Looking at a used 320 and wondering about milage I should be looking for

I know its still a gamble and depends on how they are driven, serviced etc, but does anyone know what sort of milage these engines can do if looked after?

My focus petrol is on 144, and my mechanic say he sees them upto 200k.
I’m also looking at getting a 320i in the next few months, I’d be disappointed if it didn’t do the same.
Not got any bimmer experience to base that on tho!

I’ve seen 250,000 on a petrol Mk2 Golf. Just keep changing the oil and it’ll run forever.

How long is a piece of string? If you cane the tits off it and don’t service it, expect trouble quickly.

Drive conservatively, service it more regularly than recommended, don’t skimp on parts and it’ll go to the moon and bike. Twice.

It’s completely impossible to put a figure on these things.

E46 or the newer E90?

My friend had the former in auto coupe guise and it was a lovely car. He happily took it up to around 160k if I recall but major engine troubles saw the end of it. Used a lot of oil and I dont think he was that fastidious with servicing and top ups so I reckon could have last longer.

Absolutely no relevance at all, but my 320 diesel is about to hit 100k and the engine is still fantastic.

TBH the engines probably aren’t the life limiting factor on a lot of cars nowadays. Chances are something else major will go wrong rendering it uneconomical to repair before the engine packs up. YMMV with regards what’s economical to repair tho.

Genuine question Freddyg – how are you getting on with the swirl flaps / DMF / DPF / turbo for the 320d?
Been researching and hear a lot of horror stories on the diesels, putting me off, despite my high ish mileage

My previous 320D (E46 Touring) went to 260k; it’s replacement (E46 Compact) is on 170k and runs sweet as a nut. Engines aside (as you’re looking at petrol rather than diesel) they’re both pretty solid; things to look at are:

Corroded front-to-rear brake lines; affected both of mine, require tank to be dropped to replace so time consuming.
Wishbone bushes – relatively easy home fix, cheap parts.
Snapped rear coil springs – dead easy swap.

Other than that, they’re more than capable of big miles. I’m banking on running my second to at least 250k.

TKID – I assume they’re all fine!!! It still goes like stink!

I’ve had it for almost three years now (it’s a lease car) and as soon as it tells me it needs a service, it goes in to the BMW dealer.

The only major work required since I’ve owned it were all 4 disks needed replacing – covered by the lease – but they’re pretty much a consumable anyway.

To be honest, if it wasn’t a lease car, I wouldn’t be changing it. My employers rules have changed meaning a new beemer is no longer an option. Shame; a really great car.