Deciding on new car, need advice

So basically the motor plan has been extended until 2012. Not sure what it will cost to have the km's extended though. Perhaps someone here knows. After 2012 the managing director told me that I could apply for a warranty which would cover the electrical/mechanical systems. I was reassured of this by the rep when I took possession. Any BMW owners want to share their thoughts ?
 
Hucklebury, sounds like you will not be happy unless you drive a smooth purring 6 cylinder D-segment car. Just keep in mind that people under 30 buying these cars are going to pay a lot of insurance and the maintenance on these cars will be high. You also need to keep in mind that if something major breaks you might be stuck without a car due to parts that needs to be imported.

You need to buy what makes you happy and that seems to be 6cyl D-segment rides, but if you you can do without those 2 extra cylinders and just want something new and affordable why not look for a fresher Toyota? If you really want to try something different then give the new Corsa (EU5 74kw version) a test drive. I'm an Opel fan so I am biased towards it but a I have had a BMW and two Audi drivers try out my Corsa and they were surprised at the ride quality and power. I should add that I tried out their rides as well, so I do understand your liking of the straight 6 BMW.
 
Don't misunderstand, I'm VERY happy with my purchase. I was just saying that if I had the extra funds, the 323 or 325i would have been the preferred car but it was simply too far out of my price range (at least another R30-70k more, especially for the 325i). But I can reach silly speeds in my car too so it's all moot anyway. BTW in connection with maintenance, I'm sorted until 100000km and then it's extended to 2012 so I just need to extend the km's. That covers just about everything excluding oil filter and tire changes. From then onwards, I need to get a warranty which covers the mechanical/electrical systems. Again, really chuffed with the car, it drives like a dream for me. I simply will never go back to a Toyota Corolla again.

BTW, I was in the 320D and it had nice power down low, but the noise it produced in the car was just not my cup of tea. Also, diesels are more expensive to maintain I believe. Just glad I got a low millage unit (79000km), especially for a 2005 model. BTW, the insurance on this car is R690 with a R3700 excess. For some strange reason the insurance was R70 more on the E46 model vs E90. I thought it would be the other way around.
 
Last edited:
Here is a pic of the new car :

dsc02585k.jpg


After driving for an extended period I realized that I need to rev pretty darn high to get decent power from the car. Both this and the diesel can get to illegal speeds but man, I am kicking myself a little that I didn't go for the diesel unit. It's much, much quicker. I can keep my gear in third and you get pushed back into your seat when you accelerate. So far the ride quality has been very good but can be harsh on rough surfaces. But all in all, I feel I'm privileged to drive a car like this, going from a Corolla 140i. I can't complain now since I've just taken delivery of this car (and I am happy with it) but the diesel version is next. :)
 
Last edited:
It does look very pretty! Is that a bump or just dirt on the lower part of the bumper? You did great coming from a Corolla and I believe you will have lots of enjoyable kilos in this ride.
About the diesel, yes you should have gone for one seeing as this is a 4cyl BMW. I have been tempted to get a BMW a few times but each time I see how much a 6cyl model will cost me in the long run I started thinking of buying a Mercedes instead.

Still, very nice car you got.
 
Thanks Rouxenator ! I've always thought the 3-series looked stunning in white. Yes there is a dent on the lower part of the bumper but my dealer is fixing it for me. The only thing which was missing in the car was the CD cartridge. I'm seriously thinking of color coding the door handles as it will make it look SO much better. You know, I probably could have done a bit more research before putting down the cash, but all in all, I'm super excited whenever I drive my car. Since this is my first BMW purchase, you live and you learn. The diesel would have saved me LOTS of money on fuel I think. At least now I know what to look for in the next BMW. :)

What's interesting is that I've seen a few people on the BMW forums who have chipped their E90 320 diesels with great returns in power (380-400 nm of torque with Uni-Q chip !) I can't even imagine what 400 nm of torque would be like. Must be like a rocket ship. :) I was considering going to a place to have my car chipped but I think the gains won't be nearly as big (perhaps 10-15 kw improvement), and I'm not sure how much of an improvement in real world terms that would be.

The problem with doing the tune up is that it would void the warranty/motor plan I think.
 
Last edited:
I think you made the right choice. No doubt the 320d has awesome torque but the maintainance on that thing is mad. A guy that works for me had his E46 320d engine blow at 127000KM and cheapest quote he can find is R37000 to fix. The Turbo will probably be next..
 
What many people don't realise, is that the Motorplan was originally introduced by BMW to bolster their flagging sales and to keep people in their cars. Own one out of Motorplan at your own risk.
 
Damn Huckleberry, congrats man. I was also looking for a used German sedan but through your posts and mini review of the Lexus i started looking harder at theIS250SE, man what a machine with all the extras one could ask for. Thanks man, all the best with your ride.
 
Hey, thanks Remus. When I parked my car the other day at work my colleagues were stunned. They thought I was getting newer spec Corolla so when I pulled in with the BMW, they were just wondering how on earth I could afford the damn thing. Obviously, second hand is the place to be right now. I can't imagine ANYONE buying a car brand new. It's crazy in my opinion.

Brawler,

About the diesel and the engine blowing. Apparently the turbo's packing up was a huge problem on the E46 and older models. The E90's are fine from what I've read. Also, if the car is out of a motor plan, I think it would be a good idea to purchase a warranty to cover things like engines blowing up, clutch replacements, etc. This is exactly what I was told I could do once my motor plan expires. It has been extended until 2012. So after that period, I can work on a warranty (like a maintenance plan) that covers all electrical/mechanical systems.
 
It seems a lot of people on the BMW forums are buying the 320d over the 320i and having them remapped. Most people see gains of around 50-80 nm of torque and an extra 20-25 kw. Now imagine this, a 320d with over 410 nm of torque ! That's more than double what I have right now. People are telling me that it's the sweet spot in the model line up and that it's especially great for tune up's as there is a lot of potential to get extra performance from the car.
 
Congrats dude, welcome to the family!

I may have missed it but how much did you pay and what's the mileage on the car?

Extras?
 
With the quality of diesel we have in SA I would rather de-tune a diesel engine that tune it for more performance. My brother recently spent R12k on a 2.5 D4D Toyota engine that had malfunctioning injectors. The reason for the malfunction was that the previous owner chipped the engine and the low quality diesel we have in SA damaged the injectors.

I am potentially stuck with the same problem on my EU5 compliant 1.4 Opel engine. GMSA claims that the engine will work well on our fuel however other manufacturers are weary of bringing EU5 technology to SA because of inferior fuel quality.
 
Remus, you know the Lexus is an amazing car, especially the IS250. It is quicker than the 320i, not a whole lot quicker due to the extra weight. But one thing I will say is that the BMW has MUCH more grip, is far more balanced on the road and when you take it along the mountains, taking corners is a dream with the BMW. In my opinion, the Lexus doesn't have nearly the same level of grip. You feel one with the road with the car. I imagine this level of focus and grip has to do with the 50-50% weight distribution because it just feels perfectly planted on the road. The Lexus is definitely quieter inside and the steering is A LOT lighter. But depending on the person, that could either be an advantage or a major disadvantage.
 
Hey Rouxenator,

I guess it's difficult to know what was the real cause. Was it because the person doing the tuning didn't do a good job (didn't know what he was doing ? ), was it because of the quality of fuel, a combination of those two things or something else entirely. I don't think the quality of fuel in SA can cause diesel engines to pack up. According to people I've spoken to on the UK BMW boards, different quality diesel fuels can have an impact on performance but nothing as serious as damaging the engine and/or having it repaired or replaced. Also, most of the guys on the board have not reported any issues after remapping their E90's. The clutch and gearbox can take a lot of extra power.
 
Feo,

Well, the car was originally priced at R150000, with 78000 km on the clock. This is a excellent price. It's an executive pack which includes rain sensors, park distance control, cruise control, climate control, among other things. : ) However I managed to have the priced reduced to R145000. The total cost of everything, including registration and paper work was R153000, but this included extending my motor plan to 2012 and adding smash and grab tint to the car. I put down a R70000 deposit. So yeah, that helps A LOT.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X