First time BMW help

AsianSpaceman

New member
Hey everyone,

So, my first time posting on the forum. And I'm hopefully pulling the trigger soon to get my first BMW :D

So I've been pretty conflicted between getting petrol vs diesel, 1 series vs 3 series and everything else that could make me confused, but reason for this post is, I found a 2016 320d with 60,000 km. What I would like to find out is are there any problem I should know about when this car gets to around that 100-120k km point? Or anything to be aware of in general, as i do plan on keeping the car for some time. It's going to be a daily driving 40-50km a day.

Any other feedback would be greatly appreciated too!

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JodyD

///Member
320D are amazing cars , maintain them with regular oil service when needed and they will look after you for years to come

Stay away from 320i not worth it at all
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
JodyD said:
320D are amazing cars , maintain them with regular oil service when needed and they will look after you for years to come

Stay away from 320i not worth it at all
Thanks for the really quick reply

Cool so that gives me more confidence. The 1 I'm looking at is an auto (not sports auto gearbox). How is the power delivery on them? I mean yeah its diesel, it's not a super fast car, but if I do need that extra oomph to overtake or maybe just give myself a little smile, can it do that?

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Schalk94

Active member
320d is the one to go for. Those motors have proven to be one of the most reliable turbo motors in the BMW stable.

Crank dampening pulleys tend to fail on these at about 150k km ,so it should be replaced at this stage more or less,but you shouldn't have any other major problems with the 320d if it is serviced and maintained properly.


AsianSpaceman said:
JodyD said:
320D are amazing cars , maintain them with regular oil service when needed and they will look after you for years to come

Stay away from 320i not worth it at all
Thanks for the really quick reply

Cool so that gives me more confidence. The 1 I'm looking at is an auto (not sports auto gearbox). How is the power delivery on them? I mean yeah its diesel, it's not a super fast car, but if I do need that extra oomph to overtake or maybe just give myself a little smile, can it do that?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

The 8speed zf box is phenomenal and I would not even think of getting it in manual guise,the 320d with the auto box is a really good match. These cars run really well and tend to keep a lot of "bigger cars" quite busy with torque delivery and traffic light grandprix.
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
schalk320d said:
320d is the one to go for. Those motors have proven to be one of the most reliable turbo motors in the BMW stable.

Crank dampening pulleys tend to fail on these at about 150k km ,so it should be replaced at this stage more or less,but you shouldn't have any other major problems with the 320d if it is serviced and maintained properly.


AsianSpaceman said:
JodyD said:
320D are amazing cars , maintain them with regular oil service when needed and they will look after you for years to come

Stay away from 320i not worth it at all
Thanks for the really quick reply

Cool so that gives me more confidence. The 1 I'm looking at is an auto (not sports auto gearbox). How is the power delivery on them? I mean yeah its diesel, it's not a super fast car, but if I do need that extra oomph to overtake or maybe just give myself a little smile, can it do that?

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

The 8speed zf box is phenomenal and I would not even think of getting it in manual guise,the 320d with the auto box is a really good match. These cars run really well and tend to keep a lot of "bigger cars" quite busy with torque delivery and traffic light grandprix.

Thanks for the info, just these 2 answers from you guys really helped me feel a lot more confident in buying a 2nd hand BMW with 60k on the clock. I'll be going out to have a proper look at the car soon and if I decide to pull the trigger on that 1 I'll update here and let you guys know.

So far I've just been making sure the cars I looked at have a sunroof and the M sport steering wheel coz, well, M sport steering wheel lol.
 

SubLoaded

Resident Derailer
Staff member
Get it. Very underrated motor.

Got into a 520d recently. Great and the motor does well in the big body as well.

It's now stage 2 and you'd never say it's a baby engine. The torque is loads of fun :cartel:
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
Sorry for this, I know I posted in the 3 fanatics section, but given that I've got this new found confidence with the 320d, what's your views on the 120d also 2016 year model? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but dont they use the same motor? I've seen that I can get a 120d for the same price with lower km. Just trying to get a full understand before making a definitive choice.
 

KPM3_30

Moderator
Staff member
As you move up the pecking order of the series platforms (1 --> 3 --> 5), you will find that the 'standard' spec increases as you move higher up. What is standard on your 3 series, may be optional on the 1 series.. The engines offer the same output in 99% of the cases.

3 series are usually the sweet spot between price, space and spec levels, as the are the more popular sellers.. Bear in mind that the new 1 series will launch soon and that will affect the current model's prices, which is currently what is happening to the F30.

If you don't need the space of the 3, the 1 is a pretty great looking hatch. Just make sure you look through the spec levels properly.. My personal bias, the F30 in Msport guise just has so much of damn presence :blowheart:
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
KPM_330 said:
As you move up the pecking order of the series platforms (1 --> 3 --> 5), you will find that the 'standard' spec increases as you move higher up. What is standard on your 3 series, may be optional on the 1 series.. The engines offer the same output in 99% of the cases.

3 series are usually the sweet spot between price, space and spec levels, as the are the more popular sellers.. Bear in mind that the new 1 series will launch soon and that will affect the current model's prices, which is currently what is happening to the F30.

If you don't need the space of the 3, the 1 is a pretty great looking hatch. Just make sure you look through the spec levels properly.. My personal bias, the F30 in Msport guise just has so much of damn presence :blowheart:
What does the M Sport package actually include? And is it possible for the car to have the M Sport steering wheel without the full M sport package? Because up until now, I've just made sure to be looking for the steering wheel and sunroof.
 

KPM3_30

Moderator
Staff member
AsianSpaceman said:
What does the M Sport package actually include? And is it possible for the car to have the M Sport steering wheel without the full M sport package? Because up until now, I've just made sure to be looking for the steering wheel and sunroof.

It's the full package... Bumpers, wheels, seats, steering, black hood/roof lining, etc and most importantly, what you can't really see unless you look at the front bumper clearance, the sports suspension... Sunroof is independent of the model trim line (Modern, Luxury, Sport & Motorsport).

It is possible but only if the previous owner changed wheels over, due to preference.. If ground clearance isn't a consideration, Msport wins every time.
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
KPM_330 said:
AsianSpaceman said:
What does the M Sport package actually include? And is it possible for the car to have the M Sport steering wheel without the full M sport package? Because up until now, I've just made sure to be looking for the steering wheel and sunroof.

It's the full package... Bumpers, wheels, seats, steering, black hood/roof lining, etc and most importantly, what you can't really see unless you look at the front bumper clearance, the sports suspension... Sunroof is independent of the model trim line (Modern, Luxury, Sport & Motorsport).

It is possible but only if the previous owner changed wheels over, due to preference.. If ground clearance isn't a consideration, Msport wins every time.

Thanks. I just got off the phone with the dealership and he confirmed it's just the steering wheel and not the M sport package. Looks like I need to do some more hunting as I completely forgot you get the M suspension. I get that I could probably do some aftermarket springs or coil overs to get it lower but I would much prefer the M suspension.
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
So after some more research, and feedback from the previous comments, I found a 2015 320d with the M Sport package, a bit more km but a bit cheaper too. My concern comes from knowing that the 2015 320d has the n47 motor, which I've read had timing chain issues that could potentially lead to a pretty expensive fix. True? Getting an M Sport is preferable coz it takes away from the car looking "family" orientated lol.

It's basically boiled down to the 2015 320d M sport n47 with potential timing chain issue and probably only 1 service left before the MP runs out, or..

2016 320d n47 non M sport (although it has the steering wheel at least hehe)

Thoughts ?
 

KPM3_30

Moderator
Staff member
You will be fine with the 2015 model.

Diesels post 2011 are relatively reliable, the timing chain issue affected earlier models and even then, reported cases aren't many in ZA. I looked for an E90 with the N47T engine which is said to have revised parts.

The changeover to the B47 happened in 2015, with the LCI iirc. Either way, you're pretty good to way past 200k mileage.. The later model turbo diesels have proven to be a lot more reliable than their equivalent turbo petrol counterparts.
 

AsianSpaceman

New member
Hey guys!

So, sorry to be even more annoying :sorry: but I have sat down, looked at the options and got the following:

Option 1: 2016 320d with 60 000km. Its got a sunroof, LED headlights (No LED foglights) and an M Sport steering wheel (Only the s/wheel, not the M Sport package). so a pretty basic 320d with 40 000km left on the MP and ends in June 2021. Price R340,000 straight incl. all on the road costs.

Option 2: 2015 320d with 90 000km. This is a pretty kitted car with M Sport package, sports auto transmission, sunroof, rear camera, extended light package, Adaptive LED headlights, LED Foglights, Professional navigation system (whatever that is), Hi-Fi loudspeaker system (agent said this is the upgraded sound system) and instrument cluster with extended contents. Price R325,000 (No negotiation done yet).

So my dilemma, going for a car that has 2 years and 40 000km left on the MP or a car thats basically done with its MP, about to hit that 100 000km mark, but has all the options i would want.

Any and all feedback is welcome/needed to help me not pull my hair out. THANKS!:ty:
 
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