Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

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LookinFoolish
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Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by LookinFoolish »

So i've got a 1997 Z3 which has been my main (and only!) car for the last 4 years. It has 70,000 miles on and whilst I still enjoy it and it causes me no issues, I need something a bit more practical e.g diesel and hardtop with space for passengers. I've found a 2006-plate BMW 320d with 106,000 miles on the clock for £5,200. I'm very seriously considering trading mine in for it.

Thoughts? I know the mileage seems high, but on a diesel, i'm thinking it should be fine.

Thanks!
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Bowler
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by Bowler »

Have both, As a second car the Z makes the perfect weekend toy :D :D :D
In love with driving again (its the Z effect)
TR4man
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by TR4man »

The mileage is just a number, nothing more, nothing less. Buy on condition and proof of maintenance.

Good, solid, reliable workhorse. However I fear you might find it less exciting to drive as a Z3
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Davejue1
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by Davejue1 »

A 320d should see you through 200,000 miles in maintained well. Agree with TR4MAN with regards to excitement factor though. A little mundane but if as with most people your circumstances change then the decision has been made for you. I think you will miss your Zed though. :bawl:
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Del
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by Del »

Whilst I am a Z3 fan, I agree that having the soft-top (without a hard top) wouldn't be an ideal (all year round) daily driver for me. A modern diesel is a great daily workhorse - my daily driver is a practical Audi A3 with a punchy 2.0 turbo diesel engine - they will cruise all day at 80 mph at just over 2000 rpm in 6th gear and give you 50 mpg in return. Performance is also good with a huge amount of torque at very low revs. I would recommend a long test drive as it is different to driving a petrol engine car.

Certain batches of BMW 4-pot diesels are reported to have had weak "timing chain issues". Not all cars seem to suffer and a good BMW service history will have probably checked for/or eliminated the problem. In terms of engine wear, you could probably view a 2.0 diesel with !00,000 of mainly motorway miles (and good service history) as equivalent to the same sized petrol engine with just 50,000 miles. :)
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Davejue1
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by Davejue1 »

My daily driver is a 180bhp twin turbo saab 9-3 aero. As above 80mph all day at 2000 revs returning 50mpg. Shop about a bit, there's a lot of options in that class of car.
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motco
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by motco »

I have a 53 plate 320D Compact cluttering up my driveway - my son has moved on to an S2000. It's really cheap, and could be even cheaper with arm twisting.
http://tinyurl.com/lr29s78

The ad is honest and that's why it's still there. I refuse to have anything to do with false claims. It's been a reliable daily driver for several years though.
Dino D
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by Dino D »

If you can try and keep the z and get another, perhaps less expensive economical car for the daily so you have a choice for space/economy and fun/top down.

Then as you have 2 cars you get to tinker with one and still have another to drive!
bertiejaffa
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by bertiejaffa »

I agree with most of the comments here...

1) if you can keep the Z then obviously do but we all appreciate that everyone's circumstances are different.

2) Mileage (especially on a BMW/AUDI) is not a big issue as long as there has been regular full service history. My A5 is approaching 120,000 miles and my previous 318 petrol tourer was 52 plate and had 180,000 on the clock when I traded it in - still ran perfectly and was commented on by the garage who took it as to how well it looked and ran.

My only comments would be: Is MPG the only driver? If it is I suggest seriously investigating the MPG you can reliably expect from the 320. new diesels are very good but generally the older ones arent as good as you would imagine (just my opinion). If you still want to keep the Z as the daily then hardtops are reasonabliy priced as an alternative - especially if you can wait till spring.
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motco
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by motco »

The economy of the 320D depends on the nature of the usage. For regular trips from SW17 to Dartford and back, the one in the ad returned mid-fifties but from SW17 to and from Camberwell, high thirties in rush hours. On a motorway run high fifties mpg is normal.
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('_')Z3
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by ('_')Z3 »

I think it was around 2006 that DPF's were added to diesel cars, these are generally good for 100k but will eventually stop regenerating and clog £1500 bill. So although diesel engines are good for 100k plus they will have draw backs. When i get rid of my Leon FR i won't be getting another diesel but i'll miss the torque :(
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andy18n
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by andy18n »

Do be very wary of the timing chain issue on 4 pot BMW diesels. Those affected are the N47 engines, from around that time. Service history etc is irrelevant. Failure rate seems to be about 1 to 2% but if it happens it will write the car off. I know 2 people that this has happened to in our relatively small fleet at work, both at around 115k miles.
If it's a pre N47 non DPF engine they are more reliable. However modern diesels will generally require a turbo and dual mass flywheel at some stage. The reliability myth will fast disappear as modern very complex diesels start to get to 5 or 6 years old and end up in breakers as too pricey to fix.
I sold a 120d as I was too worried to let it get to a 6 figure mileage.
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Del
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Re: Selling Z3 for 320D - Good or bad idea?

Post by Del »

I think one of the problems with modern cars (petrol & diesel) reliability are the ridiculous, extended servicing regimes. Engine oil gets typically left for 2-years, air filters for 4-6 years and coolant is viewed as "filled for life" unless the colour changes dramatically. In my view a turbo requires nice clean oil circulating around it and the engine and the avoidance of revving the nuts out of it immediately after a cold start. I suspect a lot of these engine/turbo/timing chain failure cases are the ones which have been abused/neglected.

Years ago the engine oil change interval for diesels was shorter than that for petrol engines because diesel engine oil got so dirty so quickly. Diesel engine oil still goes black quickly today but the servicing regime has suddenly extended to 2-years the same as petrol cars :roll:
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