E90 Byers Guide

[DonovanPorter]

Morning Guys

in the near future i want to have a look at buying a e90,

i have no idea what to look for in the sense of issues that the cars have or what could be possible deal breakers, as well as what would be a good price for the said vehicle.

also i i'm not sure about going the diesel route.(the dark side if you will)
ie. reliability etc

ill probably be looking at spending about 150k

any kind of information or kind of buyers guide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

First questions....
diesel or petrol?
what size engine?
lci or pre lci?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Andy1GP]

If you go E90 test drive the whole range. If you're not a diesel fan yet I understand. However my honest opinion is that those diesel motors are going to give you less headaches and more pleasure than the petrol equivalent.

 

[DonovanPorter]

well to be honest any advice will be taken as i have not owned a diesel before and i am open to owning one.

so yea petrol or diesel iam not phased , i would actually lean more to the diesel side.

are there any tell tails that one needs to be aware of ? general wear and tear is a given but any gremlins that could bite me in the future that can be spotted on a proper inspection ?

 

[Nikhil]

Diesel is ******* awesome! A well cared for diesel with software dp and exhaust is even better :rollsmile:



------------------------------------------------------------------
Mod:

Stop swearing, Nikhil :nono:

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

My E90 320d lci is now on 79 810km. Only item so far that was replaced is the pulley, that was done under MP. Very solid build cars. in daily use, and never missed a beat.

 

[akash]

You cant go wrong with any of the inline 6 petrol E90's.

Issue that all e90's have had is the:

Water pump
Leaky oil filter housing gasket.
Make sure to change the oil regularly

If i have one piece of advice dont go for a 320i.

 

[herr bmw]

had a 2008 323i,was an excellent car,but no match to the 330d.

330d is a real gem,the best of the lot in my eyes,i have manual gearbox and it is know to be heavy on clutches,mine has been replaced under m/p,other than that no problems

 

[lucian]

I may be in the same boat in the near future (ie considering the e90).
Stupid question, what is lci?

 

[akash]

I may be in the same boat in the near future (ie considering the e90).
Stupid question, what is lci?

Its basically the Facelift model

 

[ChefDJ]

For 150k you can get yourself a gem of a 320d pre-LCI :=):

 

[lucian]

I may be in the same boat in the near future (ie considering the e90).
Stupid question, what is lci?

Its basically the Facelift model

So how would one check for the difference. Obvious one of course.
I will not trust salesmen.

 

[Caddy101]

You cant go wrong with any of the inline 6 petrol E90's.

Issue that all e90's have had is the:

Water pump
Leaky oil filter housing gasket.
Make sure to change the oil regularly

If i have one piece of advice dont go for a 320i.

+1 on all the above.

AVOID THE 320i and yes, the 6 pots are absolute gems!
I love them!
:rollsmile:

 

[xcalibur]

Had my E90 320d (lci) for 3 years / 54,000km. Only non scheduled maintenance done was replacing the belt tensioner pulley under MP.

Try to get one with at least 1yr left on motorplan. That way, should you have any issues, your dealership will sort you out.

 

[Speedy]

I may be in the same boat in the near future (ie considering the e90).
Stupid question, what is lci?

Its basically the Facelift model

So how would one check for the difference. Obvious one of course.
I will not trust salesmen.

easiest way is LCI has all red tail lights, pre LCI has white/clear reverse light section.
Grill on a LCI is one piece where as pre LCI has a insert on the bonnet.
There are a few other changes (bonnet crease) but those to me stand out the most.

 

[herr bmw]

I may be in the same boat in the near future (ie considering the e90).
Stupid question, what is lci?

Its basically the Facelift model

So how would one check for the difference. Obvious one of course.
I will not trust salesmen.

easiest way is LCI has all red tail lights, pre LCI has white/clear reverse light section.
Grill on a LCI is one piece where as pre LCI has a insert on the bonnet.
There are a few other changes (bonnet crease) but those to me stand out the most.

bonnet,has 2 extra creases in them
mirrors,more square and bigger
front and rear bumpers
grill
rear tail lights as well as front lights

 

[akash]

The different bonnet will be the give away

 

[KarshS]

320i - Cant stand driving it
323i - heavy on fuel does not make up for the lack in power
325i - heavy on fuel does not make up for the lack in power
330i - heavy on fuel but i wouldn’t care. Decent power with an awesome sound track

320d - Light on fuel, good torque fun in Auto or Manual. Manual takes the win
330d - Decent on fuel when driven properly. Better in an Auto. best all-rounder e90. Awesome torque and power.

335i - heavy on fuel when driven hard - Lots of power - Awesome sound track. Better in a manual or DCT

Not much go wrong with these cars but you do get those that are problematic and will always be.

Best would be to check the motor plan first to see what all has changed thus far to see if there is any trends in failure.
This would have saved me alot of headache with my e90 325i.

Buying pre owned will always have its risks thus you find people buying corsa's and fiestas new rather than buying more higher end cars for same moneys. Peace of mind warranty’s.

If you want a nice strong car buy an e46...if you want an even stronger car buy an e36. :thumbs:

 

[NS406]

I hear the comments about 320i e90, I had one a few years back. If you don't expect a fast car you can kind of enjoy its unpretentious nature. Not fast, but kind of honest, no nonsense. I have a 320d now. Almost twice as fast (al least it feels so), engine is gruff, not as smooth as the 6-pots obviously, but good performance and excellent economy. . Had to have clutch replaced at 40000km/3 years but otherwise no problems. The Pirelli RFT I have now much better than original Bridgestones as far as ride comfort goes but still not up to expectations, it handles fairly well though. I have Alpine hifi upgrade which was a great choice. Standard sound is pretty basic on e90. Xenon lights nice. E90 is solid in my opinion and fairly good value.

 

[DonovanPorter]

thanks for all the comments thus far, i do see myself going more in the ways of diesel.

with regards to servicing, what kind of cash are we talking ?

iam a very keen DIY'er would servicing be as simple as what i think it is ?