[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Diesels are far more expensive to maintain, especially German ones. ....

Originally Posted by Kafkaesque328

As someone else mentioned though, they tend to be more to maintain. ....

Come on, now. A fuel filter from BMW costs around $85, and you can find them much cheaper than that. A change every third oil change is "far more expensive". Blow that. You guys are just saying that because you "heard" it at some time in the past. Provide some real numbers or go home.

[busterifle]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Especially in OP case if you get the maintenance included. One brake job is like $2k and you'll def need that since the car has 59k on it already. Nothing for a diesel but consumables don't care gas or diesel.

Not to pry into finances BUT be aware that if using BMWFS getting the extended maintenance plan will (or at least used to) buy down your interest rate to the point that it's borderline retarded not to do it. I bought GF's 328 (gas) CPO with 26k on it and by the time everything was done the maintenance out through 100k to match the CPO coverage cost me $500 by the time I paid for the plan then the rate came down.

Although the huge amount of maintenance is insane, in this situation most labor and repairs will be done by my dad and I or my uncle. So labor won't be too bad, just the parts will hurt. Are parts super expensive for the diesel car?

Unfortunately the car is from a third party dealer not a BMW dealership. It was just such a good bang for the buck.

Originally Posted by eugene89us

I am a huge proponent of diesels. I have started with 2014 VW Passat TDI and drove it until I got 2018 328d. Loved my VW and basically got it for dirt cheap after all restitutions for diesel scandal. Still kept the VW after getting BMW.

My 328d gives me on average 44-45 mpg of combined driving. I do about 15K miles per year, 70% highway and 30% city. When I take highway trips, I often get close to 50 mpg. Love the economy, especially since diesel remains lower price than premium gas.

The torque is amazing, I can accelerate quickly with a lot of force. Passing on highways is a breeze due to higher torque at low RPMs, car hardly ever downshifts when doing quick highway passes.

With current political situation, I don't think it will be long before gas prices at back in the upper $4's. You will love forgetting when you refueled last time, as 15 gal tank gets me 650 miles on combined driving.

My dad is a huge proponent of diesel too, he learned it in college before the Navy. But like you guys said the benefit of diesel is awesome. I have a feeling that gas will easily be in the mid $4's soon, where i'm at it's already $4 for premium at some locations. Even $4.30 at rich areas.

If you don't mind me asking, I drove a E46 325 before my F30, would the drive be similar to that? Just a lot more torque and way better gas mileage?

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

I also recommend going up on to 535d 6 cyl....My friend has one and its very reliable....42mpg. 2014 model already rack up 160k miles....just regular service....i just heard the i6 desiel is much reliable than the 4 cyc on the 3 series😁

Thanks!! I'll take a look at them

Originally Posted by floydarogers

Just FYI, there's another similar thread going at bimmer f e s t: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1274174

Appreciate it! I'll take a look at it when I get the time!

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Diesels are far more expensive to maintain, especially German ones. Keep that in mind. In States, there's not a huge advantage to owning a diesel because gas is cheap and will remain cheap for a long time.

For right now, it's kind of worth it. Diesel is only $3.38 and Premium is at $3.80. I drive roughly 20k miles a year, since i'm always going up and down between San Diego and LA. But you're right it is definitely more expensive to maintain.

Originally Posted by Kafkaesque328

As someone else mentioned though, they tend to be more to maintain. As for the power, there is a lot of torque there so it'll feel punchy around town and when passing but remember it is the slowest 3 series on the market - slower than the 320i.

That says a lot D: I want to try to drive one, would it be a bad idea to test drive a brand new 328d to compare it to the 2015 i'm looking at?

[NormanConquest]

I recommend diesel ONLY if you driver at least 30 miles a day on the highway at highway speed

Otherwise you will have regen issues

[530iDriver]

The only way you would see me switching to diesel is for a 6 cyl in line not a 4 pot. I haven't seen good reviews on the 328d citing noise and rather slow performance.

[busterifle]

Originally Posted by NormanConquest

I recommend diesel ONLY if you driver at least 30 miles a day on the highway at highway speed

Otherwise you will have regen issues

I do travel around 40 miles for school back and forth, but from my house to work I only travel like 10 miles back and forth with a lot of little places to go in between. So on a typical semester, i'm filing up every week and half on gas when I go to school 2 days a week + work.

That's a good tip though

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by busterifle

I do travel around 40 miles for school back and forth, but from my house to work I only travel like 10 miles back and forth with a lot of little places to go in between. So on a typical semester, i'm filing up every week and half on gas when I go to school 2 days a week + work.

That's a good tip though

I agree. Diesel and hybrid cars seem to make the most sense when you drive over 30 miles a day.

For those of us with shorter commutes, stick with gasoline. Currently I fill up my 530i every 2-3 weeks. Very happy with the fuel economy of my B48.

[StormHunter]

Originally Posted by busterifle

Hello Everyone!

As the title states, I was thinking about switching my 2013 F30 328i 68k miles to a 2015 F30 328d w/ 59k miles. Since it's a decent deal and I would be saving about $1,500 in maintenance and other additions. The difference in price is about $6,000 before tax and fees.

I was looking through the forums to see if there were any huge issues with diesel version, but besides the NOx sensor and the "HPFP"? There weren't too many issues just a lot of minor things.

Also how is the drive on the diesels? I understand it's a huge difference in power, but it should be enough. The car comes with mostly everything, except the HK sound system. Which would be nice, but it's not a deal breaker.

Thank you guys for your time, if I posted in the wrong forum please let me know!

I'm on 50k km on my 330d now and i have to say that I am very pleased with how the car performed up until this point. I had the opportunity to drive friend's 328i against my 3.0 and I just couldn't keep up. I do realize that it is not a fair comparison but here are the headlines I pulled after 1 year and 50k km of ownership:
Pros:
-Torque on diesel engines is way higher and is delivered at low rpms
-Fuel economy is way better, which is a very big plus if you drive your car a lot and if diesel is cheaper than unleaded in your area
Cons:
-The noise is on rare occasions annoying
-In my car there is simply no power from about 4100-4200 rpms to redline
-Diesel engines tend to be a tad on the heavy side which can cause problems with the front suspension e.g. dampers (i had to change one because it bent although i have to mention that the roads are pretty bad in my area)

[simonelwell]

don't.

[Kafkaesque328]

I just can't hang with the short shifting all the time. You can never really wind it out like a gasoline engine. I mean whats the redline, 5k? So much for those onramp blasts.

If you ever pull up sport display on your iDrive and watch the digital HP and Torque gauges, you quickly see in normal driving how torque is king. To some degree, those things are gimmicky but it gives you an idea of how little HP you are putting down in daily driving. Most of the time, I am hovering around 50-150HP, but I'm maxing out at 250lb ft of torque all the time. Thats the punch and thats that 'feeling' of going fast. Thats what made me fall in love with forced induction motors, that punch on tap at all times from a small displacement engine.

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by busterifle

I do travel around 40 miles for school back and forth, but from my house to work I only travel like 10 miles back and forth with a lot of little places to go in between. So on a typical semester, i'm filing up every week and half on gas when I go to school 2 days a week + work.

That's a good tip though

I agree. Diesel and hybrid cars seem to make the most sense when you drive over 30 miles a day.

For those of us with shorter commutes, stick with gasoline. Currently I fill up my 530i every 2-3 weeks. Very happy with the fuel economy of my B48.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by 530iDriver

I agree. Diesel and hybrid cars seem to make the most sense when you drive over 30 miles a day.

It's not the miles, it's the speed. If your average speed is 30MPH or less, ie., in town driving or sitting in traffic on the Long Island Expressway, a hybrid is a lot more economical, a diesel somewhat more economical. If you do mainly highway driving gas and diesel are a tossup, diesel gets better mileage but the fuel costs more in the US. For longevity diesels last forever.

[brettbmw]

My wife had a loaner 5 series diesel for a week and she loved it so much, its going to be her next car. But i wish they were built like the 80s Mercedes diesel ...That was built like a tank...My dad drove it for 10 yrs...

[530iDriver]

Unfortunately, diesel has a very bleak future and hence why I would not purchase a diesel car.

[NormanConquest]

If you don't drive at least 30miles on highway everyday I highly suggest not getting a diesel the DPF system on them now makes diesel horrible for city driving commuters or short distance commuters

[rak299]

Maybe it is my prejudice, but I think they are loud and smell bad. Many of the places I buy gas don't sell diesel fuel. I would just say no to diesel.

[530iDriver]

Because of dieselgate, these are getting a bad rap and most manufacturers will abandon diesel power plants for passenger car applications in years to come.

[busterifle]

Originally Posted by 530iDriver

Unfortunately, diesel has a very bleak future and hence why I would not purchase a diesel car.

That's true, especially with the emergence of Electric cars, personally for me I would prefer a electric car since I have solar.

Originally Posted by brettbmw

My wife had a loaner 5 series diesel for a week and she loved it so much, its going to be her next car. But i wish they were built like the 80s Mercedes diesel ...That was built like a tank...My dad drove it for 10 yrs...

That's awesome!! I'm glad she loved it I agree with you, it's unfortunate they're not built like tanks anymore. But They do save a lot of gas! I don't think they're gonna make anymore diesels for the newer generations right?

Originally Posted by NormanConquest

If you don't drive at least 30miles on highway everyday I highly suggest not getting a diesel the DPF system on them now makes diesel horrible for city driving commuters or short distance commuters

For school I drive about 40 miles back and fourth. But to work it's like 5 miles all city. So it might not work out, awesome advice though!

For now, I made the decision to stay with my car since I invested a bit more on it. But for the future this is awesome to know!