Shock Horror, Sir_Dave buys a Diseaseal ...

[Sir_Dave]

Yup, i finally gave in. 1st name terms with the chap at Shell was daft really ...

Its not that the 330ci was particularly bad on fuel (30mpg), but having to put £70 in it every 4 days was getting a little tiresome

So, research into dervs followed, & having laughed at BMW's epic lack of diesel reliability for years, i got looking at VAG's & the 2.0 Tdi's in the A4, Golf & A3. Porous heads, oil pump failures, lack of steering feel & generally hatred soon put me off though. After about 2 weeks hard analysis of HonestJohn, Pistonheads & pretty much every owners forum out there, it turned out that the BMW dervs werent so bad ... their issues can be (hopefully) prevented, whereas the VAG heaps do just blow up, randomly.

So, without further ado, i present the derv, a 320d Sport in estoril blue.

I've already bought the following:

1. Swirl flap removal blanks
2. Vortex style oil breather
3. Air/oil/fuel filters & the appropriate amount of engine oil

So far, for the 1st tank of derv, sat at 80-85 leptons on the motorway & a bit of town work, im getting 43mpg. With a gentler foot, 50+ will be easy enough.

Predictably it does sound like a tractor on start up, but once moving its pretty much silent! Power band is studily narrow though, so the 6sp box (which is lovely btw) is getting a lot of work - the 330ci seemed to be effortless by comparison, & almost more diesel like in its torque curve :S Not the fastest car in the world, but the Trophy now feels like a rocket, & lets be honest, as long as it will keep a decent pace on the mway, it doesnt really matter too much about acceleration!

Handling is great, & it looks nice. To be honest, its a blooming good daily!

V. happy so far :approve:

 

[Philip.]

That looks nice!
Colours spot on imo.

Noice buy dude.

 

[Craigus]

Nice, love those TBH.

 

[ForceIndia]

Is it a special edition? My brothers is identical, even down to the alcantara interior? Lovely colour, I think they look brilliant.


But you're still a homosex for buying a DIEsel.

 

[Hixle]

I give it 2 months. In fact, I reckon you're looking at M3's right this second

Jokes aside, I think that it's a great buy mate. Make's a lot of financial sense, plus it looks in bloody good nick too. Nice one.

 

[_Tom]

Nice. My mate has a 320d which is a newer 07 plate which was guuuutless. He just had a map and its now 202bhp and something like 300ft/lbs. Its still not rapid, just nice and effortless. Not sure if its the same lump?

 

[Englebert]

Looks great, although shame it is not a coop! Lovely colour.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Is it a special edition? My brothers is identical, even down to the alcantara interior? Lovely colour, I think they look brilliant.

But you're still a homosex for buying a DIEsel.

Not as far as im aware, just the 1st crazy owner spent an extra £1500 on the individual paint :S

I remember you posting up your brothers one actually, & me mentioning swirl flaps lol ...

I give it 2 months. In fact, I reckon you're looking at M3's right this second

Jokes aside, I think that it's a great buy mate. Make's a lot of financial sense, plus it looks in bloody good nick too. Nice one.

I'm always looking at M3's A 330cd Sport would have been perfect for me though tbh, although they are fust too pricey for me. Overspent on this as it is ha ha. To be honest, i think i've got a nigh on perfect car combo now, so need to focus on spending money on more boring things, like houses ..... & track days

Remap is a nice idea, but unlikely. A 150bhp car will do 80 on the motorway just as well as a car with 200bhp

 

[Gally]

Stunning, Dave. That colour really suits it's and the seats are rather special looking. Haven't seen them before, mostly full leather.

 

[_Tom]

Now get some X5's -

 

[EllD90]

I think you've got a great pair of cars now. Both of em look good, the Trophy is more or less designed for the track and the BM is a good barge for piling on the miles. Good luck with the car, hopefully it's cheap to run!

 

[JD]

Looks great, although shame it is not a coop! Lovely colour.

All my comments sorted, cheers.

 

[Hixle]

Now get some X5's -

Now, I'm pretty open minded when it comes to modifying but that looks awful IMO. The style of the wheel if anything really doesn't lend itself wheel to the lines of a 3 series. Then there's the colour....

 

[Budgie]

Alcantara seats are epic.

 

[Mr Burns]

Nice colour.

 

[Rich_172]

Now get some X5's -

That looks awesome

 

[ForceIndia]

Dave, what's the swirl flap issue? And the fix? Pm if you don't want to clog the thread up.

 

[mr bognor]

Does look nice but it drinks from the dirty cup

 

[Silent_Scone]

oh now that is nice, really might consider... how much did this set you back, Sir?

 

[Sir_Dave]

Dave, what's the swirl flap issue? And the fix? Pm if you don't want to clog the thread up.

Essentially, the inlet manifold has little 'flaps' on it to control the length of the inlet tract on idle - for emissions purposes. Unfortunately, they have a nasty habit of breaking apart & getting eaten by the engine, resulting in terminal failure of well, pretty much everything :banghead:

Full info/guide here: http://www.pmwltd.co.uk/swirl_flaps.pdf

The blanks cost about £40, & about 4 hours to remove.

In addition, the oil breather on the early 320d is a 'loo roll' type which, over time gets clogged with oil, meaning that the turbo starts to run dry - shortening its life. Again, this can be prevented by fitting a 'vortex type' breather from the later 320d engine.

Part number is 11127799224, available from BMW, or eBay here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190487054873&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Might be worth you/your brother/Fred swopping both out if it hasnt been done already

Some other useful info here:

Servicing: http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f3/servicing-your-e46-320td-or-320d-t15391/
Cleaning EGR Valve: http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f3/cleaning-your-egr-valve-on-320td-320d-t15943/
Swirl Flap Removal: http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f3/e46-320td-320d-swirl-flap-replacement-t15571/
Replacing Oil Breather: http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f3/replacing-the-oil-breather-on-e46-320td-or-t15944/

 

[Cro]

What's the car like with that mileage on it Dave? I could be tempted as a second motor if they are still quite tight and plenty more to give

 

[Dunn]

its not the swirl flaps you want to worry about tbh

most popular engine but also one of the worst, keep a turbo on standby lol

jokes aside i love the colour and them seats are far better than full leather IMO

Would only have a 330d tbh if i had to have the diesel

 

[Sir_Dave]

What's the car like with that mileage on it Dave? I could be tempted as a second motor if they are still quite tight and plenty more to give

Feels like new! Needs some slightly better tyres on the front imho, but they'll do for the time being. Overall, its drives exactly like the brand new one i had access to back in 2004.

FYI, my 330ci had 153k on it when i sold it & that felt like it would go on forever ...

keep a turbo on standby lol

Fingers crossed by uprating to the Vortex oil seperator it should help it a wee bit ... but yes, fingers crossed lol.

330d was considered, but i just wanted the highest mpg's. Mind you, if this was my only car, it would be a 330cd Sport. Remapped.

 

[koi]

Love the colour, don't see many about

 

[Dunn]

Feels like new! Needs some slightly better tyres on the front imho, but they'll do for the time being. Overall, its drives exactly like the brand new one i had access to back in 2004.

FYI, my 330ci had 153k on it when i sold it & that felt like it would go on forever ...



Fingers crossed by uprating to the Vortex oil seperator it should help it a wee bit ... but yes, fingers crossed lol.

330d was considered, but i just wanted the highest mpg's. Mind you, if this was my only car, it would be a 330cd Sport. Remapped.

we got higher mpg on the 330d but that was remapped

yea Vortex should help, would like one as a daily

 

[mikey123]

Really like this! Would love a big BMW barge soon....

 

[conneh]

Thats very nice indeed.

 

[chriscummins7]

That is awesome!

I'm guna look at these in may... Useful tips on the swirl flaps and oil breather too. My mums 123d blew up after 30k! If you dont mind me asking how much did you pick it up for and how many miles etc? PM me if you would be so kind. Apologies if i missed it in the thread.

 

[Rob]

Great choice Dave, barr the engine obviously.

Bloody brilliant colour, and I love the seats.

How much if you don't mind me asking? PM me if you wish.

The sort of thing I'd consider as a company motor if I were to buy one from an allowance as opposed to getting an actual company car..

 

[Sir_Dave]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys

Even if they are only for the sexy colour & alcantara seats.

Price wise, its a '53 plate with 103k miles. Ended up paying £5,450 from a dealer with 12months MOT/Tax & 3 months AA warranty. Little more than i wanted to spend ideally, but it seemed a very fair price compared to other ones on the market with similar colour/mileage, etc, so i just went for it

 

[Tom@JMS]

That's a lovely car.

I give it a month.

 

[ben81]

Hmmm, interior does look a nice place to be, I'm getting p'd off with paying out well over £200 in petrol just to get to work each month aswell...

 

[Bluebeard]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys

Even if they are only for the sexy colour & alcantara seats.

Price wise, its a '53 plate with 103k miles. Ended up paying £5,450 from a dealer with 12months MOT/Tax & 3 months AA warranty. Little more than i wanted to spend ideally, but it seemed a very fair price compared to other ones on the market with similar colour/mileage, etc, so i just went for it

I think thats cheap! If I had that i'd put it on the pitch at £6495 and i'd get it.

Can't go wrong for that price mate.

 

[Herr Flick]

alcantara seats are much better than leathers!

is it worth mapping??

 

[mr.valver]

I <3 Estoril Blue.

Love the seats also

 

[Cliotoby]

Nice, we had the estate SE model and it was reet (320d) before we sold it a few weeks ago. Nice fluid gearbox &clutch and a fair decent amount of pull, heavy steering rack though. Msport interior looks good, love the colour. Looks like youve got a tidy example.

 

[MarkCup]

That interior looks very nice.

When pootling about, do they feel rear wheel drive?

 

[Marc.]

That's awesome. Really considering a Bimmer at the minute, someone I work with has a 330c and it's awesome!

 

[Silent_Scone]

that's proper cheap. If you fancy selling up in a couple months first dibs

 

[Dave.]

nice car dave, how long until you shred the tyres on this??