E30 Zone

A friend is going to look at an E46 320D from 2000 and I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on what to look out for, or if to avoid altogether. It has all the toys but also has about 220,000 miles on it. I'm guessing this thing will be a bit of a slug?

220k for a diseasel is nothing mate, the turbos are prone for breaking tho

sold my 1994 e36 325tds saloon to my mate at 223k - still going strong 3 years on at 240k. Bear in mind that was a 36!! the 46 should do even better if its been looked after - serviced etc.

To be fair, the e46 320d engine isn't going to set the world alight when it comes to performance, but they are a pretty good engine. they have enough guts to still make it a nice motorway cruiser and you don't have to worry about changing down for swift lane changes and overtakes and has plenty low down for trundling around town in a low gear.

Much better than the audi/merc 2.0l diesel's of the same age IMO

I've heard they're a time bomb waiting to happen, turbos disintegrating, destroying intercooler and engine in one fell swoop. The 6 cylinder diesels are a much better bet. I know it's dearer but a replacement engine is quite an expensive problem!

My mate bought a 320d and its not a bad car. Nice motorway cruiser and not bad performance as what already has been said. The only problem he had was an oil leak that was traced to the oil filler cap not *quite* sealing - one new cap later = sorted!

When he was looking into getting a derv e46, he did mention though that turbos tend to have a lifespan of about 100k miles on them - but i dont know how true that is.

Thanks for the replies. The one we are looking at is fully loaded and up for 5000 euros. This seems suspiciously cheap to me. I thought even the earliest E46 touring still commanded a good price?

All turbos on a normal cars have a lifespan of about 80-100k miles so dont know why people are saying its no good?
The sport isnt bad with the 6 speed manual, fairly reliable and ok on fuel.
Hope hes not going for that model on speed alone as astra, focus, megane etc diesels would piss all over it. But none of them are as nice a drive.

As long as you avoid the later 150 bhp one, they're okay. The original 136 bhp 320d is alright. I had one when they were new and it was okay on fuel (around 45 mpg) and it was acceptable performance wise but not a rocket ship. Keep the oil changed and replaced the crankcase breather on the cam cover and it should be alright.
With those miles you need to be paying not much more than £1000-1500.

The Audi 1.9TDi is another decent reliable old diesel - the A6 Avant is a useful old horse.