New car - advice

Nothing says, "i've got a brain" more than a 3 series. Its the best small executive saloon by a considerable mile and it has been for a long time. If you choose an inferior car to show you have imagination that probably shows something else as well.

So a 3 series is the best car you can possibly buy is it?
Right...

Well, I've owned a 3 series coupe and it wasn't exactly anything special.

Ignore 1.0 petrol cheap Hyundai or Corsa misery boxes you'll have no fun driving anything like that and its going to end up costing you more in fuel if you ever want to travel at anything over 60mph or you want to overtake etc. . . Also ignore the 1.9tdi engines in VAG group cars in favour of the 2.0 tdi, the extra power makes a big difference and the economy doesn't work out much different then when you come to re-sell you'll find it much easier to pass on. The 1.9 engine is ancient by now.

Yes, the 2.0 is more powerful, refined, and modern, but the 1.9 is considerably more reliable.

Problems with oil pumps, injectors, turbos, DPFs, clutches, dual mass flywheels, egr valves etc. Not stuff you want to be forking out for - it isn't cheap!

By no means, but it depends what your priorities are and for this poster, I think it is yes. Me and my mates have had a few, and i've had 3 E46 M3's (which are VERY special) and whilst the 318d is nowhere near as good as a porsche 911, Z4, Type R etc . . it is miles better than 1.3 corsa, ford mondeo, accord, VW Bluemotion etc which is being suggested as the competition. What would your suggestion be?

By no means, but it depends what your priorities are and for this poster, I think it is yes. Me and my mates have had a few, and i've had 3 E46 M3's (which are VERY special) and whilst the 318d is nowhere near as good as a porsche 911, Z4, Type R etc . . it is miles better than 1.3 corsa, ford mondeo, accord, VW Bluemotion etc which is being suggested as the competition. What would your suggestion be?

Sorry for butting in but gotta disagree with that one. I'll apologise now for being stereotypical but when I see BMW drivers it spings into my mind that they're the cut you up d***head, never indicate and think they own the road. Fair enough you have a nice car, doesn't justify you to be a ****. Also apart from the badge, I don't see how a 318d is any better or special than lets say a Passat CC, Vauxhall Vectra/Insignia VXR, Ford Mondeo Titanium X or a Honda Accord Type S. All within the price range for the poster, very nicely built and is fairly fast whilst probably cheaper to maintain, as I heard BMW parts and service checks are VERY expensive. <-Correct me if I'm wrong.

I can just see my post being negged, I know they're BMW drivers out there that aren't like that. But its the majority that give a bad name.

It is true that BMW drivers have that image, its also true that a lot entirely deserve it. The TLC pack with BMW is a good deal, but other than that the main dealers do rip you off something nasty. The OP wanted economy, I could easily have recommended a BMW M3 on an 03/04 which far and away beats all the cars you've mentioned for how good it is to drive, but your not likely to get more than 30mpg and its the same with the Insignia VXR Type R etc. . . The BMW uses rear wheel drive, has an excellent chassis and has very direct steering which makes it far better to drive whilst still being more economical than any of its competitors equivalent engines. Also even trade your not gonna get an Insignia VXR for under 10k even if it was the mother of all dodgy cars, a cat b.

A lot of cars that folk hype up aren't what they're cracked up to be. I used to own an E46 coupe and whilst it was "ok" I wouldn't call it fantastic. They've all got crap seats for starters.
I've also owned two 911's - an '81 SC Coupe and a 996 C2 again - neither lived up to the hype.
Mind you, I've had more cars in the last year than most people will have in a lifetime...

Wait my bad, It was a SRi with "VXR pack" haha that I saw for 10k. Besides RWD isn't all that good in snow is it? Beside I don't see how you could get a decent 3 series for 10k, unless its done alot of miles or fairly old.

Ha, I've had a mini cooper S as well...
Another overrated disappointment. Can you say "torquesteer"? Never mind it's got the turning circle of a yachet, sod all rear visability and the power steering motor howls when it's doing nothing and shrieks when you ask it to do something.

I've given up on modern cars all together now. Far too complicated for their own good and too many numpty aids. The newest thing I've got on the drive at the moment was built in '75 and the oldest in '56.

If its economy you're after get a Polo Bluemotion. The claimed figures are a bit far fetched but if you drive it normally you should get 45-50 mpg.

There costly in reality, one of my old driving instructor's friend had one(another driving instructor) who after certain amount of mileage has to pay for some new thing, some sort of filtering component which makes it efficient, which costs quite a bit.

Interesting, a mates dad had one and had the same problem. A common fault?

I think you have to replace the filter after a few thousand miles or so, which is very costly especially if your a driving instructor :/

A lot of cars that folk hype up aren't what they're cracked up to be. I used to own an E46 coupe and whilst it was "ok" I wouldn't call it fantastic. They've all got crap seats for starters.

The Hyundai i10 is a 1 litre and due to its very small CO2 emmissions, it is exempt from road tax... also Hyundai are offering 5 year manufacturers warranty compared to the conventional 3 year warranty offered by every other manufacturer