E90 BMW 330 M Sport

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Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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I'm a long time lurker on here with not too many posts, but thought that I'd bung up a few pictures of the 330 M Sport that I've just bought fir my other half.

I used to have an E46 325ti which l I loved but unfortunately I started to do loads of miles with work and the fuel and repair / maintenance bills were killing me so it had to go and I took a company car...a diesel Fiesta Zetec S with leather, Bluetooth, keyless start etc. Not very exciting but a good decision from a financial point of view (its not actually a bad little car really). Since I sold the BM, I've wanted something a bit more interesting and as the other half does so few miles we decided that it would make sense for her to drive the nicer car. The only stipulation was that it needed to be semi sensible because we're starting to think about kids.

The short list of cars on the list was pretty short because we could only agree on a handful of things that we both liked...3 Series and a Golf GTi. A few other things were ruled out (R32, Focus ST, Megane RS, S4). I'm not a huge fan of the GTi but can see why they are popular. In the end we found an E90 330 M Sport automatic in our preferred colour combo of Le Mans blue with Dakota lemon yellow leather (I know a lot of people hate the yellow but I love it), Bluetooth, sun roof and a few other things which may be standard (auto lights and wipers, electric seat bolsters etc). The two options that I wish it had is the privacy glass and xenon headlights. Here are a couple of pics.



















It's generally in really really good nick with a few marks that you'd expect a seven year old car to have picked up. There are a couple of tiny dings that I'll get sorted at some point and it could do with a machine polish to correct swirl marks and light scratches. It's scrubbed up pretty well after a very sad detailing session.

Only have a few minor plans for it; tints to the rear windows, M Sport spoiler, black grills.

It's nice to have a BM again. I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world but it sounds lovely and is reasonably quick. I even like the auto box.

Max M4X WW

4,789 posts

181 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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Looks great, proper engine too. Please don't fit black grilles (a pet hate!) but fit blackline rear lights instead!

martin mrt

3,768 posts

200 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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That looks lovely, some 12mm rear spacers go well on the pre LCI cars (LCI cars have a 24mm wider rear track) and now I have mentioned it you will notice the difference.

I had lemon Dakota in my 1st E91 335d, hated it when I got it, but actually grew very very fond of it.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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Thanks. The engine is lovely and sounds more chunky than my old 2.5 did, especially when it nears the redline but at the same time is more muted when pottering about.

I like the black grills but that's only because I don't like chrome on cars (especially around windows....yuck). We'll see though because the other half isn't 100%. I was going to leave the rear lights because I don't mind them but I know that a lot of people really don't like the pre face lift lights.

Jonnas

1,004 posts

162 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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That looks lovely, I have one just like this albeit in Grey with black leather. I just had privacy tints fitted for £170 all in. Although it is subject of great debate on here, runflats really made a mess of the handling on mine making the car tramline all over the place even after a four wheel alignment. Non-runflats sorted that out no problem......

iacabu

1,348 posts

148 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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Very nice thumbup love the leather

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Tuesday 23rd July 2013
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Cheers chaps.

The run flats will be ditched once the rears are worn...which I don't think will be too long. I'll properly switch o Falkens which were always pretty good when I used them on my 325. A set of four isn't much more than two run flats. I've not found the ride too bad until you get on country lanes then they not only jiggle but they don't seem to grip all that well.

Just trying to decide on what it to go for, I want it to look stock which I believe is about 35%.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Thursday 10th October 2013
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Bit of an update (and an excuse for posting more pics!).

The black grills have been fited. I know some don't like them, but I prefer them to the stock chrome ones.







I've also added an M Sport rear spoiler from SSDD Motorsport which I think makes the back end look much better. I was never sure about the way that the stock boot lid just fell away. The quality seems very good, the paint finish is perfect and matches the car.







And a few random shots for good measure after giving the car a quick wash this afternoon.









The next job is getting the wheels refurbished - it is booked in with First Class Alloys in Lichfield towards the end of the month. I have opted for a darker finish than standard. The chap there refers to it as high power silver. I'd describe it as a pale anthracite and quite subtle. I originally wanted shadow chrome but decided against it due to possible issues matching the paint should the wheels get kerbed. He will also be fitting a new pair fo rear tyres.

I was going to ditch the run flats but the fronts have loads and loads of life left in them so will wait until a full set of four tyres is needed. After the wheel refurb, the car is off to BMW for a KDS alignment because the rear tyres have worn unevenly. I have decided to take it to BMW because the alignment is on offer at the moment and is cheaper than my local indy would charge. After that no more jobs planned for it until the new year (tints and a full machine polish).

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Tuesday 22nd October 2013
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Car was dropped off to have the alloys refurbed tonight. Will be picking it up tomorrow night and am pretty excited even though the colour change will be quite subtle. Having the callipers and hubs painted should tidy things up a bit too. KDS on Saturday will hopefully reduce the tram lining.

The rear pads are wearing a bit now, so I'll need to get them replaced soon. Will probably go for sone Pagid ones from ECP.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Saturday 26th October 2013
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Had the alloys done but not entirely happy with them because the rears are much darker than the fronts, so it's got to go back the week after next to be redone (just need to decide if I like the darker or the lighter wheels). The guy who did them was five about it though.

Fingers crossed they'll be as I want them soon. I just have to drive around in a car with mismatched wheels which is a bit annoying.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Saturday 26th October 2013
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Had the alloys done but not entirely happy with them because the rears are much darker than the fronts, so it's got to go back the week after next to be redone (just need to decide if I like the darker or the lighter wheels). The guy who did them was five about it though.

Fingers crossed they'll be as I want them soon. I just have to drive around in a car with mismatched wheels which is a bit annoying.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Saturday 26th October 2013
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Love the colour combo & rear spoiler, i had the factory spoiler on my old one, I am not keen on the grills but its probably my age!

Great car, enjoy it.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Saturday 26th October 2013
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cerb4.5lee said:
Love the colour combo & rear spoiler, i had the factory spoiler on my old one, I am not keen on the grills but its probably my age!

Great car, enjoy it.
Cheers. The spoiler makes a big difference to the rear of the car I think. I know the grills are a bit marmite, but there isn't any other chrome on the car.

It went to BMW for a KDS and amazingly they didn't tell me that my brakes were dead, or that I needed new tyres. In fact it was a very pleasant experience and cheaper than my local indy would have charged.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Wednesday 30th October 2013
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Looks like the car has developed a couple of faults...

The other half filled it up yesterday and there is currently a strong smell of petrol around the car. I'm guessing that it's a leaky vent pipe, which after a bit of googling doesn't look like a cheap fix. Does anyone know of a sure fire way to diagnose this?

The engine malfunction light also came on to indicate an emission fault. I took it for a longer spin and it stayed on however after turning it off and turning it back on the light did not reappear. I'm assuming that the fault is related to a dodgy sensor somewhere so will get it booked in for a diagnostic check as a precaution even if it doesn't reappear tomorrow. I did see one post on a BMW forum that mentioned that a split intake pipe can cause this warning light to come on, so I'll have a quick poke around under the bonnet tomorrow.

If it is an emissions fault it's gone pear shaped quickly because it passed its MOT without an issue last month.

Balls.


cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Wednesday 30th October 2013
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They are renowned for leaking fuel if you fill the tank up & it's a common fault so maybe that might be the case, not sure about the engine light though.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Thursday 31st October 2013
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It does seem pretty common - the costs that people have mentioned seem to range from £200 - £400 from an indy and a whole lot more from BMW. I think it largely depends on how they decide to access the pipe (both ways I've seen look pretty involved).

Weirdly there was no fuel smell this morning and no more warning light. I'll take it somewhere over the next few days to get the codes read.

toon10

6,140 posts

156 months

Thursday 31st October 2013
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Nice car. I wanted the same car but settled on a 325i. I'd been looking for the right colour and car for a while and I'd tested a standard 330 and a 325 SE amongst others. I took this one out and although it could do with a few more horses, it drove really well and I signed on the dotted line. I've had it 2 and a half years and touch wood, it's not developed any faults. The paint is poor, the slightest breeze will see another scratch or blemish but overall it's been a good car.

Shame about the issues you're having. Hopefully it will be fine when they are sorted out.

The only thing I want now is a set of CSL alloys. I'm not sure I want to run 19" wheels and I hear bad things about the 18" replicas so not sure what to do as yet.

Like you I had a Golf GTi on my radar along with a few others but I'm happy with my choice.


Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Saturday 2nd November 2013
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That's a nice car in the bed colour (but I'm biased).

I know what you mean about the paint; it's really unforgiving of any marks, especially in sunlight. I'm going to buy a DA polisher and sort it out (think I'll do a panel or a section at a time rather than the whole car in one go).

It's booked into my local indy on Monday for a code read and they're going to look into the fuel smell (I'm pretty sure that it's the breather pipe because it's only there when the tank is full). Hopefully there won't be too many fault codes when they plug it in.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Tuesday 5th November 2013
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Took my car in for diagnosis of the issues and the fuel tank vent pipe has definitely split so will need replacing with the upgraded version (I'm just trying to find out which of the localish guys can do it because the initial quote is pretty high).

When they did a code read, the error code stored pointed to a fault with the engine timing which the chap said was either the VANOS actuators or a stretched timing chain. He recommended starting with the actuators because in in experience this normally resolves the issue but if the light reappears then its a timing chain issue. He also said that if there is a timing chain issue them sone of the actuators would need replacing any way. The good news was that timing chain issues are more common on the four cylinder engines than the sixes so fingers crossed.

All in all, looks like an expensive month coming up.

I called BMW to see if there had been a recall for the pipe, but apparently not because not enough of the cars suffered with it. They did mention the possibility of a goodwill gesture from BMW but that would mean another diagnosis fee and then waiting to see if they'll cover part of the costs. I've decided that I can't be bothered so will just get it done by an independent.

Court_S

Original Poster:

12,764 posts

176 months

Thursday 14th November 2013
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The VANOS actuators were replaced on Monday and it appears to have fixed the issue. The light hasn't come back on and there were no error codes after the garage fitted them and road tested it. The chap there reckoned that if it doesn't come back in in the next couple of weeks it's sorted.

The rear wheels have been redone and are now much lighter in colour.

All that remains is to get the vent pipe done, but I'll properly wait until the new year because it's not cheap. I'll also ring round a few other garages that I've used in the past to get quotes. It just won't get filled up.

Still need to sort the rear pads as well but the computer says that they have 6,000 miles left yet. Again they'll probably get done in the new year when it goes in for a brake fluid change.