Which one do you vote for? I know 320d is more fun to drive because it has the low end torque, but I'm more concern on the regular maintenance, would it cost higher to service the car? Is it reliable to use our Euro 2M diesel?

save ur brain, don use diesel, malaysia diesel is leaded, but they never tell u. that's why u see those drive hilux one no brain( from the way they park their car).

I think the F30 320d is using modern turbo charged diesel, let's concentrate on the modern engine with our diesel 2M instead....

If you can stand the noise of the engine from outside then go with the diesel. The N47 diesel engines so far hasn't had any issues. Within our group we have those with the E90 320d which has >100,000km mileage on them and no major issues. Normal maintenance is per standard using 5W-30 or 5W-40 engine oil. Don't need to change sparkplugs and generally, diesel engines last quite long. The difference with Euro 2M and now Euro 5M can be seen here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_emission_standards). Mostly sulphur content.

Benefits of diesel versus petrol, you get good fuel consumption and most of the guys in our group when driving pure highway drives, they can achieve >1000km mileage on a single tank. Last one hitting 1134km. On average you get around 700-800km in pure city traffic jam driving.

The downside to diesel is that it has low RPM and usually runs out of breath at higher speeds. If you are the type that prefers to drive normally with the little bit of excitement in terms of spirited acceleration, then the diesel would be good. Otherwise the 320i would be just as good.

Actually to be honest I can't stand the noise when out of the car but inside the car doesn't really listen much. Not sure after the warranty period, would there be sufficient workshops out there that know how to service a turbo diesel car?

Yes, I'm not really into high speed driving.. somemore nowadays got lots of speed traps.. I'm more into normal driving but sometimes itchy also can switch to sport too... So you mean can use the regular 5W40 engine oil that we normally use to service petrol car? Also, what is the interval between maintenance period? Is it the same 10k interval ?

This post has been edited by echoesian: Sep 15 2013, 12:29 AM

The diesel clatter noise is very minimal when you're in the cabin so no worries. Plenty of BMW specialised workshops who knows how to service so no worries. Plus, what Mavik highlighted is true, diesel engines are more bulletproof anyway.

Under BMW BSRI, all SCs will be using Petronas or Castrol 5W-30 Fully Syn. While some 3rd party workshops are using 5W-40. Both are acceptable & are similar to engine oils used for petrol cars. Service intervals under BSRI is now set at 15k km but most of the owners are doing mid service intervals at every 7-8k km outside SC, which doesn't void the warranty. Per oil change with 5.2L of engine oil, oil filter & labor should be around RM350.

Is it true that the diesel engine need to be serviced regularly compare to the petrol version? So, for diesel, it needs to be serviced at 7-8k interval while the 320i can be serviced at the 12-15k?

well it's the same for petrol vehicles also, i usually do minor oil change in mid points
if u only service the car when it reaches the milestone,
i wouldn't think it'll last very long in our weather

Anything with a turbo charger best service 7-8k KM. the turbo is oiled by the same oil in the engine. Engine oil dont last very long and i really despise those that recommend service at 15k. In UK or european country, the weather is seasonal and most of the time is not as hot as malaysia.

Oil degrade faster with heat and having said that, best to service any car minimum 10k ( and if turbo, every 7-8k)

328i !

If you can't stand the noise, best to not go for it. Sometimes I do ask myself that same question. Go with your heart and not what the rest thinks.

Actually it is really up to you, most of the time people can normally service it every 10,000km but I know people who service after every 5,000km

Drain a bit of the engine oil, if it looks like "Kopi Susu" then better change even if 5,000km only. If the oil look like "Kopi O Kau" pity your engine. But if look like "TehO Kosong" or "Nescafe Si", then you are still OK for another 5,000km. Simple yet effective.

This post has been edited by E34E36E46: Sep 15 2013, 03:16 PM

Thanks for the tips bro. Yeah that is a good analogy to put it.

Anyway my personal opinion on choosing the 320d is due to its fuel economy however personally I do not drive a lot, for a longer term, based on my calculation the savings from the fuel does not more than the price difference between the 320i and 320d. If someone drive a lot, I think it would make more sense.

Diesel are for those who clock plenty of mileage and those who love high torque at low RPM.

This post has been edited by E34E36E46: Sep 15 2013, 06:26 PM

Hi, for the mid service intervals, owner have to bear all the services charges? Where can do this mid inetrval service without void the warranty? BMW SC?

You can choose to service at SC or any 3rd party workshops. Just be sure that the 3rd party workshops uses the original oil filter to ensure warranty is still intact.

3rd party workshop service cost should be much cheaper as compared to service in SC.

Any suggestion of good 3rd party workshop around Kepong area?

If you are looking at FC alone (for someone who clocks low milleage) then yes the difference in purchase price might not be attractive. But if you are considering the overall package ie. fun to drive with tons of torque in low RPM and huge difference in handling (only the 320d has the M-Sports package while the 320i is on comfort package) then obviously the 320d is the better choice.

Join the F30 "Rusted Jackets" group in BMWClubMalaysia then you will get to understand the car better.

This post has been edited by teikwing: Sep 15 2013, 06:44 PM

Not sure about Kepong but plenty of reliable and famous ones in PJ, Jalan Ipoh and Pandan Indah area.

Got one big prob with diesel, which it will runaway, usually occurs when the engine is really worn out...
But i not sure this will happen to new modern diesel or not... Last time i read on other forum, there a guy with his common rail mitsubishi diesel runaway on highway... that a 1:18 compression engine if not mistaken

What runaway you're referring to? There are local 320d cars that have clocked over 150k km without any issue apart from replacement of oil sump nut. Go figure.

What causes runaway is for example, a failed turbo seal on the intake side cause the engine oil to leak ... therefore the oil get sucked into the engine via intake stream... Since diesel are heat ignited engine, therefore the oil get suck from the engine will continue to combust... continue to do so until the engine blow itself up because of lubrication starvation...

Wow... this is scary... but I guess this is more of a QC issue.. perhaps 1 in a million units would be the lemon one.

seriously, how many units got this problem ?