"Mint" E91 320d with a problem. Buy or not? Opinions please
Discussion
I know it's impossible to answer definitively I'd just like your thoughts.
I've found a E91 320D. 360K km, manual, sport seats, brown leather. At a used car dealer.
VIN WBAVU31080KY36733
https://bimmer.work/vin/k500bb7fc6becbb1c4900bd0e2...
I've been to see the car and it seems mint. No rust underneath anywhere. No leaks that I could see, I put my hand over the undertrays (from below in inspection pit) as much as I could and it was dry.
Very slight weeping where the propshaft comes out of the front.
Pulls to the right slightly under braking but goes straight if you drive at a constant speed.
Suspension seems fine bushes wise, gearbox is a bit sticky when cold but with a bit of heat goes in no problem. (normal?)
Drivers seat has a single tear on the base but I'm not surprised given the mileage. Bolsters look almost new.
Having said all that there are a few issues.
First is the AC does not work. Last thing in the service book was AC service, I'm presuming its a leak...
Second, the car is well down on power. Power doesn't come in until 2500rpm ( I mean it feels like turbo isn't blowing) and power very slowly builds to redline.
I'm thinking the vanes in the turbo have seized.
Third. The big issue is when the engine is cold.
Its burns a lot of oil. Plenty of it. A cloud of smoke. You can easily see through the blue & black cloud bit its a cloud. On idle and if you rev it. Smells of oil.
When the car is warm, nothing. No smoke at all.
I'm thinking its the turbo or possibly the breather is blocked. If it's either of those things I'm okay with it.
The ball-and-chain on the other hand says why would you buy a car with an obvious problem. If it was easy to fix they would have fixed it.
I'm finding it hard to argue with that logic.
The dealer says they all do that and says the cars is fine, it doesn't need a Euro spending on it........
Why am I looking at it? Because its cheap, (for where I am), around 2K cheaper than the next cheapest one. But compared to the UK its a chunk of change.
If it cost 2 grand I'd take a punt on it. But it costs 5.7 grand (cars here are expensive)
So it comes down to this. Is there anything else the smoke could be ie something major like piston rings?
And if its the turbo/breather, are there any other parts (expensive ones) I might have to change at the same time?
The engine sounds fine. Rock solid idle. Starts up no issues at all. I hear no change rattle. Quiet/silent on the move
What are the chances of there being a major bill involved to fix it? Excluding new turbo.
I'm prepared to put a grand into it to make it right but no more.
I suppose my big worry is that I need to change the engine. How likely is that?
What do you think? Go or a no?
I've found a E91 320D. 360K km, manual, sport seats, brown leather. At a used car dealer.
VIN WBAVU31080KY36733
https://bimmer.work/vin/k500bb7fc6becbb1c4900bd0e2...
I've been to see the car and it seems mint. No rust underneath anywhere. No leaks that I could see, I put my hand over the undertrays (from below in inspection pit) as much as I could and it was dry.
Very slight weeping where the propshaft comes out of the front.
Pulls to the right slightly under braking but goes straight if you drive at a constant speed.
Suspension seems fine bushes wise, gearbox is a bit sticky when cold but with a bit of heat goes in no problem. (normal?)
Drivers seat has a single tear on the base but I'm not surprised given the mileage. Bolsters look almost new.
Having said all that there are a few issues.
First is the AC does not work. Last thing in the service book was AC service, I'm presuming its a leak...
Second, the car is well down on power. Power doesn't come in until 2500rpm ( I mean it feels like turbo isn't blowing) and power very slowly builds to redline.
I'm thinking the vanes in the turbo have seized.
Third. The big issue is when the engine is cold.
Its burns a lot of oil. Plenty of it. A cloud of smoke. You can easily see through the blue & black cloud bit its a cloud. On idle and if you rev it. Smells of oil.
When the car is warm, nothing. No smoke at all.
I'm thinking its the turbo or possibly the breather is blocked. If it's either of those things I'm okay with it.
The ball-and-chain on the other hand says why would you buy a car with an obvious problem. If it was easy to fix they would have fixed it.
I'm finding it hard to argue with that logic.
The dealer says they all do that and says the cars is fine, it doesn't need a Euro spending on it........
Why am I looking at it? Because its cheap, (for where I am), around 2K cheaper than the next cheapest one. But compared to the UK its a chunk of change.
If it cost 2 grand I'd take a punt on it. But it costs 5.7 grand (cars here are expensive)
So it comes down to this. Is there anything else the smoke could be ie something major like piston rings?
And if its the turbo/breather, are there any other parts (expensive ones) I might have to change at the same time?
The engine sounds fine. Rock solid idle. Starts up no issues at all. I hear no change rattle. Quiet/silent on the move
What are the chances of there being a major bill involved to fix it? Excluding new turbo.
I'm prepared to put a grand into it to make it right but no more.
I suppose my big worry is that I need to change the engine. How likely is that?
What do you think? Go or a no?
I wish I could say there were loads to choose from but at the moment there are only around 13 for sale in the country (Greece). Priced from 7.5K to around 10K. Hence 5.6K looking attractive.
But yeah, the smoking and no power (this is the second I look at and the first one had the same power problem) should be a deal breaker.
The nice interior had got me trying to rationalise the decision.
But yeah, the smoking and no power (this is the second I look at and the first one had the same power problem) should be a deal breaker.
The nice interior had got me trying to rationalise the decision.
Mileage is looked at very differently outside the U.K. ao id discount that as a factor
The big question is … how much do you think it will cost you to put right and are you willing to take a risk ?
If one that (doesn’t appear to) have problems is €10k how much can you haggle off this one, or will the dealer fix the issues, and when fixed ( (because it can be ) will it have cost you more than buying the €10k one in the first place if you have to do it yourself ?
The big question is … how much do you think it will cost you to put right and are you willing to take a risk ?
If one that (doesn’t appear to) have problems is €10k how much can you haggle off this one, or will the dealer fix the issues, and when fixed ( (because it can be ) will it have cost you more than buying the €10k one in the first place if you have to do it yourself ?
"Mileage is looked at very differently outside the U.K"
Beggars cant be choosers. Limited supply of cars.
The nuclear option is always going to be putting a new engine in it. At a cost of what 2.5K? Not an option I'd want to take. I don't think any of that money would come back if I sold it.
From what I read about the M47 its pretty bullet proof which is why I'm suspecting a blocked breather and/or needs a turbo rebuild, so 500 Euro to fix.
The fact the smoke goes away when its warm I think points towards this.
If the dealer fixed it I expect he would want 7.5K
There is a possibility that garages are not clued up on this engine here because they never see them so don't know about the breather problem. Perhaps they believe its a two grand fix hence the price (but it does aggravate me the dealer stating "it doesn't need a Euro" in the ad. That alone makes me want to walk. He originally had it up for 4.5K 10 months ago, now I think I know why).
I'm thinking it "could" be a 500 Euro fix. But I'm betting someone in the trade doesn't know what they have which is unlikely.
LOL for the hanging bumper and torn wiper blades. I wish there was!
Seriously though, no rust top or bottom, not even surface rust, bodywork excellent. Its "just" the AC, the smoking and the lack of power that's a problem.............. that I know of...........
Beggars cant be choosers. Limited supply of cars.
The nuclear option is always going to be putting a new engine in it. At a cost of what 2.5K? Not an option I'd want to take. I don't think any of that money would come back if I sold it.
From what I read about the M47 its pretty bullet proof which is why I'm suspecting a blocked breather and/or needs a turbo rebuild, so 500 Euro to fix.
The fact the smoke goes away when its warm I think points towards this.
If the dealer fixed it I expect he would want 7.5K
There is a possibility that garages are not clued up on this engine here because they never see them so don't know about the breather problem. Perhaps they believe its a two grand fix hence the price (but it does aggravate me the dealer stating "it doesn't need a Euro" in the ad. That alone makes me want to walk. He originally had it up for 4.5K 10 months ago, now I think I know why).
I'm thinking it "could" be a 500 Euro fix. But I'm betting someone in the trade doesn't know what they have which is unlikely.
LOL for the hanging bumper and torn wiper blades. I wish there was!
Seriously though, no rust top or bottom, not even surface rust, bodywork excellent. Its "just" the AC, the smoking and the lack of power that's a problem.............. that I know of...........
My OH has a 120d with the M47 engine, cars done 125k miles.
They have swirl flaps in the inlet manifold that are prone to disintegrate and fall into the cylinders, would wreck the engine pretty quickly. There is a delete kit available on ebay to remove them. Do lose a bit of low down pull but you get used to it.
Breathers do block up, I've changed ours, easy to do on the cam cover.
Ours pulls quite strongly from 1750rpm to the redline so I'd be a bit concerned about yours, maybe the turbo is fubarred.
It's also a bit diesel smokey when thrashed, the Mrs mostly chugs around town so needs an Italian tune up every now and again.
That mileage sounds really high, was it a taxi or something?
They have swirl flaps in the inlet manifold that are prone to disintegrate and fall into the cylinders, would wreck the engine pretty quickly. There is a delete kit available on ebay to remove them. Do lose a bit of low down pull but you get used to it.
Breathers do block up, I've changed ours, easy to do on the cam cover.
Ours pulls quite strongly from 1750rpm to the redline so I'd be a bit concerned about yours, maybe the turbo is fubarred.
It's also a bit diesel smokey when thrashed, the Mrs mostly chugs around town so needs an Italian tune up every now and again.
That mileage sounds really high, was it a taxi or something?
NMNeil said:
Probably lost in translation,... but absolutely 
oakdale said:
The car is manual but the spec in the link says it's automatic?
Well spotted. I did notice it but I'm not sure if its definitive. Realoem gives the option of auto and manual parts.About petrol alternatives.
I did a bit of research and the conclusion I came to was that the petrol engines in the E90 are a bit ropey.
That, and I also want something with a turbo.
About the moon mileage.
Honestly, it hadn't occurred to me it could have been a taxi. But now you mention it every diesel car older than 2010 I've seen has been imported (except taxis) because I **think** diesel vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes were illegal prior to 2009/2010.
For this car, the dealer says it was registered new in Greece (but they all say that..........) in 2006 and the original buyer is the one who is selling the car now.
So I suppose it could explain why services like autodna have so little information on the car. (Its only the last year or two electronic services giving details of the car have been accessible to the public here).
MOT history from 2016 shows it was doing around 15k a year. Still I think Id expect a taxi to be doing more than 27K a year prior to 2016. Especially as the area where the car is is a bit rural.
The conclusion? Maybe it was a taxi. The dealer couldn't find the service book when I was there so I have no idea of the car before 2016. In any case from what I've read the M47 can do the mileage if its been look after and it seems this one has.
Also, they've just retrimmed the steering in leather and put 4 new tyres on it and a new MOT. Why they would do the steering wheel instead of sorting the smoking issue is beyond me. I have to assume they think its a pricey fix.
rich40 said:
About petrol alternatives.
I did a bit of research and the conclusion I came to was that the petrol engines in the E90 are a bit ropey.
I'd be taking a 6 cyl petrol over the 4 cyl diesel any day of the week.I did a bit of research and the conclusion I came to was that the petrol engines in the E90 are a bit ropey.
N52 engine is going to be pretty solid and probably the choice for minimal bork factor. Later N53 can cause issues with injectors (common fail point, expensive and difficult to get hold of) and the high pressure fuel pump.
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