Going to look at a 2003 BMW 320d Estate. Its at a good price and has 1 previous owner.

Only thing is I have absolutely NO experience of beemers and have know idea what to look for. I know the front wings can rust quite badly but this one seems solid.

Any help will be greatly appreciated :)

Swirl Flaps.... they need to be removed..

Turbos.. do they whine...

Rear Subframe detaching it self from the car.. not really an issue on 320's

other than that great cars :)

Turbo sounded like a turbo should so thats fine and what are these swirl flaps? heard a few people mention them...

Rear subframe bushes go at fairly early milage, and cooling promblems, usualy the plastic sides of the radiator like to leak.

Like you have mentioned front wings tend to go, if you see any slight bubbling its probably going to be alot worse underneath the paint, my broher 318i had a few bubbles, a delivery van hit and and it was totaly rotten underneath!

A little more about swirl flaps here

http://www.bmwforums.info/general-guides-h...wirl-flaps.html

Other than that rear bushes & wishbones otherwise great cars

I don't know if its the same on all BMWs or just the M3 but BMW will do a gesture of good will repair on the subframe carrier if its cracked as long as the car is under 10 years old and unmodified. Some dealers want a FBMWSH others aren't so bothered.

Its probably more of a problem on an M3 as your more likely to drive it hard than a 320 Tourer. The only experiance I've had with them is years ago when my parents bought one new. Had it for about 4-5 years. Was a good car but as someone said the rear bushes and wishbones do go down hill pretty quickly.

Talking to a friend of mine who owns one, rear springs are common for going on them. Other than that h'e sno toruble execpt the normal stuff like wishbone bushes wearing but it has done 130k! Still going strong.

Heater can also stay on at night and drian the battery, just a risistor that fails iirc.

Propshaft --> Gearbox flex disc (Guibo) Have always been prone to wear on BMWs, not to sure if they resolved the problem on the E46, but watch out for a judder when first setting of and changing gear. Also jab the throttle when in 1st gear to test the Diff bushing and rear subframe bushes for any flex.

Good tip when buying BMW is let them idle when you are negotiating and buying, just to double check for leaks and the temperature creeping up.