E92 325i M Sport

[stevie99s]

Hi, I picked this up a couple of months ago now & after getting a few bits & pieces done thought it was about time I had some pictures up! I've made a new thread for this as I had a few others for past cars but for reference this has replaced a Mk1 Fabia vrs & Astra vxr amongst many others!

Due to a change in job (id done 30k miles in a year in the vrs) I now pretty much have no commute due to driving work vehicles. I've been doing the sensible buying house malarkey etc. so didn't want to spend a small fortune, lease deals were tempting but id hardly be using it so not worthwhile, so I set a budget of around £6k. Now at this end of the market there was high mileage 320D's & the odd petrol but they all looked like dogs, upping the budget slightly I came across a 3 owner example which looked promising, after a quick call I had arranged to travel to Birmingham to view. On arrival it was better than expected! bar a few stone chips it really is immaculate with not one scuff or scratch, full service history, 91k, new Pirelli run flats (will be getting changed) & although not a 330, it was the early N52 325 auto which I had wanted as its regarded as more reliable. the seller was great and selling on behalf of a family member struggling with the practicalities of the coupe so a deal was done.

It was a 2007 model which was completely standard (sorry don't have pics) but I've since made a few small subtle changes, I've had the alloys refurbed in anthracite, Angel eyes changed to white LED's, peeling steering wheel wrapped & a complete service, full alignment, diff oil, etc. etc. & probably a few other bits I've forgot as I'm planning on keeping it for at least a couple of years as I cant see me losing a fortune on it.

Spec wise its not amazing as its not got Idrive but I'm not really fussed about that tbh, its got the standard xenons, electric alacantra sports seats (which look a lot better in the flesh), auto wipers, lights, professional HU, auto dim mirror, Light pack, etc.

I'm planning on giving it a bit of a detail over the summer as well as sorting the hubs, Callipers etc. as there looking a tad rusty. Its a great all rounder & with a few road trips planned it should suit well, its my first auto and in DS mode you can make good progress however I find it holds onto the gears a tad too long although sometimes I secretly wish it was a manual with that smooth 6 pot

Its also just passed its MOT with no advisories, although ever since having the alloys refurbed its had a slight vibration in the steering wheel & under braking so will have to investigate that.

Anyway a few (crap camera & really filthy) pictures for now......
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Edited by stevie99s on Thursday 19th January 12:40

[stevie99s]

BlueHave said:

Really like the sweeping line on the coupe. One thing I would probably change would be the dash fascia as I've seen them changed from walnut to black/silver on a 6 series and it really transformed the cabin.

Yeah, it's one of the first things I wanted to change when I seen it advertised tbh, it really doesn't photograph very well and is infact a grey blue colour instead or a brown which doesn't look too bad , in time I may change it. ☺

[stevie99s]

Emeye said:

E90post is your friend. A fantastic forum with loads of great, helpful guys. Many from the US but there is a UK section.

I've just recently sold my E92 325i SE after 2 years - one of my favourite cars I have owned, and I've had a lot.

It's pretty easy to change the interior for a leather one - I did mine.

I also fits a double din head unit and a sub. It transformed the sound and gave me satnav, but is a pretty big job and you need a connects2 kit to integrate with the steering wheel controls and reverse sensors. I have the full kit which I need to flog.

Things to watch out for are abs related - if the abs pump fails, Bmw will want an arm and a leg, but your unit can be refurbished by ECUtesting for a lot less. Reluctor rings can fail on the rear, once again BMW will want one million dollar and to replace everything. A normal garage can just clean up he driveshafts and replace the rings for not too many pennies.

I've had a browse of E90 and will certainly sign up. Cheers, it does seem like a helpful forum. I have a friend with an e92 with leather and tbh I don't miss it, would I be right in thinking mine has the Base audio as I have no tweeters? But pro headunit.

Tbh coming from a vauxhall I was quite impressed with the standard audio however everyone mentions it being terrible, I'm pretty sure I have speakers under the seats?

I've heard how the abs pump is all one unit, hopefully mine will hold up!

[stevie99s]

Thanks for all the comments chaps, ill certainly keep an eye out for some tweeters if there just plug and play sounds good. Slightly jealous of the 335, looks great but a friend had nothing but trouble with his n54 I think? I'm sure his was just a Friday afternoon car but part of the reason this appealed was the n52. However coming from turbos I'm learning to work it

[stevie99s]

Bit of an update as I've done a few more miles in the beemer, although not without a few hiccups, still really enjoying it, the drive train is soo smooth compared to the diesels I usually drive for work but now for the hiccups. Still trying to get to the bottom of a steering wheel shimmy, looks like it could be wishbones which will be the next item to rule out. Its also had a replacement eccentric camshaft sensor this weekend which was a pig of a job! (although I cant take the credit for doing it but it looked bad!). Also finally managed to give it a wash today so a few more pictures.

[stevie99s]

[stevie99s]

[stevie99s]

[stevie99s]

Muppet32 said:

Steering wheel shimmy could be lumps of paint/powder coat on the mating surface of the wheels when you had them refurbed. This wouldn't show up on a wheel balancing machine.

Scrape the mating surfaces and see if it improves things

Hi, thanks for the advice, much appreciated! The mating surfaces have already been cleaned, this did seem to improve it slightly, wheels have also been balanced and a full alignment done, I have a detailed separate thread in the bmw section. Cheers

[stevie99s]

A bit of an update, I finally seem to have got to the bottom of the steering wheel vibration and brake judder . I had the front discs skimmed as they were quite recent which sorted the juddering but didn't affect the shimmy, I then replaced both upper and lower control arms with trw items which thankfully eliminated about 95% of the vibration......I'm rest assured I'm just being picky and anal by a couple of people that's driven it and can't feel anything. I had the alignment done again after they were installed and it now drives brilliantly again.

I'm not using it much at the moment unfortunately but had a trip to the borders yesterday and got a few pics whilst having a pit stop. Plans next are to wear these runflats down and get some non runflats fitted all round that should improve the ride hopefully. I've only done a few thousand since it was serviced but I've always been quite anal with oil changes and ECP had an offer on so got a few bits ready for another change shortly, will probably do 5k changes as it's soo cheap and I'm planning on keeping her.

Anyway a few pics from yesterday....

Edited by stevie99s on Monday 3rd October 12:00

[stevie99s]

[stevie99s]

[stevie99s]

[stevie99s]

I've just managed to go through it's history in detail and was pleasantly surprised that obviously no expense has been spared and it's clearly been looked after. Amongst the many receipts including well over £1k for some runflats! Ouch! It's had the common dsc unit replaced and looking at the history in more detail it's never gone over 15k without an oil change.......still too long tho.

Plans next are possibly some spacers on the rear but I'm worried that they may scrub which has put me off?

I'm also wanting to do something about the gearbox oil as it's coming up to 96k, even just a drain and fill, any ideas?

Cheers

[stevie99s]

toon10 said:

Nice car and quite subtle with the badge deletion. I had the manual E90 325 for 4 years and absolutely loved it although the E92 is better looking.

Thanks, the badge was a factory deletion as I found on the build sheet by the vin number, I have actually bought one then decided to keep it off

[stevie99s]

Bit of an update, I've since done a few other bits like 12mm rear spacers which complete the rear a bit and replaced a Vanos Solenoid. Unfortunately due to using it once a week if that and unfortunately my girlfriend can't get insured on it it's now up for sale. (Not sure if I'm allowed to mention that mods/shameless plug )

Edited by stevie99s on Thursday 19th January 12:43

Edited by stevie99s on Thursday 19th January 12:45