Dull daily, BMW E90 320d, repair and refresh on a budget
Discussion
Not the most exciting car on PH - hence the warning on the thread title - so those expecting V8 action and exotic photography will be disappointed.
For those of you averse to paying main dealer prices, happy to learn by doing and keep costs down as much as possible, well, there might be something of interest.
First, a brief bit of history. Although based in Frankfurt I drive RHD, initially because the pound was so weak against the euro, but with this latest purchase because it was ridiculously cheap. It´s a late 2007 BMW 320d SE, I think, with the 163bhp Diesel engine. The fact that the steering wheel was on the ´wrong´ side meant that it was approx. half the price of a comparable LHD model.
The (very pleasant) previous owner had returned to Germany after a few years in London and liked the car enough to bring the car back with him, which seemed a good sign. He then went through the process of registering it for DE, which is a bit of a faff and involves swapping the headlights, rear foglight and having a TüV/AU Hauptuntersuchung. Here are some sale photos:
So, it´s in Monaco Blue, 160,000 KM, with a full service record, recent clutch and DMF change, 2 years TüV (MoT equivalent), a wide variety of parking scrapes and dings and a cracked front bumper (more on that later), all for the equivalent of £3,300.
And so begins the process of bringing it up to a reasonable standard!
For those of you averse to paying main dealer prices, happy to learn by doing and keep costs down as much as possible, well, there might be something of interest.
First, a brief bit of history. Although based in Frankfurt I drive RHD, initially because the pound was so weak against the euro, but with this latest purchase because it was ridiculously cheap. It´s a late 2007 BMW 320d SE, I think, with the 163bhp Diesel engine. The fact that the steering wheel was on the ´wrong´ side meant that it was approx. half the price of a comparable LHD model.
The (very pleasant) previous owner had returned to Germany after a few years in London and liked the car enough to bring the car back with him, which seemed a good sign. He then went through the process of registering it for DE, which is a bit of a faff and involves swapping the headlights, rear foglight and having a TüV/AU Hauptuntersuchung. Here are some sale photos:
So, it´s in Monaco Blue, 160,000 KM, with a full service record, recent clutch and DMF change, 2 years TüV (MoT equivalent), a wide variety of parking scrapes and dings and a cracked front bumper (more on that later), all for the equivalent of £3,300.
And so begins the process of bringing it up to a reasonable standard!
Edited by Barchettaman on Saturday 13th June 10:13
First job was to have a go at the badly-chipped windcreen. It had one really nasty chip, fortunately on the passenger side, 4 or 5 other substantial ones and about 20 little ones.
I thought I would try on of those resin kits from Amazon (and elsewhere). My €20 got me one of these:
About an hour later all chips were filled. The really bad one still looks ste but hopefully won´t propagate further. The other substantial ones now are like water spots - they´re filled but a bit cloudy. The small ones aren´t noticeable.
I´d give the kit a 6 or 7 out of 10. I wasn´t looking for a perfect result, what I got wasn´t as good as promised, but it´s OK and the kit was cheap, easy to use and fast.
I thought I would try on of those resin kits from Amazon (and elsewhere). My €20 got me one of these:
About an hour later all chips were filled. The really bad one still looks ste but hopefully won´t propagate further. The other substantial ones now are like water spots - they´re filled but a bit cloudy. The small ones aren´t noticeable.
I´d give the kit a 6 or 7 out of 10. I wasn´t looking for a perfect result, what I got wasn´t as good as promised, but it´s OK and the kit was cheap, easy to use and fast.
Hi Mike,
It´s currently running a cheap Powerbox that gives it a bit more wallop. I can´t really justify €500 for a remap when the second-hand tuning box was €30 from eBay.de
I miss the Vectra as it was a lot more practical, but the engine on this BM is better I think, revs a lot more freely than the Fiat/GM lump.
Interior pics to come.
I might spray the front grill black, and I have carbon wrap for the crappy aluminium-effect interior, but we will see!
No plans for bling wheels, I´m happy on 16".
It´s currently running a cheap Powerbox that gives it a bit more wallop. I can´t really justify €500 for a remap when the second-hand tuning box was €30 from eBay.de
I miss the Vectra as it was a lot more practical, but the engine on this BM is better I think, revs a lot more freely than the Fiat/GM lump.
Interior pics to come.
I might spray the front grill black, and I have carbon wrap for the crappy aluminium-effect interior, but we will see!
No plans for bling wheels, I´m happy on 16".
Edited by Barchettaman on Saturday 13th June 10:13
Some more random restoration:
Next job was the stonechipped and cracked front bumper.
The undertray had been cracked and ripped so was sitting below the blue bumper. Air was being rammed in under the car and had ripped the fixing tabs off the undertray, so I had to make some more (out of old ice cream lids) and stick them on (I used No More Nails, hot glue or epoxy would´ve been better but I wanted to finish up what I had open). They are now absolutely bombproof.
The crack on the front bumper was propogating upwards, so I stitched it underneath with zip ties and more ice-cream lid for reinforcement, it seems OK. You can only see the zip-tie bodge from underneath the car. Cost was time and a few pennies for the zip ties. I still need to wetsand and polish the touch-up repair as it was rushed, and it shows.
I´m pretty sure that the dealer would have wanted to replace undertray and bumper so I´m pleased I got it sorted for basically zero cost (and my time of course)
For the stonechips I followed Naranto´s excellent guide here:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...
And went from this:
To this:
Again, I need to refine down the finish as it´s miles better but still plenty of room for improvement. A bit of 2500 grit and Menz should improve it still further.
Next job was the stonechipped and cracked front bumper.
The undertray had been cracked and ripped so was sitting below the blue bumper. Air was being rammed in under the car and had ripped the fixing tabs off the undertray, so I had to make some more (out of old ice cream lids) and stick them on (I used No More Nails, hot glue or epoxy would´ve been better but I wanted to finish up what I had open). They are now absolutely bombproof.
The crack on the front bumper was propogating upwards, so I stitched it underneath with zip ties and more ice-cream lid for reinforcement, it seems OK. You can only see the zip-tie bodge from underneath the car. Cost was time and a few pennies for the zip ties. I still need to wetsand and polish the touch-up repair as it was rushed, and it shows.
I´m pretty sure that the dealer would have wanted to replace undertray and bumper so I´m pleased I got it sorted for basically zero cost (and my time of course)
For the stonechips I followed Naranto´s excellent guide here:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...
And went from this:
To this:
Again, I need to refine down the finish as it´s miles better but still plenty of room for improvement. A bit of 2500 grit and Menz should improve it still further.
Other stuff:
-It came on good winter tyres on rough alloys, with a set of summer tyres without wheels. I was looking to mount the summer tyres on a cheap set of steel wheels but then got lucky on eBay. A guy in the next village was selling a set of summer tyres on steels, pick up only, so I got them for €27. 5mm tread still and they went straight on! The other summer tyres are in the loft, I´ll mount them as and when the current set wear out.
-I bought a set of OEM wheel trims, bizarrely enough they were more expensive than the bloody wheelset (€28!) It makes it look a bit less ghetto.
-€30 secured a second hand Powerbox from eBay, this seems to help the pick up above 2300 rpm, it really flies compared to standard.
-Oil and filter change was a doddle. Mannol 5w30 oil is cheap as chips and the filter is conveniently located, I just needed to buy a bigger socket (36mm IIRC). I have an extractor pump so barely got dirty.
It´s going to my friendly local mechanic this week to get the handbrake cable tighted up and to trace and repair a minor coolant leak. Possibly a cracked expansion tank - shouldn´t be too bad.
Next up is a full machine polish and I´m going to try my hand at PDR, I bought a cheap hot glue dent lifter kit and will see if I can do it. What could possibly go wrong?
-It came on good winter tyres on rough alloys, with a set of summer tyres without wheels. I was looking to mount the summer tyres on a cheap set of steel wheels but then got lucky on eBay. A guy in the next village was selling a set of summer tyres on steels, pick up only, so I got them for €27. 5mm tread still and they went straight on! The other summer tyres are in the loft, I´ll mount them as and when the current set wear out.
-I bought a set of OEM wheel trims, bizarrely enough they were more expensive than the bloody wheelset (€28!) It makes it look a bit less ghetto.
-€30 secured a second hand Powerbox from eBay, this seems to help the pick up above 2300 rpm, it really flies compared to standard.
-Oil and filter change was a doddle. Mannol 5w30 oil is cheap as chips and the filter is conveniently located, I just needed to buy a bigger socket (36mm IIRC). I have an extractor pump so barely got dirty.
It´s going to my friendly local mechanic this week to get the handbrake cable tighted up and to trace and repair a minor coolant leak. Possibly a cracked expansion tank - shouldn´t be too bad.
Next up is a full machine polish and I´m going to try my hand at PDR, I bought a cheap hot glue dent lifter kit and will see if I can do it. What could possibly go wrong?
Currently at 164,000km, so approx. 102,000 miles.
I crank the (stupidly designed - why didn't they use a ratchet FFS) seat height adjustment all the way up, otherwise it's really miles too low for my taste. Could be the reason you found ingress/egress inconvenient.
Suspension and drivetrain all seem OK, so it should be good for a couple more years at least.
It's just the cosmetics that need tidying up. When they're all done we should be left with a really nice, if slightly dull, car.
I crank the (stupidly designed - why didn't they use a ratchet FFS) seat height adjustment all the way up, otherwise it's really miles too low for my taste. Could be the reason you found ingress/egress inconvenient.
Suspension and drivetrain all seem OK, so it should be good for a couple more years at least.
It's just the cosmetics that need tidying up. When they're all done we should be left with a really nice, if slightly dull, car.
I'm in no way handy with a spanner, but I do like trying to save money by improvising stuff. I also find the whole valeting/detailing thing quite Zen but I'm not as OCD as some. There is something oddly satisfying about getting a car that's had the st knocked out of it for the first part of its life back up to something approaching showroom condition, for me at least.
The BMW does seem a bit more solid than the Vectra did at similar age and mileage, that's for sure. The daft thing is I had just had the suspension refreshed on the Vec when the clutch started to show symptoms of imminent DMF failure. It was running smoother than it had ever done. Oh well.
The Vec had been reasonably reliable. I took it from 116k to 146k in 2 1/2 years, and it needed a water pump (which fortunately went on the driveway, not on the Autobahn), initially some bits sorting for its TüV, an aircon radiator (broken when I bought it), couple of springs, rear control arms, just standard stuff really for a car of that age and mileage.
It does seem that many bread &butter cars are designed around a failure point of about 7 years /120k miles. At this point the potential repair costs outweigh the value of the vehicle, at least for the Average Motorist. The challenge - for someone like me, in any rate - is finding a car approaching this age and mileage, so at the bottom of the depreciation curve - that fits my needs as a daily, and that I can work on pretty easily. The BM does that.
The BMW does seem a bit more solid than the Vectra did at similar age and mileage, that's for sure. The daft thing is I had just had the suspension refreshed on the Vec when the clutch started to show symptoms of imminent DMF failure. It was running smoother than it had ever done. Oh well.
The Vec had been reasonably reliable. I took it from 116k to 146k in 2 1/2 years, and it needed a water pump (which fortunately went on the driveway, not on the Autobahn), initially some bits sorting for its TüV, an aircon radiator (broken when I bought it), couple of springs, rear control arms, just standard stuff really for a car of that age and mileage.
It does seem that many bread &butter cars are designed around a failure point of about 7 years /120k miles. At this point the potential repair costs outweigh the value of the vehicle, at least for the Average Motorist. The challenge - for someone like me, in any rate - is finding a car approaching this age and mileage, so at the bottom of the depreciation curve - that fits my needs as a daily, and that I can work on pretty easily. The BM does that.
There's a guy in Norway who's done a full M3 conversion - wide arches, exhausts, the lot - on a crash-damaged E90 320d.
It's fairly impressive stuff, and I can see why he did it (the M3 second hand costs upwards of $190k over there), but as spending more than necessary is anathema to me I'll be keeping this one pretty standard.
The cheap tuning box does make a noticeable difference, though.
It's fairly impressive stuff, and I can see why he did it (the M3 second hand costs upwards of $190k over there), but as spending more than necessary is anathema to me I'll be keeping this one pretty standard.
The cheap tuning box does make a noticeable difference, though.
Edited by Barchettaman on Monday 15th June 08:04
Minor update.
The coolant leak was traced to the water pump, which was basically FUBARed and replaced. Cost for new pump, new coolant and labour was €360/£250 from my friendly local mechanic, so not too bad. He also gave the car a thorough inspection (for free) and pronounced it a 'very sound example'.
So if that's not an absolute guarantee that something major will go wrong in the next few weeks, I don't know what is!
In other news - warning, detailing content ahead - I did a test polish yesterday on the boot lid to see how the full machine polish is going to work out. Well, 'work out' is pretty accurate. BMW paint is a lot harder than Vauxhall paint, that's for sure. I'm using a DAS dual action polisher, worked up to the the white pad with Menz PF2500 and after a lot of work this got me to about 80% correction. I'm a bit disappointed with that, so any ideas gratefully received. Still, it looks terrific and for the vast majority of people it would be more than ok - it's just the ratio between result and time taken is a bit cack. Or maybe I'm just incompetent.
What else? Did the interior. In the photo below you will see the car has a steering wheel. How thrilling.
I had a go at PDR with my eBay dent-lifter thing. Various degrees of success. The skill appears to be in knocking the dent back once the glue has lifted it - a skill which I have yet to learn. Still I think I got the ´orrible rear wheel arch, that had been stoved in on something, about 70% better.
Couple of the boot lid:
Apologies for the slightly dull update.
The coolant leak was traced to the water pump, which was basically FUBARed and replaced. Cost for new pump, new coolant and labour was €360/£250 from my friendly local mechanic, so not too bad. He also gave the car a thorough inspection (for free) and pronounced it a 'very sound example'.
So if that's not an absolute guarantee that something major will go wrong in the next few weeks, I don't know what is!
In other news - warning, detailing content ahead - I did a test polish yesterday on the boot lid to see how the full machine polish is going to work out. Well, 'work out' is pretty accurate. BMW paint is a lot harder than Vauxhall paint, that's for sure. I'm using a DAS dual action polisher, worked up to the the white pad with Menz PF2500 and after a lot of work this got me to about 80% correction. I'm a bit disappointed with that, so any ideas gratefully received. Still, it looks terrific and for the vast majority of people it would be more than ok - it's just the ratio between result and time taken is a bit cack. Or maybe I'm just incompetent.
What else? Did the interior. In the photo below you will see the car has a steering wheel. How thrilling.
I had a go at PDR with my eBay dent-lifter thing. Various degrees of success. The skill appears to be in knocking the dent back once the glue has lifted it - a skill which I have yet to learn. Still I think I got the ´orrible rear wheel arch, that had been stoved in on something, about 70% better.
Couple of the boot lid:
Apologies for the slightly dull update.
Edited by Barchettaman on Monday 22 June 08:05
They think I'm nuts anyway. The majority of people have newish company cars so just laugh when I tell them how much my old bangers cost.
Actually, one of things we are seriously blessed with on this Wohngebiet is a bunch of seriously mellow neighbours. I think it's something to do with the fact that as it's new build, everyone moved in at a similar time, so there was no 'them and us' which you sometimes get in a village.
Nice place, Niederrad. Shame that the aircraft noise has gone up so much with the new landebahn, and that they're about to develop the racecourse, but I digress.
Actually, one of things we are seriously blessed with on this Wohngebiet is a bunch of seriously mellow neighbours. I think it's something to do with the fact that as it's new build, everyone moved in at a similar time, so there was no 'them and us' which you sometimes get in a village.
Nice place, Niederrad. Shame that the aircraft noise has gone up so much with the new landebahn, and that they're about to develop the racecourse, but I digress.
A very minor update - the car is currently on approx 184,000 Km and running very sweetly indeed.
Other than the water pump, it's had a fault in the power steering system that needed a part replacing (I think it was a pulley, not sure of its English terminology). It had a new Keilrippenriemen, a Riemenscheibensatz, and labour, approx €500.
Oil change this week which is a bloody doddle. The filter housing is on the top of the engine and I have a 12V oil pump thingy, only takes 10 mins.
Other than the water pump, it's had a fault in the power steering system that needed a part replacing (I think it was a pulley, not sure of its English terminology). It had a new Keilrippenriemen, a Riemenscheibensatz, and labour, approx €500.
Oil change this week which is a bloody doddle. The filter housing is on the top of the engine and I have a 12V oil pump thingy, only takes 10 mins.
Another small and fairly dull update.
This happened:
Having intially said I wouldn´t go for any ´bling´ wheels, a set of 17" winter tyres, fairly lightly-used (5.5mm on the tread gauge), on genuine alloy wheels came up for sale local to me.
Total cost: €220 minus whatever I get back on the 16" set that were on there before, and are currently on eBay.de
Apologies for the over-exposed photo.
It is now approaching 195,000km, still running well and having a hard life of shortish runs with Mrs Barchetta using it for work. It always starts in the mornings but it´s getting a bit recalcitrant in these -10° conditions that we currently have.
It desperately needs a machine polish as it´s Swirl City on the panels, but that will have to wait until spring.
It´s in for the TüV (MoT equivalent) shortly, it will have a full service prior including a transmission oil change so hopefully won´t be a problem getting through that. Once that´s done, hopefully another 2 years of mostly trouble-free ownership.
This happened:
Having intially said I wouldn´t go for any ´bling´ wheels, a set of 17" winter tyres, fairly lightly-used (5.5mm on the tread gauge), on genuine alloy wheels came up for sale local to me.
Total cost: €220 minus whatever I get back on the 16" set that were on there before, and are currently on eBay.de
Apologies for the over-exposed photo.
It is now approaching 195,000km, still running well and having a hard life of shortish runs with Mrs Barchetta using it for work. It always starts in the mornings but it´s getting a bit recalcitrant in these -10° conditions that we currently have.
It desperately needs a machine polish as it´s Swirl City on the panels, but that will have to wait until spring.
It´s in for the TüV (MoT equivalent) shortly, it will have a full service prior including a transmission oil change so hopefully won´t be a problem getting through that. Once that´s done, hopefully another 2 years of mostly trouble-free ownership.
Edited by Barchettaman on Monday 23 January 12:28
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