[pred02]

Hi,

I live in South London and am looking for a 2nd hand 3-series either 320d or 330e as will start a family soon.

I was thinking of 320d because I love a manual, however it seems that the auto on BMW is excellent and might not be the best idea to get a diesel despite both cars being ULEZ compliant.

My trips will either be short hops around town or will be long road trips but not commuting. I do have a charger right across the street from me.

Just wanted to get people's thoughts on the 330e - how does it far compared to 320d?

Thanks

[MHanni1]

I have a F30 330e and it is a fantastic car.

The car charges itself so don't really plug mine in that Much.

Its also pretty quick!

[MY340i]

Would recommend the estate guise, saloon isn’t amazing for prams etc

[GEP77]

The saloon while having a decent enough boot is let down by the narrow opening. Also many saloons of that vintage don't have folding rear seats - something to watch out for.

If you're not doing too many miles you might want to consider a 320i or 330i as well.

The ZF 8 speed fitted to BMWs has converted quite a few away from manuals.

Having driven both manual and auto 320ds as courtesy cars in recent years I would go for the auto any day of the week.

[Elbow14]

The 320d touring is an absolute steel these days since the new one has come out! so f31 is what you should buy plus you can get either 320i 330i which would be better for the shorter journeys! regarding the gearbox the ZF auto box is beautiful so smooth, you wouldn't want the manual version it's not that great.

hope you find one what ever you do buy!

[BBri89]

I have a 320d Touring with the 8-speed auto.

If I was to get this car again, I'd absolutely definitely get the 8 speed auto. I will never have a manual again if ZF continue to make automatic gearboxes like this!BMW do not make particularly good manual cars anymore. They're not terrible gearboxes, but they're not as good as they should be, not when compared to the ZF8HP automatic box.

I would also get the 330d or 335d instead.
The 320d is brilliant for a 2.0 litre inline-4 diesel. As smooth as you could get from a 4-cyl, great economy and good power. But the 6-cyl 330d and 335d is just even smoother.

I'd say the touring is what you want for a family car though. The saloon is not massive for lots of family kit. The touring will swallow a lot more stuff without feeling too big and heavy.

[john lummis]

I've had my 320d xdrive M Sport auto since last April and I love it, it does everything I want from a car, and I've had 68mpg on a run, I'm pleased

[f30paul]

I have a 330e too and think it's fantastic. It's economical when you want it to be, and damn fast if you want to play in sport mode. Instant off the line acceleration and room for a family of five. Most you'll find well specced too. My SE (purchased for comfort and max range) is higher specced than my old luxury trim and doesn't leave me wanting much more..

A caveat though - it does depend on your daily commute as to whether it works for you. I manage half my commute on electric and gain 820+ miles or so to a tank. So I don't mind every now and then the more thirsty fun sport driving. It may not work best for long motorway commutes. Average mpg commuting is between 90-110.

I used to have a 320d and this is better in my view - more refined and quieter - though tyre noise is more prevalent!

I will though be looking at BMW insured warranty when the aux warranty runs out. The one unit that has been known to fail, the KLe charging unit, can be pretty pricey!!!

[smorg99]

Originally Posted by f30paul

A caveat though - it does depend on your daily commute as to whether it works for you. I manage half my commute on electric and gain 820+ miles or so to a tank. So I don't mind every now and then the more thirsty fun sport driving. It may not work best for long motorway commutes. Average mpg commuting is between 90-110.

Yep, it's not for everyone. High mileage, go for diesel.
For my purposes though, the 330e is perfect. I manage to do most of my daily commute on electric and my fuel bills have reduced drastically.

As others have said, when the mood takes it is a fast car too. The acceleration is good, it's comfy, quiet and economical.

The great thing in winter too is that you can pre-condition the car on a schedule (or manually) so you can climb into a cosy cabin without having to scrape ice of your windows

Like I say, it's not for everyone, but if only doing a small amount of mileage it's worth considering.

[ArthurKing]

Originally Posted by pred02

Hi,

I live in South London and am looking for a 2nd hand 3-series either 320d or 330e as will start a family soon.

I was thinking of 320d because I love a manual, however it seems that the auto on BMW is excellent and might not be the best idea to get a diesel despite both cars being ULEZ compliant.

My trips will either be short hops around town or will be long road trips but not commuting. I do have a charger right across the street from me.

Just wanted to get people's thoughts on the 330e - how does it far compared to 320d?

Thanks

We had a newborn recently and went for the 330D Saloon. If I lived in a town however and only did short journeys, I would have looked for a petrol as you may find the DPF has issues is you rarely do long journeys.

One piece of advice I will give is that once you hit the 5-6 month mark, the bigger buggy is no longer needed for 95% of trips and you just buy a fold down stroller which fits in a saloon with plenty of space. The kid can hold his/her head easily by 5-6 months so there is little need for a huge buggy, we bought a small Joie stroller and the bigger one has been in the garage for the last 4 months unused.

We also only used the lie down carry cot thing once, the kid hated it and it took up half the car so that got jogged on quickly in favour of the normal buggy seat which laid virtually flat anyway.

As the kids get older, you need less space. The stroller stays in the boot all the time, as does the travel cot and we still have room for the weekly shop and the travel bag,

We bought the 330 vs the 320 due to the power difference, nothing more.

[pred02]

Thanks for advice. What I am really struggling with is finding one with professional Nav as I would really like to have ability to integrate Carplay.

[pred02]

One additional question. The car I am looking to get is 2nd hand with likely 50k or so miles on it. Is there a difference in reliability or maintenance cost for a 330e or 320d?

I would assume that Diesel is more reliable and easier to maintain?

Regarding used car warranty, does anyone have any good recommendations where to get one?

Thank you

[GOF_430d]

Just a thought and as you're living in London, if you choose the diesel route be prepared to pay higher parking charges than you would if you owned a petrol car.

Even though my car is Euro 6 compliant I pay a diesel surcharge when parking my car in many of the London boroughs.

[pred02]

I am really struggling to find any 3-series 2nd hand in my price range with Professional Nav. I want the Professional Nav because it has an upgrade path to Carplay.

I am now looking at X1 as well as 420d. The former, I believe also has an issue as they only come with Business Navigation and those are not upgradable to Carplay.

The professional nav is much more of a common option on the 4-series, which overlaps with 3-series price wise but I hear has reduced rear-room space compared to the 3-series.

What are people's opinions on the 4-series?

Thanks

[RickLS7]

I love mine but probably not a good idea if you routinely have more than 2 people in the car, the slow motor that propels the seat forward and back gets tiresome after a while.
The 435D is awesome, stupidly fast for a diesel and the X drive was worth every penny this morning in the snow.

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by pred02

I am really struggling to find any 3-series 2nd hand in my price range with Professional Nav. I want the Professional Nav because it has an upgrade path to Carplay.

I am now looking at X1 as well as 420d. The former, I believe also has an issue as they only come with Business Navigation and those are not upgradable to Carplay.

The professional nav is much more of a common option on the 4-series, which overlaps with 3-series price wise but I hear has reduced rear-room space compared to the 3-series.

What are people's opinions on the 4-series?

Thanks

This is a pretty awful time to be looking for a car. Prices for anything decent in the dealer network are probably 15-20% higher than a year ago and supply is very limited.

3 series or maybe a 4GC?

[pred02]

Sorry I meant 420d GT (4 door version) is what we are considering now. Yes I know the used car market isn't great, we got a bun in the oven so will need to cross the car buying bridge.

[DougMcL]

I'd buy a 330e if I lived in London. I used to live in Wanstead E11. The F series version has very low range, though probably enough for London if you charge every night. Have you thought about a base Mini Electric or an i3?

I had a G20 330e. Quick and superbly economical. Suburban and urban driving commutes in Belfast!

[pred02]

Thanks. Slight challenge is we live in a flat. There is a charger point across where we live now, we would need to move the car once its charged (after a couple of hours which is a pain). We don't know when and where we are going to move and if we will be able to run a cord from our house. My wife would love a 330e as her license is restricted to automatic, I was always partial with manual transmissions so a bit of tug of war.

[Ronstein]

Originally Posted by pred02

Sorry I meant 420d GT (4 door version) is what we are considering now. Yes I know the used car market isn't great, we got a bun in the oven so will need to cross the car buying bridge.

I think you mean 420d Gran Coupe.

[pred02]

Originally Posted by Ronstein

I think you mean 420d Gran Coupe.

Yup that is what I meant thank you

[BBri89]

Originally Posted by pred02

Thanks. Slight challenge is we live in a flat. There is a charger point across where we live now, we would need to move the car once its charged (after a couple of hours which is a pain). We don't know when and where we are going to move and if we will be able to run a cord from our house. My wife would love a 330e as her license is restricted to automatic, I was always partial with manual transmissions so a bit of tug of war.

Manual BMWs are not great. Not once you've driven a ZF8 auto.