2003 318I

[langers1710]

hi everyone, i am new to this site. want to get a bmw, but not sure what to get?? i wanted economical so i thought 320d? but then read they have alot of faults?? so then saw a nice 318i petrol and it looks good but not sure what to look for ie faults? anynhelp would be appreciated!! jay

[Snypa-D]

Welcome to BMWOC :)

Im sure the guys will be along soon with the answers your lookin for :)

[Charlee]

I've got an 318, although a compact. I've got the 1.9 litre and she drinks fuel like there's no tomorrow :( I wouldn't advise it! Just my opinion..

[G4VHD]

Hi and welcome.

I have a 320d (for sale).

Not to many faults, just the biggy is swirl flaps, will cost a fortune if they go wrong but very cheap to fix.

The 320d is extremely economical, cheap to tax and fast enough.

[Enigma]

Hi Jay, Im new to the site as well so welcome :D

My previous car was a 2003 320d it was smooth, amazing on fuel and in the 4.5yrs I owned it I never had a single problem with it!

At the end of May I part ex'd my 320d for a 320d M sport ;) so the 320d cant be too shabby ;) its a lot quicker and more responsive than my last one and a slightly harder ride not surprising with the lower suspension, runflat 19inch wheels i guess, but Im loving it ! tax is cheaper than my last car £100 for the year, and insurnance is actually cheaper than my last car (even with this only being 2yrs old), so far the fuel economy seems about on par with my last one as well so overall maybe Im a little biased but the 320d isnt a bad car :D

[BigAl]

Welcome Jay, Depends on what sort of driving you are doing and how you drive, keeping tyre pressures correct etc, also what budget you have, good luck with finding your car

[langers1710]

to be honest i dont really drive too fast, just more kind of crusiing. i did want a 320d m sport but just read lots of reviews saying how bad the engine is with the swirl flaps, turbo faults and other bits so it put me off a bit?? i did see one i liked was a 53 plate, 72k fsh and in estoril blue which is the colour ireally want and it was up for sale at £5990 but its like 4 hours away so dont really want to drive that far as i mite not like it. but then i saw a 318 2 litre petrol with 42k, fsh black with leather interior one owner for £4990. i dont wana spend more than 6 grand. when u say it drinks the fuel, what mpg u getting?

[BigAl]

Hi Jay, things you also need to think about is what gives better residual value, when you want to sell at a later date, as for the swirl flaps, they sell cheap kits to overcome the problem without affecting the engine, I had a 316 Ti 1.6 (1800 cc) compact and got roughly 40 mpg, country and town driving.

I would buy a car with leather interior, and plenty of gadgets as normally will sell better and hold it's price better, sites like MOTOR and Parkers, will search for cars for you for free, good luck.

[Jas]

Hi Jay, Welcome to site! I would certainly reccomend a 320d with the main thing to be looking out for is swirl flaps but for some reason i'm seeing alot of 320d's with knackered rear wheel bearings so watch out for cars with limited service history.

As Gav's said, it's a great car in general - good all rounder!

I was going to get one myself, I was on the market for a nice cheap fuel efficient car... and ended up with my BMW 7-Series.

Go figure...

[langers1710]

ok thnx for the advice, really appreciate it as i dont really know much about bmw's. but i think im gona go for the 2 litre 318i petrol. im not to concerned about the mpg as dont do alot of miles but would should i be getting from the 318 2 litre petrol?

thanks again

[balamike]

ok thnx for the advice, really appreciate it as i dont really know much about bmw's. but i think im gona go for the 2 litre 318i petrol. im not to concerned about the mpg as dont do alot of miles but would should i be getting from the 318 2 litre petrol?

thanks again

I'm new too, and just bought a 2006 318i

If you look in adds on autotrader they usually give you the town, motorway and average mpg. Mine is supposed to average 37 mpg, but as I travel mostly on the motorway I'm hoping it'll do a bit better than that. We'll see!! I was advised that the crossover point is around 10 to 12 thousand a year to make diesel worth it, but that depends on all sorts of other things too. I switched to a BMW from a diesel passat as it was about to cost me a grand for a new turbo and my two favorite garages both recommended them as more reliable.

[kee1173]

welcome mate, as the above say really, but if want economy and power 330d