E90 advise

[gahamed]

Salaam , Good day everyone ,

I need to first introduce myself: My name is Goolam and I currently enjoy a 1994 E36 318i , mileage 205k.i have had no problems with this vehicle since I bought her 10yrs ago at 94k.She is really a fantastic car and so reliable but now I need some advise. Please assist where you can.
I am looking to give this car to my brother as he is constantly battling with a bakkie that is giving him so much of trouble. So therefore I am looking to purchase another BMW due to the service I had from my E36.I want to purchase an E90 now but I am afraid ,because I do not know anything about these cars.
I want to buy a 323i , I also want to sport pack and it must be facelift ( I think post 2006 ? ).Please advise if this is a good idea for a daily commuter and annual trip of 2000km for holiday?
How reliable are these cars and how is the maintenance,fuel consumption,general feeling of these cars.
Sorry for the long , soppy story but I really need some advise regarding the E90, please help
Thanks so much

 

[N33SH]

E90s are awesome ...I haven't come across many E90s with smaller capacity engines that have had issues.

The E90 facelift is the one to get.323i is perfect for a daily driver.

My mum has a 2006 320i the interior to date is still like brand new the quality of the materials used were quite good.

It currently has 120,000 kms on the clock the only major things we had to change was a burst radiator pipe at 90k and the air con pump packed up around 95k.They were relatively cheap to replace.

Car is smooth and soft for long journeys .On a full tank if you doing long distance driving you can get between 650-700 on a single tank.

Its a relatively low maintenance car in my opinion provided you take care of it.

 

[squish]

Just got my own e90. Mixed bag for me. But to be completely honest, I seems it's my bad luck as many friends have e90 and besides services not much extra needed to be done.

Anyway, ever since I got my e90 I have done quite a bit of research and these are my feelings.

Depending are what your previous car is a 320 or anything smaller seems to be a bit lagy and slow. It's probably due to the body weight. seem to be more suited as daily cruisers than trying to take someone at the robot.

E90's are prone to valve stem issues. Easy way to check is leave the car to idle for a few minutes and then rev, if you see smoke... valve stem seals. (Mine has just started and has only a tiny tiny puff of smoke).

E90's are prone to differential issues. They start to hum. I'm lead to believe it's not a safety or performance issue, it's just an annoyance. (I'm currently also suffering from this problem).

The four cylinders are also prone to oil leaks.

Fuel consumption is Okay taking into consideration it's power to weight ratios. Normal...? And acceptable.
Though I'm pretty sure it would quite easier to find other cars with better fuel consumption.

They use run on flat tires, So they do seem to ride a bit stiff (in my opinion).

The diesel ones are prone to injector issues and will call for recon or replacement at quite a price tag.

The plastic and rubber seals don't age very well if the car doesn't live in a garage,

Bmw's in general have top radiator hose issues by the are plastic section and replacement seems to be the entire hose.

Parts are on the slightly expensive side, even salvage parts.

I think in general quite Nice daily driver cars. Some have more "umf!" depending on the engine capacity you get. personally feel the 320i lack it, 320d feel a bit quicker. I feel anything over 323 ,you should be quite happy with.

All the above is from what I've managed to find out about pre facelift. So not sure how of this applies to post facelift models.

 

[freakazoid]

Just got my own e90. Mixed bag for me. But to be completely honest, I seems it's my bad luck as many friends have e90 and besides services not much extra needed to be done.

Anyway, ever since I got my e90 I have done quite a bit of research and these are my feelings.

Depending are what your previous car is a 320 or anything smaller seems to be a bit lagy and slow. It's probably due to the body weight. seem to be more suited as daily cruisers than trying to take someone at the robot.

E90's are prone to valve stem issues. Easy way to check is leave the car to idle for a few minutes and then rev, if you see smoke... valve stem seals. (Mine has just started and has only a tiny tiny puff of smoke).

E90's are prone to differential issues. They start to hum. I'm lead to believe it's not a safety or performance issue, it's just an annoyance. (I'm currently also suffering from this problem).

The four cylinders are also prone to oil leaks.

Fuel consumption is Okay taking into consideration it's power to weight ratios. Normal...? And acceptable.
Though I'm pretty sure it would quite easier to find other cars with better fuel consumption.

They use run on flat tires, So they do seem to ride a bit stiff (in my opinion).

The diesel ones are prone to injector issues and will call for recon or replacement at quite a price tag.

The plastic and rubber seals don't age very well if the car doesn't live in a garage,

Bmw's in general have top radiator hose issues by the are plastic section and replacement seems to be the entire hose.

Parts are on the slightly expensive side, even salvage parts.

I think in general quite Nice daily driver cars. Some have more "umf!" depending on the engine capacity you get. personally feel the 320i lack it, 320d feel a bit quicker. I feel anything over 323 ,you should be quite happy with.

All the above is from what I've managed to find out about pre facelift. So not sure how of this applies to post facelift models.

Squish has got it spot on. I had all the issue he mentions on my 320i. The E90 320i in my opinion is a very problematic car. Mine nearly put me totally off BMW, and it is dog slow. Not a bad cruiser on long road though. My town driving saw 12l/100km and holiday trips I managed to get 7.8l/100km.

The 323i is not much faster then the 320i and uses more fuel. My choice would be a 320d.

 

[Maljan]

Why not join the E39 mafia?
:cartel:

 

[///Moose]

Did I say you will miss your E36 328i....

---

On a serious note the E90's is definitely an upgrade in terms of technology etc
I would stay clear of the 320i, in fact I would look for a 330i manual or 330d man or auto. Also all depends on previous maintenance and how it was looked after.
A neat E46 or E39 is also an option but finding decent ones are becoming harder.

 

[squish]

Yea! The four cylinder models seems to be a problem.
330 are 6 cylinders. They are much quicker and also seem to be less prone to faults.

But in general, I think when bmw designed the e90"s, lifetime ment 5 years

---

Just got my own e90. Mixed bag for me. But to be completely honest, I seems it's my bad luck as many friends have e90 and besides services not much extra needed to be done.

Anyway, ever since I got my e90 I have done quite a bit of research and these are my feelings.

Depending are what your previous car is a 320 or anything smaller seems to be a bit lagy and slow. It's probably due to the body weight. seem to be more suited as daily cruisers than trying to take someone at the robot.

E90's are prone to valve stem issues. Easy way to check is leave the car to idle for a few minutes and then rev, if you see smoke... valve stem seals. (Mine has just started and has only a tiny tiny puff of smoke).

E90's are prone to differential issues. They start to hum. I'm lead to believe it's not a safety or performance issue, it's just an annoyance. (I'm currently also suffering from this problem).

The four cylinders are also prone to oil leaks.

Fuel consumption is Okay taking into consideration it's power to weight ratios. Normal...? And acceptable.
Though I'm pretty sure it would quite easier to find other cars with better fuel consumption.

They use run on flat tires, So they do seem to ride a bit stiff (in my opinion).

The diesel ones are prone to injector issues and will call for recon or replacement at quite a price tag.

The plastic and rubber seals don't age very well if the car doesn't live in a garage,

Bmw's in general have top radiator hose issues by the are plastic section and replacement seems to be the entire hose.

Parts are on the slightly expensive side, even salvage parts.

I think in general quite Nice daily driver cars. Some have more "umf!" depending on the engine capacity you get. personally feel the 320i lack it, 320d feel a bit quicker. I feel anything over 323 ,you should be quite happy with.

All the above is from what I've managed to find out about pre facelift. So not sure how of this applies to post facelift models.

Squish has got it spot on. I had all the issue he mentions on my 320i. The E90 320i in my opinion is a very problematic car. Mine nearly put me totally off BMW, and it is dog slow. Not a bad cruiser on long road though. My town driving saw 12l/100km and holiday trips I managed to get 7.8l/100km.

The 323i is not much faster then the 320i and uses more fuel. My choice would be a 320d.

Sad to say... but if I had money I would get rid of my 320i and get something else

 

[Ga-3M]

323I is much faster than the 320i which was/is really slow! Get a 320d/330d or any one of the 6 cylinder models if you prefer petrol. Seems the 320i as has been mentioned above is the most problematic of the range as I've had E90's and never experienced any of the problems mentioned above.

 

[gahamed]

Gentlemen . I firstly have to say thanks to all who replied. This has put things in perspective and also made me a bit sceptical for the 320i.I have decided to give this much more thought because the report for the 320i is not nice at all, so therefore my hunt for info will continue and maybe my heart will tell me what to do , because we all know how quick it is to "fall in love" with a car and regret later... yet again thanks for all the good advise

 

[herr bmw]

had 2008 323i e90,not bad but found it under powered,ended up buying a 2008 330d e90,no complaints so far.got it with 77000 on the clock and now has 117000 on it,trouble free,only normal services

a friend of mine has a 2007 325i e90 with 276000km and only problem he had was the bushes and suspension,which he got through axis here on the forum,he will only get rid of it if I sell him my 330d,which im considering,but not very hard.lol

 

[Ratslaaf]

I agree with the lot here, stay away from the 320i. The 320i and 320d are completely different cars, all else being equal. I have a 320d as a daily driver and this car is bulletproof. That being said, I do maintain my own cars as I don't expect to just 'get in and drive'

 

[gahamed]

Salaam , Hi guys ,

Thank you so much for all the advise given.I have decided to go for a 323i , I am convinced this is what I want now. I was lucky to view one yesterday , BUT the gearbox has an issue : 3rd gear syncro's are damaged. the guy is having BMW repair or replace it in the next 2 weeks. Should I be worried to purchase this knowing of this repair or should I just walk away?
the other little issue was when he started the motor it had a 3min "lifter clap" which went away, after a restart it was silent. must I be worried?
car in general is good apart from these concerns ...R135k 2006 14700km.
Please advise.

thanking you
goolam

 

[Gizmo]

Noisy lifters at only 14700km, walk away! Go test a 330i before you bite the bullet on the 323i.

From a friend of mine who is head technician at a BMW dealership: "The early E90 323i suffered head/cam issues that would score the bearings costing a new cylinder head, motorplan had alot of claims because of them. The 325i and 330i didn't suffer the same issues luckily."