57 engines.

All LCI 330d are N57.

[Dann]

I wouldn't ever consider a diesel for around 10k a year.

Get a petrol.

335i will do 25mpg and over 30mpg on a steady run, but you need to factor in warranty or at least a pot of money for when it needs work.

325i or 330i would be better, both fuel consumption, price, reliability and ease of finding the spec you want wise.

[deeebo8452]

Originally Posted by Dann

I wouldn't ever consider a diesel for around 10k a year.

Get a petrol.

335i will do 25mpg and over 30mpg on a steady run, but you need to factor in warranty or at least a pot of money for when it needs work.

325i or 330i would be better, both fuel consumption, price, reliability and ease of finding the spec you want wise.

Would you say a 330i is a much better drive than 330d and similarly a 325i a better drive than a 325d? Or are you talking from the point of view that they may be cheaper and more options available? Are diesels better than petrol in terms of reliability and potential mechanical issues?

[Dann]

Originally Posted by deeebo8452

Would you say a 330i is a much better drive than 330d and similarly a 325i a better drive than a 325d? Or are you talking from the point of view that they may be cheaper and more options available? Are diesels better than petrol in terms of reliability and potential mechanical issues?

Personally I find diesels boring to drive, regardless of power.

It's all nothing then power for a bit then nothing again.
A N/A petrol will be miles more fun as you can rev them out a lot more, the noise of a 6pot n/a is incredible too, especially with the PE exhaust.

I have no experience of the dervs so couldn't comment on the reliability etc.

[Yoxall]

i have owned a 330d e90 and now currently own a 335d e91 msport ! Both 56plates ! Things to look out for and needed doing on both cars are,

Glow plugs and control unit
Swirl flaps out and new gaskets as they leak.
New vac hoses all over ! They crack due to the heat !
Dpf out. Then remap
New breather
Forge Motorsport boost hose
Both Thermostats 1 being edge
My current 335d bought it with 70,000 on clock it had all the above already done and the pressure converters got bills for near 3k.

My advise is to buy 1 not only with full Bmw, specialised history but 1 that has had most if not all the items above done, if not you will probably have all of the above go in your ownership ! I personal prefer the 335d mines running at 348bhp
502lb and its brutal ! Cracking motors there's nothing that touches them Audi, merc etc !

[deeebo8452]

What do you guys think of the following in terms of price for what you get? In particular the 1st one which I have viewed already and seemed in good condition, one that I am actually considering. Test drove the 4th one but pretty pricey for what it is don't you think?

1. BMW 325d 2009 M Sport 90k - £10850
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-car...l_a_friend_car

2. BMW 325d 2009 M Sport 58k - £10494
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-car...l_a_friend_car

3. BMW 330d 2009 M Sport 55k - £11600
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-car...l_a_friend_car

4. BMW 330d 2011 M Sport 42k - £16750
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-car...l_a_friend_car

[Aragorn30d]

Nothing on that list is particularly expensive, just routine maintenance.

Except the DPF i guess.

I did the glow plugs, swirl flaps and gaskets on mine when i got it, as well as the thermostats. Wasnt much more than 150quid for everything.

The 330d also doesnt have the pressure converters and much less vacuum pipework to go wrong.

[stampylove]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Nothing on that list is particularly expensive, just routine maintenance.

Except the DPF i guess.

I did the glow plugs, swirl flaps and gaskets on mine when i got it, as well as the thermostats. Wasnt much more than 150quid for everything.

The 330d also doesnt have the pressure converters and much less vacuum pipework to go wrong.

Going to a BMW Indie will be roughly.

Glow plugs supplied and fitted £180 plus
Glow plug module worth changing
when doing glow plugs £50 (without fitting)
Swirl flap removal with blanking plates £220 plus
Both thermostats OEM supplied & fitted £120 plus

[Aragorn30d]

The glow plugs cost about 50quid.

Its a lot of labour to get it out though, so i can see it costing £180 at a garage.

HOWEVER, when the manifold is off for that, you might as well fit the swirl flap blanks at the same time. The blanks cost about 20quid, and labour would be free if your doing the glowplugs already, because they take seconds to fit into the manifold thats already off.

Thermostats are about 80quid from the dealer, and are fairly easy to change.

[Yoxall]

Should of explained it better AMD in Essex did a rolling road remap with dpf out changed loads of parts most mentioned earlier and gave it a full service ! The bills total near 1500 ouch ! Glad it was previous owner who spent it not me ! He spent loads on it ! Tinting it, full detail including wheel refurb and Michi pilot sport non run flats and uprated the brakes ! Looks mint !

The point is taking your time to get the right spec and history goes a long way !

Private sale for me every time

Don't know what you guys think?

I'm brand new to the forum you guys can probably tell !

[smuler]

10,000 miles hardly requires a diesel.
335d if you go that route is obvious, as why would you pick second (or third) fastest when economy is not going to be so key at that mileage?
Only reason is if, like me, you hate the step auto.

website, "Honest John's real fuel economy" gives 335d as 35.3mpg and 335i 27.1mpg as what people actually get.

Maybe it's maths time, but I can't see that as much difference over 10k p.a

with used cars prices can be all over the place. But 335is are still mostly a fair chunk cheaper.

You may never save enough on fuel costs to recover purchase price differences.

[deeebo8452]

What do you guys think of this 325d for sale? Note it seems to be the M57 (197bhp) as opposed to the N57 (204bhp) which puts me off a little:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ries&logcode=p

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by deeebo8452

What do you guys think of this 325d for sale? Note it seems to be the M57 (197bhp) as opposed to the N57 (204bhp) which puts me off a little:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ries&logcode=p

Looks OK, but maybe a little expensive for the mileage and spec of the car. Yes it has xenons but it doesnt even have Bluetooth. Just for comparison, I bought a high spec LCI 330d last year for a touch over £10k.

Have you driven any M57 or N57 cars? If you do then i doubt you will want an M57. I found the N57 noticeable quieter and much more refined.