Yuben said:
Before anyone asks me to search, I have and I have not found wat I'm looking for.
So I want to know from fellow or ex 330i drivers, how do u rate the car?
How is fuel consumption?
With the price of fuel, is it practical as a daily car?
What are major repairs to look out for?
Manual or Steptronic?
Does high mileage on these cars become a problem?
Any other importants viewpoints are welcome.
Thanks
I drive a 320i Steptronic with M54 motor and > 250K Km on the odo - very similar in many respects.
Here is a list of the repairs I have done, all at some stage after 170K Km (Besides obvious maintenance):
Fuel pump as a preventive repair (my E36 fuel pump failed and left me stranded). Easy DIY though fuel gauge has never been quite the same since regardless of all that is written about the topic and that I have tried, but it does work reliably, just different.....
PS Pump replacement - uncomfortable, but not too difficult DIY Parked the car with PS working, when I drove off 30 min later steering was like a tractor. Vibes in the steering wheel while idling is a tell tale sign of problems ahead.
Water pump - DIY as above
Window washer pump - easy (What is it with BMW and pumps ?) It just starts leaking on the garage floor...
Instrument cluster smoked me out of the car early this year, bought a used unit (R 800) with resultant tamper dot which I have not sorted yet, but at the price who cares. Dead easy DIY and it works otherwise (and I lost 110K Km on the ODO :smilebounce:
Now currently I am doing Valve cover gasket. From research it should be replaced every 160K Km or so. Mine was brittle as hard plastic when I removed it and it set off a domino effect of repairs. I posted earlier today about the scenario, perhaps you want to have a look as it mentions CCV which will be on the repair menu somewhere after 160K Km. This is a doable, but horrible DIY in my opinion.
I would advise against the Steptronic - great when new, but once they age they can cost an arm and several legs. I have even considered a manual conversion - but wasted on a car of this age. Clutch replacement is cheap by comparison and my experience of BMW's manual boxes is that they are strong. I had some "boffins" investigate a subtle vibration which developed at around 200K km at pull away. They decided it was torque converter which was then refurbished. Car came back with serious vibrations, went back, came back with much improved vibes, but still unacceptable. Then tried other boffins who redid prop shaft twice, vibes down some more, but still not solved to this day. R 20K later and the car has never been the same. I have my own theory on this matter and one day I will find a way to delve into the problem. I posted on this as well - one post indicates that problem may be sorted, but it's not. Just stay away from the auto.
All this may sound rough, but in reality the car costs little to run and is a great long distance cruiser. The 330 can only be much better.
