Since introducing the 330d in last month’s issue, Bob has asked that it be added to the Longtermers fleet. I’ve now owned the car for almost half a year, and looking back at my receipts there’s plenty to report!

Changing car is an expensive business for nearly everyone, and I’m more fussy than most, so there were a number of issues I was keen to tackle straight from the off. Top of that list was the droopy exhaust that’s standard issue on the older BMW diesels. So on the second evening of ownership, I took an angle grinder to leave two straight stumps exiting the back box. I trimmed and fitted the chrome exhaust covers from a 330i – nice and smart.

The car needed an Inspection 1, so later that week it visited BMW for just that, which cost £290. I was bemused to be told that despite the air filter not appearing in the Inspection 1 schedule, it needed replacing. Changing the air filter in an E36 M3 takes about 60 seconds and no tools – needless to say I was cursing my ‘new fangled tractor’ when the job took about half an hour with my socket set!

A weekend trip to the Lake District underlined the relative economy of the 330d compared to its predecessor (an E36 M3). Annoyingly though, I popped a front tyre in a pot hole while I was up there, which forced me to pay £130 for a rather average Dunlop. This episode caused me to have to use the space saver, something I never wish to repeat. I find it quite disappointing that my relatively new and expensive BMW doesn’t have a full size spare alloy (like my last three, older BMWs), but I’m reminded by those with run flats or M cars with cans of tyre goo that I’m in a preferable situation to theirs!

Not disheartened I decided to bond with the 330d by spending a day replacing its front discs, all its pads, changed the brake fluid and fitted some Powerflex front wishbone rear bushes. I emerged in a good mood with brakes that worked and a confident feel to the steering, but a niggle that the engine wasn’t as responsive as other 330d’s that I’d driven.

With the help of the magazine’s forum members I was introduced to B&W autos in Hounslow to have the engine checked over. The air mass meter was diagnosed as being faulty, and was duly replaced at a total cost of just over £300, leaving me with the throttle response I was expecting.

All this happened within the first three weeks of ownership, which meant that the car was proving rather expensive in the early stages! Matters weren’t set to improve, as the car was booked in on a 3,000 mile ten day jaunt to the Nürburgring via Aberdeenshire (as you do!). During the Scottish stage of the trip the 330d excelled itself carting three hikers around snowy lanes quickly, comfortably and efficiently. In Germany however I quickly managed to warp my relatively new brakes which put a bit of a dampener on an otherwise excellent trip. That said, the 330d is a far better ‘ring tool that you might expect, and I was able to keep up with some technically superior apparatus – much to their drivers’ dismay!

Back in the UK the now track experienced diesel estate car was pushed into more mundane service with a bit of commuting and weekend trips to DIY stores etc. I managed to bring home a new bathroom suite in one go, and take the old one to the dump in a single run – the M3 would’ve been as much use as the proverbial chocolate tea pot…

In May I turned my attention to the sound and vision. There’s a cassette deck behind the nav screen. The very concept of this appals me (even my father’s now coming around to the idea of CDs), but there’s not really much I can do about it without forking out a fortune on a new CD nav display, which would finish off my already battered finances. So I’ve chosen to ignore it (out of sight, out of mind etc). The 6 disc CD changer in the boot though, offended me almost as much, providing nothing like the musical repository that I’ve grown used to with MP3 readers. So I threw it out and have replaced it with a Dension Ice>Link (£115), and a second hand 20GB Generation IV iPod (£60).

While the Dension was a bit ropey, and a bit fiddly to install, once I’d returned the first example and fitted the slightly more reliable replacement, I was finished. When it worked (occasionally it bombed out back to the radio, and seem to interfere with the central locking…), the iPod is great – it’s like having your own private radio station. I even punish myself by adding awful songs to the list!

I also sourced an in-car DVD player for £43 on eBay. £6 on some pins from BMW to connect this to the car’s TV module’s AV input, and the job was done. So I can not only watch terrestrial telly, but also DVDs. Excellent for keeping passengers entertained on long journeys, or when I’m waiting for someone – and the DVD picture quality is superb.

Not having Harmon Kardon, I’ve not been best pleased with the audio quality inside the wagon. I ordered Harmon Kardon rear speaker baskets (£27 from BMW) and some cheap Blaupunkt 6x9s to replace the car’s manky rear speakers. While I had the trim out to do this, I fitted new rear shock top mounts (£29).

A friend made a custom sub enclosure, and I bought an amplifier to drive this and the new rear speakers. The result is most pleasing – a good, rich bass line and some acoustic clarity – without losing any load space.

With all this complete you’d be forgiven for thinking I’d finished messing around, but sadly the Dension Ice>Link decided that this wasn’t to be the case. The replacement unit had managed to work for 6 weeks before failing. Again I was sent a replacement – this time a newer model, but sadly this unit lasted around 15 minutes before it scared the life out of me:

The CD changer (or in this case, the Ice>Link) communicates with the rest of the car audio on some kind of general data bus. My latest Ice>Link apparently polluted this data bus, with the net effect that the unit switched back to radio, switched off the climate control and the head lamps, and wouldn’t permit the car to be unlocked or me to use the turn signals. In fact, all electrical systems except those pertaining to the engine ceased to function until I crawled into the boot and disconnected the Ice>Link. As you may imagine, I returned the unit for a full refund.

However, not being a quitter I’ve since invested in a “Connects2” unit which is an alternative iPod to BMW navigation interface. While it doesn’t have the play list or on-screen song title functionality that the Dension boasted, it does seem to play music from the iPod, allowing control from the steering wheel and head unit, without taking over the car’s electrical system. Which, I’m sure you’ll agree, is a bonus.

My brakes gradually lost the judder they acquired at the Nürburgring. This suggests that due to the heat, pad material got stuck to the disc causing them to appear warped, and this has since been removed through more conventional brake use. It has been suggested that my braking technique may require looking at, and while I’m inclined to agree, I also suspect that the ball joints are going in the front suspension, and that these could exaggerate the problem. I’ve bought new front discs anyway, along with some red stuff pads for track use, but I won’t fit those before changing the control arms. I’m not looking forward to the job, or the cost of the new control arms, so I’m going to put that job firmly on the back burner.

Finally, I’ve just replaced the rear Dunlop sports with some Nokian NRYs at a cost of £90 a corner. I had these tyres on the M3, and I concluded they provided good performance given their cost. Immediately after the change, I noticed the car was far less stable and the DSC light was making prolonged appearances even when I wasn’t driving like an idiot. Switching the DSC off actually improved stability a touch as nanny was essentially over-reacting, but in general the car was far more prone to oversteer than it should be. This situation has improved quickly as the car collected some miles on these new tyres, so it suggests that it takes a while for the tyres to bed in to suit the negative camber.