Early E90 325i - No service history

[Royal Jelly]

Gentlefolk,

I think I know the answer here, and in all likelihood I wont even listen, but in hunting for a runabout saloon/estate, I’ve happened upon an E90 325i, its up for about 2.5k with 130k+ on the clock.

It has an advisory free MOT, and in terms of service history, zero. It’s just been serviced (presumably just an oil and filter change) and that is it.

It looks clean, visually. That’s all I can say about it.

I know the straight 6 engines were fairly robust around this time, but am I walking into a world of pain if I proceed with this? If I go and look at it, can anyone advise what to look out for?

Thanks all..

[OutInTheShed]

If it's a manual, is it the original clutch?
My E91 went from 100k to 175k miles and in that time only got oil changes, a few brake bits, some front springs, a battery and a clutch.
The clutch was expensive.
The things which may drive you nuts include airbag lights, passenger seat sensors and other ancillary electronics.

[ZX10R NIN]

Only you can decide on if it's worth the risk but buy on condition & assume that it's never been serviced.
Then just workout a maintenance schedule of works (as in major service when you get it home) & go from there.

[Royal Jelly]

Thanks chaps, it is a manual. I’ve no idea how many clutches it’s had due to zero service history. All I know is that it’s had an oil change, and a couple of things done to rectify it’s most recent MOT bork - including one front spring and rear disks.

I understand the ‘buy on condition’ concept, but realistically there’s not a whole heap I’d be able to spot. Arch rust or a clutch close to expiry I can probably suss out, but frankly not a whole lot else. If there were some known noises or anything like that to watch out for, that would be helpful.

I know it isn’t sensible. I just got drawn in to a BMW straight 6 idea in a sea of 1.6-mobiles.

What is the thinking man’s choice for a saloon/estate 2-2.5k? Not that I’ll listen too intently. The Focus seems like an obvious choice..

[Matt_N]

The E9x range does have some foibles, take a look through this long thread and I’m sure if you ask a few questions you’ll soon get some direction.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

They do have a few common issues but nothing insurmountable.

[georgeyboy12345]

Whenever I have bought a car with no SH it’s been nothing but trouble.

[MrSanti]

There are so many E90 325i's flying about that unless this one has a very specific trim you are after there's no real reason to not find one with FSH. I know prices have gone up but I was looking for the same car in Jan '21 and bought an '05 325i manual saloon with 130k on the clock, heated sport seats, full BMW service history and one owner from new for 2 grand. You should be able to find something similar at the moment for 2.5k.

[ingenieur]

The dual mass flywheel failed on mine. It made it judder when pulling away... but only after it was very well warmed up. So driving through central London it got really bad. But just popping round to the local shop you wouldn't notice it. Was about £600 for the part... then whatever Munich Legends charged to put it in. So if you're on the lookout for that you should try and warm up the clutch and drivetrain to check for that failure. Rear wheel drive cars are harder to do clutches on due to having to get right under the middle of the car.

Coils can fail as well but they're not very expensive and pretty simple to change.

Lastly, valve cover gasket... check for leaks onto the exhaust as it stinks when the burning oil smell comes into the cabin. Not so easy to change as there is so much garbage over and around the valve cover that it takes an experienced mechanic an hour to get the cover off and another hour to put it back.

[OutInTheShed]

MrSanti said:

There are so many E90 325i's flying about that unless this one has a very specific trim you are after there's no real reason to not find one with FSH. I know prices have gone up but I was looking for the same car in Jan '21 and bought an '05 325i manual saloon with 130k on the clock, heated sport seats, full BMW service history and one owner from new for 2 grand. You should be able to find something similar at the moment for 2.5k.

What does a FSH actually involve which relates to the things which actually go wrong?
Frequent oil changes are good obviously, but official intervals are quite long on these things compared to your average amateur changing it every year.

At this level, you might have a lot of dealer stamp 'services' in the book, but that doesn't mean that some repair wasn't done by a backstreet garage.
It's a banger. If you feel confident it should give you two years before you move it on for half what you paid for it, if you like it, go for it.
If you do this every few years, maybe one car a decade will be a lemon, throwing you a big bill or reducing itself to a £300 ebay item.
If you don't like the risk, buy something sensible and more modest?
Personally, if I liked it, I'd buy it, but I only buy cars I can afford to replace if they self destruct.

The trick is knowing when to take a loss and get rid.

If you don't believe it's had a reasonable number of oil changes, then expect the cam chain to go or it to fail the MOT on emissions.
No service history and a lot of changes of keeper in recent years would put me off.
Last owner for a few years and some receipts for good oil might not.
Edgy emissions numbers on the MOT might be a red flag, or does that only work for diesels?

[Monkeylegend]

I would say the more owners it has had maybe the more careful you should be.

[Mr Tidy]

You don't say what age it is but if it's early enough it will have the 2.5 litre N52 engine whereas later (07 on I think) had a 3 litre N53 with direct injection that was basically a detuned 330i.

In 2018 I bought a 132K mile E91 325i on an 06 plate so the N52 engine. It had a fully stamped up service book all at main dealers but no other history. I kept it a year and the only thing it needed was a new electric water pump at 135K. They are a nuisance as they just die so you are stranded, and new ones cost £250 or so if you avoid BMW prices!

After a year I wanted a bit more go so I replaced it with a 330i E90 on a 55 plate so also with the N52 engine. It has had a couple of the N52 issues, a leak from the oil filter housing gasket and one from the cam-cover gasket and it needed new rear shock absorbers but otherwise it's just needed oil and filters. It's now on 117K. It came with a stamped-up book by BMW then more recently Indies.

Both engines were smooth, pulled strongly and revved happily, but I expected that as I'd already had a couple of Z4s with the same N52 engine!

I avoided the N53 as it can have a few more issues, like injectors and High Pressure Fuel Pumps.

If it looks good and has the right spec I'm not sure how much some stamps in a book adds, although it does prove oil and filter and brake fluid have been changed!

But that seems plenty for a 325i of that age - I only gave £3.5k for my 330i in 2019.

Good luck anyway.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Straight six E9X cars seem to be climbing all the time in price. I sold my old E91 330i to WBAC 7 years ago for what was then a good price (only a few hundred quid less than I'd paid for it a year earlier) but now, 7 years down the line it'd cost me about 3 or 4 grand more to get into a car with similar spec and mileage.

If its cheap enough and drives well with no scary noises, theres no obvious oil leaks etc I'd just go for it.