BMW Advice (2006 320 e90)

Cquinnie

Are there any BMW experts here that can advise if this is a good car to buy. I see one listed with this garage kellyslusk.ie Boards will not allow me add a link directly to the car sorry!!

Any thought greatly appreciated.

Alanstrainor

Petrol or diesel?

king_of_inismac

I have a 2005 BMW e90 320d. Its the older engine (m47 I think) which doesn't have the later issue with the timing chain (n47).

The two issues with this car (from my experience) are:
1. Bad turbo filters (you need to replace these with the non paper vortex one).
2. Issue with the steering column lock which,if it happens, will require an entirely new steering column.

BMW recommend an 18k service interval with long life oil but I service mine every 9 or 10k.

Apart from the issues listed above, its the most reliable car I've ever owned (apart from a corolla) and I'm now at almost 190k miles.

Get one with a service history and the issues above addressed and you'll be very happy with it.

Best of luck!

bazz26

Swirl flaps are common issues on the diesel too, should have been replaced by blanks at this stage to avoid killing the engine.

ABS/traction control unit is a common failure on these too, ABS, TC and brake warning lights all light up like a Christmas tree on the dashboard. Can be caused either by a faulty ABS sensor on a wheel or the control unit is goosed. Reconditioned units can be bought these days though.

Hedgehog resister is another common problem - small resister in the heater matrix is troublesome but is cheap and easy enough to replace on them. If the ventilation system makes a humming sound then the hedgehog resister is on it's way out.

Paddy@CIRL

They're the best car in the world, ever. Buy one.


I am entirely and completely biased.

Cquinnie

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Petrol or diesel?

Hi thanks for all advice so far, the car is a 2.0l petrol with service history and 90k miles on clock

Gumbo

Cquinnie wrote: »

Hi thanks for all advice so far, the car is a 2.0l petrol with service history and 90k miles on clock

Check service history for regular oil changes. Change the oil every year or every 10k miles, whatever comes first. Do not go by the on board computer. The oil can build up in these engines and sludge. Check for timing chain rattle as it's common on the 318i also, it's not just the diesels that suffer from this!

king_of_inismac

bazz26 wrote: »

Swirl flaps are common issues on the diesel too, should have been replaced by blanks at this stage to avoid killing the engine.

ABS/traction control unit is a common failure on these too, ABS, TC and brake warning lights all light up like a Christmas tree on the dashboard. Can be caused either by a faulty ABS sensor on a wheel or the control unit is goosed. Reconditioned units can be bought these days though.

Hedgehog resister is another common problem - small resister in the heater matrix is troublesome but is cheap and easy enough to replace on them. If the ventilation system makes a humming sound then the hedgehog resister is on it's way out.

I've never heard a conclusive answer to the swirl flaps issue on this engine. Apparently they had to be done on the e46 but I remember reading online from a BMW mechanic that he'd never once seen them go on an e90.

There's plenty of companies supplying And fitting blanking plates but I'm not convinced they're needed.

blastman

Looking at that particular car, the spec ain't good (no steering controls, leather or climate). For the money, I reckon you could do better.

Also, I thought the 320i was a 2.2 litre (it was on the E46), did this change on the E90?

Alanstrainor

blastman wrote: »

Looking at that particular car, the spec ain't good (no steering controls, leather or climate). For the money, I reckon you could do better.

Also, I thought the 320i was a 2.2 litre (it was on the E46), did this change on the E90?

The 320i e90/is a 4 pot. And is 2 litres.

landmarkjohn

blastman wrote: »

Looking at that particular car, the spec ain't good (no steering controls, leather or climate). For the money, I reckon you could do better.

Agree, very basic spec. Look for an SE model and get at least leather and steering wheel controls and climate minimum. XENON lights and a sunroof would be "nice to haves"This car would be hard to shift on when you come to change it again. You could do just as well in a 318i IMHO, we have one and realistically they are fast enough.

Also there is a warning triangle on the console, this could be something as simple as low washer fluid or tyre pressure sensor not calibrated (easy fixes) but could be something else, surprised garage hasn't resolved error before posting a picture.

These 4 cylinder BMW petrols can suffer from coil pack failure. Happened to us twice, no warning, just fails and then you are running on 3 cylinders. €100 - €200 to fix and no way to avoid it that I know, garage suggested keeping a spare in the boot. That said it is a good drive and you have that badge on the bonnet :-))

keno-daytrader

I agree, the "ES" is paddy spec, which mean its no frills without any extra's. I was recently shopping for a 3 series and I can tell you any car that I saw with an "ES" spec I passed right over.

I looked for m-sport or at least "SE".