BMW 330i (E90) | Shed of the Week
Rear-drive, six cylinders, manual 'box - a Shed for the ages, no?
We were going to have a £1,400 Mercedes E280 S124 estate on here today but Shed spoiled that by snapping it up himself as a spares donor for his own S124.
You might think that smells a bit like insider trading, and there are plenty of PH bigwigs who would agree with you on that. Unfortunately, there is very little point in them launching an investigation into it because nobody at PH HQ knows where Shed lives. Even if they did he’d most likely have got away with it because, as the postmistress will confirm, Shed is a dab hand at internal inquiries.
Anyway, it’s no great loss because Shed has partially redeemed himself with this low-mile, low-owner, BMW 330i SE. As most of us know, the last two numbers in a 3 Series’s name tell us the number of litres under the bonnet. Well, they used to anyway. Shed hasn’t understood what model numbers mean since long before E63s were given 4.0-litre engines. He’s also not sure why EV manufacturers haven’t started incorporating range figures or kilowatt hours into their product names, you know, Hyundai Kona 225 or whatever the number might be, because all we’ve got at the moment is names and Shed thinks that the motoring public could do with a bit more help in understanding what they’re buying, or to be more accurate renting.
Coming back to reality for a moment, when the E90 3 Series went on sale in the spring of 2005 it wasn’t massively praised by the press, mainly because it wasn’t that great looking. However, despite being physically larger than the old E46 it was also lighter than it and usefully bigger on the inside. On top of that, with the new straight-six motor pinched from the 630i the 330i was 27hp up on its predecessor. The torque was unchanged at 221lb ft at 2,500-4,000rpm but the E90’s relative lightness gave you an extra couple of mpg on the combined cycle, raising it to nearly 33mpg and twenty or so years later resulting in a UK vehicle tax bill of £395 a year.
All the usual BMW boxes for safe handling and creamy refinement were ticked in the E90 330i. The engine was honey-smooth and suitably raspy right up to 7,000rpm, 400rpm past the 254hp power peak. The ratios of the new six-speed manual box were quite long but the shifting action was excellent, helping you to achieve a nippy 0-62mph time of 6.1 seconds. DSC Plus was standard, a good thing as it kept your brakes always ready for action, and even the ride was good despite the run-flat tyres, but you didn’t want a car with Active Steering as its behaviour was a source of confusion, smothering the E90’s naturally sweet helm responses.
The private seller of this BMW tells us that it’s had just four owners, one of them being him, and that there is a full service history. He also tells us that he’s fitted new front brakes, that the Goodyear tyres are 50 per cent worn, and that the water pump is 5,000 miles old. These were known for failing at any point from 40,000 miles on. Starter motors were fragile, coils died, and valve covers could weep a little, usually as a result of snapped bolts. That might explain the single advisory for a non-excessive oil leak on last December’s MOT test. Oil filter gaskets could go too but not that often. The core engine was really solid.
Elsewhere, seat sensors blew, triggering the airbag light. Door locks might fritz out along with window regulators. If you’re wondering what that paint colour is, unless Shed is very much mistaken (again) it’s Barrique Red, a kind of coppery browny burgundy-y colour that is both rare and, in what passes for Shed’s mind, attractive. It’s a nostalgia thing for him as it’s a reminder of his Dad’s maroon Ford Consul from the early 1960s. Shed loved that old bus with its column gearchange and full-width bench front seat, a cheerily sociable passenger accommodation design that he wishes more modern cars had, and indeed could have, what with gearlevers and other centrally placed hardware being pushed into obsolescence by the electrical revolution. Why not fit more humans in? That’s what he says.
Here’s another question Shed’s got, which is, will cabin wood also disappear in this thrilling new age of excited electrons? Why did they put wood in cars in the first place? Isn’t it just dead weight? If you want to evoke a homely atmosphere inside a car why not simply have wallpaper? Whatever, Shed thinks that the wood on this BMW might be poplar, which is something he won’t be when he gets home late for his tea tonight having spent too much time trying out his new S124’s lying-down space with you know who.
I too remember my father having a burgundy colour Ford Zephyr, GAL 933D, many a happy time spent travelling to my godparents in North London
Oh for those halcyon days, I used to lay across that front bench seat, head on my mothers lap and feet on my fathers, no thoughts about restraints etc
As for this SOTW, as others have said, I agree, absolutely top banana, and wouldn’t be surprised if it’s sold before the end of today..
Nice spec and colour.
Proper history.
Great value / fair price.
Almost too good to be true.
What’s the catch?
However, even if it has just a reasonable smattering of history it still seems a bloody good buy for someone.
Nevertheless in 2006, I bought an ex demo E90 320i SE in Metallic Silver. With another baby I really appreciated the additional space the E90 offered. The looks also grew on me and the handling was excellent.
However the engine after the 330i was a real let down and actually sounded quite nasty. A 3.0 like this shed or the excellent 2.0 diesel would have been preferable. After 18 months of ownership and 35,000 miles including 3 trips to France (west coast and the Dordogne) I part exchanged it for a 6 month old 520d that was great.
The red in this weeks shed was really rare and not an attractive colour. I do however like the wood.
A cracking write up that made me chuckle as usual thanks Mr Shed.
These are properly ugly to my eyes and always have been, however the N52 engine is an absolute belter though for sure. Although for me personally, because the E9x is so heavy, I think the engine in the E9x 330d suits it better overall though.
I even appreciated the extra torque from the E90 330d that I had in comparison to the E92 M3 for example too.
My own car that I daily is anñ manual E90 that I picked up for £2000, albeit a 325i (same engine but smaller capacity).
On 150k miles, seems to take everything I chuck at it including multiple very short city journeys a day, tip runs, longer family trips and recently carrying a 3 seater sofa on the roof bars.
They really are fantastic cars.
Shame about the lack of xenons and it's difficult to see if buttons for heated seats...but manual box, quite an unusual colour and looks unmolested (no rimz/modz (esp those s
t 3 stripes added to the grill). Can't complain for 2k.
The seats in the SE are terrible for my bodyshape though, and I just slide right off them in the corners annoyingly. So I'd be tempted to throw the leather seats in from the M Sport version instead I reckon.
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