Recommendations

[CorkDefender]

i all,

Looking for some guidance on the following cars

Option A is BMW 3 Series 318 E46 2.0I SE TOURING 5DR
Very clean car, very nicely speced. with leather seats, TV and Sat nav
Mileage is 128K is its from a private seller cost is approx 4K
Tax 710 per annum

Option B is BMW 3 Series 320 M Sport Touring 5DR
Mileage is 101K fully serviced from a Dealer with a 3 month warranty
Cost is approx 3K
Tax 910 per annum



Insurance is approx the same for both cars

Whats the likely difference in MPG between both cars? The commute to work is 14 miles each way. (28 in total and mostly motorway.) No traffic lights or anything else.
Whats the difference between both in spec.? ie. what do you get fro the msport spec

The car will mainly used by me as commute / fun car, but will have to carry my 18 month daughter and all the stuff that goes with that from time to time.

Which car will the more expensive to maintain ?

I'm in Ireland and both cars have been imported from the UK and both check out well i.e no crashes etc, HPI clear

Just looking for guidance on which you think is the better car, which one to steer clear off? Pitfalls of either of these cars. The 320 Diesel Tourings in Ireland care commanding a massive premium which I cant justify. Petrol is more expensive here

Thank you for taking the time to read this

[Don B]

Links to the cars would be helpful for opinions etc
I presume the 320 is anE46 too? Most will say that the 320 engine is more reliable.

The 318 will return better mpg

[JohnH]

Hi,

Is it this

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/318-E46-/201413222765839/advert?channel=CARS

versus this
http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320-M-Sp/45313982622346390/advert?channel=CARS

I'd go for the 320. It'll be smoother than the 318 and I would guess slightly cheaper to maintain.

Msport gets you different bumpers, black headlining inside, nicer wheels, slightly firmer suspension but essentially they're both the same.
The TV in the 318 won't work anymore since the digital changeover.

At that sort of money I'd try to stretch to this if it stacks up (even though it's a 318)
http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/318-TOUR/38613911681090230/advert?channel=CARS

[CorkDefender]

Both are e46

Dont have the links handy
Will post later

Thanks

[Don B]

The 320 in that link is a pre facelift, must be late registered or something, unless the touring face lift lagged the saloon face lift?

[CorkDefender]

Hi lads

Thats the two cars
Not a fan of auto and the price seems very high
condsidering this one is for sale also

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/318-SE-T/60914053346341190/advert?channel=CARS

Seems like great value for money

Whats the mpg like on the 320 compared to the 318
Which would be more entertainingto drive ?

[Peter-E36]

I think most will say go for the 320 it will be more entertaining to drive, and the 6 cylinders can be surprisingly frugal on motorways, but if you put the foot down / slow traffic expect 25 mpg or so. I'd go for the 320 personally.

[CorkDefender]

Hi lads
PEr tank what kid of distance can I expect?

Thanks

Tadhg

[Don B]

Depends on the type of driving, motorway, urban etc

Out of the 320, it can be 300 miles or 450 miles depending

[E46Padge]

I had a 320i manual saloon recently it was averaging 31mpg. I have a 316i touring now same engine as the 318i just 1.8. It does 36mpg and it much better than the 320i. I do short suburban commutes.

Personally I think 4k is a bit rich for the 04 318i.