330i SE Touring Idrive 2009 - why so rare ?
Discussion
Last summer, i bought an estate in a rush. I needed something for Uni runs, bike trips and a European holiday. Wanted LCI, SE (i.e. not sports suspension), petrol, small wheels, auto, different colour. So there was one, on main dealer history but too many miles (97k), so I bought it - in my first week of looking.
And loved it. And since then I've been looking for a lower mileage E91 to replace it. But there's nothing.
Before I give up and start looking for a 328i luxury touring, or even a coupe SE with split fold seats, am I doing something wrong?
Am I missing something?
Or did they just not sell these cars because everyone wants 320d's ?
Any thoughts ?
And loved it. And since then I've been looking for a lower mileage E91 to replace it. But there's nothing.
Before I give up and start looking for a 328i luxury touring, or even a coupe SE with split fold seats, am I doing something wrong?
Am I missing something?
Or did they just not sell these cars because everyone wants 320d's ?
Any thoughts ?
330i production in saloon and touring stopped earlier for E90 generation.
Early 2010 I think are the latest I’ve noted.
So that will reduce your LCI options over and above the fact diesels were more popular.
These are old cars , can’t you get a M sport and refresh (probably needed anyway) suspension ?
Early 2010 I think are the latest I’ve noted.
So that will reduce your LCI options over and above the fact diesels were more popular.
These are old cars , can’t you get a M sport and refresh (probably needed anyway) suspension ?
Aswissbanker said:
Last summer, i bought an estate in a rush. I needed something for Uni runs, bike trips and a European holiday. Wanted LCI, SE (i.e. not sports suspension), petrol, small wheels, auto, different colour. So there was one, on main dealer history but too many miles (97k), so I bought it - in my first week of looking.
And loved it. And since then I've been looking for a lower mileage E91 to replace it. But there's nothing.
Before I give up and start looking for a 328i luxury touring, or even a coupe SE with split fold seats, am I doing something wrong?
Am I missing something?
Or did they just not sell these cars because everyone wants 320d's ?
Any thoughts ?
I too am having trouble getting a realistic p/x valuation for mine (2008 E91 LCI 330i ASE on just under 18,500 miles from new) from franchised dealerships, as I am looking to change to a 4x4. They apologetically offer me derisory money owing to there being too few of these cars going through auction upon which CAP/Black Book values are largely based, and suggest I advertise privately instead.And loved it. And since then I've been looking for a lower mileage E91 to replace it. But there's nothing.
Before I give up and start looking for a 328i luxury touring, or even a coupe SE with split fold seats, am I doing something wrong?
Am I missing something?
Or did they just not sell these cars because everyone wants 320d's ?
Any thoughts ?
Nigel
Hi, Thanks for the replies.
In saying that I'm unfamiliar with late E91 LCI tourings, I may have misled about my Beemer background.
Previoius cars include E46 330i MSport touring, E46 330d MSport touring, E39 530i SE touring, E39 530d SE touring, E92 335i MSport with Quaiffe LSD & Birds/Bilstein upgrades, and an E61 535d SE touring LCI.
I chose the car to avoid sports suspension, turbo maintenance issues, and diesel "performance/ maintenance" issues,
I'm just surprised that there are so few touring bodies around.
Is it because "there was no demand for it, mate," or was it a conscious BMW decision to herd people into smaller engines, SUV's and GT's ?
I definitely wouldn't repeat diesel just for the joy of driving, not for ecological, or dubious fuel savings. ( IMHO, Diesel's not as economical as people allege - unless you're doing high mileage - and all need more expensive maintenance over the whole life cycle)
In saying that I'm unfamiliar with late E91 LCI tourings, I may have misled about my Beemer background.
Previoius cars include E46 330i MSport touring, E46 330d MSport touring, E39 530i SE touring, E39 530d SE touring, E92 335i MSport with Quaiffe LSD & Birds/Bilstein upgrades, and an E61 535d SE touring LCI.
I chose the car to avoid sports suspension, turbo maintenance issues, and diesel "performance/ maintenance" issues,
I'm just surprised that there are so few touring bodies around.
Is it because "there was no demand for it, mate," or was it a conscious BMW decision to herd people into smaller engines, SUV's and GT's ?
I definitely wouldn't repeat diesel just for the joy of driving, not for ecological, or dubious fuel savings. ( IMHO, Diesel's not as economical as people allege - unless you're doing high mileage - and all need more expensive maintenance over the whole life cycle)
Aswissbanker said:
I'm just surprised that there are so few touring bodies around.
Is it because "there was no demand for it, mate," or was it a conscious BMW decision to herd people into smaller engines, SUV's and GT's ?
Generally it's a bit of both. Government legislation that favoured CO2 emissions forced private buyers into diesel models. Company car tax also forced business users into diesel models. Finger in the air, I would also reckon BMW tried to push people into diesel models through the financing, since they were seen as better secondhand purchases, so finance deals were cheaper. 2008/9 was also when fuel prices were rising, and the global economy was really weak (as I'm sure you know), so less buyers were opting for the 'flash' models.Is it because "there was no demand for it, mate," or was it a conscious BMW decision to herd people into smaller engines, SUV's and GT's ?
When the E46 launched, BMW showed that touring buyers spend the least on options, and coupe and convertible buyers spent the most on options. I'd imagine this was true for the E9x. This makes for the 330/335i to be really quite rare in the touring bodies. As an owner of an E91 330i, I'm glad a few people bought them new.
This page of Honest John gives you a good idea of what was available & when: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/bmw/3-series...
318i, 320i, 325i and 335i in petrol, and 318d, 320d, 325d, 330d and 335d in Diesel were available until discontinued in 2012. Looks like they killed the 330i in early 2010 as stated above - which explains why they are particularly rare.
Diesels made for over 90% of the sales as they 'made sense' at the time. Big petrols are rare as virtually none were company cars (big BIK bill) which is how the UK buys most of its cars.
318i, 320i, 325i and 335i in petrol, and 318d, 320d, 325d, 330d and 335d in Diesel were available until discontinued in 2012. Looks like they killed the 330i in early 2010 as stated above - which explains why they are particularly rare.
Diesels made for over 90% of the sales as they 'made sense' at the time. Big petrols are rare as virtually none were company cars (big BIK bill) which is how the UK buys most of its cars.
I have been in the same boat as you - your blue car looks nice. I would consider Sports with the smallest wheels and no privacy glass.
Otherwise you just won't get anything.I went through all this recently with an LC1 F31 335d xDrive Touring having originally wanted a petrol Touring 320i SE! The seats are better and if on small wheels they don't have to be crashy. Plus, if private purchases they can have massive list of options. Just speccing down to £xxx a month, all the dealers do is put privacy glass on them.
Otherwise you just won't get anything.I went through all this recently with an LC1 F31 335d xDrive Touring having originally wanted a petrol Touring 320i SE! The seats are better and if on small wheels they don't have to be crashy. Plus, if private purchases they can have massive list of options. Just speccing down to £xxx a month, all the dealers do is put privacy glass on them.
JakeT said:
When the E46 launched, BMW showed that touring buyers spend the least on options, and coupe and convertible buyers spent the most on options. I'd imagine this was true for the E9x. This makes for the 330/335i to be really quite rare in the touring bodies. As an owner of an E91 330i, I'm glad a few people bought them new.
I can believe that. I'm always keeping an eye on Autotrader and 330is are quite rare in any bodystyle, let alone Tourings.Most common appears to be the 320i/d (the former being especially crap).
Edited by g3org3y on Thursday 13th February 22:42
Aswissbanker said:
Last summer, i bought an estate in a rush. I needed something for Uni runs, bike trips and a European holiday. Wanted LCI, SE (i.e. not sports suspension), petrol, small wheels, auto, different colour. So there was one, on main dealer history but too many miles (97k), so I bought it - in my first week of looking.
And loved it. And since then I've been looking for a lower mileage E91 to replace it. But there's nothing.
Before I give up and start looking for a 328i luxury touring, or even a coupe SE with split fold seats, am I doing something wrong?
Am I missing something?
Or did they just not sell these cars because everyone wants 320d's ?
Any thoughts ?
Not sure ifits an LCI bur heres a E91 330 petrol auto Se with only 26500 miles on it in monaco blue with sunroof on 17" alloysAnd loved it. And since then I've been looking for a lower mileage E91 to replace it. But there's nothing.
Before I give up and start looking for a 328i luxury touring, or even a coupe SE with split fold seats, am I doing something wrong?
Am I missing something?
Or did they just not sell these cars because everyone wants 320d's ?
Any thoughts ?
https://www.motors.co.uk/car-55990405/?utm_source=...
Edited by twokcc on Thursday 13th February 18:13
Edited by twokcc on Thursday 13th February 18:16
There was no market for big petrols around this time. I was thinking about updating my e46 330 Touring manual to an e91 but quickly gave up. Even in auto box 330/335 Tourings are pretty rare - look for an manual sport with a decent spec they are like rocking horse droppings, and sufficiently rare that the prices are massive. Then you give yourself a pinch and realise you are still buying a 10 year old car.
I'm going to spend a few quid on my e46 - nothing newer that particularly floats my boat.
I'm going to spend a few quid on my e46 - nothing newer that particularly floats my boat.
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Thursday 13th February 23:41
Any E91 330i seems to be extremely rare, especially when you want a facelift model with Sat Nav!
2 years ago I was looking for an early one (I wanted the N52 engine) and could only find a few. The ones I did find were nearly twice the price of 325is so well out of budget, so I bought a 325i.
Maybe it was because it was so refined but it just felt a bit "meh" in performance terms, so last year I talked myself into an E90 330i to replace it - and even that wasn't easy to find (especially in manual flavour).
As has been said economic conditions, road tax and BIK all pushed most people towards diesels - but now we realise that was a bit misguided!
I hope you manage to find one OP.
2 years ago I was looking for an early one (I wanted the N52 engine) and could only find a few. The ones I did find were nearly twice the price of 325is so well out of budget, so I bought a 325i.
Maybe it was because it was so refined but it just felt a bit "meh" in performance terms, so last year I talked myself into an E90 330i to replace it - and even that wasn't easy to find (especially in manual flavour).
As has been said economic conditions, road tax and BIK all pushed most people towards diesels - but now we realise that was a bit misguided!
I hope you manage to find one OP.
Couple of things.
There is not all that much difference between the se and the sport suspension wise, however, this is a big difference between the 17 and 18" wheels feel on run flats. Get them on proper tyres and that difference is far less.
The SE I had recently on run flats was far worse a ride compared to the sport on 18" non run flats, I went with a XL non run flat as even though I like a smooth ride I find some non run flats on the E91 sport too soft.
Remember, the universally praised ride on Alpina models used the OEM Sachs 330 sport dampers with 330xd springs.
I sold my 330i sport touring this week. I put an ad up properly last week and sold it within 24 hours.
Mine was 330i sport touring auto, 109k miles, 57 plate so N52, loads of suspension work done and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round, £5k, no offers, sold within 24 hours and offers over asking from 2 other buyers if it fell through.
Why not retrofit the latest NBT iDrive to your car to bring it up to date?
There is not all that much difference between the se and the sport suspension wise, however, this is a big difference between the 17 and 18" wheels feel on run flats. Get them on proper tyres and that difference is far less.
The SE I had recently on run flats was far worse a ride compared to the sport on 18" non run flats, I went with a XL non run flat as even though I like a smooth ride I find some non run flats on the E91 sport too soft.
Remember, the universally praised ride on Alpina models used the OEM Sachs 330 sport dampers with 330xd springs.
I sold my 330i sport touring this week. I put an ad up properly last week and sold it within 24 hours.
Mine was 330i sport touring auto, 109k miles, 57 plate so N52, loads of suspension work done and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round, £5k, no offers, sold within 24 hours and offers over asking from 2 other buyers if it fell through.
Why not retrofit the latest NBT iDrive to your car to bring it up to date?
https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/ can give you some ballpark figures for potential 330i availability.
When i was looking a couple of years ago the selection of manual E90s, and E91s of any type, was pretty poor. Enough cars around to be getting on with, but a lot of the E90s had halogen headlights, most were autos, and there were hardly any E91s. Coupes seemed easier to find, and the spec was better (I think Xenons were standard? - that helps) but, similarly, lots of autos. I like to have rear doors anyway.
I wanted sports suspension, sports seats, Xenon headlights, manual gearbox. I didn't start out thinking this was all that picky, and surely I'd find loads? - but after 2 months of staring at Autotrader, PH, vcars, gumtree, and whatever else I happened to find, I'd seen the grand total of 4.
So it's not just you.
When i was looking a couple of years ago the selection of manual E90s, and E91s of any type, was pretty poor. Enough cars around to be getting on with, but a lot of the E90s had halogen headlights, most were autos, and there were hardly any E91s. Coupes seemed easier to find, and the spec was better (I think Xenons were standard? - that helps) but, similarly, lots of autos. I like to have rear doors anyway.
I wanted sports suspension, sports seats, Xenon headlights, manual gearbox. I didn't start out thinking this was all that picky, and surely I'd find loads? - but after 2 months of staring at Autotrader, PH, vcars, gumtree, and whatever else I happened to find, I'd seen the grand total of 4.
So it's not just you.
Edited by to3m on Friday 14th February 01:10
gizlaroc said:
Couple of things.
There is not all that much difference between the se and the sport suspension wise, however, this is a big difference between the 17 and 18" wheels feel on run flats. Get them on proper tyres and that difference is far less.
The SE I had recently on run flats was far worse a ride compared to the sport on 18" non run flats, I went with a XL non run flat as even though I like a smooth ride I find some non run flats on the E91 sport too soft.
Remember, the universally praised ride on Alpina models used the OEM Sachs 330 sport dampers with 330xd springs.
I sold my 330i sport touring this week. I put an ad up properly last week and sold it within 24 hours.
Mine was 330i sport touring auto, 109k miles, 57 plate so N52, loads of suspension work done and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round, £5k, no offers, sold within 24 hours and offers over asking from 2 other buyers if it fell through.
Why not retrofit the latest NBT iDrive to your car to bring it up to date?
Not surprised it sold so quickly, you priced it very sensibly. From what you describe you probably could have got £6k for it without too much botherThere is not all that much difference between the se and the sport suspension wise, however, this is a big difference between the 17 and 18" wheels feel on run flats. Get them on proper tyres and that difference is far less.
The SE I had recently on run flats was far worse a ride compared to the sport on 18" non run flats, I went with a XL non run flat as even though I like a smooth ride I find some non run flats on the E91 sport too soft.
Remember, the universally praised ride on Alpina models used the OEM Sachs 330 sport dampers with 330xd springs.
I sold my 330i sport touring this week. I put an ad up properly last week and sold it within 24 hours.
Mine was 330i sport touring auto, 109k miles, 57 plate so N52, loads of suspension work done and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round, £5k, no offers, sold within 24 hours and offers over asking from 2 other buyers if it fell through.
Why not retrofit the latest NBT iDrive to your car to bring it up to date?
croissant said:
Not surprised it sold so quickly, you priced it very sensibly. From what you describe you probably could have got £6k for it without too much bother
Probably, but I just wanted it moved quickly, so put my absolute lowest price and no offers. I find that works really well selling cars, a lot of people hate haggling, so don't even get in touch.
I always make sure people can email or text me if they want too.
I have sold 61 cars over the last 15 years or so and I reckon 57 of those have all been done via email or text. Some people just don't make contact at all if they have to pick up the phone.
I see some adverts saying "I will not respond to text messages" which is stupid, you have lost 75% of your potential buyers.
People are so much more likely to make contact with a quick text or email, the thought of getting caught up on the phone for ages listening to cobblers is too much for many. Haha
This was my advert...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330i-M-Sport-Tourin...
gizlaroc said:
croissant said:
Not surprised it sold so quickly, you priced it very sensibly. From what you describe you probably could have got £6k for it without too much bother
Probably, but I just wanted it moved quickly, so put my absolute lowest price and no offers. I find that works really well selling cars, a lot of people hate haggling, so don't even get in touch.
I always make sure people can email or text me if they want too.
I have sold 61 cars over the last 15 years or so and I reckon 57 of those have all been done via email or text. Some people just don't make contact at all if they have to pick up the phone.
I see some adverts saying "I will not respond to text messages" which is stupid, you have lost 75% of your potential buyers.
People are so much more likely to make contact with a quick text or email, the thought of getting caught up on the phone for ages listening to cobblers is too much for many. Haha
This was my advert...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330i-M-Sport-Tourin...
What I find works best for me is to list at 99p with no reserve and just let the auction run. I have always achieved an acceptable and sometimes very good price for a car.
That method saves me the hassle of tyre kickers and hagglers. So far, it's never failed me.
NiceCupOfTea said:
There was no market for big petrols around this time. I was thinking about updating my e46 330 Touring manual to an e91 but quickly gave up. Even in auto box 330/335 Tourings are pretty rare - look for an manual sport with a decent spec they are like rocking horse droppings, and sufficiently rare that the prices are massive. Then you give yourself a pinch and realise you are still buying a 10 year old car.
I'm going to spend a few quid on my e46 - nothing newer that particularly floats my boat.
I keep telling my wife how special her car is and that she needs to look after it. I'm going to spend a few quid on my e46 - nothing newer that particularly floats my boat.
(E91 330i (N52) M Sport, Le Mans Blue + Lemon heated leather).
Coolest mum in her social circle.
(The rest drive s
te box Mokkas and crap like that).gizlaroc said:
Couple of things.
There is not all that much difference between the se and the sport suspension wise, however, this is a big difference between the 17 and 18" wheels feel on run flats. Get them on proper tyres and that difference is far less.
The SE I had recently on run flats was far worse a ride compared to the sport on 18" non run flats, I went with a XL non run flat as even though I like a smooth ride I find some non run flats on the E91 sport too soft.
Remember, the universally praised ride on Alpina models used the OEM Sachs 330 sport dampers with 330xd springs.
I sold my 330i sport touring this week. I put an ad up properly last week and sold it within 24 hours.
Mine was 330i sport touring auto, 109k miles, 57 plate so N52, loads of suspension work done and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round, £5k, no offers, sold within 24 hours and offers over asking from 2 other buyers if it fell through.
It looked like a good car, as has been mentioned above, I agree you could have got 6k.There is not all that much difference between the se and the sport suspension wise, however, this is a big difference between the 17 and 18" wheels feel on run flats. Get them on proper tyres and that difference is far less.
The SE I had recently on run flats was far worse a ride compared to the sport on 18" non run flats, I went with a XL non run flat as even though I like a smooth ride I find some non run flats on the E91 sport too soft.
Remember, the universally praised ride on Alpina models used the OEM Sachs 330 sport dampers with 330xd springs.
I sold my 330i sport touring this week. I put an ad up properly last week and sold it within 24 hours.
Mine was 330i sport touring auto, 109k miles, 57 plate so N52, loads of suspension work done and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres all round, £5k, no offers, sold within 24 hours and offers over asking from 2 other buyers if it fell through.
Re the ride, it's all about the tyres. Goodyear Eagle RFTs are a world apart from the OE Bridgestone RE050A.
Brilliant ! Thanks for taking the time to comment - this exercise has been WAY more useful than I expected.
I'm sceptical about being able to find a lower mileage E91 330i or 335i now, especially in an interesting colour.
What do you suggest I do? Just hold this 100k mile 330i, switch to a 2013 petrol F30 328i, or keep looking for another six months, or more ?
This is the family holiday / bike car - one of three. Needed to do maybe 6k a year, but needs to be reliable on round trips of 1500 or 2000 miles.
Car needs to be perfect / no issues.
Any thoughts appreciated !
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