2006 BMW 330i auto...
Discussion
Bought this today for the princely sum of £1250. 2006, 109K miles and mot'd to March.
Drives great. Will need discs and pads for MOT but not the end of the world.
Sadly the lemon interior hasnt worn as well as it looks in the pics and the drivers seat is a bit of a mess (careful photography by the seller but used it as a negotiating point). Would love to get it refurbed, but in the meantime i've sourced a black leather interior and door cards which i'll drop in to it next week.
No other real plans. Going to change the alloys for the 17 inch e90 m sport alloys - not too big but better looking than whats on it.
Only evidence of paintwork is on the front drivers side corner which looks to have been painted by a blind monkey. Might have sourced another bumper though. Failing that it will need blown in.
Drives great. Will need discs and pads for MOT but not the end of the world.
Sadly the lemon interior hasnt worn as well as it looks in the pics and the drivers seat is a bit of a mess (careful photography by the seller but used it as a negotiating point). Would love to get it refurbed, but in the meantime i've sourced a black leather interior and door cards which i'll drop in to it next week.
No other real plans. Going to change the alloys for the 17 inch e90 m sport alloys - not too big but better looking than whats on it.
Only evidence of paintwork is on the front drivers side corner which looks to have been painted by a blind monkey. Might have sourced another bumper though. Failing that it will need blown in.
Thesprucegoose said:
still looks modern. Bargain.
Yes, i've had the recent epiphany that if i'm buying a car, buy the earliest year (or thereabouts) of the shape i want, thus its more likely to stay fresh and modern looking for longer.I'd a sliding scale of budget from £0 to £10,000 and TBH i concluded that used cars that i wanted at around the £10-12K mark all had issues with them i'd want to fix (dings, scuffed alloys, etc) and were never perfect anyway. So this way i have the fun of sorting the bits and pieces i want out without (a) spending a fortune and (b) going to lose too much money.
I'll play aroung with this for a month or two and sort it out the way i want it. It might end up standing me a little over £2K but i'll know exactly what i have and should be able to get out again without losing anything, or much.
Nice one and I hope it treats you well. 
Loads of car for the money for sure.
I had a E90 330i auto 2006(M sport) for almost 4 years and it was great to live with and a great all round car. The engine is so silky smooth.
Mine used 1 litre of oil every 2k miles and it was a pretty low mileage car. It never dropped oil on the floor but it must have been going somewhere I reckon though.
Enjoy it.
Loads of car for the money for sure.
I had a E90 330i auto 2006(M sport) for almost 4 years and it was great to live with and a great all round car. The engine is so silky smooth.
Mine used 1 litre of oil every 2k miles and it was a pretty low mileage car. It never dropped oil on the floor but it must have been going somewhere I reckon though.
Enjoy it.
Deep Thought said:
Yes, i've had the recent epiphany that if i'm buying a car, buy the earliest year (or thereabouts) of the shape i want, thus its more likely to stay fresh and modern looking for longer.
I'd a sliding scale of budget from £0 to £10,000 and TBH i concluded that used cars that i wanted at around the £10-12K mark all had issues with them i'd want to fix (dings, scuffed alloys, etc) and were never perfect anyway. So this way i have the fun of sorting the bits and pieces i want out without (a) spending a fortune and (b) going to lose too much money.
I'll play aroung with this for a month or two and sort it out the way i want it. It might end up standing me a little over £2K but i'll know exactly what i have and should be able to get out again without losing anything, or much.
This is exactly how i've bought cars for the past 15 years. I'd a sliding scale of budget from £0 to £10,000 and TBH i concluded that used cars that i wanted at around the £10-12K mark all had issues with them i'd want to fix (dings, scuffed alloys, etc) and were never perfect anyway. So this way i have the fun of sorting the bits and pieces i want out without (a) spending a fortune and (b) going to lose too much money.
I'll play aroung with this for a month or two and sort it out the way i want it. It might end up standing me a little over £2K but i'll know exactly what i have and should be able to get out again without losing anything, or much.
Realistically speaking, ive been able to own far more interesting things than if i'd spent more money ... plus ive become fairly adept at mechanics
The 330i looks lovely, unlike many, im a massive fan of the lemon leather!
cerb4.5lee said:
Nice one and I hope it treats you well.
Loads of car for the money for sure.
I had a E90 330i auto 2006(M sport) for almost 4 years and it was great to live with and a great all round car. The engine is so silky smooth.
Mine used 1 litre of oil every 2k miles and it was a pretty low mileage car. It never dropped oil on the floor but it must have been going somewhere I reckon though.
Enjoy it.
Thanks. Yes, a few tweaks to make then will get her on the road. Really looking forward to it.Loads of car for the money for sure.
I had a E90 330i auto 2006(M sport) for almost 4 years and it was great to live with and a great all round car. The engine is so silky smooth.
Mine used 1 litre of oil every 2k miles and it was a pretty low mileage car. It never dropped oil on the floor but it must have been going somewhere I reckon though.
Enjoy it.
Will keep an eye on the oil level. Worth knowing!
Sir_Dave said:
This is exactly how i've bought cars for the past 15 years.
Realistically speaking, ive been able to own far more interesting things than if i'd spent more money ... plus ive become fairly adept at mechanics
The 330i looks lovely, unlike many, im a massive fan of the lemon leather!
This is car number 3 of this thinking for me since October - 2013 ST Focus (had some issues and bought cheapish), 2010 Insignia SRi (20 inch alloys, some Irmscher bits) - took it as a trade in against the ST, and now this. Once i get this sorted and on the road i'll keep an eye out for something else to tinker at.Realistically speaking, ive been able to own far more interesting things than if i'd spent more money ... plus ive become fairly adept at mechanics
The 330i looks lovely, unlike many, im a massive fan of the lemon leather!
I love the lemon leather. Really need to find someone who can refurb the drivers seat though, its really letting the interior down.
Deep Thought said:
Sir_Dave said:
This is exactly how i've bought cars for the past 15 years.
Realistically speaking, ive been able to own far more interesting things than if i'd spent more money ... plus ive become fairly adept at mechanics
The 330i looks lovely, unlike many, im a massive fan of the lemon leather!
This is car number 3 of this thinking for me since October - 2013 ST Focus (had some issues and bought cheapish), 2010 Insignia SRi (20 inch alloys, some Irmscher bits) - took it as a trade in against the ST, and now this. Once i get this sorted and on the road i'll keep an eye out for something else to tinker at.Realistically speaking, ive been able to own far more interesting things than if i'd spent more money ... plus ive become fairly adept at mechanics
The 330i looks lovely, unlike many, im a massive fan of the lemon leather!
I love the lemon leather. Really need to find someone who can refurb the drivers seat though, its really letting the interior down.
I sent one of my rear headrests to gliptone and they made me up a custom mixed kit to recolour the leather with. The results are great.
You might not even have to send a leather sample away; I think they had the e90 lemon premixed but couldn’t confirm the e81 lemon was the same colour so asked for a sample. The kit was about £50.
If the car does start to use a bit of oil, especially in summer there are slightly thicker oils still in spec for the n52 that’ll help reduce it a good amount.
Water pump is another thing to keep an eye on on these. Doing a full coolant flush and replace will help prolong their life.
Knocking out the camber pins and dragging the strut tops in towards the centre of the car will help your front tyres wear evenly too.
Looks like you’ve got yourself a bargain there!
Deep Thought said:
g3org3y said:
BARGAIN! The N52 is a leaky mofo, but goes well when it's on song. Congrats. 
Oil leaky or water leaky? Just so i know what to look out for...Waterpump is electric and expensive.
The N52 is considered more reliable and less troublesome than the later N53 engine though.
Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 25th January 15:17
Demelitia said:
I’ve got basically the same colour leather in my 130i. It had a little wear on the drivers bolster with previous owners getting in and out, as well as a few small scuffs from general use.
I sent one of my rear headrests to gliptone and they made me up a custom mixed kit to recolour the leather with. The results are great.
You might not even have to send a leather sample away; I think they had the e90 lemon premixed but couldn’t confirm the e81 lemon was the same colour so asked for a sample. The kit was about £50.
If the car does start to use a bit of oil, especially in summer there are slightly thicker oils still in spec for the n52 that’ll help reduce it a good amount.
Water pump is another thing to keep an eye on on these. Doing a full coolant flush and replace will help prolong their life.
Knocking out the camber pins and dragging the strut tops in towards the centre of the car will help your front tyres wear evenly too.
Looks like you’ve got yourself a bargain there!
Thanks for all that info, particularly RE: gliptone. I'll be ringing them on Monday morning.I sent one of my rear headrests to gliptone and they made me up a custom mixed kit to recolour the leather with. The results are great.
You might not even have to send a leather sample away; I think they had the e90 lemon premixed but couldn’t confirm the e81 lemon was the same colour so asked for a sample. The kit was about £50.
If the car does start to use a bit of oil, especially in summer there are slightly thicker oils still in spec for the n52 that’ll help reduce it a good amount.
Water pump is another thing to keep an eye on on these. Doing a full coolant flush and replace will help prolong their life.
Knocking out the camber pins and dragging the strut tops in towards the centre of the car will help your front tyres wear evenly too.
Looks like you’ve got yourself a bargain there!
Demelitia said:
I’ve got basically the same colour leather in my 130i. It had a little wear on the drivers bolster with previous owners getting in and out, as well as a few small scuffs from general use.
I sent one of my rear headrests to gliptone and they made me up a custom mixed kit to recolour the leather with. The results are great.
You might not even have to send a leather sample away; I think they had the e90 lemon premixed but couldn’t confirm the e81 lemon was the same colour so asked for a sample. The kit was about £50.
If the car does start to use a bit of oil, especially in summer there are slightly thicker oils still in spec for the n52 that’ll help reduce it a good amount.
Water pump is another thing to keep an eye on on these. Doing a full coolant flush and replace will help prolong their life.
Knocking out the camber pins and dragging the strut tops in towards the centre of the car will help your front tyres wear evenly too.
Looks like you’ve got yourself a bargain there!
Spoke to gliptone today - i've to send them a headrest!I sent one of my rear headrests to gliptone and they made me up a custom mixed kit to recolour the leather with. The results are great.
You might not even have to send a leather sample away; I think they had the e90 lemon premixed but couldn’t confirm the e81 lemon was the same colour so asked for a sample. The kit was about £50.
If the car does start to use a bit of oil, especially in summer there are slightly thicker oils still in spec for the n52 that’ll help reduce it a good amount.
Water pump is another thing to keep an eye on on these. Doing a full coolant flush and replace will help prolong their life.
Knocking out the camber pins and dragging the strut tops in towards the centre of the car will help your front tyres wear evenly too.
Looks like you’ve got yourself a bargain there!
Sounds like they will be able to sort it out though. Thanks for the pointer to them
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