Searching for E90 325i buying guide

[edwardleong85]

Dear all sifus,

First of all i want to wish you all a very happy chinese new year, hou sai lei ahhh

Im looking to change my existing 10yrs old myvi with budget around 80k to mark my first foray into conti car ownership *shy*

Shortlisted 2012 VW Passat as well as Peugeot 508 but these 2 gave me the horror after sales service story, Merc C-Class and A4 are quite dated designs which to my surprised left me with E90 323, 325 and 320d which is around 2006-2010. 320i is out of the story since the price diff between this and 325 is less than 6k.

But then seeing that all these sexy rides clock up to 100k km millage and being close to 10 years car i am very worry about the replacement cost i know bmw is made to last but still sorry for being a very noobie here, hope all the sifus can help me with my questions below:-

1. 06' 325i and 08' 325 is difference by close to 20k (60k vs 80k) may i know what is the major difference between these 2? other than no i-drive and no paddle shift

2. Is i-drive really important or is it something i can live without if i go for the 06' version

3. What are the things to look out for when looking through these potential candidates?

4. What are the major wear and tear for 325i after clocking more than 120k

5. How do i ask the car dealer to allow me to send the car for inspection if i am interested?

6. Since the 320d have been around for a few years, will the diesel may affect the engine sound like lorry, and if i get one start feeding it only euro4/5 diesel, will it improve or take care the engine better compare to the euro 2m diesel back then?

7. Last but not least 130hp 350nm torque turbodiesel vs 160hp 250nm torque straight-6

 

[Herbert]

edward,

Take a look at this e90 320d. It is very well maintained by our member and I am sure he would be glad to provide you with answers to your above queries.


http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/newforums/index.php?/topic/39815-wts-2010-bmw-320d-alpineweiss/#entry739401

 

[Nailofar]

Go for E90 320d bro and drive with Euro5 diesel.

 

[edwardleong85]

haha so far all are encouraging me to go for 320d... i found 2 main variant on carlist... i-drive and non i-drive.. which one to go

 

[Nailofar]

Better get year 2011 model with idrive. Year 2010 without idrive also a good buy depend on ur budget.

 

[edwardleong85]

Better get year 2011 model with idrive. Year 2010 without idrive also a good buy depend on ur budget.

i know but then my budget is around 85k sobs sobs

 

[JoyClub]

I have owned 2009 320D (without iDrive) and 2011 320D (with iDrive)...spend a bit more and get the iDrive version, more hp, more torque, little bit quieter than the one without iDrive. I have just sold my 2011 320D for just a tad more than your current budget. For this you get a newer car (by maybe 2 years) for a little bit more money. Well worth it.