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#3763558
Afternoon chaps,
Well, I finally parted with my EP3 after nearly 6yrs of ownership. The little CTR has been a pleasure to own and never let me down and actually drove better they day it went than the day I bought it, it was sad to see it go.

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This time around I'd decided I wanted some more refinement and having realising how solid my brother's new 120d felt after a quick drive, decided I really fancied a BMW. After lots of humming and harring, to cut a long story short I ended up buying a 2008 E92 320d in Metallic Sapphire with a shade over 60k on the clock. It has all the usual BMW sh-t such as Dakota leather, electric seats, bluetooth, xenons (angel eye DRLs), folding mirrors, etc. The one thing that swayed me to this one being that it has a BMW factory-fitted Power Kit which is essentially a bigger FMIC, uprated cooling fan and a modified ECU which together increases the power output slightly from 177 to 197bhp and 390nm torque, so it picks up pretty well. The chassis is very well balanced and the handling is superb - I still can't get it to slip even with DTC turned off. It has staggered 19" wheels running Bridgestone RE050 RFTs (Front 235/35 and Rear 255/30) and they provide an amazing amount of grip. Let's just say its the complete polar opposite of driving an EP3 but hopefully will be a worthy replacement...pics are crap but you get the jist.

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#3763565
Thanks guys, appreciate the comments [smilie=karls_thumb.gif]
Lewisgame wrote:Looks very nice.
Listen out for any unusual engine noises. If it's got the N47 engine it's got a huge issue with timing chains snapping. My mothers 2007 120d at 66k miles has just snapped.
Yea I knew they can have issues before buying it but I suppose anythings a gamble these days. I was originally wanting a 330i but found out the coilpacks/injectors are a common issue (and expensive to fix) so it made me a bit more open minded. The 330d E92s are still fetching another couple of grand on top and I didn't really want to be getting 30mpg from a diesel. My dad bought an E90 330d this week and it sounds nicer but guzzles fuel like a petrol! What noises should I be keeping an eye out for just out of interest? It just sounds diesely to me lol.
#3763592
It'll rattle more on tick over and light throttle. Doesn't seem as loud when you load it up.
Timing chains are at the back of the engine. To replace it's an engine out job.
BMW are only offering good will if you've got full BMW service history. My local BMW charge £140 per hour labour, you'd be mug to pay it.
#3763618
Lol @ 140/hr :lol:

Well I'll keep a close ear out for any suspect noises and hope for the best.
It sounds pretty quiet for a diesel tbh, not the usual clattery racket. Fingers crossed anyway!

Not sure I'll hang on to this one as long as the civic but it is a decent choice financially (if it doesn't decide to munch it's internals). The tax is £96/yr, will get up to 50mpg, about £100 less on insurance than the ctr, etc. It's just the initial outlay that stings if you want a good one. This is at 60800.miles at the min.
#3767782
Looks nice. Been put off the E92 after two of my friends have started having loads of niggly problems with them as they started getting older. One keeps having random ABS lights come on which isn't storing any faults, so by all accounts is a nightmare to source the problem, and the other keeps having power steering problems and an auto box which refused to get out of 2nd gear...
#3767877
Shappers wrote:One keeps having random ABS lights come on which isn't storing any faults, so by all accounts is a nightmare to source the problem,
Check the ABS pick up rings on the front. I've heard a few stories on BMW's that the rings distort slightly. Causes all sorts of issues with lights coming on and hesitation at high speed.
#3768891
Well, I've owned it for just about a month now and no problems to report. To be honest I don't think it's been driven particularly hard during it's life as it's still on it's original discs and pads although they do need doing in the next 800 miles. I'll probably stick some Pagids on as I had them on the EP3 and thought they were pretty good. To be honest its a pleasure to drive of the most part, very comfy and quiet, the sort of motor you could do a few hundred miles in and not really feel it. I'd feel physically drained sometimes after a long stint in the EP3. Gave her a little clean last weekend with it's two new siblings...

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The E92 has a seatbelt 'handover' feature which at first I thought was nothing more than a gimick for lazy old men but it is actually quite useful. The pillars are so far back behind the driver it'd be a bit awkward to get to the belts without it...

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"Your belt, sir"

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"Why thank you butler"

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"My pleasure, sir"

:-D

Long time ago I had and Ep3 for 220k kilometers in[…]