'06 BMW E92 330i - My first non-shed

[Esotericstuff]

So last week I said goodbye to my trusty E46 Touring. It served me well for 4yrs of trouble free motoring


I have been looking at newer cars for a while and came across a badly written ad on Gumtree with only a couple of badly lit photos. Since it was nearby, I sent them an email and went to view the car.

The car turned out to be mintier than a polo. Single owner from new with 41k miles on the clock. Everything was perfect apart from some scuffs from being parked on the street and a lack of service history.

The owner and his partner had bought a new car a few years earlier and put the 330i into storage, too attached to get rid of it. But decided it was probably time to sell it.

We went for a short test ride and the owner told me about the offers they had turned down.

I made them an offer a couple of hundred quid more than they had refused (still well under asking) and they accepted.





I picked it up today and since viewing the car the owners found the full service history including almost every receipt and MOT since new!

Spec:
- N52 Engine
- 6spd Auto
- Electric sports seats w/lumbar support
- Electric folding mirrors
- HiFi speaker upgrade
- Sport suspension

It's got a few scuffs to the corners but it's pretty much new inside. It's my first Auto, so I am finding it hard to get used to the lazier style of driving, but it picks up speed nicely and makes traffic less onerous.

My only plans are to see if I can tidy up the bodywork a little bit and work out how to retrofit either an android head unit or Bluetooth.

[Court_S]

Nice. The E9x has aged really well.

I wasn’t sure about them at first, thinking that the E46 was nicer but having had one (E90 330), they’re a much better built car. Mine was an auto and I thought it was OK until I drove a new car with a ZF8.

Being an earlier car, ad mine was, watch for the fuel tank vent pipe leaking. They pass through the chassis and rub, eventually splitting. It happened to ours and when the tank was full, there’d be a slight smell of petrol. Other than that and VANOS actuators, mine was reliable for three years and 30k and is still going strong based on the MOT history.

[stewies_minion]

Looks lovely.

Loved my e91 330i of a similar era. Heavy on the brakes and mine had the inevitable water pump failure at £700.

Great engine and gearbox combo. Enjoy.

[Mr Tidy]

Looking good OP.

I've had an 06 plate 325i E91 for the last year, but just didn't get on with it. And of course within 6 months the water pump died, so another £500 bill [now my BMW Indy sources Pierburg pumps from somewhere other than BMW].

But last week I picked up a 55 plate E90 330i to replace it, complete with tilt/slide sunroof, split/fold rear seats, Bi-Xenon headlights, power-fold mirrors and a DAB tuner.

I just need to tax it now, and get some miles on it!

Early E9*s are as new as I want to get.

[Esotericstuff]

Court_S said:

Nice. The E9x has aged really well.

I wasn’t sure about them at first, thinking that the E46 was nicer but having had one (E90 330), they’re a much better built car. Mine was an auto and I thought it was OK until I drove a new car with a ZF8.

Being an earlier car, ad mine was, watch for the fuel tank vent pipe leaking. They pass through the chassis and rub, eventually splitting. It happened to ours and when the tank was full, there’d be a slight smell of petrol. Other than that and VANOS actuators, mine was reliable for three years and 30k and is still going strong based on the MOT history.

Thanks for the heads up, this is my first unmolested car, I never realised the difference it made to not be hacked about by previous owners.

[imperium]

Looks great, good purchase, hope it serves well.

I’ve recently acquired an auto e90 and it’s been brilliant so far. Like yourself I need to retrofit a hands free. Agree with the above in that they’ve aged very well.