2008 BMW 320D Touring Estate

[TerryIvybridge]

A very clean 37.5 k miles one has popped up local to me. Can this be seen as a good Tow car please? I have been looking for a while now for a 2.0 Se VW Golf Estate. The BM' seems? to tick all the box's, even a little shorter than the Golf. Are there any reliability issues with the BM'? Anyone on here has/had one and what is their experiences please? Terry.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Terry

My brother has the 330d version, but doesn't tow with it, so cant comment on that aspect. he has had problems with the front wheel alignment and the car has been back to the dealers on several occasions to try and sort it out. He currently is a bit peeved to only be getting about 7K miles on the fronts, and this is a rear wheel drive car.
I think this is just an issue with his car.

I was considering the 320D touring, but the boot volume and dimensions were not suitable fro my needs. I couldn't get my wife's wheelchair in in one piece, where as I could in my old Saab 93 and my current Passat estate.

 

[padmiester]

I tow with a 2009 BMW 320d Touring and have had no problems with it so far. I tow a Sprite Major with a mtplm of 1335kgs and you hardly know its there. It pulls well and is very stable at speed. The only minor issues are that due to the suspension being quite stiff on rougher roads the van does give you a bit of a rough ride and also the boot size is ok but not great (go for a 5 series if you need a larger boo) but you can get round that with a roof box. It has been very reliable is well built (still driving like new at 85K miles) but be aware that diesels made between 2007 and 2009 can suffer from timing chain failure (which BMW wont admit fault to) which can happen without warning and means a new engine costing around £3k!!! Despite this I find it a very capable tow car and would definitely recommend it.