Discussion
I have been reading the PH forum for many years now and have only recently decided to take the plunge and start posting. Just over 2 weeks ago I made a rushed purchase of a 2009 BMW 330i Touring and posted my new wheels on the E91 thread in the BMW section:
Ad picture:
The next day the PH community did it's thing and I was greeted with a post from another PH'er who'd seen the car on ebay:
"Hate to be the bearer of potentially bad news, but i tried to buy this on ebay recently - for parts for my e91 and/or to fix depending on how knackered it was.
In end, the the price was too strong for me considering the potential cost to fix, so its obviously been offloaded to a trader instead.
Here is the original advert: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330i-Touring-2009-9...
Message from the seller after i queried a few points:
"I found the oil when checking the coolant level. The car has not overheated or lost any coolant. I've cleaned out the header tank and since then there hasn't been any oil. It didn't get there by accident though so at some point the head gasket needs replacing. I had erratic idle and check engine lights for misfires prior to replacing the injectors. Since then I've not had any issues with poor running. If you're interested 4k is really as low as I can go."
As a best scenario, the oil filter housing gasket is leaking oil into the coolant channels - at worse, the head gasket has gone.
Id recommend that your mechanic gives it a thorough going over"
The ad said:
"IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION
BMW 330i Touring
94k miles
Blue with tan leather
6 spd auto
272 bhp (This is one of the most powerful gasoline cars you can by with £260 tax)
Full service history
Towbar fitted (this has only been used to tow a 3' x 4' box trailer)
Injector issues are well documented with these first generation GDI engines from BMW. I have recently had all 6 injectors replaced to resolve
intermittent misfire issues. The new injectors are index 11 parts which are more robust that the original index 9 parts. I have also replaced all 6 plugs
and one coil. This work cost £1800 (receipts to be included in sale) and has completely resolved all the misfire issues.
Unfortunately following this repair I found a small amount of oil in the coolant. I SUSPECT THE ENGINE HAS A FAILED HEAD GASKET. The
car is not using coolant as far as I can tell. I've decided to sell the car rather than repair it."
Not an ideal start!
I had bought the car in a rush because it was a) local, b) cheap (£4995), c) from a dealer providing an AA Warranty so I had some level of security.
I would normally do a fair bit of research before buying a car but as this was so well priced it had attracted some attention (a guy was coming from Sussex to see it) and a quick decision was called for. the MoT history was perfect so I went for it.
The PH news was a bit gutting TBH!
Ad picture:
The next day the PH community did it's thing and I was greeted with a post from another PH'er who'd seen the car on ebay:
"Hate to be the bearer of potentially bad news, but i tried to buy this on ebay recently - for parts for my e91 and/or to fix depending on how knackered it was.
In end, the the price was too strong for me considering the potential cost to fix, so its obviously been offloaded to a trader instead.
Here is the original advert: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330i-Touring-2009-9...
Message from the seller after i queried a few points:
"I found the oil when checking the coolant level. The car has not overheated or lost any coolant. I've cleaned out the header tank and since then there hasn't been any oil. It didn't get there by accident though so at some point the head gasket needs replacing. I had erratic idle and check engine lights for misfires prior to replacing the injectors. Since then I've not had any issues with poor running. If you're interested 4k is really as low as I can go."
As a best scenario, the oil filter housing gasket is leaking oil into the coolant channels - at worse, the head gasket has gone.
Id recommend that your mechanic gives it a thorough going over"
The ad said:
"IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION
BMW 330i Touring
94k miles
Blue with tan leather
6 spd auto
272 bhp (This is one of the most powerful gasoline cars you can by with £260 tax)
Full service history
Towbar fitted (this has only been used to tow a 3' x 4' box trailer)
Injector issues are well documented with these first generation GDI engines from BMW. I have recently had all 6 injectors replaced to resolve
intermittent misfire issues. The new injectors are index 11 parts which are more robust that the original index 9 parts. I have also replaced all 6 plugs
and one coil. This work cost £1800 (receipts to be included in sale) and has completely resolved all the misfire issues.
Unfortunately following this repair I found a small amount of oil in the coolant. I SUSPECT THE ENGINE HAS A FAILED HEAD GASKET. The
car is not using coolant as far as I can tell. I've decided to sell the car rather than repair it."
Not an ideal start!
I had bought the car in a rush because it was a) local, b) cheap (£4995), c) from a dealer providing an AA Warranty so I had some level of security.
I would normally do a fair bit of research before buying a car but as this was so well priced it had attracted some attention (a guy was coming from Sussex to see it) and a quick decision was called for. the MoT history was perfect so I went for it.
The PH news was a bit gutting TBH!
Edited by Sn1ckers on Wednesday 3rd July 17:16
So, I now had a car with a chequered history. I spoke to the dealer who didn't want to know and simply referred me to the warranty company who were, in turn, not much use (the first company they sent me to to check the car over only repaired trucks!). I contacted the ebay seller who kindly confirmed what I already knew but provided more details on who had done the injectors/plugs/coil pack and they checked out as a reputable company with excellent reviews.
I decided to take the car to my local indie who I've used for years and ask them to take a quick shufty. They checked for hydrocarbons in the expansion tank; 0%. This was reassuring. I'd also done some research and the oil cooler gasket seemed a possible alternative to the head gasket. £120 later, inc oem gasket at £25, the oil cooler gasket was done and the old gasket was, I am reliably informed, shot.
As things stand today I'm keeping an eye on the oil level and the water level and possible cross contamination. I have the car booked in to my indie for a full health check this Saturday; fingers crossed!
More to come once the kids are in bed.
I decided to take the car to my local indie who I've used for years and ask them to take a quick shufty. They checked for hydrocarbons in the expansion tank; 0%. This was reassuring. I'd also done some research and the oil cooler gasket seemed a possible alternative to the head gasket. £120 later, inc oem gasket at £25, the oil cooler gasket was done and the old gasket was, I am reliably informed, shot.
As things stand today I'm keeping an eye on the oil level and the water level and possible cross contamination. I have the car booked in to my indie for a full health check this Saturday; fingers crossed!
More to come once the kids are in bed.
More photos (from the original ad):
The period post purchase has been a little odd compared with other cars I have bought. Usually I’m cleaning the car & going out for a drive somewhere for no reason whereas this time it’s all about checking oil & water levels and generally being a bit paranoid about every imagined knock or rattle. To be fair, had I not seen the eBay ad I would have been over the moon about the car as it’s been faultless so far (oil cooler gasket notwithstanding but I may not have noticed that right away).
Anyway, my confidence is increasing daily and I’m now making plans for what I want to do with the car (beyond taking it back to the dealer!).
As I previously said, I paid £4995 for the car which I still think is pretty good for a Dec 09 330i touring with 94k on the clock. I have the car booked in for a full health check this weekend and, subject to what is found, then plan to ditch the run flats which I have always thought ruined the ride. Next will be retrofitting Bluetooth (pro nav but no Bluetooth - why??) which can be done seamlessly for c£300 and give me a streaming facility to boot.
Also this weekend I’m having a go at replacing the passenger door grab handle which has become very sticky (a common problem?); I’ll come back with an update on how I get on.
Other than that the car is pretty much perfect. The Individual HiFi is a real treat!
The period post purchase has been a little odd compared with other cars I have bought. Usually I’m cleaning the car & going out for a drive somewhere for no reason whereas this time it’s all about checking oil & water levels and generally being a bit paranoid about every imagined knock or rattle. To be fair, had I not seen the eBay ad I would have been over the moon about the car as it’s been faultless so far (oil cooler gasket notwithstanding but I may not have noticed that right away).
Anyway, my confidence is increasing daily and I’m now making plans for what I want to do with the car (beyond taking it back to the dealer!).
As I previously said, I paid £4995 for the car which I still think is pretty good for a Dec 09 330i touring with 94k on the clock. I have the car booked in for a full health check this weekend and, subject to what is found, then plan to ditch the run flats which I have always thought ruined the ride. Next will be retrofitting Bluetooth (pro nav but no Bluetooth - why??) which can be done seamlessly for c£300 and give me a streaming facility to boot.
Also this weekend I’m having a go at replacing the passenger door grab handle which has become very sticky (a common problem?); I’ll come back with an update on how I get on.
Other than that the car is pretty much perfect. The Individual HiFi is a real treat!
That sounds like a good buy OP. 
When I was looking for an E91 last year 330is seemed to be nearly twice the price of 325is - so I bought a 325i.
But it just felt a bit sluggish with very high gearing and way too much refinement for my liking, so earlier this year I replaced it with an E90 330i as it had the rare split/fold rear seat option! Well that's how I justified it anyway - plus it has the tilt/slide sunroof and power-fold mirrors.
Your E91 has a great colour combination - keep enjoying it.
After all there probably won't ever be any more naturally-aspirated straight 6 petrols with RWD!
When I was looking for an E91 last year 330is seemed to be nearly twice the price of 325is - so I bought a 325i.
But it just felt a bit sluggish with very high gearing and way too much refinement for my liking, so earlier this year I replaced it with an E90 330i as it had the rare split/fold rear seat option! Well that's how I justified it anyway - plus it has the tilt/slide sunroof and power-fold mirrors.
Your E91 has a great colour combination - keep enjoying it.
After all there probably won't ever be any more naturally-aspirated straight 6 petrols with RWD!
Bit of an update having now taken the car for a once over at my trusted indie.
The front of the engine looks ok. There is evidence of an oil leak in the past but the view is that there’s no leak there now.
There is however a small leak from the gasket between the engine and gearbox. Nothing too serious and something to watch rather than do anything about;
There’s a bit of play in the front near side suspension (marked with chalk in photo;
Booked in for next week to get this sorted along with sorting a sticky near side handbrake adjuster.
Should be about £120 all in so not a bad result. The consensus at the garage is the car is generally sound.
Lastly a few error codes are showing;
These have all been cleared and we’ll have another look next week to see what, if anything, has reappeared.
The front of the engine looks ok. There is evidence of an oil leak in the past but the view is that there’s no leak there now.
There is however a small leak from the gasket between the engine and gearbox. Nothing too serious and something to watch rather than do anything about;
There’s a bit of play in the front near side suspension (marked with chalk in photo;
Booked in for next week to get this sorted along with sorting a sticky near side handbrake adjuster.
Should be about £120 all in so not a bad result. The consensus at the garage is the car is generally sound.
Lastly a few error codes are showing;
These have all been cleared and we’ll have another look next week to see what, if anything, has reappeared.
That was very cheap for one of them, but not surprising with the background, but the car would sell for around £7-£8k normally. I've had a few N53 330 and they are often a bit rough at low revs dont try and pull away in the wrong gear at 1,000 revs they dont like it. Also very rare on these to ever need a head gasket, unless someone drove it with no coolant they are pretty much never needing head gaskets (and Ive seen them past 200k miles going strong).
Little bit of titivation this morning. The plastic on the inside of the passenger door handle had turned to what felt like putty so a replacement was in order. New v old;
And finished job;
To fix the new handle required drilling out the old studs and melting the new plastic studs in place. Whatever happened to nuts, bolts and screws?
With the door panel off I was surprised to see how seemingly puny the drivers are for the door midrange speaker is. I’d expected something more substantial given these were a £1400 option;
And finished job;
To fix the new handle required drilling out the old studs and melting the new plastic studs in place. Whatever happened to nuts, bolts and screws?
With the door panel off I was surprised to see how seemingly puny the drivers are for the door midrange speaker is. I’d expected something more substantial given these were a £1400 option;
Nice car OP.
I’ve got a real soft spot for tourings. I really wanted a 330 touring but struggled to find one that wasn’t a dog so ended up with a saloon which was a fab car in he end despite not being a ‘holy grail spec’ with folding seats.
The auto in these is OK but nothing compared to a modern auto in terms of shift speed. It’s a cracking engine though.
I’ve got a real soft spot for tourings. I really wanted a 330 touring but struggled to find one that wasn’t a dog so ended up with a saloon which was a fab car in he end despite not being a ‘holy grail spec’ with folding seats.
The auto in these is OK but nothing compared to a modern auto in terms of shift speed. It’s a cracking engine though.
willmagrath said:
Lovely car OP.
I'd love to buy one of these later in the year. How do you find the auto over a manual? I've always had manuals and don't really fancy the silky 6 with an auto.
The 6 speed auto was decent at the time but is a bit of a slush box compared to more modern stuff. I have an auto because of the o/h but would choose the manual if it were just me making the decisions. That said the 330i lci is a rare beast so you could be waiting a while for one. A 335i manual with the later single twin scroll turbo would be a nice shout though.I'd love to buy one of these later in the year. How do you find the auto over a manual? I've always had manuals and don't really fancy the silky 6 with an auto.
That said for most of my driving the auto is perfectly good and makes the car a bit of a mini barge with the ability to hustle if needed!
Court_S said:
Nice car OP.
I’ve got a real soft spot for tourings. I really wanted a 330 touring but struggled to find one that wasn’t a dog so ended up with a saloon which was a fab car in he end despite not being a ‘holy grail spec’ with folding seats.
The auto in these is OK but nothing compared to a modern auto in terms of shift speed. It’s a cracking engine though.
Thanks.I’ve got a real soft spot for tourings. I really wanted a 330 touring but struggled to find one that wasn’t a dog so ended up with a saloon which was a fab car in he end despite not being a ‘holy grail spec’ with folding seats.
The auto in these is OK but nothing compared to a modern auto in terms of shift speed. It’s a cracking engine though.
The engine does make the car. I’ve had a couple of 3L diesel 3’s in the past which are great cars but I much prefer the petrol version.
The leak of oil you mentioned might be from one of the electrical connectors going into the auto transmission. As part of the service kit, thre is a new gasket / seal for this. It's worth performing the transmission service (use the ZF oil) and resetting all the gearbox adaptations. My wife had her transmission serviced 20,000 miles ago and it was an instant improvement in shift quality. FWIW ZF recommend transmission services between 60,00 and 80,000 miles (but BMW say they never need servicing!).
Finally got around to looking up the spec:
S752A Individual Audio System
P7RSA Package Comfort
Comfort And Interior Equipment
S418A Luggage Compartment Package
S423A Floor Mats Velours
S428A Warning Triangle And First Aid Kit
S430A Interioroutside Mirror With Auto Dip
S431A Interior Mirror With Automaticdip
S441A Smoker Package
S459A Seat Adjuster Electric With Memory
S464A Ski Bag
S470A IsofixSystem
S488A Lumbar Support Driver And Passenger
S493A Storage Compartment Package
S4ABA Fine Wood Trim Burr Walnut
S4AEA Armrest Front Retractable
Multimedia
S609A Navigation System Professional
S672A CD Changer For 6 CDs
S698A AreaCode 2 For DVD
S6FLA USBAudio Interface
Driver Assistance And Lightning
S502A Headlight Cleaning System
S508A Park Distance Control PDC
S521A Rain Sensor
S522A Xenon Light
S534A Automatic Air Conditioning
S544A Cruise Control With Brake Function
S563A Light Package
S5ACA Highbeam Assistant
S5DCA Rearseat Headrests Folding
S520A Fog Lights
Wheels And Drive
S205A Automatic Transmission
S216A Hydro Steeringservotronic
S230A Extra Package EUspecific
S255A Sports Leather Steering Wheel
S258A Tire With Runflat Functionality
S2BZA BMW Alloy Wheel Double Spoke 161
S2PAA Wheel Bolt Retainer
S249A Multifunction F Steering Wheel
Environment And Safety
S302A Alarm System
S320A Deleted Model Lettering
S386A Roof Railing
S854A Language Version French
S863A Retailer Directory Europe
S877A Delete Crosspattern Operation
S881A Onboard Vehicle Literature French
S8S3A Automatic Locking When Driving Off
S8SCA Telematics Access Requestcountryspec
S8SPA Control Unit COP
S321A Exterior Parts In Vehicle Color
Individual Equipment
S760A High Gloss Shadow Line
Other Equipment
S1CAA Selection Of COP Relevant Vehicles
S1CDA Brake Energy Regeneration
S1CBA CO2 Package
Hadn't realised it had high beam assist. There's noi obvious button for it like there is on the F10?
Suspect this car was originally bought by someone who prefered older tech. No Bluetooth and a CD changer??
S752A Individual Audio System
P7RSA Package Comfort
Comfort And Interior Equipment
S418A Luggage Compartment Package
S423A Floor Mats Velours
S428A Warning Triangle And First Aid Kit
S430A Interioroutside Mirror With Auto Dip
S431A Interior Mirror With Automaticdip
S441A Smoker Package
S459A Seat Adjuster Electric With Memory
S464A Ski Bag
S470A IsofixSystem
S488A Lumbar Support Driver And Passenger
S493A Storage Compartment Package
S4ABA Fine Wood Trim Burr Walnut
S4AEA Armrest Front Retractable
Multimedia
S609A Navigation System Professional
S672A CD Changer For 6 CDs
S698A AreaCode 2 For DVD
S6FLA USBAudio Interface
Driver Assistance And Lightning
S502A Headlight Cleaning System
S508A Park Distance Control PDC
S521A Rain Sensor
S522A Xenon Light
S534A Automatic Air Conditioning
S544A Cruise Control With Brake Function
S563A Light Package
S5ACA Highbeam Assistant
S5DCA Rearseat Headrests Folding
S520A Fog Lights
Wheels And Drive
S205A Automatic Transmission
S216A Hydro Steeringservotronic
S230A Extra Package EUspecific
S255A Sports Leather Steering Wheel
S258A Tire With Runflat Functionality
S2BZA BMW Alloy Wheel Double Spoke 161
S2PAA Wheel Bolt Retainer
S249A Multifunction F Steering Wheel
Environment And Safety
S302A Alarm System
S320A Deleted Model Lettering
S386A Roof Railing
S854A Language Version French
S863A Retailer Directory Europe
S877A Delete Crosspattern Operation
S881A Onboard Vehicle Literature French
S8S3A Automatic Locking When Driving Off
S8SCA Telematics Access Requestcountryspec
S8SPA Control Unit COP
S321A Exterior Parts In Vehicle Color
Individual Equipment
S760A High Gloss Shadow Line
Other Equipment
S1CAA Selection Of COP Relevant Vehicles
S1CDA Brake Energy Regeneration
S1CBA CO2 Package
Hadn't realised it had high beam assist. There's noi obvious button for it like there is on the F10?
Suspect this car was originally bought by someone who prefered older tech. No Bluetooth and a CD changer??
chunkytfg said:
Turn the Headlight switch to the left and then the first time you push the indicator stalk away to get full beam it'll turn the Assist on and you should get the little sign come up on the dash.
Where did you get the spec list from?
Thanks for that; I’ll try it next time I’m out at night.Where did you get the spec list from?
I got the spec via mdecoder.com using my vin number though there are several sites that do the same thing.
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