Sorry, car related thread. Has anyone got any experience with BMW 3 series, in particular the 318 E46 (around 2000 - 2002) with a gimp-o-matic gearbox. Seen a tidy one owner car not too far away. I'm expecting it to be a little on the slow side, bit nice to drive and reliable. Any thoughts?
ye decent enough car, i had one years ago, some had problems with the turbo although i put 80k on mine and only problem was a small bolt sheared holding flywheel running waterpump & aircon etc.....£100 fixed it tho !! decent driving motor.
nice, thats good to hear. They have dropped to pocket money now, you can get something decent for about £1200
I've had several BMW's over the years, my first was a 318 but that was back in the 80's. What I would say is the quality has slowly deteriorated. My last one was a 2002 740i Sport and it was atrocious. I bought it 18 months old and only 40k on the clock. Bits of body trim regularly dropped off and one piece led to a rear door skin creasing. They are lovely things to drive, a proper drivers car, but I reckon Ford and others have come up in quality to match them. They're trading on a name which long ago lost its exclusivity.
Similar story to Mercedes then, but merc have seen the error of their ways and brought the quality back in. One marque who's quality has got progressively better is Alfa Romeo, their latest cars are superbly built and very reliable.
Never been a fan of the 4 pot BMW engines usually pretty gutless and a tad thirsty, but for just knocking around I guess it does not really matter. I have 52 plate A4 2.0 SE (petrol) for £1300 if its any good, took it in PX MOT sept Tax end of Jan, its done a few miles but has a rake of history.
Thanks for the offer, but due to my shattered left leg it has to be an auto... Would also go with the 6 pot bimmers, as they don't (strangely) seem to command any real premium. Lots of 323's around, even a 2 door at the right sort of money. Fuel economy doesn't seem to drop that much either. Almost all of my driving is motorway so the 4 pot will suffice, but having checked the figures, not the 316 - wow is that slow!!!
I have just bought a A4 3.0 TDI Quattro I have to keep reminding myself its a diesel. May get it remapped in the new year takes it to 270 horses and 580 torques
My ex had a 318i Compact, for the money paid it wasn't up to much. As others have said, the build quality was pretty naff, especially the interior, tonnes of squeeks and creaks for, what at the time was, a 5 or 6 year old car. She had it for a few months, during which time it kept cutting out. BMW charged a few bob to change a few bits. None of that worked, in the end we took it to an indie who read the fault codes (then misdiagnosed them), but with the fault codes I was able to work out the cam sensor was duff and replace it. Not the easiest thing to do when the cam sensor it buried right in the middle of the engine! In the end she part ex'd it for a couple of years old Cooper S Works.
I've had both E36 and E46 3-Series BMW and have loved them, even the 318 E46 company car. Build quality has been really good; anyone who thinks they squeak or rattle has obviously never been in a ford, peugeot, renault, citroen, vauxhall, etc! Put another way, how many 10-year-old shitroens do you see?
In comparison, my Mum's 12 year old Audi is still as quiet inside as it was years and years ago, my 21 year old Mazda isn't as bad as that beemer, and my 16 year old TVR is nice and quiet too. Maybe the one my ex had was just a poor example.
