E90 330i Buying Advice

[HenryBee]

Good afternoon all! I've recently been looking at E90 330is on auto trader as a potential next car. I am specifically looking at pre 57 reg cars as I believe these have the earlier n52 engine which appears to be more reliable with the only trade off being a few mpgs. I am also siding with the less popular manual over the automatic at the moment, but could be swayed on this if the auto is good.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any experience of these cars in terms of reliability and cost of ownership. At the moment I'm wondering whether it's better to go for a lower mileage car (50k for £7,000) or a higher mileage example (100k for £5500). Do these cars run well into the 100,000 mile mark?

Not sure if this is the right forum to post in as I'm after specific information on a specific car - but any help is appreciate!

[steve-5snwi]

Try and start it from stone cold, take a fault code with you, they eat injectors and coil packs for fun.

[mike9009]

Hi

Not directly related but..

I bought an N53, E92, 2007 in January. Mine had 44k on the clock. So far it has not had many issues. It has recently had ignition coils replaced under a recall by BMW. I have an EML that comes on intermittently (once a fortnight) which is allegedly linked to the NOx sensor - I am just waiting to see if the EML comes on again after the coil replacement. The light clears once stopped and restarted.....

Otherwise it has been great with minor niggles (seat belt extenders, passenger seat motor not working) which I will get around to fixing.

Personally, I would go for the car with better condition/ service history rather than using mileage as the deciding factor.

Mike

[anonymous-user]

I’ve had a 530 with the same engine. Like any other if you look after it then it will last. Specialist I used had one running over 170k and still strong.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've recently swapped my 2006(N52) E90 330i auto after four years ownership, and in that time bar a broken rear spring it was completely faultless, only costs were servicing and mpg was around 26/27 mpg for me.

I purchased it with 48k miles on it and sold it with 69k miles on it, so in fairness I didn't do many miles in it but it was a lovely dependable car.

I would personally search out the Manual because for me the auto doesn't suit the engine in any way shape or form, yet I had the auto in a E90 330d and it suited that engine much better.

The 330i engine is lovely and smooth and free revving, but it did frustrate me how quiet and muted it is in the cabin and I would have liked it a little more vocal, a great all round car though for sure.

[mike9009]

cerb4.5lee said:

The 330i engine is lovely and smooth and free revving, but it did frustrate me how quiet and muted it is in the cabin and I would have liked it a little more vocal, a great all round car though for sure.

Agree with this too. Progress is very rapid but with no drama. Having come from a MINI Cooper S (various), and a VX220 it is sound proofed too much on some occasions!


Mike

[MrAverage]

A friend of mine has a 57 plate 325i convertible (same engine?), he made sure to buy the best he could. his is a low mileage well maintained example. it hasn't been without its faults though.

He has had a few sensors play up, i'm pretty sure Nox was one as already mentioned on here. i don't know if he's been unlucky or whether the wheels are made of cheese and have all been cracked (on the hunt for replacements). servicing these isn't particularly cheap either, i recall him saying it needed 7 litres of oil?? most recently all lights on the dash have come on, im told due too a poorly placed abs module.

I think like any 'premium' marque you need to go in with your eyes open and buy one that has been looked after. i know its a silly thing but i always look at tyres and service items as an indicator of how much/how well its looked after. the owners new car is one of my favourites, if they have another BMW they can't have been scarred for life haha.