applehero
///Member
Well, I am in the process of buying a new car. I have been wanting to do this for such a long time ( Car thread 1 Car Thread 2 ), except the conditions werent right to allow this. But now... Being in the UK and working full time, and my current car on its way out, I thought it time for a change. What I would like from you guys is to comment on the cars I test. I really havent been on many test drives in the past.
I am still not 100% set, but by a process of elimination, I think an e46 330i (coupe or sedan) will be the best option. This has been decided using the following reasoning:
1) Needs to be at least 6 cylinders (love the sound of a straight 6 and V8)
2) Needs to be manual - I want to feel involved in the driving
3) Needs to be relatively cheap to maintain (Sadly excluding M cars - at least for the short term)
4)Should have the potential to be modified into a track car at some point
5) Preferably not tubo charged, but definitely petrol powered.
They are pretty much in order of importance, perhaps 3) should be higher though. By this logic, my criteria eliminates a few cars. So realistically this leaves:
130i, 330i, 540i, 545i, 550i, 650i. (That list looks smaller than I thought). The 5 series are very limited in terms of numbers - because I want a manual. But there are a few 6 series with manual floating around.
As part of this process I need to test drive a number of cars...
I test drove my first car today. It was really cheap, but knew it was a good one to start with as alot would be wrong with it.
So here goes...
1) 330i (Link here)
2001 Model, 125000 Miles (+- 200 000kms), silver, £1990 (R30 000), 5 Speed M/T.
The pictures are quite deceiving. There is actually alot of curbing, and there is rust on all the wheel arches.
The car drives ok, not great though. It seems to pull the left while coasting and the right when braking. There is slight judder on pull away (felt through the clutch pedal - is this perhaps a dual mass flywheel?). There may be play in the shifting mechanism as it struggles a bit to get into reverse. Clutch may be slipping, because I was expecting abit more in terms of acceleration. The right front wheel is wearing on the inside - which is ok, but why not the left too? Airbag light was ON! Looks like the water pump has been repaired cheaply. Light blue compound around the valve cover seal - perhaps gasket sealer? The car was serviced 6 times - roughly every 20 000 miles - originally by main dealers then some random places. Cruise control works, as do the other functions I checked. Although I did find this:
I have read about it, but never seen it. Can't remember off the top of my head how this happens, but has something to do with the rear electronics.
From the mechanical side, I heard a noise from the engine - but unsure if its normal (input would be appreciated).
I am a little deflated after the drive. I knew it wouldnt be awesome, but was expecting a bit more feeding from the car. Did like the sound though. Didnt manage to open her up too much.
Comments welcome.
I am still not 100% set, but by a process of elimination, I think an e46 330i (coupe or sedan) will be the best option. This has been decided using the following reasoning:
1) Needs to be at least 6 cylinders (love the sound of a straight 6 and V8)
2) Needs to be manual - I want to feel involved in the driving
3) Needs to be relatively cheap to maintain (Sadly excluding M cars - at least for the short term)
4)Should have the potential to be modified into a track car at some point
5) Preferably not tubo charged, but definitely petrol powered.
They are pretty much in order of importance, perhaps 3) should be higher though. By this logic, my criteria eliminates a few cars. So realistically this leaves:
130i, 330i, 540i, 545i, 550i, 650i. (That list looks smaller than I thought). The 5 series are very limited in terms of numbers - because I want a manual. But there are a few 6 series with manual floating around.
As part of this process I need to test drive a number of cars...
I test drove my first car today. It was really cheap, but knew it was a good one to start with as alot would be wrong with it.
So here goes...
1) 330i (Link here)
2001 Model, 125000 Miles (+- 200 000kms), silver, £1990 (R30 000), 5 Speed M/T.
The pictures are quite deceiving. There is actually alot of curbing, and there is rust on all the wheel arches.
The car drives ok, not great though. It seems to pull the left while coasting and the right when braking. There is slight judder on pull away (felt through the clutch pedal - is this perhaps a dual mass flywheel?). There may be play in the shifting mechanism as it struggles a bit to get into reverse. Clutch may be slipping, because I was expecting abit more in terms of acceleration. The right front wheel is wearing on the inside - which is ok, but why not the left too? Airbag light was ON! Looks like the water pump has been repaired cheaply. Light blue compound around the valve cover seal - perhaps gasket sealer? The car was serviced 6 times - roughly every 20 000 miles - originally by main dealers then some random places. Cruise control works, as do the other functions I checked. Although I did find this:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/58265397" width="500" height="375" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="
">Radio</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user16080600">Apple Hero</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
I have read about it, but never seen it. Can't remember off the top of my head how this happens, but has something to do with the rear electronics.
From the mechanical side, I heard a noise from the engine - but unsure if its normal (input would be appreciated).
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/58265396" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="
">UnderBonnet1</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user16080600">Apple Hero</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
I am a little deflated after the drive. I knew it wouldnt be awesome, but was expecting a bit more feeding from the car. Did like the sound though. Didnt manage to open her up too much.
Comments welcome.
