Joined the dark side.. my new 330d!

[imported_CurryMilkShake]

Picked it up on Wednesday..

Very pleased, just 45k miles on a 2000 motor, full history, BMW confirmed mileage/servicing and printed out all warranty and recall jobs as well, autodim mirrors, rain sensing wipers, parking sensors, headlight washers, cruise, m/f steering wheel, etc etc

first decent day, so a quick clay bar treatment to the bonnet as it was in need, and a coat of meguiars gold class.. will do a more detailed job when the weather improves (I live down a gravel track so its a beggar to keep the car shiny.. I try hard though!)

Already done: New MOT & tax, alloys refurbished, decent stereo / CH changer / amp and sub fitted

Still to come: Oil service (being booked in on Monday); fit the powerplus and silvervision bulbs (sat there waiting to go in), New front discs and pads (soon as i decide which ones to buy!) and the all-important remap.. oh and a new 'net' for the rear of the drivers seat, will have to source that..

Anyway, heres a link to some nice shiny pics of my new ride..

Click for pics!

Its quicker than the A4, but the fuel economy not quite as good.. Handling not so sharp as the A4 but the Ride quality much better.. Its a lot quieter, much less engine noise.. but the stereo was shocking and had to go! Drivers space feels more cramped than the audi, but not uncomfortable.. its a nice car, but at this point I still prefer the audi.. and the audi def. looks better! I'll wait and see how it feels after the remap!

All comments appreciated!

Ben

 

[mikeA2B]

Very nice car Ben, it was a toss up between the A4 2.5TDI or the 330d, but in the end it was the Quattro that swayed me, starting to admire the new 5 series now, especially after seeing this in the flesh:

would have to be the 535d for me tho!

 

[howatsi]

Just drove my mates 330d Sport Auto at the weekend and it knocks my A4 into cocked hat, superb performance (to be fair though you can't compare 204bhp with 130bhp) but just because it is a diesel it does not have to sound like a David Brown tractor when ticking over like my Audi does. BMW does make a better drivers car (imho), although it did cost £33k new compared to my Audi at £26k and then the inside is just not in the same league as Audi, suppose you pays yer money and..............p.s. also mine is better when it is wet/icy or several inches of snow. Better save up for the 3.0TDI quattro next time.

 

[imported_CurryMilkShake]

You know I mentioned the handling wasnt as good as the audi..

hee hee..

Had a busy saturday.. my 330d now has:
Black diamond grooved discs and pads:

new suspension bushes, and Eibach Pro-kit progressive wound springs, lowering the car by around 45mm..

Now looks like this:

and the handling is transformed! Steering is razor sharp, bodyroll gone, car feels new, tight, controlled and so confident - great fun! this is now a fabulous car.. not going to compare it to the audi now, because its not fair to compare modified with non-modified.. in standard trim the SE BMW wasnt a patch on the Sport Audi..! Its been serviced, new ICE, new suspension, new brakes.. all ready for that all-important remap now!!

Not even a sniff on the Audi yet, going to drop the price a little and see what happens..

 

[Hotscar]

Not sure if it's me but has the O/S/F wing of the Audi had paint?

 

[imported_CurryMilkShake]

Hotscar - nope! she's never had any paint, any bump whatsoever..

Only cosmetic attention has been an audi touch-up stick to some stone chips on the sills, and the drivers door got mildly keyed shortly after purchase (sickening!) but that was polished out, cant be seen at all.. shes lovely!

 

[Rev-head]

Nice car Ben...even though it is a BMW............looks good with suspension lowered /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ok.gif