3 or 5 Series?

sunshinetours

caleyles wrote: »

FYI I have an E46 320i and it is a 6 cylinder 2.2l engine so by your logic mine must be a "REAL" BMW I can only assume by your post you assume 320 s are all 4 cyl engines

Totally agree about the winter wheels and tyres as they make an incredible difference, certainly on the back roads up here with a few inches of snow they drive well.

My mistake i was referring to the 320d which I believe is not 6 cylinder but see that wasn't clear

My first two BMW's were a 316 and then a 318 coupe both 4 cylinders and both nice cars of their time but once you ahve had a 6/8 cylinder one you won't want to go back was my only point, and that especially includes the diesel.

As OP says going from an old Vectra to a under 4 year old BMW 3 or 5 of any size they will feel the difference

Lifes_Grand_Plan

MentalMinnie wrote: »

The reason behind wanting a touring is that we plan to start a family in the next couple of years, so we'll have all the usual that goes with kids, and we also have a dog, hence the boot. My husband also occasionally travels with his work as a welder fabricator so he can have a boot load of tools to car around. We're hoping to get at least 5-6 years out of the car. Thats minimum.

Does it have to be a big beemer then? If it does then fair enough, but if you only want to keep it 5 years, even if you had kids today then they would use it up to 5 years old.... so you could look at a Focus estate or even an Ibiza Estate... we have the later - not masses of leg room in the back but how much does a baby need? Boot is huge for what we need and it was <£10k and is economical.

Just a thought....

MentalMinnie

Lifes_Grand_Plan wrote: »

Does it have to be a big beemer then? If it does then fair enough, but if you only want to keep it 5 years, even if you had kids today then they would use it up to 5 years old.... so you could look at a Focus estate or even an Ibiza Estate... we have the later - not masses of leg room in the back but how much does a baby need? Boot is huge for what we need and it was <£10k and is economical.

Just a thought....

Yeah, we've decided that we want something high end, we've worked hard (or my husband has) and we settled on the car being a BMW.

YoungBusinessman

3 series would be my choice, if thats what you want, go for it, dont let an internet forum tell you otherwise...

rodenal

I'd probably have a 5 touring as the 3 is pretty tiny really - please drive a 6 cylinder petrol though, the x30d is still a good engine but there's more to break and hardly has world beating economy, you particularly don't want to be driving any modern diesel around town alot.....plus you really can't beat the driving experience of a BMW petrol 6 and they're capable of decent mpg.

Don't buy a BMW with a 4 cylinder engine, it's a complete waste of time! I'd also sooner have a late and very nice E46 or E39 than either an early E61 or E91 but it looks like you'll be buying an LCI car anyway.

Stetson452

You should buy 3 series. because 5 series is really ,more expensive than 3 series.

neilmcl

MentalMinnie wrote: »

Roughly how much? Any ideas?

I seem to remember it being around £300 when I had one fitted to my old E90 320d. It replaces the CD changer so you can only have one or the other.

A good resource for you would be the BMW forums such as bmwland.co.uk

MentalMinnie

Stetson452 wrote: »

You should buy 3 series. because 5 series is really ,more expensive than 3 series.

Riiiiiiiiight......

almillar

neilmcl seemed to make the mistake of going direct to BMW - DON'T!
If we're talking about an E46 3 Series for example, he's right, you get a connector (Autoleads, ask in Halfords) that goes where the CD changer connects or connected to, and the stereo thinks the iPod is a CD changer. You can skip through tracks, and I think each 'disk' is a playlist on the iPod. Steering wheel controls will work too. This will cost under £50, not £300 if you do it yourself.
Alternatively, change the standard stereo if you like. Then you buy whatever one you like (iPod compatible), an adaptor to blend into the dashboard, and even an adaptor for the steering wheel controls. Cables are a bit short and you might scare yourself taking your precious new car apart, but a few grazed hands and swear words later, you'll have much better sound and functionality.

neilmcl

almillar wrote: »

neilmcl seemed to make the mistake of going direct to BMW - DON'T!
If we're talking about an E46 3 Series for example, he's right, you get a connector (Autoleads, ask in Halfords) that goes where the CD changer connects or connected to, and the stereo thinks the iPod is a CD changer. You can skip through tracks, and I think each 'disk' is a playlist on the iPod. Steering wheel controls will work too. This will cost under £50, not £300 if you do it yourself.
Alternatively, change the standard stereo if you like. Then you buy whatever one you like (iPod compatible), an adaptor to blend into the dashboard, and even an adaptor for the steering wheel controls. Cables are a bit short and you might scare yourself taking your precious new car apart, but a few grazed hands and swear words later, you'll have much better sound and functionality.

No mistake made, I was simply referring to the OEM BMW Ipod connectivity for an E90. It's not just installing the hardware but it needs coding too, hence why BMW charge such a high fee.