E91 330i (Pre LCI) high miler suitable as a daily?
Discussion
Hi guys, looking at the above to become my daily drive. Commute will be 20 miles round trip per day mainly local A and B roads, 4 days a week with the odd bit of extra mileage here and there.
Given this usage combined with my dislike of the black pump. I thought this could be a good time to get into a car I’ve long coveted since having to sell my E36 M3 to work overseas. Now returning to the U.K. with kids in tow, I need to find one. I’ve seen a couple on eBay, £4k or less, both with well over 100k and not a great deal of history. However at this price range should I expect much more?
Im pretty much set on an N52 engine with Manual gearbox. Can be a saloon but preferably a tourer.
So I guess my questions are as follows
-are these suitable for the sort of use I’m intending?
-are they tolerant of a bit of previous neglect?
I am looking at the cheaper (£2-5k) end of the market on these because I reckon that whatever I buy is going to need work, it’s a BMW…..
Given this usage combined with my dislike of the black pump. I thought this could be a good time to get into a car I’ve long coveted since having to sell my E36 M3 to work overseas. Now returning to the U.K. with kids in tow, I need to find one. I’ve seen a couple on eBay, £4k or less, both with well over 100k and not a great deal of history. However at this price range should I expect much more?
Im pretty much set on an N52 engine with Manual gearbox. Can be a saloon but preferably a tourer.
So I guess my questions are as follows
-are these suitable for the sort of use I’m intending?
-are they tolerant of a bit of previous neglect?
I am looking at the cheaper (£2-5k) end of the market on these because I reckon that whatever I buy is going to need work, it’s a BMW…..
There’s a thread called E91 straight six bearding.
The N52 330i manual is the threadists favourite.
My manual 330i has 176k on it now and it’s dead good. Smooth, enough economy and enough power. I got out of a 330d for one, and pre pandemic and job change did 30,000 miles a year in it.
Water pumps give issues, but otherwise they’re stout. Run flats are crap, but that’s all BMWs of a certain age.
The N52 330i manual is the threadists favourite.
My manual 330i has 176k on it now and it’s dead good. Smooth, enough economy and enough power. I got out of a 330d for one, and pre pandemic and job change did 30,000 miles a year in it.
Water pumps give issues, but otherwise they’re stout. Run flats are crap, but that’s all BMWs of a certain age.
I bought an E91 325i in 2018 on 132K miles and had no issues with it, apart from the inevitable dead water pump!
It had full BMW SH and drove really well, but I just found it a bit underwhelming performance-wise after an E46 325ti.
So a year later I talked myself into an E90 330i on the basis it had the optional split/fold rear seats!
It's on 115K miles now and also drives fine, but just has that bit more get up and go I wanted.
I made a point of looking for N52 engines in both of them because I've also had that engine in a couple of Z4s and really liked it - after all N/A straight 6 petrols with a 7,000 rpm red-line will never happen again! All of mine were manuals BTW.
I dailied both my 3 Series and they both worked just fine for that.
It had full BMW SH and drove really well, but I just found it a bit underwhelming performance-wise after an E46 325ti.
So a year later I talked myself into an E90 330i on the basis it had the optional split/fold rear seats!
It's on 115K miles now and also drives fine, but just has that bit more get up and go I wanted.
I made a point of looking for N52 engines in both of them because I've also had that engine in a couple of Z4s and really liked it - after all N/A straight 6 petrols with a 7,000 rpm red-line will never happen again! All of mine were manuals BTW.
I dailied both my 3 Series and they both worked just fine for that.
Some encouraging feedback. Cheers guys.
And as for taking an example that maybe hasn’t been maintained as rigorously as I’d like (15k plus between oil changes seems common on the CBS system??), at my price point is it worth taking the gamble and just buying and bringing the maintenance up to what I’d like (I’d probably look to do oil every 10k, loosely follow the old oil service, insp 1, insp 2 regime)?
And as for taking an example that maybe hasn’t been maintained as rigorously as I’d like (15k plus between oil changes seems common on the CBS system??), at my price point is it worth taking the gamble and just buying and bringing the maintenance up to what I’d like (I’d probably look to do oil every 10k, loosely follow the old oil service, insp 1, insp 2 regime)?
StevieT735 said:
Some encouraging feedback. Cheers guys.
And as for taking an example that maybe hasn’t been maintained as rigorously as I’d like (15k plus between oil changes seems common on the CBS system??), at my price point is it worth taking the gamble and just buying and bringing the maintenance up to what I’d like (I’d probably look to do oil every 10k, loosely follow the old oil service, insp 1, insp 2 regime)?
CBS will go all the way up to 19,000 miles if the conditions are right. Don’t be put off by it, mind. There’s a Chap on E90post that only ever followed the CBS recommendations on his early E90, and it’s now done over 400,000 miles.And as for taking an example that maybe hasn’t been maintained as rigorously as I’d like (15k plus between oil changes seems common on the CBS system??), at my price point is it worth taking the gamble and just buying and bringing the maintenance up to what I’d like (I’d probably look to do oil every 10k, loosely follow the old oil service, insp 1, insp 2 regime)?
If you’d like a reference, my 330i is listed in my profile, and I bought it at 138,000 miles for 5k. It’s been a well looked after car, and I’ve gone a little overboard on the spending, but I don’t think it’s been all that expensive to run.
I've got an E82 125i Coupé, so probably 90% the same car with the same engine and gearbox. It's just ticked over 160k miles and it still runs sweet as a nut. When I bought it about 7 years ago, there was precious little evidence of it being anywhere near a BMW garage for the first 40k miles of it's life, either in the documentation or with BMW itself. That was on 56k miles, I've stuck with the normal servicing routine and it's turned into the most reliable car I've ever had.
Engine is great for pootling around town, and even better when the road opens up and you can extend it properly. It isn't even too bad on fuel, easily hitting 35-40 mpg on a run, less good around town though (reckon of around 24 ime).
Engine is great for pootling around town, and even better when the road opens up and you can extend it properly. It isn't even too bad on fuel, easily hitting 35-40 mpg on a run, less good around town though (reckon of around 24 ime).
I swapped an M140i that I bought new for an old 130 in May this year.
I bought the 130 with 102k on the clock and it’s now up to 109k and it’s largely been fine, including doing a few longer trips for work when needed.
The N52 is a pretty solid engine. The water pumps do go pop eventually but it’s a much less expensive issue to sort than it used to be. They suffer from a few oil leaks (rocker cover, oil filter housing, oil cooler, valvetronic sensor, valvetronic motor). A few cars are starting to suffer with valvetronic issues according to my local indy….my car is there today because it keeps chucking up an error code and there’s oil in the plug for the sensor.
My friend has a 125i with 195k on the clock and it’s been pretty reliable other than leaks and wheel speed sensors s
tting themselves. His his worn the miles well too.
I bought the 130 with 102k on the clock and it’s now up to 109k and it’s largely been fine, including doing a few longer trips for work when needed.
The N52 is a pretty solid engine. The water pumps do go pop eventually but it’s a much less expensive issue to sort than it used to be. They suffer from a few oil leaks (rocker cover, oil filter housing, oil cooler, valvetronic sensor, valvetronic motor). A few cars are starting to suffer with valvetronic issues according to my local indy….my car is there today because it keeps chucking up an error code and there’s oil in the plug for the sensor.
My friend has a 125i with 195k on the clock and it’s been pretty reliable other than leaks and wheel speed sensors s
tting themselves. His his worn the miles well too.My E90 330i manual is now on 230k miles. I bought at 120k and have never done the water pump or clutch..
For the MOT this year it got a birthday so I fitted discs / pads all round, rear shocks, a few rear arms, eccentric shaft sensor, sump gasket and assorted bolts...
This year has very much been the exception to the rule with the only big expense up to now being a new ECU due the drain bung being blocked.
Great cars, undervalued and a future gem.
I have an E91 330i manual sitting in the barn waiting for an ABS pump unit.
For the MOT this year it got a birthday so I fitted discs / pads all round, rear shocks, a few rear arms, eccentric shaft sensor, sump gasket and assorted bolts...
This year has very much been the exception to the rule with the only big expense up to now being a new ECU due the drain bung being blocked.
Great cars, undervalued and a future gem.
I have an E91 330i manual sitting in the barn waiting for an ABS pump unit.
My E91 330i Auto (pre-LCI) is now on about 128k. I bought it 9years ago on 57k, and it was doing an average of 10k/year until covd, with the main commute being 15-20mi round trip, and then we'd do a couple of long trips every year. Whilst it's not doing much anymore (down to a couple of commutes a week) it was recently pressed into a trip away as our other car was too big for where we were staying. It was faultless. They are hardy things as long as they've been reasonably well looked after.
Mine has had the waterpump done, and a couple of seals. The stering rack is weeping along with rocker cover gaskets and sump gasket, but in reality they're nothing to worry about. What I'd budget for if looking for one is a suspension refresh. Many won't have been done for the age you're looking at, whereas any major mecahnical issues will likely have been dealt with. I did mine 3years ago ish and it set me back about £1200 in parts and another £6-700 in labour. It's well worth it imo.
Only other issue I've had of note was the ECU was having a bath in its supposedly protective box. Check that as it causes all sorts of issues depending on how bad it's got. Cost me about £4-500 to get sorted with a new box and a re-flashed used DME.
Mine's serviced purely in accordance with the CBS by the way and shows no issues.
Mine has had the waterpump done, and a couple of seals. The stering rack is weeping along with rocker cover gaskets and sump gasket, but in reality they're nothing to worry about. What I'd budget for if looking for one is a suspension refresh. Many won't have been done for the age you're looking at, whereas any major mecahnical issues will likely have been dealt with. I did mine 3years ago ish and it set me back about £1200 in parts and another £6-700 in labour. It's well worth it imo.
Only other issue I've had of note was the ECU was having a bath in its supposedly protective box. Check that as it causes all sorts of issues depending on how bad it's got. Cost me about £4-500 to get sorted with a new box and a re-flashed used DME.
Mine's serviced purely in accordance with the CBS by the way and shows no issues.
Edited by Swervin_Mervin on Monday 29th November 16:00
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff