calling all e90 owners for advice

[e46jase]

Howzit guys

My beloved e46 is about to hit the 300k mark considering getting the e90. test drove a 330i sportpack man on the weekend and I am absolutely in love :inlove: i was planning to go for a lower milage e46 330 6 spd but i climbed into that e90 and i jus connected with it haha i dont even have to explain haha u guys know the feeling :biglol:

I have been doing maintenance and repairing my e46 myself and over the past few years parts have become really reasonably priced and also easy to get hold of when not going through the stealership

what id like to know from e90 owners (especially 330 owners) is what maintenance has been like after motorplan? i plan to stills work on the car myself. are there parts around yet or is it still mostly agents only? and how are they priced?

also what do i need to look out for when purchasing a e90? ive heard waterpumps and thermostats do their time and then packup just like on e46 so some preventative maintenance can save some hassles in the long run concerning that. also read about coils going and a few other common issues with bluetooth windows central locking nothing to major though

any inputs/thoughts/advice will be greatly appreciated

ps looking to get slightly high milage possibly around 150-170

give me your 2 cents!! :thumbs:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

I never owned a E90 330i, had my E90 323i, till just after 100 000km, no major things, no clutch or anything, was just normal services, brakes etc. Oh my door actuators went, that was replaced at 96000km on motorplan.

I loved the handling ad comfort of the E90 so much, that I bought another one, now have a E90 320D LCI(facelift). So far no issues at all, she is now on 38200km. Its got lekker power, and great fuel economy.

 

[e46jase]

hi Saber thanks for the reply, have to agree with you there handling on e90 feels awesome!

 

[Smartiesman]

Mine is doing 207k km and going strong.

 

[ASH M]

Only got mine for a year now, but it gets the shit driven out of it everyday and hasn't put a foot wrong as yet.

They shouldn't be troublesome, providing you take good care of them, even if it means an oil change half way into the next service which isn't necessary(depends on your driving conditions) and ALWAYS using genuine BMW parts.

I suggest you take out a after-market warranty for the major items that need to be covered, however they require you to service the car at the dealer or RMI approved workshop. So for you general oil change take it to BMW. Trust me i've got my own workshop and don't service my car. If i have to buy the oil, oil filter and do the service myself i would have saved R100. Not worth it in the end, i dont even work on cars so its a hassle. The oil service is around R800, that's dirt cheap. Smaller, cheaper cars are more expensive to service.

The rest of the maintance you can do yourself like the breaks etc... , it shouldn't be a problem with the warranty issue. There's no spark plugs(done every 100k kms), cam belts, fuel filters to be changed during servicing so the costs are low at the dealers, only a oil change. I suggest you fit a high performance long life air filter which doesn't need changing.

:thumbs:

 

[e46jase]

Only got mine for a year now, but it gets the shit driven out of it everyday and hasn't put a foot wrong as yet.

They shouldn't be troublesome, providing you take good care of them, even if it means an oil change half way into the next service which isn't necessary(depends on your driving conditions) and ALWAYS using genuine BMW parts.

I suggest you take out a after-market warranty for the major items that need to be covered, however they require you to service the car at the dealer or RMI approved workshop. So for you general oil change take it to BMW. Trust me i've got my own workshop and don't service my car. If i have to buy the oil, oil filter and do the service myself i would have saved R100. Not worth it in the end, i dont even work on cars so its a hassle. The oil service is around R800, that's dirt cheap. Smaller, cheaper cars are more expensive to service.

The rest of the maintance you can do yourself like the breaks etc... , it shouldn't be a problem with the warranty issue. There's no spark plugs(done every 100k kms), cam belts, fuel filters to be changed during servicing so the costs are low at the dealers, only a oil change. I suggest you fit a high performance long life air filter which doesn't need changing.

:thumbs:

Howzit Ash thanks for the reply will def look at doing that! how many k's do you have on the clock at the moment for interest sake?

 

[ASH M]

120k kms

 

[Philip Foglar]

Mine is still very low mileage for the age (7 years old and out of motorplan, but only 65k km) - had the car now for a little over two years and all fine. Battery seems to be getting tired now, so going to have to budget for this. Test drove a 330i similar to mine but with 130k km on the clock and it seemed just as tight and quiet as mine - brakes were a bit soft and therefore considerably more worn than mine, but otherwise fine. These things do tend to use oil in varying degrees, so check the oil level when test driving and try and see if you can find out when last it was serviced (topped up).

 

[Dippies]

I took my uncles 330D E90 for a Test drive and that thing behaves like a sodomized demon. :rollsmile:

I think that is where i decided that the 320d is for me :rollsmile:

The 330 I or d is awesome and the fuel consumption great.

Power will def put a smile on your face. :thumbs:

 

[frikkieh]

I do not like a tiking 325i or 330i PF motor. Flaw apparently corrected in facelift models.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

I wanted to own a 330D next, but ja, seems its my last newish BMW as family car. Need more space, so will get a older BMW for myself.

 

[e46jase]

@frikkie just did some reading up on the ticking on the 330's thanks for the mention frikkie :thumbs:

Any other petrol e90 owners with highish millage or post motorplan experience?

 

[NavZ]

I have an '06 330i, just hit the 110k mark. Had it for almost 5 months & no problems so far. Can't tell you much about costs/maintenance but it is an amazing car & the engine is often referred to as bullet-proof :thumbs:
It still puts a smile on my face every time I shift :inlove: (I'm a Manual lover)

 

[e46jase]

I have an '06 330i, just hit the 110k mark. Had it for almost 5 months & no problems so far. Can't tell you much about costs/maintenance but it is an amazing car & the engine is often referred to as bullet-proof :thumbs:
It still puts a smile on my face every time I shift :inlove: (I'm a Manual lover)

ur lci conversion looks awesome!! great looking car Navz :thumbs:

 

[KarshS]

I do not like a tiking 325i or 330i PF motor. Flaw apparently corrected in facelift models.

Hi frikkieh would you mind explaining what is this tiking you speak of? Is it a common problem that can be fixed by bmw?

I have a 325 and not sure what this is.

Sorry if it has been discussed before.

 

[NavZ]

I have an '06 330i, just hit the 110k mark. Had it for almost 5 months & no problems so far. Can't tell you much about costs/maintenance but it is an amazing car & the engine is often referred to as bullet-proof :thumbs:
It still puts a smile on my face every time I shift :inlove: (I'm a Manual lover)

ur lci conversion looks awesome!! great looking car Navz :thumbs:

Thanks man, I have some more mods on the way :rollsmile:

 

[Pr0PheT]

well e90 and e46 330i ... in terms of the engine you are looking at more power in the e90 but the basis is the same ... in terms of maintanence the e46 problems have all been figured out by now and spares are cheaper and freely available ...

e90 doesnt have many of the common e46 problems (like electric window winders etc...) but it does have other ones (door actuator problems etc...)
the dsc system on the e90 is more fun, you can do more before it spoils the fun ... but if you are going to have fun you will switch it off anyway ...

the e46 feels more mechanical, especially the steering, its the one thing I love about the e46 ... the e90 steering feels a bit dead and light ...

I would probably go for the e90 330i because of the extra power and emproved efficiency but the e46 330i is still a true king on the road, so much car for the money.

 

[NavZ]

the e46 feels more mechanical, especially the steering, its the one thing I love about the e46 ... the e90 steering feels a bit dead and light ...

Sportspack & the right wheels will sort this out. I came from an E46 to an E90 & if anything, the steering felt heavier & firmer. The E46 feels smaller & much lighter (and is really easy to get into a small parking bay). My E46 320i handled like a dream around the bends. I could keep up with much faster cars on the bends but sadly, no power for the straights
The jump between the 2 can almost be compared to the jump from little hot hatch to a sedan, not that the E46 is a small car.

 

[frikkieh]

I do not like a tiking 325i or 330i PF motor. Flaw apparently corrected in facelift models.

Hi frikkieh would you mind explaining what is this tiking you speak of? Is it a common problem that can be fixed by bmw?

I have a 325 and not sure what this is.

Sorry if it has been discussed before.

Here is the link:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504
The cause is the cylinder head design - not enough oil goes to the hydro valve lifters. Causing a "ticking sound". Even after the car is warmed up, the ticking sound is very irretating.

According to the service bulletin from the link:
Stage one - bleed the oil system (How?)
Stage two - replace hydro valve lifters
Stage three - replace cylinder head

BMW service Bulletin:
http://www.rtsauto.com/bmw-e90-valve-train-lifter-ticknoise/

This was apparently addressed on the facelift models.

Hope this helps

Quick Edit - it happens totally at random

 

[KarshS]

I do not like a tiking 325i or 330i PF motor. Flaw apparently corrected in facelift models.

Hi frikkieh would you mind explaining what is this tiking you speak of? Is it a common problem that can be fixed by bmw?

I have a 325 and not sure what this is.

Sorry if it has been discussed before.

Here is the link:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504
The cause is the cylinder head design - not enough oil goes to the hydro valve lifters. Causing a "ticking sound". Even after the car is warmed up, the ticking sound is very irretating.

According to the service bulletin from the link:
Stage one - bleed the oil system (How?)
Stage two - replace hydro valve lifters
Stage three - replace cylinder head

BMW service Bulletin:
http://www.rtsauto.com/bmw-e90-valve-train-lifter-ticknoise/

This was apparently addressed on the facelift models.

Hope this helps

Thanks for that....

Well my car is going into bmw again on Monday. The oil is low again after another 1000km. So its been 2 fill ups already in 2000km....Well i hope they dont give me a dumb excuss again cos clearly this aint right....