E91 Straight Six Bearding
Discussion
Just a heads up that the Koni STR.T kit is £428 at Demon Tweeks at present. According to the Koni website they use H&R springs so that looks a good price to me.
Bilstein B12 Pro Kit is current around £600.
Not sure how the two compare,or whether you'd notice a difference? I know Birds use Bilstein. OEM is Sachs.
ETA Koni Special Active with an Eibach Pro-Kit would be around £625
Bilstein B12 Pro Kit is current around £600.
Not sure how the two compare,or whether you'd notice a difference? I know Birds use Bilstein. OEM is Sachs.
ETA Koni Special Active with an Eibach Pro-Kit would be around £625
Edited by ferrisbueller on Monday 12th November 12:31
Welcome all, photo of my new car as a first post in this great thread. Its an '07 330i manual thats done 165k. Spent a long time looking for a 330i manual and in the end found one being sold ten minutes down the road. Needs some work doing but having fun driving it before the spending starts.
That looks like Sparkling Graphite - my 325iSE is that colour.
I wanted a 330i, but the few that came up for sale were twice what I paid so I had to compromise.
Mine is on 137K miles, and feels like it will do many more!
They are great cars, but a bit more refined than I'd like (I had an E46 325ti before).
I wanted a 330i, but the few that came up for sale were twice what I paid so I had to compromise.
Mine is on 137K miles, and feels like it will do many more!
They are great cars, but a bit more refined than I'd like (I had an E46 325ti before).
Mr Tidy said:
That looks like Sparkling Graphite - my 325iSE is that colour.
I wanted a 330i, but the few that came up for sale were twice what I paid so I had to compromise.
Mine is on 137K miles, and feels like it will do many more!
They are great cars, but a bit more refined than I'd like (I had an E46 325ti before).
I know what you mean. I'm now using an E91 325d as a daily and i'm surprised at how different it is to my 130i (which is now hibernating). The E91 has a fantastic ride, despite being on the same diameter run flat tyres as the 130i. The gearchange is a longer throw. The steering is much lighter. And generally it just feels bigger and a bit softer.I wanted a 330i, but the few that came up for sale were twice what I paid so I had to compromise.
Mine is on 137K miles, and feels like it will do many more!
They are great cars, but a bit more refined than I'd like (I had an E46 325ti before).
I moved the 130i at the weekend and was surprised by how different it felt.
If only i could have one car that did both things so well. An E91 330i with the N52 engine would be an awesome bit of kit, though i'm seeing 49mpg out of the 325d so far, and a 650 mile tank range vs the 350 miles from the 130i!!
Edited by PTF on Thursday 15th November 08:39
Mr Tidy said:
That looks like Sparkling Graphite - my 325iSE is that colour.
I wanted a 330i, but the few that came up for sale were twice what I paid so I had to compromise.
Mine is on 137K miles, and feels like it will do many more!
They are great cars, but a bit more refined than I'd like (I had an E46 325ti before).
It is indeed. Funnily enough I started off looking for an E46 touring but didn’t find any nearby in good condition. Would still like to own one at some stage. I wanted a 330i, but the few that came up for sale were twice what I paid so I had to compromise.
Mine is on 137K miles, and feels like it will do many more!
They are great cars, but a bit more refined than I'd like (I had an E46 325ti before).
chile62 said:
Welcome all, photo of my new car as a first post in this great thread. Its an '07 330i manual thats done 165k. Spent a long time looking for a 330i manual and in the end found one being sold ten minutes down the road. Needs some work doing but having fun driving it before the spending starts.
I am looking for something similar (estate/coupe) but finding only high mileage examples within my budget.
The pre-lci iDrive is rubbish and if you’re looking for an N52 that’s all you’re going to get. You can get it converted to the newer version for £800 but that’s a fair wedge to pay for faster menus and USB streaming.
Having had a few E90s, mileage is mainly an issue for the suspension components, especially on an M-Sport. The N52 engines seem very reliable, water pump excepted.
Not sure if the ever made a m-sport coupe with the N52 (had it in my head they were all SE’s and that the m-sport was introduced with the N53), but saloons pop up pretty frequently. I’ve got an 130i on 104k miles and the engine still feels perfect.
Having had a few E90s, mileage is mainly an issue for the suspension components, especially on an M-Sport. The N52 engines seem very reliable, water pump excepted.
Not sure if the ever made a m-sport coupe with the N52 (had it in my head they were all SE’s and that the m-sport was introduced with the N53), but saloons pop up pretty frequently. I’ve got an 130i on 104k miles and the engine still feels perfect.
I've never heard anybody say anything good about old iDrive.
I've got new iDrive in my E90 330i, and it's decent but I'm not sure I'd prioritise it. The car options are certainly easy to use, but after 15 minutes with the manual you'll figure out the dashboard OBC; the HD MP3 streaming is fine, but I expect I at least would be just as well served by a DVD full of MP3s (which I believe the standard radio will play); satnav is handy, but it won't kill you to have a standalone unit, and/or use your phone (it looks a bit cheap, but you're getting map and traffic updates...) - and, eventually, the iDrive will break anyway. And then what will you do? You won't even be able to use the radio!
(The fact new iDrive is accompanied by the N53 should also give you pause, though it seems that N53s do generally seem to be OK, mine included, once somebody has paid to have the latest set of engine bits fitted. Still, reliability moot, iDrive and engine alike, if you were budgeting for a BMW warranty anyway.)
I can't comment on base vs enhanced sound system, as I've never heard the enhanced one, but I can say that the base system is unimpressive. There are subwoofers under the front seats, though, so some stuff can sound at least OK.
I've got new iDrive in my E90 330i, and it's decent but I'm not sure I'd prioritise it. The car options are certainly easy to use, but after 15 minutes with the manual you'll figure out the dashboard OBC; the HD MP3 streaming is fine, but I expect I at least would be just as well served by a DVD full of MP3s (which I believe the standard radio will play); satnav is handy, but it won't kill you to have a standalone unit, and/or use your phone (it looks a bit cheap, but you're getting map and traffic updates...) - and, eventually, the iDrive will break anyway. And then what will you do? You won't even be able to use the radio!
(The fact new iDrive is accompanied by the N53 should also give you pause, though it seems that N53s do generally seem to be OK, mine included, once somebody has paid to have the latest set of engine bits fitted. Still, reliability moot, iDrive and engine alike, if you were budgeting for a BMW warranty anyway.)
I can't comment on base vs enhanced sound system, as I've never heard the enhanced one, but I can say that the base system is unimpressive. There are subwoofers under the front seats, though, so some stuff can sound at least OK.
chile62 said:
No problem, I got it for 3.5k which was very cheap but it has done a high mileage and only part service history. No i-drive either which didn’t bother me but the base sound system really is rubbish.
Seems about right. I paid £2800 for my pre-LCI 2008 E91 325d. 155k miles and good history. SE spec but sports seats.Once they get above 130k ish miles they seem to be worth much much less. If the mileage was halved it would be a £7k-£8k car.
I wouldn't hestiate buying another high mileage E90 though. Mine feels every bit as solid, rattle free and tight as the 50k mile example i had 2.5 yrs ago (sold for £10k but that was 09 with pro nav).
Great cars the E90 series.
PTF said:
chile62 said:
No problem, I got it for 3.5k which was very cheap but it has done a high mileage and only part service history. No i-drive either which didn’t bother me but the base sound system really is rubbish.
Seems about right. I paid £2800 for my pre-LCI 2008 E91 325d. 155k miles and good history. SE spec but sports seats.Once they get above 130k ish miles they seem to be worth much much less. If the mileage was halved it would be a £7k-£8k car.
I wouldn't hestiate buying another high mileage E90 though. Mine feels every bit as solid, rattle free and tight as the 50k mile example i had 2.5 yrs ago (sold for £10k but that was 09 with pro nav).
Great cars the E90 series.
What you said sounds about right.
I kinda regret not keeping it to be honest, I didn’t need the cash for the new car and coulda given it to my missus
ferrisbueller said:
IMO people not considering cars without idrive are missing a trick. It's antiquated and will fail anyway.
Agree and I didn't have it in either of my E90's. Xenons on the other hand though...I wish I'd gone for them over the halogens(the worst headlights I've experienced). Both my E90's were a poor spec in fairness and they only had leather/bluetooth/folding mirrors/heated seats as extras. This thread always makes me miss mine a lot, and I think they're great cars. I'd have another for sure.
Glad to hear there are a few people happy with high mileage e90s gives me a bit more confidence that mine won’t throw up too many issues!
I got xenon with mine which I’m impressed with coming from a mk6 golf without demons but can’t make a comparison with a bmw with halogens. That’s it for options on mine except for high beam assist which seems to work great on some roads but not so great on most of the roads I have tried it out on. Someone had already fitted a parrot for Bluetooth on mine which was the only other option really wanted in the car. OEM Bluetooth would have been nice but works well enough.
I got xenon with mine which I’m impressed with coming from a mk6 golf without demons but can’t make a comparison with a bmw with halogens. That’s it for options on mine except for high beam assist which seems to work great on some roads but not so great on most of the roads I have tried it out on. Someone had already fitted a parrot for Bluetooth on mine which was the only other option really wanted in the car. OEM Bluetooth would have been nice but works well enough.
PTF said:
chile62 said:
No problem, I got it for 3.5k which was very cheap but it has done a high mileage and only part service history. No i-drive either which didn’t bother me but the base sound system really is rubbish.
Seems about right. I paid £2800 for my pre-LCI 2008 E91 325d. 155k miles and good history. SE spec but sports seats.Once they get above 130k ish miles they seem to be worth much much less. If the mileage was halved it would be a £7k-£8k car.
I wouldn't hestiate buying another high mileage E90 though. Mine feels every bit as solid, rattle free and tight as the 50k mile example i had 2.5 yrs ago (sold for £10k but that was 09 with pro nav).
Great cars the E90 series.
Only options on it are full leather and heated seats - but they're handy this time of year!
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