E91 Straight Six Bearding
Discussion
tiger roll said:
I m looking at manual 4-seat convertibles, mainly N52 E46 vs N53 E93. Finding myself firmly in the 2000s BMW rabbit hole so have enjoyed reading back through this thread.
I like the E93 s hardtop but prefer the E46 s engine. Prices are similar, about £8k for decent below 50k miles 325Ci/325i examples, more for 330Ci/330i.
I'm trying to quantify the worst-case N53 costs:
> Injectors. Could be £4000 fitted if needed six at £500 each plus labour
> High-Pressure Fuel Pump say £1000
> NOX catalyst say £500
So £5500 ish. Somewhat offset by £400/yr lower VED vs N52. The N52 wouldn't cost zero either.
So trying to put a number on it, and recognising it's an over-simplification, does it sound sensible to say the expected downside of N53 is something like £4000, and issues could hapen anytime but especially at something like 60 to 80k miles? Assuming all work done by a well regarded independent.
I@ve been down this road. Had a 2003 e46 330ci manual 81k miles superb car to drive and although service regularly started to need a few cosmetic jobs -drivers seat bolster plus others bur the main concern was how long I could keep it before the rust worm started to niblle(plus possible rear boot floor cracks) .A 2009 E89 35i came up for sale which had BMW insured warranty on it (for more than 10years) and full BMW service history.N54 engine but by keeping the warranty in place would be covered with £250 excess only to pay for each claim. Sold E46 and bought it with a full report on all the work that had been carried out on the car. It had nearly all the problems you mentined above (ex NOX) plus and developed prolems with steel roof,plus rocker cover gasket(3 times) oil pup gaskets. The total must have been more than £7k in warranty work plus about another £2k in my 2 years of owners . The service from Sytners sheffiels was often poor(in pandemic) with car stood in their compound whilst they awaited HPF pump- when done had a coolant leak so back again. No roof specialistsI like the E93 s hardtop but prefer the E46 s engine. Prices are similar, about £8k for decent below 50k miles 325Ci/325i examples, more for 330Ci/330i.
I'm trying to quantify the worst-case N53 costs:
> Injectors. Could be £4000 fitted if needed six at £500 each plus labour
> High-Pressure Fuel Pump say £1000
> NOX catalyst say £500
So £5500 ish. Somewhat offset by £400/yr lower VED vs N52. The N52 wouldn't cost zero either.
So trying to put a number on it, and recognising it's an over-simplification, does it sound sensible to say the expected downside of N53 is something like £4000, and issues could hapen anytime but especially at something like 60 to 80k miles? Assuming all work done by a well regarded independent.
near me so each time it stopped working (3 from memory) had to be recovered and taken back to Sytners.
Had always looked at E93 but was aware on injector replacement costs and also seen a video on here of water seeming into rear sill/boot and causing many electrical faults. Metal roof didn't seem to be as much as a problem as on the E89.
Started looking for a replacement for E46 -must have fabric roof , be less prone to rust and far more reliable. 2 series convertible seemed natural choice and had test drive s in 240i, 230I(4 cylinder turbo) and 220 About 180ish bhp. The 240i(with B58 was super car but outside my decent ones were mostly at dealers, one I drove at a car supermarket. Seeing it before been preped put me off the car but still did the test drive. The 220i was weedy compared to same engine in a mini cooper S. The 230i was good compromise(4cyl 250ish BHP) found an 18 plate with nearly 60k miles on it so could still get BMW insured warranty on it. Two warning light s on within 100yrds on test drive and other red flags so didn't buy it. BUT not a 6 pot and so decided to look at 125I convertible with N52 - just so smooth and met my other criteria. Bought the second one I looked at 2010 car in silver with coral leather and oldish 6 speed auto.on 70K miles
So no I didn't buy an E93 because of the costs involved but E88 turned out to be a good replacement for the 330ci E46
Edited by twokcc on Wednesday 7th January 11:28
AmirGSXR said:
Thanks for all the replies gents, the information is very helpful.
Mr Tidy - I currently have the style 158 alloys so I maybe tempted to getting a second set with your winter tyres when you part with them. I may need rims/tyres a bit sooner dependent on how the weather is for the remainder of winter but will update here if that happens.
Mr Tidy - I currently have the style 158 alloys so I maybe tempted to getting a second set with your winter tyres when you part with them. I may need rims/tyres a bit sooner dependent on how the weather is for the remainder of winter but will update here if that happens.
Mr Tidy said:
VED won't be £400 a year lower for an N53. My N52 330i only cost £415 for VED last March!
Just to come back for good order, on closer inspection it looks to me like the VED differences between the E46 and E93 convertibles in 325/330 guise are negligible.So all-in I think I would still end up with a number of something like £5k worst case as the difference in lifetime engine maintenance cost between the two cars, something like that.
(Just based on reading the internet, I have precisely zero real world experience of this.)
If you look for an N52 engined E93 the running costs should be very reasonable. It will be significantly less prone to rust than an E46 as well, I'd have thought - the E9x range is proving to be pretty corrosion resistant. My indy assures me that they're generally also pretty kind on their chassis components, with bushings etc lasting really well - which backs up my experience.
The earlier mentioned E88 (1 Series Convertible) is a good shout as well. they only came with the N52 and it shares a lot with the E9x platform so is generally pretty reliable. Only available as a 125i but a remap sorts that out and sounds better than the E9x in my experience due to the sorter exhaust.
They are more E36 sized than E46 so can be more amusing down a B-road, with the trade off the ride can get a little choppy on the motorway - certain parts of the M40 at M40 speeds anyway
At this sort of age I'd say the fabric roof over folding metal is a bonus also.
They are more E36 sized than E46 so can be more amusing down a B-road, with the trade off the ride can get a little choppy on the motorway - certain parts of the M40 at M40 speeds anyway
At this sort of age I'd say the fabric roof over folding metal is a bonus also.
Those last 2 posts make good sense. Of all the alternatives I'd be looking for an N52 engined E93 or an E88 125i with a remap to 130i power.
The N52 engine really is great - I'm on my 4th now. Someone on here (I can't remember where he posted) has an E91 330i that has done 400K miles, and there is an E86 Z4 owner who has one with over 223K on it.
The N52 engine really is great - I'm on my 4th now. Someone on here (I can't remember where he posted) has an E91 330i that has done 400K miles, and there is an E86 Z4 owner who has one with over 223K on it.
Thanks all. Have run completely dry looking for a N52 engined E93 so far. As I understand it these would need to be in the earliest examples, in early/mid 2007 or earlier, right? I've found a website where I type in the reg number and get which engine it is so I'm using that.
Didn't know about the 125i, will take a look, thanks.
It's thin pickings for decent 330Ci and 325Ci examples as well at the moment by the looks of it but I'm keeping a close eye.
Didn't know about the 125i, will take a look, thanks.
It's thin pickings for decent 330Ci and 325Ci examples as well at the moment by the looks of it but I'm keeping a close eye.
Mr Tidy said:
Those last 2 posts make good sense. Of all the alternatives I'd be looking for an N52 engined E93 or an E88 125i with a remap to 130i power.
The N52 engine really is great - I'm on my 4th now. Someone on here (I can't remember where he posted) has an E91 330i that has done 400K miles, and there is an E86 Z4 owner who has one with over 223K on it.
I passed the 250k miles (which is over 400k km) in my E91 330i; the glory shot was hosted on imgur so it might not be viewable in the thread!The N52 engine really is great - I'm on my 4th now. Someone on here (I can't remember where he posted) has an E91 330i that has done 400K miles, and there is an E86 Z4 owner who has one with over 223K on it.
tiger roll said:
Thanks all. Have run completely dry looking for a N52 engined E93 so far. As I understand it these would need to be in the earliest examples, in early/mid 2007 or earlier, right? I've found a website where I type in the reg number and get which engine it is so I'm using that.
Didn't know about the 125i, will take a look, thanks.
It's thin pickings for decent 330Ci and 325Ci examples as well at the moment by the looks of it but I'm keeping a close eye.
Re 330ci -looked for about 3 years found 1 really good one -rang owner within 24hrs of listing- but already sold. Didn't know about the 125i, will take a look, thanks.
It's thin pickings for decent 330Ci and 325Ci examples as well at the moment by the looks of it but I'm keeping a close eye.
Regarding 125i not sure what development of E87/E88 but it seems more rigid(no shuttle shake (unless wheel drops into pothole) better than E46. Mine had Nexen non runflats allround (staggered 18" 261 wheels). No previous experience but ride surprisingly compliant.
Find one near you and experience N52 even with auto it just pulls all way to 6800 revs - max torque at 2500 revs so from 2250 revs still get 2/3rds rev range in hand. From 2009 had reasonable amount of tech(CIC nav) but still analogue feel. Not many for sale ths looks a decent spec and low miles
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512158...
JakeT said:
zippyonline said:
I passed the 250k miles (which is over 400k km) in my E91 330i; the glory shot was hosted on imgur so it might not be viewable in the thread!
Mine is on 239k. JakeT said:
zippyonline said:
I passed the 250k miles (which is over 400k km) in my E91 330i; the glory shot was hosted on imgur so it might not be viewable in the thread!
Mine is on 239k. I'm sure my bubble will be burst by the upcoming MOT on Monday, but for now I will remain in blissful ignorance
I need to write this up in my thread, but the B3S Biturbo is back in fine fettle and running properly after that extended waterpump/cooling system refurb I spent much of 2025 doing. I left the Undertray off for a few days to check everything was dry and have now got that back on. A bit unimpressed at the state of the fixings so I ordered a set of new clips and screws which I’ll need to change over.
I see the silver B3S touring is for sale now- 105k miles and £24995, on eBay. If anyone can brave a 1 of 3 N54 engined touring.
I see the silver B3S touring is for sale now- 105k miles and £24995, on eBay. If anyone can brave a 1 of 3 N54 engined touring.
E-numbers said:
I need to write this up in my thread, but the B3S Biturbo is back in fine fettle and running properly after that extended waterpump/cooling system refurb I spent much of 2025 doing. I left the Undertray off for a few days to check everything was dry and have now got that back on. A bit unimpressed at the state of the fixings so I ordered a set of new clips and screws which I ll need to change over.
I see the silver B3S touring is for sale now- 105k miles and £24995, on eBay. If anyone can brave a 1 of 3 N54 engined touring.
Just seen that on eBay. Seems strong money but I don’t know too much about it. Would it be the equivalent of a 335i+? Or an M3 touring maybe?I see the silver B3S touring is for sale now- 105k miles and £24995, on eBay. If anyone can brave a 1 of 3 N54 engined touring.
zippyonline said:
Nice one. You'll pass mine soon enough then, I've got myself an F31 340i with 45k miles on the clock now, in an identical colour so to a non petrolhead they didn't even notice! I've been toying with which one to keep honestly, which is kinda mad considering the over 200,000 miles and the engine perfomance differences between them. The E91 is a better drivers vehicle, hydraulic steering with some feedback, and a manual gearbox you can just drive whereas it's taken me a while to get my head round how to use the ZF8 auto properly (athough I do like it a lot when I'm just say on a motorway/dual carriageway and I can make it work for when I get the opportunity to drive a bit more spiritedly). Back to back, if I could choose either as a brand new car proposition, the E91 is my choice - it is the better car imho and the N52 sounds better than the B58 imho (However I think have decided the E91 will go up for sale sometime and I'm keeping the F31, coz I've got to the point where I'm tired of doing 20 year old car maintenance things and I like the adaptive lights I now have! Also the future of motoring is doomed and the F31 is as new as I can tolerate, it doesn't come with a monsterous LCD screen, lane assist and auto brake and explodey poppy up bonnet that seems to be in anything new these days!)
I'm going to keep mine until it's totally done, and fit as a parts donor only. Mine is also a 55 plate with hydraulic steering, and a manual. I think my next car will be an F31 340i too, but as you say, auto which I don't quite want to daily yet, and they're expensive for what they are, too! We'll see how it goes. I want to take it past 250k, which, God willing should be easily doable. Another 330i manual touring sold last year with 262k on it, so even here people put big miles on them!E-numbers said:
I need to write this up in my thread, but the B3S Biturbo is back in fine fettle and running properly after that extended waterpump/cooling system refurb I spent much of 2025 doing. I left the Undertray off for a few days to check everything was dry and have now got that back on. A bit unimpressed at the state of the fixings so I ordered a set of new clips and screws which I ll need to change over.
I see the silver B3S touring is for sale now- 105k miles and £24995, on eBay. If anyone can brave a 1 of 3 N54 engined touring.
Nice yours is back, though I am not sure I'd pay 25 large for a B3S touring. That said, with what ALPINA has become now, the values of 'proper' ones will probably firm up.I see the silver B3S touring is for sale now- 105k miles and £24995, on eBay. If anyone can brave a 1 of 3 N54 engined touring.
JakeT said:
I'm going to keep mine until it's totally done, and fit as a parts donor only. Mine is also a 55 plate with hydraulic steering, and a manual. I think my next car will be an F31 340i too, but as you say, auto which I don't quite want to daily yet, and they're expensive for what they are, too! We'll see how it goes. I want to take it past 250k, which, God willing should be easily doable. Another 330i manual touring sold last year with 262k on it, so even here people put big miles on them!
My 330i is also a 55 plate manual (albeit an E90) but it has only done 130K so it's staying! I've had it nearly 7 years and I can't think of anything I'd rather have - well maybe an E91 or 130i in an ideal world!
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