Advice on 320d model to buy

[LTK 1]

Hi, I'm new on this site and just looking to buy my first BMW and would appreciate feedback. I'm looking at 2012 - 2013 320d.

One option is a 2012 6 speed manual imported when new from the UK. It is very tidy but only basic specs. The other option is a 2013 auto NZ new 30th Edition. This has 30k less on the clock, about $4k more expensive and higher specs.

I'm really keen to buy a manual (I like to drive rather than be driven) but wonder if flappy paddles and the higher specs would be a better buy.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[kwhelan 241]

IMHO

I was young once and thought it had to be manual, but you grow out of it, practicality in a city, stop start traffic it just makes no sense and its no slight on your mad driving skills to actually own and drive an auto. It doesn't suddenly mean you don't know how to drive a manual.

especially I don't think manual diesel makes a lot of sense either, aren't the autos like 8 speed so better matched but the whole point of diesel is torque and lower effortless revs

for a weekend toy, sure manual is way more fun, just buy a s2000 or something

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

I'd go for the 2013 auto NZ new 30th Edition

 

[Driftit 2069]

I would go for the NZ new one too.  Recently been driving around in a modern diesel manual and then immediately an auto version of that same vehicle.  I was towing a trailer in a hilly area and the auto was just hassle free.  The short power band made me feel like I was changing gear far too often in the manual.  And it was just a hassle in traffic.

Are they accessible to take for test drives?  Experience it for yourself.  There are others on here that swear by manuals for every task.  Auto's are not what they used to be.  And the flappy paddles in the BMW's are great.  Even in my old 130i.

[leichtbau 525]

Would be keen to hear some real world experience from owners of the post 2009 N47's with regards to whether the timing chain / EGR / wastegate issues are over inflated or not.

[balancerider 752]

@leichtbau 240k km on my dad's 2010 E91 320d says yes. regular oil changes FTW. 

[balancerider 752]

9 hours ago, LTK said:

One option is a 2012 6 speed manual imported when new from the UK. It is very tidy but only basic specs. The other option is a 2013 auto NZ new 30th Edition. This has 30k less on the clock, about $4k more expensive and higher specs.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Edition 30 are nicely specced (no sport seats in the F30 though, unlike the F20) and the ZF 8 speed / diesel combination is a winner.

[Navin 180]

How do the manuals win in rush hour traffic? ?

I agree with the majority, the zf8 is a great combo paired with the low end torque of the diesel. I've got a G20 320d and absolutely love it

[NZ BMW 368]

I love mine with an auto. For my life it’s not a sports car so I don’t feel I need or want a manual. 

Mine I believe has the B47 engine and the EGR was replaced as part of a recall when it was in the a service a week or so ago, read into that what you will... 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

If it were a sports car, or a performance car, then yes a Manual could well be considered. If it's a daily commuter 320d then there are a big number of benefits to the auto over the manual, let alone the higher level of spec in the Edition 30 over the manual one.

Chief amongst these would be the re-sale value as the market for a 320d manual with poverty spec would be very, very small.

Unless you really have a need to feel like a race car driver and want to make brrm, brrm noises on your way to work the auto is much more convenient. You can't eat your breakfast and drink your coffee during your crawl to work like everyone else if you have to keep using your hand to change gears.

[lord_jagganath 421]

the difference between a 6 spd and 8 spd auto may as well be as wide as the Waikato. sports seats in an F30 vs the ones in the Edition 30, YMMV imho. 

[Herbmiester 922]

If your commuting in traffic an auto is best, I have done the Hutt Valley to Wellington City Commute with two manual cars now and its a chore, plus diesels and modern autos like the ZF8hp work really well together always having you in the right gear. Plus the Auto will be quicker.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Herbmiester

[qube 3570]

ed30 is miles better than a base model. its a good compromise if you cant find a msport one within budget.

[Sammo 2542]

I would imagine a modern diesel turbo works great with the 8 speed auto for a commuter.

I daily a manual, but I am lucky enough to schedule my day to avoid rush hour traffic...

[Southerner 146]

I recently brought my father a e46 touring 320d in auto, ill admit i was hesitant being auto. After the first drive id prefer it over a manual, auto suits modern diesels so much better and alot easier to drive. Its also a diesel touring so its not really a sports car anyway, and if it was id imagine the auto would actually be quicker in the diesel option.

[NZ BMW 368]

Another thing to consider is some of the M-Sport costs and if you’re up for them. I just had my brakes done at the Auckland dealership as part of my service plan. 
 

I tried to find the parts to have it done elsewhere  but just couldn’t get the correct ones so had to suck up the $1500.... for pads only. 

[qube 3570]

What.... $1500 for pads only??? Impossible.....

[Driftit 2069]

Somebody tucked you. The best race pads installed by a no armed mechanic charging $150 per hour wouldn't cost that. 

[Olaf 3309]

17 minutes ago, NZ BMW said:

Another thing to consider is some of the M-Sport costs and if you’re up for them. I just had my brakes done at the Auckland dealership as part of my service plan. 
 

I tried to find the parts to have it done elsewhere  but just couldn’t get the correct ones so had to suck up the $1500.... for pads only. 

Seriously, BMW dealership charged $1,500 for pad replacement?  one end or both?  And definitely not including rotors and fluids?  General inspection I or II excluded?  What does a Service Plan provide, if it doesn't cover those basics?  Wow.

[lord_jagganath 421]

7 minutes ago, Olaf said:

Seriously, BMW dealership charged $1,500 for pad replacement? 

That is shocking! I would have thought it would have at least included rotors and fluids replaced at that. ( I got my old VW CC's Front discs and pads replaced for $700 at the Giltrap, and even then I could have got them done at an independent for 20% less , yeah I know its a glorified Golf sedan)

[NZ BMW 368]

2 hours ago, Olaf said:

Seriously, BMW dealership charged $1,500 for pad replacement?  one end or both?  And definitely not including rotors and fluids?  General inspection I or II excluded?  What does a Service Plan provide, if it doesn't cover those basics?  Wow.

I wouldn’t say I am exactly happy about it but I knew this would happen one day. I even said to my wife “I bet the brakes on this car cost a bomb” when I bought it. They are almost laughably over-spec’d for a 320D. 

The plan and warranty covers everything (servicing, WOFs, wipers etc) except brake components and tyres, so at least the fluid change was ‘free’. They did all four pads plus sensors which I question the point of but I am somewhat locked into and included labour, which is minimal. 

For what it’s worth, I asked BMWorkshop for a quote knowing this was coming up and their quote (for pads and discs) was $1500 for the front and $1200 for the rear excluding GST. So even outside of the dealer they are not cheap. Best I could find the discs for example are aftermarket at $770 on Mick’s garage. I was surprised how pricey the blue caliper brakes are. 

[leichtbau 525]

Not an isolated event with the F30 "blues" unfortunately, a friend had exactly the same experience.

 

[NZ BMW 368]

13 minutes ago, leichtbau said:

Not an isolated event with the F30 "blues" unfortunately, a friend had exactly the same experience.

 

It was an expensive car relative to what it was when it was new. Why should it be different now? I think we all know what we’re getting into. 

BMW = bring money with. 

I think you can get the M-Sport without the big blue brakes? That would be the best in my mind. They look nice but they are really unnecessary in  most all situations. 

[Herbmiester 922]

1 hour ago, 3pedals said:

None of the cars being discussed here are "sports cars'  nor is the OP looking  'race car / race car driver advice'  so really none of the commentary using those contexts is relevant. 

Auto drivers commenting on the benefits of auto over manuals is a bit like Ford guys rubbishing Holdens - youv'e made your choice.

How are manuals better in traffic / slow crawl - easy: you can put them in neutral and put the hand brake on, coast if there is a slight decline and then snick it into gear when you need to  do it all the time on on ramps and sections of the motorway - try that in some of the late model autos, you can only put them into gear when you are stationary  because of those anti dumb driver interlocks --  so what do most auto drivers  do: exactly what the owners manual says not to do: leave it in drive and sit on the brake pedal for extended periods of time generating sh*t loads of heat , wasting fuel and cooking the gearbox. 

 

Not sure what rush hour traffic you drive in but my experience with a manual is; clutch in clutch out repeat a thousand times, all the while wearing it out prematurely. As to putting an auto into neutral there is no need, all the modern autos are designed to deal with the rigors of stop start traffic and as the torque converter is operating at slow speed with only minor slip the heat is far from excessive. As to DSG gearboxes my wife's Skoda is at 220k of which a great deal is city commuting and there are no issues. I am pretty sure a manual gearbox will have had a new clutch or two if it had to do that amount of rush hour crawling. Auto transmissions like most mechanical devices if serviced regularly present few problems. And yes we know BMW's sealed for life statement is wrong. 

And FWIW I have a manual again and I enjoy driving it, but it cant compare performance wise to a modern auto like a ZF8HP. 

Your comment re Ford vs Holden makes little sense apart from reinforcing how much you dislike them because they are not European. 

[kwhelan 241]

exactly,

I thought auto coolers were for those people that tow large weights etc not idling in traffic.

a large percentage of  the manual cars for sale in Auckland have a clutch shudder from excessive overuse and people slipping them to creep forward.

to be sitting stopped on the north shore entry to the harbour bridge moving one car length if your lucky in a manual, how unnecessary

if your sitting through two green light changes on a hill, say at the top of queen to get into K road, you can muck around with handbrakes probably behind a bus so nill vision, many possible oh sh*t were not moving, oh hang on were off, no wait, hill starts 

or you could just sit there in an auto completely relaxed,

its a no brainer, traffic is stressful enough without torturing yourself unnecessarily.

not that any manual lover would change or admit any of that

I'd also like to see these owners manuals that don't recommend leaving an auto in drive, altho you underlined it so maybe its true, can't see the fuel difference between your manual in neutral and said auto either, engine is still running in both cases, oh wait autos have start/stop now, do manuals have that too?

and if you flicked your manual into neutral as you suggest and coast, thats an immediate fail of your drivers license test. you don't have control of the vehicle,

your argument is questionable

Edited October 14, 2020 by kwhelan