Bmw 320D (E46)

[JayD]

Hi guys!!

im having an idea of buying a BMW 320D (e46), year 2000 and onwards ( english number)

1. what do you all think about this car?

2. the pros and cons?

3. whats the price range?

4. is sunroof an option or is it standard??

5. from which year was the facelift model introduced?

6. and what are the options you get in this car?

7. whats the fuel economy

8. what are the engines found in the E46 which are in Sri Lanka (diesel)?

9. finally whats the price range? ( in autolanka i found cars from 3m to 3.4m, is that the price range?)

i think the cars is very worthy compared to the price of a corolla and its a diesel, by the way is it bigger than a corolla?

Edited June 13, 2011 by JayD

[rangerover]

Hi guys!!

im having an idea of buying a BMW 320D (e46), year 2000 and onwards ( english number)

1. what do you all think about this car?

Its a very good car. Extremely economical, powerful well built bmw engines. However try to get your hands on a well maintained one even at a higher price. Some were imported via permits and used by owners who no nothing but to ruin cars.

2. the pros and cons?

Pros: Powerful, economical, amazing handling, and long lasting engines.

Cons: Most cons are dependent on previous usage. But spares can be marginally higher than jap econoboxes, but would not need replacing twice. the pre facelifts did have some issues with the diesel pump if run on normal diesel. Just make sure you get the maintanance records checked. These diesel cars have turbo's which are designed to generate a lot of power and economy. So they need to be taken care of. Check the turbo, and get it repaired or rebuilt before it blows. But proper usage can prevent most of the so called cons of the car

3. whats the price range?

A good, well maintained, fully loaded, prime example could demand up to 3.6 - 3.7. But 3.0 - 3.3 you can get a decent car, with few niggles to fix. I will stay away from very low priced car. Generally if maintained well, mileage on these diesel engines are not a big concern. You shouldnt have to touch the engines until it hits about 200,000 miles. But components around it would need replacing

4. is sunroof an option or is it standard??

As with most models, its an option

5. from which year was the facelift model introduced?

End 2001, to begining 2002. But facelifts have updated engines. So go above 1.0 million more than the prefacelifts in both diesel and petrol variants

6. and what are the options you get in this car?

Well it all depends on what the original owner ordered. But full option in local terms and leather seats are standard in most e46's

7. whats the fuel economy

I have the facelift diesel which has a common rail diesel. I get about 13km/l in city traffic. The older one should also do about 10 - 11. You hit outstation, and it will put the hybrids to shame

8. what are the engines found in the E46 which are in Sri Lanka (diesel)?

Almost all are 2.0 lite turbo diesels. M47 for prefacelift and M47N for facelifts

9. finally whats the price range? ( in autolanka i found cars from 3m to 3.4m, is that the price range?)

Answered

i think the cars is very worthy compared to the price of a corolla and its a diesel, by the way is it bigger than a corolla?

Depends on what corolla. The rear leg room is quite restrictive. But if you get a well maintained car, it will definetly be a better investment than a common 121. But it all depends on what you expect from the car.

There are so many alternative sources for importing parts. And parts cost sometimes much lower than equivalent japs.

[JayD]

bro that was a very helpful reply! and what do you think of this car? is it worthy?

http://autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=48484

bdw i think the legroom is enough for a car of that size!

Edited June 13, 2011 by JayD

[rangerover]

bro that was a very helpful reply! and what do you think of this car? is it worthy?

http://autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=48484

It a very difficult to look at a pic and recommend a bmw. Go check it out in person and see. Things like interior condition and test drive can give a lot of information on the condition of the car. But always get a check done at the agents or the specialist this car is maintained at.

[Sifaan]

bro that was a very helpful reply! and what do you think of this car? is it worthy?

http://autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=48484

I don't know if we should be commenting on individual advertised cars (as opposed to pros/cons of models) but the info may be useful in a general sense as well:

The "P" and "D" descriptors didn't come on the original G, H, J series plates; only K onwards when they split the registration by vehicle type... however, if someone replaced plates after that, the P / D was included - i.e. the plates on this car have been replaced for some reason.

[rangerover]

Yes, good point raised by sifaan. But just to clarify, wouldnt the P and D be included when new plates are issued when changing provinces during ownership change? If not, it also could be a possible accident damage replacement

[Sifaan]

Yes, good point raised by sifaan. But just to clarify, wouldnt the P and D be included when new plates are issued when changing provinces during ownership change? If not, it also could be a possible accident damage replacement

as both plates are replaced, it could quite well be due to ownership change spanning provinces as opposed to accident damage

[JayD]

Yes, good point raised by sifaan. But just to clarify, wouldnt the P and D be included when new plates are issued when changing provinces during ownership change? If not, it also could be a possible accident damage replacement

as both plates are replaced, it could quite well be due to ownership change spanning provinces as opposed to accident damage

that was some useful info, and will you two be able to answer my questions?

[Sifaan]

that was some useful info, and will you two be able to answer my questions?

rangerover has already answered your questions better than I could. someone else who owns/owned one can perhaps give a different perspective, but those perspectives have already been shared a lot so that little search box in the top right corner can be a nice place to start.

Beyond that, I'm a little disturbed about "i think the cars is very worthy compared to the price of a corolla and its a diesel" because if your motivation to buy a BMW (or any other Euro) is because you can get it for the same price as a 121 then more often than not it's going to end in grief. But - it's your money so you can buy what you want.

[JayD]

rangerover has already answered your questions better than I could. someone else who owns/owned one can perhaps give a different perspective, but those perspectives have already been shared a lot so that little search box in the top right corner can be a nice place to start.

Beyond that, I'm a little disturbed about "i think the cars is very worthy compared to the price of a corolla and its a diesel" because if your motivation to buy a BMW (or any other Euro) is because you can get it for the same price as a 121 then more often than not it's going to end in grief. But - it's your money so you can buy what you want.

i searched but i was only able to find some info on 320i..

by the way can you show me the difference between pre-facelift model and facelift model?

[Sifaan]

i searched but i was only able to find some info on 320i..

sigh... there's 65 results if you search for 320d. not all of them are relevant to your questions but several are.

by the way can you show me the difference between pre-facelift model and facelift model?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series_(E46)

[Yuhaan Radhiera]

the main problem with these cars are the swirl flaps in the intake manifold, they tend to break loose

and inject into the engine causing immediate engine failure, so wen buying one replace these.

turbo failure is another problem in these cars, but the facelift models 03-04 are not known for many problems.

the price depends on the condition of these cars. the cars available for a lower price either are cosmetically

bad or bad on performance. so the choice is spend money and buy a good car and drive it without problems or

buy a cheap car and bring it up, and the 320d is somewhat a fussy car.

besides that the 320d is great in terms of lazy torque and is a very refined diesel, its not very spacious in the back

compared to modern civics and accords. the car handles likes a baby its a fun car to drive as long as it has been

taken care of. i personally would go for the inline 4 318i or any of the petrol sixes as they are more reliable even

thoh u got to pay a little more for petrol u save on repairs.

hope this helped

cheers

[JayD]

sigh... there's 65 results if you search for 320d. not all of them are relevant to your questions but several are.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series_(E46)

ok i like the pre face lift model!

the main problem with these cars are the swirl flaps in the intake manifold, they tend to break loose

and inject into the engine causing immediate engine failure, so wen buying one replace these.

turbo failure is another problem in these cars, but the facelift models 03-04 are not known for many problems.

the price depends on the condition of these cars. the cars available for a lower price either are cosmetically

bad or bad on performance. so the choice is spend money and buy a good car and drive it without problems or

buy a cheap car and bring it up, and the 320d is somewhat a fussy car.

besides that the 320d is great in terms of lazy torque and is a very refined diesel, its not very spacious in the back

compared to modern civics and accords. the car handles likes a baby its a fun car to drive as long as it has been

taken care of. i personally would go for the inline 4 318i or any of the petrol sixes as they are more reliable even

thoh u got to pay a little more for petrol u save on repairs.

hope this helped

cheers

isnt 3181 smaller than 320D??

and does the pre facelift model and facelift have different engines??

Edited June 14, 2011 by JayD

[Yuhaan Radhiera]

in engine terms yes the capacity of the engine is smaller, but in body well the car is the same.

the 318i is a versatile engine it puts out around 120 horsepower

and you can tune this engine to bring out more. but the choice is urs

i owned a 318i before and its lovely to drive, its gud on petrol too

[Yuhaan Radhiera]

facelift is exterior modifications and minor engine modifications, the engines remain the same

its just that the facelift is a newer car, and even if you buy a older car you can facelift it

[Watchman]

ok i like the pre face lift model!

isnt 3181 smaller than 320D??

and does the pre facelift model and facelift have different engines??

If you took the time to do a search you'll realize ALL your questions so far have been answered.

Do you really need to be spoonfed everything? The BMW 3 series is probably the only car that has been discussed in-depth (and i dont mean just kmpl numbers), so stop BSing that nothing showed up in the search and go look again HERE

[Sifaan]

facelift is exterior modifications and minor engine modifications, the engines remain the same

its just that the facelift is a newer car, and even if you buy a older car you can facelift it

I wouldn't call switching to a common rail diesel a minor engine mod.

(even on the Pug 406, the facelift marked the switch from older XU series engines to newer EW/DW series)

[Yuhaan Radhiera]

I wouldn't call switching to a common rail diesel a minor engine mod.

(even on the Pug 406, the facelift marked the switch from older XU series engines to newer EW/DW series)

thats peugeot bro, i owned many bmws, from e30, e36, e46 now e39, facelift is basically major modifications

on the face of the vehicle, and in this case the turbo was modded which is minor, the engine as a whole

remained the same.

[Sifaan]

and in this case the turbo was modded which is minor, the engine as a whole remained the same.

my bad; I thought the pre-facelift e46 didn't have common rail.

[Rukster]

The diesels are good cars but relatively higher on maintenance. The face-lifts are a better choice as a lot of problems and niggles of the pre-facelift would have been ironed out to a greater extent. Note, although running costs are cheap the maintenance is very high in comparison to its petrol siblings. Petrol cars are a bit high on daily running, but are relatively easy and affordable to maintain than diesel cars.

The face-lift is not just a cosmetic change, there are have been lots of other areas that have been looked into including the engine compartment. Check the wiki link below and refer the tables, you will note the changes in the engine compartment after 2001. (engine codes, power, etc.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series_%28E46%29

Regardless of the fuel, if you are buying a BMW always go for a car thats been well maintained in all aspects and a non-abused one. These will demand a high price than the average market price, but is worth the premium as you will get hassle and stress free driving!

[rangerover]

my bad; I thought the pre-facelift e46 didn't have common rail.

You were right. The pre facelift diesel is not a common rail. The facelift is. Hence it produces 20 odd more bhp and greater torque, along with better fuel economies

The last time i heard an upgrade to a common rail is a big revision in diesel engines. These engines are much refiner and produces almost no black smoke if serviced on time.

As Rukster mentioned, the older engines did tend to have more issues, when neglected that is. The common rails are much more reliable. You only need to replace the swirl flaps (Rs. 6,000) and the breather valve (Rs. 14,000) to ensure no major issues occur. I spoke to the agents today when i went to service my car, and was told that turbo issues almost always arise in cars that are neglected and not driven or serviced on time.

Just to add to maintanance cost, got down a pair of OEM engine mounts for the car for Rs. 16,000 (for both incl delivery). Half the price of what the agents quoted for the same units. Im pretty sure that is very reasonable even in jap standards

Edited June 14, 2011 by rangerover

[heavyD]

Just to add to maintanance cost, got down a pair of OEM engine mounts to the car for Rs. 16,000 (for both incl delivery). Half the price of what the agents quoted for the same units. Im pretty sure that very reasonable even in jap standards

Do you buy them online?

[rangerover]

I import if from singapore. There are quite a few shops and individuals who ship parts right to your door step (thus avoiding the hassle of customs procedures and duty). Just need to drop an email with the part number etc

[Gayan Weerakoon]

BMW 320D one of the best handling cars on the road good looks and very sporty...However the older disel cars sound so shit they sound just like tractors...Facelift models have more BHP but i would still got for a 318I or 320I the disels are rather embarassing with its black smoke and f**ked up sound.....

[JayD]

what if i buy a pre face lift and fix it with a facelift model's engine? is it possible?