Which is the better overall buy to keep for say 5 years and doing 11-12k miles per year?Both around the 2002 model. Initially I wanted to get the 330d but the 325i is a lot cheaper.
325i would be £6k, 330d £8K+, both around 90-100k miles. 325i does 31mpg, 330d 41mpg. So its the extra £2.5k extra outlay for the 330d versus the fuel savings I'll get in 5 years. Anyone got a rough idea which would be cheaper to run after 5 years?
I'm more interested in the drive of the car. The 330d's torque at 410nm beats the 325i at 245nm but its still adequate (similar to my tdci but with much more power). Would a car like the 325i need revving to get decent performance (not like a type r surely? I always hear how good the bmw 6 cylinder engines are, esp the petrols. And does a 325i have a turbo? AFAIK its a NA engine, so how does it compare to a turbo charged engine with the same power?
Edited by Pugugly on 19/12/2008 at 17:06
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My dad had a 52 plate 325i SE from nearly new. A lovely car, but not cheap to run by any stretch (high co2 about 235 and low mpg at about 25 knocking around). Also needed a surprising amount of revs to get really shifting ie over 3500rpm. But when on song it flew and sounded incredible.
It went wrong a good few times aswell- throttle position sensor twice and all six coils needed replacing. Didn't put him off thpugh and now hes got an 07 320d.
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"Also needed a surprising amount of revs to get really shifting"
Thats what I was worried about...
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Go for the 330d the extra torque will help you to stop people overtaking you. :)
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The focus is good enough for that :-)
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I've just got my 325i back after some time in the repair shop (someone crashed into the boot).
I had a Merc 220CDI to use, which was nice and torquey.
But the 325i is near silent at idle, and oh-so smooth when you rev it, sounds gorgeous too.
Decided that I prefer the 325i after all, it's plenty quick enough in these days of multiple speed cameras, and I haven't found it lacking in terms of pure acceleration.
With diesel currently almost 20% more expensive in my area, there was negligible savings to be had.
Of course, the choice depends a lot on one's driving style.
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I've had both a 325i and a 330d, the diesel followed the petrol one.
Over 4 years and 80k I averaged 39 mpg, nearly your expected 41mpg.
The 325 was a very nice car to drive - averaged 31mpg over 3 years 80k.
Both reasonably reliable but not faultless, the petrol destroyed it's water pump, the diesel lunched an injector.
Both nice cars to drive around but given the choice I'd go for the 330d for the grunt factor, but it's only a VERY small preference.
Not sure about the pricing / consumption / price of fuel argument.
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Do not buy a high mileage BMW diesel!
They have turbo problems - see HJ.
I know of one fleet of 20 330d's that all had turbo failures and at quite low mileages.
The petrol is a nice engine that will do 200,000 with an oil change at least every year.
I've had 3 6-cylinder Beemers 525, 330 and 728, and done 500,000 miles in them.
Stop shouting noobytoogy and back any claims, Rob (Moderator)
Edited by rtj70 on 24/12/2008 at 00:49
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To answer the OP's direct question about fuel cost comparison..
using the 12k a year figure, and assuming that the cost of the respective fuel stays as it is at my local garage for the next 5 years
I stand to be corrected on the conversion of litres to gallons (ive got it at 4.54) but using these assumptions:
you would use 1935 gallons of petrol in the 325i, costing £7732 at 88p per litre
you would use 1463 gallons of diesel in the 330d, costing £6643 at 100p per litre
Difference of £1088 over 5 years would not make up the cost difference of the 2 cars.
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Thanks Mile-Muncher. And purchase costs and maintenance for the diesel likely to be more for the diesel too?
If you do low mileage then petrol could be better. I've only done 3200 miles in a diesel in 5 months! But that could and probably will change....
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...and what will the price difference be between the two cars after the OP's 5 years are up?
which will be easier to sell?
which will you enjoy driving?
I'd go for the diesel, even at the mileage you're doing. The depreciation on the petrol would be a nightmare.
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>>The depreciation on the petrol would be a nightmare
Well, they'll both be worth pennies after 5 years with 160K on the clock - so wouldn't consider that important.
The diesel may well suffer the turbo(or related) failure - especially at the miles we're talking about: that might effectively junk the car.. and could happen anytime, see HJ comments.
At that age/ mileage I'd go for the petrol - a classic straight six (the smoothest configuration) BMW with a proven & very understressed engine, sharper handling with the lighter engine.
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you're right again woodbines - OP wants the 2002 model. should learn to read before diving in!
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