E90 330d - what to look out for, what is normal?

[Sabretooth tiger]

330D's are very strong and reliable, you also don't need to rev a diesel high, it makes its power from lower down, and you cannot really compare rev ranges between petrol and diesel.

At the coast 330i and 330d will be close, every where else 330D FTW, chipped you can run with 335i. Just look at how well Mr Abree's 330D performs, and does it flawlessly.

 

[PhoenixGG]

You should definitely get a 330D. But I agree, wait for something with more extras and in my humble opinion, you can have just as much fun with the new auto's as with a manual.

 

[///Shaun]

i went through this specific situation about 4 months ago. 330d vs 330i.. in short.. 1. People tend to believe the 330d is faster - its not true.. youtube stock 330i vs 330d they are the same the one cant get past the other one. 2. The diesel might be more fuel eff..BUT if you take maintenance into consideration your running cost per KM is more expensive 3. I hate the sound of a diesel not able to ref above 4800rpm, i love the sound of a 3.0L six, 4. the clutch on the 330d more likely to go bcause of the massive torque.. maybe you want a change of scenery .. try it.. i'm a petrol head. LOVE MY 330i!!

I will totally disagree !!!

330d with remap is a monster and no 330i coast or altitude will keep with it.

Diesels sound great with a downpipe , can easily be mistaken for a 335i

PS: 330d is compared with 335i and not 330i ( google it my friend)

:thumbs:

 

[Philip Foglar]

Good diesel hunting Philip. I should have waited a while longer and bought one. The slipping clutch is concerning. If you buy to save fuel, you might as well get a 320d. Not as potent, but a real fuelsaver. If you are replacing the 330i, you might be dissapointed with the 320d and go for the 330d instead.

Test drive both.

There is nothing wrong with the 320d's, but I would go 330d personally! The 330i is a fantastic car and I enjoy driving it immensely, but it does not like pottering around in traffic, especially when it comes to fuel usage, so the 330d makes sense from that point of view.

I had a look at an Exclusive 330d manual a few months back and was not too impressed with it in terms of the manual gearbox - engine seemed rough on that particular car, but this other one seemed a lot nicer by comparison and worked very nicely with the manual gearbox.

So will keep hunting for one, and not in any particular hurry! :thumbs:

Hi Philip

I had 2 x E46 330i's, an E46 330d Ind, a 2007 E90 330i (A), 2008 E90 330d (A) pre-LCi and now a 2009 E90 330i (A), so I have more than enough experience with both diesel and petrol.

Let me tell you this, it's one hell of a difficult decision to make to choose between a 330d and 330i, especially with you being at the cost.

First off, the "chirping" sound is fairly common on the diesels. My E46 as well as E90 330d's had that sound. They could never rectify the problem, PAarlberg BMW also said they were trying to fix a similar noise on a 530d at the time which they also couldn't fix.

The 330d is an awesome machine, especially in auto, my E46 was manual and the E90 auto. Look for an auto, it's perfect for the car. I sold my E90 330d M-Sport about amonth ago with 126k km on it, car was absolutely spotless, I had it from 90k km and in the almost 40k km I had it it was faultless and an absolute joy to drive. I had my E46 330d Ind from 66k km to 153k km, also not a single day's problem.

I'm back on the petrol wagon now and enjoying the car very much, love the sound of the 6 silinder. Main reason for going back to petrol is the soundtrack and added peace of mind with not having to worry about turbo failures and injectors. 330d's have a great history of being very reliable, but my 330d's milage was starting to get high for the year model and I drive quite a lot. That's another thing, if you go diesel route try and find a low milage one with m/plan still on it. It's a fact that diesels out of m/plan is very difficult to sell and unfortunately you get nothing for them. My 330d was 2008 M-sport, Alpine white, s/r, 18" rims, fully services, 2 new tyres and the best I could get on a trade-in was R160k. That's rediculous if you think that trade is R211k and retail about R240k iirc.

Sold it eventually privately for R195k, but it took quite a while. So yes, try and find a bargain and don't pay too much otherwise you'll loose a lot of money at the end of the day.

HAppy car hunting!!

Awesome, thanks!! I suspected that the chirp noise is something fairly common but not 'life threatening' for the car. Not in any hurry, so will just keep an eye out for one that has all the things that I want. :thumbs:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

i went through this specific situation about 4 months ago. 330d vs 330i.. in short.. 1. People tend to believe the 330d is faster - its not true.. youtube stock 330i vs 330d they are the same the one cant get past the other one. 2. The diesel might be more fuel eff..BUT if you take maintenance into consideration your running cost per KM is more expensive 3. I hate the sound of a diesel not able to ref above 4800rpm, i love the sound of a 3.0L six, 4. the clutch on the 330d more likely to go bcause of the massive torque.. maybe you want a change of scenery .. try it.. i'm a petrol head. LOVE MY 330i!!

I will totally disagree !!!

330d with remap is a monster and no 330i coast or altitude will keep with it.

Diesels sound great with a downpipe , can easily be mistaken for a 335i

PS: 330d is compared with 335i and not 330i ( google it my friend)

:thumbs:

+1

 

[///Shaun]

i went through this specific situation about 4 months ago. 330d vs 330i.. in short.. 1. People tend to believe the 330d is faster - its not true.. youtube stock 330i vs 330d they are the same the one cant get past the other one. 2. The diesel might be more fuel eff..BUT if you take maintenance into consideration your running cost per KM is more expensive 3. I hate the sound of a diesel not able to ref above 4800rpm, i love the sound of a 3.0L six, 4. the clutch on the 330d more likely to go bcause of the massive torque.. maybe you want a change of scenery .. try it.. i'm a petrol head. LOVE MY 330i!!

I will totally disagree !!!

330d with remap is a monster and no 330i coast or altitude will keep with it.

Diesels sound great with a downpipe , can easily be mistaken for a 335i

PS: 330d is compared with 335i and not 330i ( google it my friend)

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2009/07/16/470107.html

:thumbs:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

wonder if we can compare the 320i to the 320D :tease:

 

[NavZ]

i went through this specific situation about 4 months ago. 330d vs 330i.. in short.. 1. People tend to believe the 330d is faster - its not true.. youtube stock 330i vs 330d they are the same the one cant get past the other one. 2. The diesel might be more fuel eff..BUT if you take maintenance into consideration your running cost per KM is more expensive 3. I hate the sound of a diesel not able to ref above 4800rpm, i love the sound of a 3.0L six, 4. the clutch on the 330d more likely to go bcause of the massive torque.. maybe you want a change of scenery .. try it.. i'm a petrol head. LOVE MY 330i!!

From what I read, the 330d is easier to drive 'fast' while the 330i needs to be driven properly. That's why so many people think the 330d is faster. Maybe they aren't redlining the 330i? Now that's a wonderful sound :inlove:
A modded 330d on the other hand... Now that thing is a beast :thumbs:

 

[Philip Foglar]

i went through this specific situation about 4 months ago. 330d vs 330i.. in short.. 1. People tend to believe the 330d is faster - its not true.. youtube stock 330i vs 330d they are the same the one cant get past the other one. 2. The diesel might be more fuel eff..BUT if you take maintenance into consideration your running cost per KM is more expensive 3. I hate the sound of a diesel not able to ref above 4800rpm, i love the sound of a 3.0L six, 4. the clutch on the 330d more likely to go bcause of the massive torque.. maybe you want a change of scenery .. try it.. i'm a petrol head. LOVE MY 330i!!

From what I read, the 330d is easier to drive 'fast' while the 330i needs to be driven properly. That's why so many people think the 330d is faster. Maybe they aren't redlining the 330i? Now that's a wonderful sound :inlove:
A modded 330d on the other hand... Now that thing is a beast :thumbs:

Well more to do with diesels have all of their performance potential from low to mid revs whereas a petrol needs to be revved - so put them side by side and let them drive normally, then the diesel will feel and perform slightly better than the petrol. But, make use of the revs and use the gearbox then it is a very different situation! At least this is how I have always seen it with diesels and petrols based on their individual characteristics...

 

[///M_Diesel]

Try and get the LCI 330d... the 330i is no match u will run lots of bigger cars...

But in general get the 330d with the Auto box...

U will miss the petrol 6 cyc tone thou...

---

the 330i will be a little faster then the pre LCI 330d...

Add weight to the 330i n see...

 

[Arbee]

the 330i will be a little faster then the pre LCI 330d...

Add weight to the 330i n see...

330i will be faster, no doubt, from bauser to bauser! :biglol:

Just kidding... I have no idea what will be faster.

OP - Getting a diesel requires a little more responsibility. Letting the turbo warm up and cool down, regular oil changes and maintenance just adds more value to them. But, they are such pleasing to drive, they have the go when you need, the cruise when you need to, consumption is amazing. I find them to be more of, and if i could put this lightly, an all round vehicle.

My own experience - I currently average on 9l/100km urban driving. This is using stop and go back roads and pretty much driving under 100km/h. On the open road, for argument sake, setting the CC on 160km/h on a 600km drive and i can average under 7l/100km. (My stock figures where slightly higher)

With Stage 2 Xcede and Xcede 76mm DP, last dyno figures are sitting on 192wkw and 626wnm. I ran a 215km on the 1km at ODI.

Basically, my point is, its a car for all types. Need to lug the family around, load up and drive to CT if you must. Need to satisfy your thrill for speed, strap on a helmet and head down to a racetrack and belt it.

Just make sure you look after it...

With that said, and again, im talking from experience. Do the same mods on a N/A 330i for example and you not get half the thrill you would out of the D, or any FI car for that matter.

Hope i made some sense!

---

Oh, one more thing... I would suggest Auto gearbox. Its just so much easier to drive and the fun factor is even better. And, you cant miss a gear in a TLGP!!! :biglol:

 

[///M_Diesel]

Oh, one more thing... I would suggest Auto gearbox. Its just so much easier to drive and the fun factor is even better. And, you cant miss a gear in a TLGP!!! :biglol:

:bravo::roflol::roflol:

:biglol::roflol:

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

So ive been reading all the posts, and all i hear is good :thumbs:

So if im looking at a 330d 2006 auto with +-130000km on is there any thing in specific that i need to look at - major services etc? These motors can prob handle much more km if you just look after the car like Mr_Arbee said with the turbo warm up and cool down and so on....

How is service costs on the 330d?

Btw sorry for the thread hijack.

 

[70007]

So ive been reading all the posts, and all i hear is good :thumbs:

So if im looking at a 330d 2006 auto with +-130000km on is there any thing in specific that i need to look at - major services etc? These motors can prob handle much more km if you just look after the car like Mr_Arbee said with the turbo warm up and cool down and so on....

How is service costs on the 330d?

Btw sorry for the thread hijack.

I sold my 2008 330d about a month ago with 126k km on. I did 2 services out of m/plan, the one was R1500 and the other one R1000. Also had break pads and sensors replaced on all 4 wheel for R1600. This was at an independant mecchi, not BMW. My previous E46 330d I had serviced at BMW twice, even that was normally R1200 - R1500. So yes, normal services ain't that expensive.

 

[Arbee]

So ive been reading all the posts, and all i hear is good :thumbs:

So if im looking at a 330d 2006 auto with +-130000km on is there any thing in specific that i need to look at - major services etc? These motors can prob handle much more km if you just look after the car like Mr_Arbee said with the turbo warm up and cool down and so on....

How is service costs on the 330d?

Btw sorry for the thread hijack.

Hey,

When i bought mine, it had 138 000km on the clock, its an 07 model, i added the top of the range Warranty with it so for major damage, i will be covered. Maintenance wise, i have spent less than 5k so far. Its been to BMW for a major service, which is basically Oil and all filters which costed just over 3k and i did an oil and oil filter change recently. I do an oil change every 7-8k km and a major service every 15-20k km.

So, in just about a year, i spent less than 5k on maintenance. It is due for discs and pads all around, which is could cost anything from 8-14k. 14k being at BMW.

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

So ive been reading all the posts, and all i hear is good :thumbs:

So if im looking at a 330d 2006 auto with +-130000km on is there any thing in specific that i need to look at - major services etc? These motors can prob handle much more km if you just look after the car like Mr_Arbee said with the turbo warm up and cool down and so on....

How is service costs on the 330d?

Btw sorry for the thread hijack.

Hey,

When i bought mine, it had 138 000km on the clock, its an 07 model, i added the top of the range Warranty with it so for major damage, i will be covered. Maintenance wise, i have spent less than 5k so far. Its been to BMW for a major service, which is basically Oil and all filters which costed just over 3k and i did an oil and oil filter change recently. I do an oil change every 7-8k km and a major service every 15-20k km.

So, in just about a year, i spent less than 5k on maintenance. It is due for discs and pads all around, which is could cost anything from 8-14k. 14k being at BMW.

Thanx for the reply Mr_Arbee, your car looks awesome raise:

So there is nothing wrong when buying a 330d auto with 128000km on the clock, ill be going this week to have a look at the car. Does Bmw also have a big service on some service interval like with audi and vw the 120000km is the big one where they change cambelt and waterpump etc?

 

[Arbee]

So ive been reading all the posts, and all i hear is good :thumbs:

So if im looking at a 330d 2006 auto with +-130000km on is there any thing in specific that i need to look at - major services etc? These motors can prob handle much more km if you just look after the car like Mr_Arbee said with the turbo warm up and cool down and so on....

How is service costs on the 330d?

Btw sorry for the thread hijack.

Hey,

When i bought mine, it had 138 000km on the clock, its an 07 model, i added the top of the range Warranty with it so for major damage, i will be covered. Maintenance wise, i have spent less than 5k so far. Its been to BMW for a major service, which is basically Oil and all filters which costed just over 3k and i did an oil and oil filter change recently. I do an oil change every 7-8k km and a major service every 15-20k km.

So, in just about a year, i spent less than 5k on maintenance. It is due for discs and pads all around, which is could cost anything from 8-14k. 14k being at BMW.

Thanx for the reply Mr_Arbee, your car looks awesome raise:

So there is nothing wrong when buying a 330d auto with 128000km on the clock, ill be going this week to have a look at the car. Does Bmw also have a big service on some service interval like with audi and vw the 120000km is the big one where they change cambelt and waterpump etc?

Yes, just check the service History. Get VIN number and call the dealer it was serviced at regularly. Im sure any BMW dealer will be able to pick up the history. BMW replaces parts as they break while in Mplan so things like waterpump and so on will get changed at anytime. Not necessarily at certain mileage.

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

Yes, just check the service History. Get VIN number and call the dealer it was serviced at regularly. Im sure any BMW dealer will be able to pick up the history. BMW replaces parts as they break while in Mplan so things like waterpump and so on will get changed at anytime. Not necessarily at certain mileage.

Thats sound scary lol, well ill do as you say, will take the VIN and call bmw and ask them for the history. So then im hoping the bigger parts has been changed all ready. Next to it stands a 2008 320d (97000km) so will be looking at both. Will keep you guys posted. :ty:

 

[Arbee]

Yes, just check the service History. Get VIN number and call the dealer it was serviced at regularly. Im sure any BMW dealer will be able to pick up the history. BMW replaces parts as they break while in Mplan so things like waterpump and so on will get changed at anytime. Not necessarily at certain mileage.

Thats sound scary lol, well ill do as you say, will take the VIN and call bmw and ask them for the history. So then im hoping the bigger parts has been changed all ready. Next to it stands a 2008 320d (97000km) so will be looking at both. Will keep you guys posted. :ty:

Sweet bud, if you need any help just PM me.

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

So i had i chance to take a look at the 2006 330d auto with 128k on the clock, its in perfect condition no smoke when car is starded, also took it for a test drive its a nice smooth ride... When driving it has a loudish rumble? Probalbly normal.

Its full house everything I want in a car. So gave BMW a call with the VIN number lady told me the car was there for its normal services under maintenance plan (Oil change and brakes) and nothing big like turbo was changed under the maintenance - so thats good? Bmw only replced the aircon pipes as it was leaking @ 97000km

So they wana give me 65k for the polo, need to see if I can let it go quick at private sale, as i still owe a it on the car ...

Really want and need the 330d in my life :roflol: