I’m looking for a new car. I’ve never really been bothered by cars, but have always liked the look of the 3 series tourers. Purely based on looks. I need an estate to carry kids bikes (x2) and kit to bike club every weekend, dog duties etc… I cover less than 10,000 a year with a 30 mile round trip commute each day with a 300 miles return trip once a month.

I fancy getting a BMW. I’ve got around £7500 and have seen a 2006 320SE with 70,000 miles for just over £6000. It has a bit of curbing on the wheels and some scuffs that may need touching up but comes with FSH (main dealer) and will have an MOT at point of sale.

Bear in mind this is the kind of car I fancy, should I look for anything specific when I take a look?

Any suggestions where to look other than Ebay, Autotrader & local garages? Based in South Wales, but happy to travel a bit.

Lovely cars and if that’s what you want then go for it and I’m not going to try and ram other suggestions down your neck but plan to either get a nice roof rack and bike mounts or a tow bar and tow bar rack for the bikes. Kids bikes should be fine unless you are putting the dog in the boot at the same time.

They are not huge but they are great to drive.

Before you buy check out the BMW forums for typical faults. Haterz gonna hate, but I still think BMW are the best of the bunch.
http://Www.Bimmerforums.com is one.

As Andy says. I think they are quite small. I have a C class estate and I think that is a bit bigger and far superior in terms of looks. (possibly not as good handling as the BMW but I am no expert.

I had a 10 plate one from new for 3 yrs (company car). It was a 318d. Great car, never missed a beat, never needed anything other than routine servicing in 70k miles. Tended to eat tyres (run flats).

Good seat space, small boot, I had a 3 bike rack on roof throughout. and it served our family needs with 2 young kids (now 11 and 8 ) very well. Bit of a squash when off on a camping weekend or a week in a cottage etc.

Diesel or petrol? The former has more issues, timing belts, turbos and swirl flaps being some I have heard about. If the latter, seek out a bigger capacity, same mpg, better performance and you get the straight 6 – enough said.

If you go for auto, which you should, look out for sump pan leaks as that will be around 500 at an indy.

I had a petrol 3l up to 96K miles and other than the sump pan it was just general maintainance and a really nice car

Echo above…lovely cars, nice drive, far nicer looking than the equivalent German marques.

Also echo: bloody tiny inside (for an estate) so budget for a rack (which will blow your fuel economy to bits) or a tow-ball mounted jobbie – you’ll struggle to get that much bike/kit/luggage into the boot of one of these.

Mate has one, lovely car but as others have said not as big as you might think/wish. (So similar to our Octavia and V50 estates!)

You – or your other half – will fill the space no matter what size car you get!

Already have a Thule tow bar rack that I use on the current car so I’ll fit a tow bar to whatever I buy. The kid’s bikes in the boot are purely for ease during the Sat morning rush-out-of-the-house-everyone’s-waiting-for-us times!
Any longer journeys with camping kit/dog/both, the bikes will go outside of the car.
For reference, the current car is a Megane Estate and the boot is plenty big enough for us.
I also looked at V50s and am still a little bit drawn to them. I just fancy a BMW, I guess.
Why should I go for the automatic? I’d actually been purposefully looking at manual, petrols?
Cheers.

2006 was the changeover, are you looking at E46 or E91 (last shape) ?

I’ve had tourings in both variants, and a current E46 coupe.

All are pretty strong, as with most cars maintenance and history is important at that age. Presume it’s 320 petrol – if diesel then the E46 320d can have swirl valve failure which will destroy the engine if not replaced in time, and the E91 320d from 07 onwards up to around 2011 can have timing chain issues.

If petrol then E46 is six cylinder 2.2, great engine, runs forever if maintained but can drink a bit of oil which is normal. Mine is on 94,000 and returns mid 30s MPG. E91 320 is four cylinder, bit more economical probably.

Other than the above both my E46s have been fab. My E91 I found rattled a bit from the dash (the big aluminium strip across the middle) especially in cold weather as the metal trim and surrounding dashboard seem to expand/contract with the heating at different rates. If it’s got RFTs, take it for a test drive and make sure you like the ride quality – although if it’s an SE should be ok

Try Pistonheads classifieds as another source of ads

E91.
E91 320l 2.0 SE Petrol

My brother in law is on his 2nd (320d and now a 330d). He loves em although he did have a few turbo issues with the 320 and both went/go through tyres quite a bit which were expensive to replace with run flats. (not such an expense now i believe). both gave good mpg too. He is however the first to admit that the boot is small. It’s a lovely place to be though particularly in the front but as said above you’ll need a roof rack if you want carry bikes, gear and the dog. Even gear and dog is a squeeze if all the seats are occupied.

Edit: just read your post. He had a T5 V50 before the 320d and always maintains that it was one of his favourite cars he’s owned.

I’ve had ours for a couple of years and really like it. Nothing has gone wrong yet. Mate recommended I get the swirl flaps removed as his went and it was a very costly repair (may even have been engine replacement.) Not had it done yet though.

As has been said, boot isn’t huge for an estate but with a big top box and a tow bar mounted rack it’s been fine for holidays. Two child seats will take up all the back seat, and the dog takes up most of the boot space. There are bigger estates but none I tried were as nice to drive as the 320.

I may be alone in getting 28k out of my first set of rear tyres on my 2012 320d touring then?

I would echo all the above advice re problems with the diesel engine, they are well documented on forums.

If OP is only doing 10k miles per year I would suggest the petrol is the one to go for as the market depresses any petrol engine car’s value. So cheaper to buy but you wont be doing enough mileage to make the petrol costs a factor in your ownership.

Each of the models is quite a bit better than the last, so if you are on the cusp of a model change, look around for a newer version if you can.

Blobby – get your flaps sorted out. I’ve a 2004 E46 touring, 320d M-Sport. Fantastic car and I love it to pieces, however I had to put a new engine in it after it ate the swirl flaps. Wasn’t cheap.

Mine is on about 106,000 miles and still runs really well. Clutch makes a bit of noise but the guy that looks after it says it’s fine.

We have a Touran also for family duties so while it is small for an estate it’s not an issue. Bikes go in and on it for days out.

I’ve got an E46 2004 320d touring, has been fantastic.
When people say swirl flaps, they are talking about the butterfly valves on the inlet manifold, the shaft of the valve is too thin and can snap and the engine digests them, usually an engine replacement.
I was led to believe they changed the thickness of the shaft in from April 2004 onwards, basically rectifying the problem.
To put that in context, my car has now done 183K (I know!) and had 1 owner previously, he never had the swirl flaps removed and it’s always been fine. Mine is the ES model, with sports suspension and it’s been great, lovely drive, has averaged about 40MPG and that was because my wife used it mainly for short trips when she had it, now it’s only used for longer trips and bike stuff, I normally get 45MPG at least. I use a Thule rack or chuck my bike inside taking the front wheel out. It’s the best car I’ve ever had, and still goes really well. You can do most repairs on it, and it’s a fairly simple well built car before they changed to a lot of computers, and I think the servicing became more expensive. All I would say is, try to get a well maintained, low owner car with history, you can’t really go that far wrong.

Yes, I was thinking of going for petrol as my mileage isn’t huge. We will still have a diesel estate (Megane) for longer trips where fuel use may be more noticeable.
I’m pretty comfortable with the boot issue as it’s a similar size to our current one. Kids are 6 and 3 so we don’t cart around pushchairs and the like anymore.
I’m just interested on thoughts between auto & manual now?

Mine is a manual. I’ve never been that fond of autos and wouldn’t want one. I did drive a 5 series auto a while ago and suppose it might be better in a larger car.

I have had several manuals and the present auto.

The manuals were great to drive (although they were older petrol 6 cylinder cars which might have something to do with it)

My present 320 d m sport plus (how long a name?) has the 7 speed manual and is good, but I cant help but think it might have been better to have had a manual. Normal duties it is fine, the odd occasion when you want to make progress, having a manual seems to increase the control and connection you have with the car.

The newer 8 speed auto is another step up from the one I have though!

In a few hours time I’m leaving my mk2 Octavia vRS estate at a dealers and driving off in a 330i Touring.

I’d say it’d be worth trying an auto. Both me and the wife were amazed at how good they are.

Size wise, the Octavia and 3-series seem to be roughly the same size on the outside but the BMW trades a bit of boot space for a touch more rear legroom vs the Skoda. Fine with us – got a roof box if we need it.

We’ve looked at virtually everything else on the market and the only other cars that came close to the BMW were an A4 (but would have wanted a B8 shape and they were a fair chunk more than the 3-series we bought) and another Octavia (which again, for a facelifted auto was a few grand more than the BMW albeit a few years newer with similar mileage).

The price of the SE doesn’t seem too bad. The 2.0 petrol isn’t quick by any means though but is relatively frugal. For carting the dog around it should have the integral dog/parcel net thing to seperate the boot from the cabin.

Unless you do a lot of stop/start town work or really want an auto, I would look for a manual with a 2.0 petrol, the auto would blunt it a little too much for me and hit the economy a little.

Autos tend to suit the diesels a bit more as they are not kicking down so much, and if they do the revs are lower anyway.

Of mine I’ve had 320i manual (right choice), 330d auto (right choice) and 320d manual (could have been happy with either depending whether I was feeling lazy!)

DaveyBoyWonder – been reading your previous thread here and on Bimmer Forum with interest. You must be a happy chap? The 2 you posted looked in great condition.

Yes Mog – got the black one. Was local and they offered us a decent overall deal.

Mog – both the 2.0 petrol and diesels are good; you may find the petrol a little under powered when fully loaded.

A 2006 E90 320d will be the 163PS engine; modified swirl flaps so no need to worry in this engine – turbo can fail but that is the same for any car and is dependent on servicing and how the car has been treated. If you find the fuel consumption is poor you can go into the “secret” menus to check the engine temp; the thermostats can degrade which lead to the engine running at 80 degrees rather than 90, this hits fuel economy, particularly in the winter. £200 to replace at an Indy.

The 320d changed to 177PS in Sept 2007; there have been some reports of timing chain failure on these engines but it is one of the most common engines fitted to BMWs.

In late 2008 / early 2009 they gave the 3 series a face lift and in 2010 the 2.0d went to 184PS

Both of mine have been M-Sports and I’ve got decent mileage out of the tyres (30K per set)

Things to look for when buying – check the service history and when the next services are due on the computer as everything is condition based; third oil services on the diesels are expensive as the filters need to be changed.

My wife’s 2006 120i was recently serviced at an indy and was £370 for almost everything (oil, filters, plugs, brake fluid, inspection) – first money we’ve spent on it in 2 years.

If the tracking needs doing I really recommend the £150 wheel alignment at BMW; I’ve had it done by an indy for £30 in the past and it ruined the handling – when setup right they don’t eat tyres and the handling is spot on.

Standard kit is generally good on the SE but if you can look for one with bluetooth.

2004 318i here at 120k miles – only had it about 6 months but very pleased with it. No real problems (yet) although I suspect that my clutch is going… But we’ll see.

I echo the comments above in that the boot is very small for an estate, but plenty big enough for me plus one bike (and associated stuff!). Have been on several MTBing trips with two people, two bikes and a shed load of kit and it’s been a squeeze, but worked!!

It’s definitely the best handling estate I have driven though, a really nice planted drive plus you can have some fun with it. Given this, not sure I would recommend an Auto? Surely that would take away the fun of having a car like that in the first place…?

Had a 320d Sport auto (saloon) and it was a cracking car. Quick enough and torquey enough for a 2l with the usual BMW refinement, efficiency and all round customer service/experience.

Thumbs up from moi.

Given this, not sure I would recommend an Auto? Surely that would take away the fun of having a car like that in the first place…?

I’m fully sold on this auto thing now. So simple to drive and can knock the stick across and have it setup for semi-automatic driving if you want to control the shifts.

That said, I suspect I’ll be leaving it in auto most of the time and letting the 260bhp provide my ‘fun’ 😉

Given this, not sure I would recommend an Auto? Surely that would take away the fun of having a car like that in the first place…?

That was my thinking too. Although I admit I’ve never driven an auto – it’s never really appealed to me for some reason?

Another petrol 320 has just appeared on a local garage’s website this afternoon so I think I may pop along after work and have a good look.

From all your comments I think I’m more sold on one now than I was this morning!

Thanks, all.

Have a 61 plate 320d SE auto, and generally it has been a good car (have had it 1 year exactly). You can see why it has been such a popular model for BMW for so long – great car.

Would caveat my recommendation in that I think the 320d (ours is 184 a bhp 2011 model) has had some problems (timing chain guides replaced twice – once at 6,500 miles and again recently at 23,000 miles). I think that is a bit rubbish for a newish car with an engine that has been used in BMWs for a while. I know it was well looked after, because I bought it from father in law, who is very anal about cars.

Also I would recommend getting the best spec possible, for your budget. I find it very frustrating not having a proper ipod connection (aux socket is available). To fit one now would cost £500 to £550 from BMW, which is frustrating. Bluetooth would also be useful. I was lucky in that ours came with DAB though, which I think not all models have.

I think the larger 325d/330d or 6 cylinder petrol engines are the way to go – personally am perfectly happy with an auto, our car definitely has enough grunt and is generally a relaxing drive.

The car still seems pretty economical with a bike rack on the roof, which is good as I have to leave our rack on the roof all the time.