Purchase advice - e92/e90/e60 3.0i

[TuscanNick]

I'm moving jobs and therefore need to replace company car (118d coupe) with a private vehicle. Looking to spend up to £10k (although less is obviously preferable!).

I have narrowed the choice down to a 3 litre petrol in either 3 or 5 series flavour. I don't do huge mileage (12k a year) and as co car tax is no longer an issue would far prefer a petrol. I have a Chimaera 450 as a weekend car so lower fuel economy/higher running cost of 335 doesn't seem worthwhile for the daily driver.

Currently edging towards a 3 coupe but a 5 series also appeals. I will mostly just be driving myself around so additional space not required although some of the 5's appear better spec.

Any advice from owners on the following would be greatly received:

- any noticeable differences in running costs between the 3 and 5
- any major watch outs for either car
- manual or auto (flappy paddles or normal) - will autos have higher failure rate/more expensive fix than manuals?
- any must have options/things to avoid

[lewis328]

I am a new owner of a e90 330d, I know you mention you are looking at petrol, but so far so good in my ownership. Spec wise mine has most things apart from prof nav, I only have bus nav it does the job but would much prefer prof. Oh and def get xenons.

[lewis328]

I am a new owner of a e90 330d, I know you mention you are looking at petrol, but so far so good in my ownership. Spec wise mine has most things apart from prof nav, I only have bus nav it does the job but would much prefer prof. Oh and def get xenons.

[cerb4.5lee]

I had a similar budget and plumped for a E90 330i and the N52 engine is a nice powerplant plus its recognised as being pretty solid, I do prefer the looks of the coupe though as the saloon isn't very pretty, mines an auto and although it doesn't make for an involving drive its fine when commuting but if you can sniff a manual out that's what I would do if I had my time again.

I used to have a E61 520d and the lousy engine aside I loved driving that car it was very comfy and had a nice feeling interior and I think a E60 530i would make for a very nice motor as well, previously owned a E90 330d and that was a great all rounder but at the mileage you do I think the petrol would edge it but only just.

[trickywoo]

There aren't that many manual 330i around and I'd imagine fewer of the 5. I've been looking for a manual 330i for a couple of months. Prices seem to be all over the shop but £7k seems to be the bottom for one worth having with sub 100k miles.

There seems to be a fairly common fault with the e90 auto in it not always selecting drive from a standstill / quick junction getaway situation.

The engine on the 330 changed in 2007/8. It has more power, better economy and lower tax but seems to suffer more reliability issues than the earlier engine.

The fuel hose that runs through the rear arch on early e90 (I think up to 2007 when the part was changed) can rub and become holed causing leaking when the tank is brimmed. There is a fix available for a few hundred £.

[cerb4.5lee]

Agree `tricky` the manuals are very rare and our old E90 330d had the fuel pipe issue so I just don't bother brimming the tank on my 330i just in case it suffers from the same problem, I like the idea too with the later engined N53 model as its quicker and more fuel efficient but you do seem to read about more issues with that engine though.

[Swervin_Mervin]

trickywoo said:

There seems to be a fairly common fault with the e90 auto in it not always selecting drive from a standstill / quick junction getaway situation.

Not quite right. It's always in drive, but normally it will sit in 2nd for pulling away. It's just that sometimes it struggles to switch down to 1st if you give it some extra load. Apparently resolved either by a software update, or gearbox service kit, or both.

[cerb4.5lee]

Swervin_Mervin said:

Not quite right. It's always in drive, but normally it will sit in 2nd for pulling away. It's just that sometimes it struggles to switch down to 1st if you give it some extra load. Apparently resolved either by a software update, or gearbox service kit, or both.

I think my auto is in need of some love as it has started to judder and hold back a little if you have been travelling along the road for a while at say 50 mph then if you push the throttle it judders and holds back for some reason...just another reason to remind me why I should have gone with the manual!

[R36vw]

I bought a 2005 E90 330i se 18months ago, fsh with 85k on the clock. It's a manual which was top of my list of requirements. As said engines are pretty bullet proof on these. There weren't many around in manual form and I ended up compromising on no leather or satnav(I do 5-6000 miles a year so satnav a waste anyway) the fuel breather pipe has just gone on mine, it's a common problem, that can occur. Cost independent for me was about 16quid for the part and £320 labour. Unfortunately to get at it properly they have to drop the rear axle to remove the tank. At BMW cost is a lot more. Easy to spot as you'll be able to smell the fuel getting in the car on filling up. As for rest, I took the run flats off and 4 new tyres stopped the tramlining. All in all I bought for 5300(private outlay so far 400 new tyres 100 new battery. And the fuel breather. Quite cheap motoring.

[trickywoo]

R36vw said:

I bought a 2005 E90 330i se 18months ago, fsh with 85k on the clock. All in all I bought for 5300

Really good buy that.

Ropey high milers aren't being advertised for much less than £6k privately at the moment and they seem to sell fast.

I didn't even get to see a 2007 50k mile M-Sport that came up privately for £9k recently - seemed to sell in hours.

[Austin3000]

I've had my E90 330i M-Sport for just short of 5 years and it's been, by far, the best car I've ever owned. Was hard finding one in the spec I wanted (manual, pro nav, leather etc) but it was worth it.

Few things to bear in mind:

- If you get a 2005 car then it's cheaper tax (£240 a year)
- Xenons lights well worth having
- 25mpg general driving but easily get 35mpg on a long run
- Get a discount from BMW dealers on servicing if over 4 years
- Auto isn't great IMO

I bought mine as a AUC and chose to keep paying for the warranty. In 5 years only one thing went wrong, an airbag control unit which was replaced at a cost of £1000 t0 BMW.

I get mine serviced at my local BMW (Sandal Wakefield) and an oil service and MOT costs £130 which isn't too bad.

If it wasn't for my increasing family and the need for an estate to carry all their stuff I would be keeping it but unfortunately once the DVLA have pulled their fingers out and transfered my reg plate off it's going up for sale (next week or so).

[TuscanNick]

Thanks all. Sounds like the manual is probably the better option, although most seem to come with an auto box.

I've had a bit of a google to try and find costs to resolve auto box if there are an issue but coming up short - anyone got an idea of what to budget if I go this route?

Now off to find a 330 coupe preferably with manual, heated sports seats, xenons and nav....