General Discussion on 320d's

[Andre3000 55]

Hi guys, just wondering if anyone has any experience with e46 320d's in particular the facelift version? any faults or commendations about this vehicle?

Im looking into buying one as a daily and am keen to get some feedback on the car.

In particular this one:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=314678443

[deeveus 81]

I've heard some pretty good things about them, especially economy wise but not so good things about the reliability. Turbo's blowing mainly.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

I have done quite a lot of looking into the E46 diesels as I'm after a 330d, a couple of things have come up

1) Turbo reliability - the oil really needs to be changed before the service intervals to give better life from the turbo. You can tell if there is an issue quite easily - down on power and noticeable smoke.

2) Swirl flaps - a little gadget in the inlet manifold to reduce emissions at idle, it's basically a flap like the old fashioned carburettor throat. It's mostly made of plastic, but has 2 metal screws holding it together. They can break and come apart, where they get sucked into the engine. the plastic bits just get chewed up and spat out, however, the metal screws cause a lot of damage taking out pistons & heads then turbos and cats on the way through. No official recall or acknowledgement of the issue, but there was a new design of flap introduced on very late E46, you can also fit blanking plates and take out the flaps, makes no difference to driving the vehicle.

3) EGR valve - as with most diesel this tends to get filled with oily soot and needs to be taken apart and cleaned regularly. Not a biggy, can just make the engine smoke a bit and run a bit rough when it gets too bad.

If you do a lot of kms then a modern diesel is highly recommended. Not sure about that particular car as it has quite high kms, would look for a full service history and then some if it were me.

[bmwNewbe 0]

real good mpg, first thing to do is have the swirl flaps removed/blanked off. as for turbos injector pumps and the like,they are as common or not so common to go as every other make of car you normally only hear the scare storys. best bet is if you get one get the bushes on the front bottom arms replaced with polly bushes will save you money inthe long run,and make sure that it is well serviced. i do mine every 6000 miles somtimes less as im bit fussy. to make sure of an extended turbo life make sure you change the crankcase filter on the rocker cover each time its serviced as its commonly forgot about or not known about. other than that they are quite comfortable providing your not the one sits in the back as the seats in the back are not great for adults.

170000 miles would not be an issue if it sounds like an engine that starts and stops with very little rattles., if the engine mounts or mounts on the exhaust etc are worn then you will hear a little thud when you switch off.

mine has 160000 miles on it and when i first got it you could hear the thud but i ended up getting the front flxi on the exhaust fixed that cured it.

Edited September 14, 2010 by bmwNewbe

[camera doctor 25]

Nice looking car, the one you linked from Trademe

The swirl flaps sound like the same thing that Ford Durotec engines have ( Focus, Mondeo )

On the Fords they get noisey, then fail, fall onto the conbustion chamber and you can guess the results!

Although I wonder with the high milage that BMW has done, they may have already been removed??

Maybe I am biased, but I still think the Tourings are the best looking varient BMW make

[ashmill 68]

I have done quite a lot of looking into the E46 diesels as I'm after a 330d, a couple of things have come up

1) Turbo reliability - the oil really needs to be changed before the service intervals to give better life from the turbo. You can tell if there is an issue quite easily - down on power and noticeable smoke.

2) Swirl flaps - a little gadget in the inlet manifold to reduce emissions at idle, it's basically a flap like the old fashioned carburettor throat. It's mostly made of plastic, but has 2 metal screws holding it together. They can break and come apart, where they get sucked into the engine. the plastic bits just get chewed up and spat out, however, the metal screws cause a lot of damage taking out pistons & heads then turbos and cats on the way through. No official recall or acknowledgement of the issue, but there was a new design of flap introduced on very late E46, you can also fit blanking plates and take out the flaps, makes no difference to driving the vehicle.

3) EGR valve - as with most diesel this tends to get filled with oily soot and needs to be taken apart and cleaned regularly. Not a biggy, can just make the engine smoke a bit and run a bit rough when it gets too bad.

If you do a lot of kms then a modern diesel is highly recommended. Not sure about that particular car as it has quite high kms, would look for a full service history and then some if it were me.

I had a 2002 facelift car, NZ new, two owners with 110,000km, full history and a very detailed report card. It burnt my wallet big time and not with any of the known issues mentioned here. It had a cracked cylinder head which i still have in the shed. I also replaced the air mass meter. They are a great car but get a full check done by your local BMW dealer.

[Andre3000 55]

Cheers for all the feedback guys. Economy is exactly what im after and reliability doesn't phase me too much as i will be maintaining it to the highest standard. I have a few cheeky mods planned which should catch plenty of eyes

Hopefully will get it booked into JC bmw late this week otherwise will have to be early next week.

[bmwNewbe 0]

Cheers for all the feedback guys. Economy is exactly what im after and reliability doesn't phase me too much as i will be maintaining it to the highest standard. I have a few cheeky mods planned which should catch plenty of eyes

Hopefully will get it booked into JC bmw late this week otherwise will have to be early next week.

have you bought the car and all? so what sort of mod's you planing.

[Grant 4]

Why was this thread moved? I thought it was in the right place to start with.

[*Glenn* 854]

Why was this thread moved? I thought it was in the right place to start with.

Not guilty

[westy 614]

Me neither.

Andrew, buy a warranty.

Edited September 15, 2010 by westy

[Guest Simon*]

Not I

There's one of these at the workshop I use with a broken turbo. Has been there over a month. BMW only part and apparently $3500+ replacement cost.

Take Westy's advice

[*Glenn* 854]

I've seen 2 with with the swirl plate problem.. both motors were rooted... BMW replaced the motors. Another one I know of the guy who was an engineer tried to fix himself... BMW wouldn't come to the party because of what he did himself.

+100 on a warranty... a really good 3 year one at least. Or buy petrol with the same warranty.

[Guest Simon*]

TBH Andrew I really don't think there's much value in buying an older diesel if you're trying to save money and it's just for private use.

Do the maths over a year, including bloody RUC's and servicing (add depreciation if you want to get serious too) and see if the better MPG's actually balance out in favour. I'd be willing to bet they won't.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

For most vehicles the break-even figure for diesel to be better value is around 30-40,000kms a year with all the bits and pieces, RUC, etc. However, i think that includes the depreciation which would be a lot less on the diesel wagon you are looking at, putting a few more Kms on that won't depreciate as much as a petrol with fewer Kms. That figure does start to drop dramatically if you lug a lot of gear around with you or tow quite frequently - this is where deisel really wins.

Article on swirl flaps and blanking them off..

swirl_flaps.pdf

[bimmer boy 21]

Me neither.

Andrew, buy a warranty.

I always thought you could only get a warranty on a car thats under 150,000kms and once it gets over that the warrenty is void?

Did you end out getting it booked in at JC man?

[*Glenn* 854]

I always thought you could only get a warranty on a car thats under 150,000kms and once it gets over that the warrenty is void?

That would be right. I forgot it had 270k on the clock ( showing in miles)

I wouldn't touch it with that mileage

Edited September 16, 2010 by *Glenn*

[westy 614]

Ahh true in part, didn't notice the ks.

Autosure: Car must be under 150000ks and less then 10 years old when it's taken out. Although warranty continues once past 150000kms.

[Andre3000 55]

Got the inspection done friday after looking up travis from JC, cheers ryan. Its in great nick, but i think the kms are too much of a risk at this stage. Dont need to have to fix it when it f**ks out as it most likely will sooner rather than later even if its in good cond now.

Good news though, iv found another vehicle which iv contacted the owner of, hopefully all going well on this inspection will have it shipped by rail up to akl. Anyone familiar with how rail transport works/pricing.

Cheers for the feedback guys

edit: heres the link for the car http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=316395881

Edited September 19, 2010 by André3000

[ashmill 68]

Got the inspection done friday after looking up travis from JC, cheers ryan. Its in great nick, but i think the kms are too much of a risk at this stage. Dont need to have to fix it when it f**ks out as it most likely will sooner rather than later even if its in good cond now.

Good news though, iv found another vehicle which iv contacted the owner of, hopefully all going well on this inspection will have it shipped by rail up to akl. Anyone familiar with how rail transport works/pricing.

Cheers for the feedback guys

edit: heres the link for the car http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=316395881

Had a car shipped from CHCH by NZ Rail and it was fine. They used enclosed wagons so the car stays clean.