320d or 330i

[Marcel83]

hi fella's.

long winded but I need your input please.

so I was in the market for a white e90 330i - sportpack with satnav.

financial situation changed slightly, and will be saving the cash to hopefully put down a deposit on a house in the next 3 yrs.

so I will finance or do a personal loan - budget is R150K

I want the 330i because to me it is a passionate / purist machine - I want car im proud of and "drives me" if you know what I mean.

i'm likely to find myself with a new job next month leaving our household with disposable income of about R10k , most months more depending on the wife's commission. we are willing to use R5k on repayments.

I have Astra Coupe Turbo which will sell for +- R60 000 but I wont put that as a deposit, instead using it as a slush fund service new vehicle straight away, and keep R10k aside for maintenance of the new car.

The remaining money will be kept aside as money for a rainy day/emergencies - atleast in a 30day account to avoid it being spent.

the reason I don't want to put the money as a deposit is that I feel we can afford the monthly instalments, and should we have an emergency or need to spend some money on freak repair / maintenance the money is there, while if I used it as a deposit my instalment would come down R1000.00 but we don't have disposable income to take care of whatever life throws at us.

The beemer would do a max of about 1000km per month so wont se any excessive travelling, and while I owned multiple bikes I have outgrown the "hooliganism" in me so the beemer wont se any abuse, looking for a solid, comfortable, safe, cruising ride I can enjoy so she will ALWAYS be treated with respect.

Now that you know the financials , I was wondering if I should consider a 320d, as I could get away with less than R150 000 for a decent e90 example....but the thing is my turbo cars have kicked me in the balls SO many times, it's just more parts that needs to be maintained and waiting to fail....

and like I said, the 330(in my mind) is a purist car and sounds pure sex.

to close it off - im relatively set on buying BMW , with all thing considered would you advise me to do so, and which model would you advise?

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also, we get solid bonus's each year - if that adds anything to the overall decision.

we don't have any other loans / clothing accounts, debt...we pay our DSTV and that's about the only "account" we have.

we have a 1yr old as well.

 

[Lizzard]

Hi Marcel,

I tell you from my experience.

I had that same problem (car select wise) a year ago where I wanted to buy an upgrade to my E46 330i and was stuck between the E90 320d and 330i (pre-lci, price range R130k) as I love the power band of the 330i's and can give some hiding when needed and still drive it slow, and where the 320d has the torque that is needed in the low rpm's to pull anything and still be light on fuel, economy saver.

I ended up with buying the 330i because of the power band and the fact that I didn't need to worry about additional parts breaking (the turbo and its components) as well as the fact that the price difference wasn't that much different between them. I have the satnav version and in the beginning didn't play a role in choosing the car but now, I am sooooooooo glad I got it as it make a heck of a difference in the car's interior looks for me (and practicality). That gps saved me a lot of times when I get lost and my phone battery died, select home and I am on my way :rollsmile:

You will need to pick what you want from the car, do you want fuel saver and have like 16km per liter and have a little kick now and then when driving in the 1800 - 4000rpm power band or do you want a screamer when needed, something that you can hammer when you want and still drive it slowly when you need to. And have a 10km per liter average. Since you drive so little I would go for the 330i satnav one and leave the 320d, but then that is me :rollsmile:

My friend bought the 320d a few months later and I had the opportunity of driving it a few times, it has the same kick when you pull away (feels that way) but that short gears and the oemf and then it is gone shortness is killing it for me. Happy I choose mine

Good luck in the purchase and let us know the decision you take and why (would be interesting to see how we differ in the decision)

 

[tman]

Just my 2c.

If you want to save substantially on interest over the course of your bond, consider the following:

1. You mentioned that you will either get a personal loan, or finance. Be careful to consider the interest rates of personal loans vs vehicle finance. Personal loans tend to have very high interest rates, you will effectively bankrupt yourself.

2. You also mentioned that you wont take the R60 000 to put down as a deposit, but rather keep it for a slush fund for possible repairs? If I were you I would try to maximize the deposit, because it will reduce the financed amount. This will mean less interest, and a smaller monthly repayments. Instead of paying R5000 towards a car you might pay R3500. This can significantly improve your day to day cash flow. If you do your homework properly (and buy a car with service history and up to date maintenance), you not going to need R60 000 for a slush fund in anyway.

 

[Marcel83]

as always, excellent comment Lizzard. thank you.
thus far i'm 90% leaning towards the 330i , and the satnav is almost non negotiable for the exact reasons you mentioned. :ty:

Thank you TMan - the logic behind the "slush fund" is that it's not only kept for the car, but for life in general, you never know what might happen.

My fear is, if I need a R10 000 repair and I dropped a big deposit, I would effectively have to save for a few months to get the money, leaving me without a car...

maybe I should compromise between the 2 and do a +- R30 000 deposit? that is rougly R1200 saving in repayments per month.

I wont buy a BMW without fsh, 1st prize would be if somebody from the forum could come look at the car with me as im a 1st time BMW owner and wont know what to look for.

thanks for the advise on the loan options - noted!

 

[tman]

maybe I should compromise between the 2 and do a +- R30 000 deposit? that is rougly R1200 saving in repayments per month.

There you go! If your financial situation improves in the future you can even consider pumping in an additional R1200 into your loan. This will greatly reduce your interest, and you will pay off your car quicker. Have a look at this calculator for an illustration: https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/extra-payment-calculator

 

[Marcel83]

:coolShake:

 

[Zound]

Where are you located?

If you're up here in Gauteng, definitely the 320D. The naturally aspirated cars just struggle so much with the thinner air.

If you're at the coast, the 330i is a decent choice.

However I still believe the 320D is the best performance:Cost ratio of the two.

The 320D puts out 350N.m and at very low RPM. Its usable power from the get-go whereas the 330i needs to be wound up to the red line.

I own an E46 330i and it is my pride and joy, I am a NA fan and I absolutely love my car but its fairly easy to understand that its not the smarter option even over an e46 320D.

 

[Yuben]

To the OP, i moved ur thread to the 3 series Fanatics section for a better response.

If you doing just 1000km a month, go for the 330i. The last peace of raw NA 6 cylinder power from Bmw.

The 320d makes sense in terms of economy and you can make lazy, decent power with mods that will definitely trump the 330i. But in terms of maintenance I'm not sure how heavy a turbo diesel can be.

At altitude the 330i does suffer compared to the 320d but if at the coast the playing field in even.

From driving an E46 330i at altitude, it always struggles against turbo cars but nothing beats the sweet symphony of the 6 cylinder burble:chef:

 

[Marcel83]

up aaaaaall the way in jozi.

what you say makes sense, but im into the 330i for the purist of the car , and I have always bought with my heart and not my head....it gotten me into tons of sh!t but when I wasn't in sh!t I was grinning from ear to ear.

the 320d is still in with a shout , depending on what available on the market when i'm buying. it needs to be kitted though, which few of the 320d's are in the spec that I want.

only mods i'll do to the car is add the carbon splitters/mirrors ,boot spoiler , carbon dip the rims and give it a slight drop - she will be a good looking cruiser :rollsmile:

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this is what is BURNED into my mind - , THIIIIIS is the look what I want, in pre-facelift form though (budget)

 

[firaz]

Hi there,

I drove 2 e46 330i's for a long while and upgraded to an e90 320d. They very different cars, but both equally good. For the purist the diesel will never satisfy you. Why not test drive both? The only way in my opinion.
I gave the 320d to my wife and satisfy my craving with a 135i.
Very difficult choice you have.
Easily put if you thinking with your brain I'd say 320d and with your heart the 330i.

Sent from my HTC One mini 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Marcel83]

got a point - a test drive will be the only way...

i'd die of irony if the d impresses me more! :skit: lol

 

[Yuben]

Good luck :coolShake:

 

[Spannie]

Have you considered a 330d?

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Depends what you need out of the car both are good cruisers. :coolShake:
Good luck!

 

[Marcel83]

well the 320d offers the same amount of torque as the 330i, which is about as much as I need , anything more is just going to murder tyres...

Apart from the grunt I cant see that it would offer (me) much more than the 320d...or how mistaken am I?

what the 330d WILL have is better spec than the 320d as most people who could afford the 330d could also afford higher specs as the 320d was more "entry level" to BMW...

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but again, I would kinda prefer non turbo - just because of maintenance...at some point turbo's will be replaced, boost pipes can leak, actuators fail so im looking for something straight forward and reliable...

and the sound of the 330i is worth a fap or 2. :rollsmile:

 

[Lizzard]

Yep, I know that sound problem :rollsmile:

Zoom zoom here from 4000rpm and then that NA comes alive, pure engine sound and no asma pump trying to catch a 2nd breath

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But honestly if the Turbo wasn't a concern the 330d would murder both of them in a heart beat :blueCry:

 

[individj]

buy an e46 330i with the R60k & finance a R60k little runaround for the commute. From a financial point of view that would be the better choice. Seeing that you have a young fam & want to purchase a home.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Personally I would use the R60k and buy a cash car. Then buy a house. The banks are very fussy about finance these days, and too often you see someone having to sell a car to buy property. Get into property, the car can always come again.

 

[Marcel83]

can only buy problems with R60k.

got my Coupe for R55k and its cost me about R15k sofar.

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a e46 is getting on in years, buying one will come with high mileage and anyway cost me few grand in maintenance or preventative maintenance.

wife's fiat is also giving fair share of problems, although less than my coupe - at this stage we need a decent family car more than we need to buy property.

 

[individj]

i dissagree