E91 330i Touring
Discussion
Evening all,
This is a little late as I’ve owned the car a couple of months, but I think there’s a reasonable road ahead with it so hopefully this can be a way of documenting it’s adventures/failures! It might be a touch wordy but I enjoy other people’s stories (perhaps lockdown boredom?) especially on something a little different.
I previously had an E46 M3 and DC2 Integra (my affordable dream driveway) but to achieve my first house purchase the M3 had to go, and was replaced but a delicious 2005 1.6 Golf. Said golf proved to be nothing but completely reliable, was big enough to get a surprise dog addition in the boot and was quite happy transporting spares and a lot of beers on a trip to spa to watch a friend compete in the CSCC.
It was also catastrophically boring. I’ve had a few sheds and in some cases get quite attached to them (a 270,000 mile 1995 A4 Avant being my favourite) but the golf was so dreary that with a few pennies saved up the hunt was on for either a 325/330i touring or an Accord Type S Tourer. It had to be manual, not be rusty and not Black, and a few weeks after missing an Accord and a 325i both by a matter of hours I then spotted a newly advertised 330i touring with the same dealer who had the Accord. In my best negotiation ever I called the dealer who confirmed it had a decent service history, new MOT and was indeed the car in the advert, so I said I’d have it without any form of haggling/deal. The dealer did then fill it with fuel at his cost, which was nice!
So enough typing, this is my 2006 E91 330i Touring. Le Mans Blue with the all important manual. It’s got heated seats which is nice, xenons and bizarrely an LED compass in the rear view mirror which I’ve certainly never seen before.
On picking it up I was actually a bit disappointed, it’s clearly had a “life” with varying quality levels of paint on most panels and some hefty stone chips to the front. The wheels have been refurbished to a terrible standard, they look ok from a few feet away but look closely and there are sharp edges/runs in the paint all over the place. It was however pretty cheap for what it is and the mechanicals seemed good on the test drive. It was however, disgustingly dirty! It had been washed and hoovered, but things like the start button and aluminium trim were almost black and there were tonnes of crisps, nuts and wrappers under the seats. Anyway, I drove it home knowing a well overdue valet would improve it no end.
Aside from a low oil light (the dealer had serviced it and the car did say full on the onboard display when I collected, but clearly needed a good drive to settle) the first few weeks were great, right up until it suddenly ran on at most 2 cylinders and then died on the smart motorway section of the M3 during rush hour (which was fun). My technician friend diagnosed a faulty ECU, which when located was found to be completely submerged in water. Arse!
The photo above shows some of the water that came out from that area when the drain hole was unblocked - the fix? A new ECU at BMW, for £1700... Fearing the worst, I called the warranty company who cheerfully told me water ingress is not covered in any way, so I called the dealer expecting the same only for him to apologise profusely, and offer to pay in full for any work needed. Bearing in mind the car was under £5k I was stunned!
So with a new ECU and a fresh service I’m really enjoying the car. I’ve still got the Integra which is used for trackdays / nice days, but I am thinking this would be a great thing to take up to do North Coast 500/Nurburgring 24hr etc.
So the to do list - I’ve spent a couple of hours going over the interior etc but it really needs an all day clay bar/polish and a professional go at the headlights. The wheels are ok for now, but I may change them. The head unit loses colour if you drive for more than an hour which it seems is common, and I need to source some roof bars!
So - this is my attempt at an affordable, interesting do it all daily car. It amazed me in the recent snow climbing the steep hill to work no problem, although my car park donuts were pretty disappointing/embarrassing.
Fingers crossed we have many more positive updates in the future, and well done for reading so far!
This is a little late as I’ve owned the car a couple of months, but I think there’s a reasonable road ahead with it so hopefully this can be a way of documenting it’s adventures/failures! It might be a touch wordy but I enjoy other people’s stories (perhaps lockdown boredom?) especially on something a little different.
I previously had an E46 M3 and DC2 Integra (my affordable dream driveway) but to achieve my first house purchase the M3 had to go, and was replaced but a delicious 2005 1.6 Golf. Said golf proved to be nothing but completely reliable, was big enough to get a surprise dog addition in the boot and was quite happy transporting spares and a lot of beers on a trip to spa to watch a friend compete in the CSCC.
It was also catastrophically boring. I’ve had a few sheds and in some cases get quite attached to them (a 270,000 mile 1995 A4 Avant being my favourite) but the golf was so dreary that with a few pennies saved up the hunt was on for either a 325/330i touring or an Accord Type S Tourer. It had to be manual, not be rusty and not Black, and a few weeks after missing an Accord and a 325i both by a matter of hours I then spotted a newly advertised 330i touring with the same dealer who had the Accord. In my best negotiation ever I called the dealer who confirmed it had a decent service history, new MOT and was indeed the car in the advert, so I said I’d have it without any form of haggling/deal. The dealer did then fill it with fuel at his cost, which was nice!
So enough typing, this is my 2006 E91 330i Touring. Le Mans Blue with the all important manual. It’s got heated seats which is nice, xenons and bizarrely an LED compass in the rear view mirror which I’ve certainly never seen before.
On picking it up I was actually a bit disappointed, it’s clearly had a “life” with varying quality levels of paint on most panels and some hefty stone chips to the front. The wheels have been refurbished to a terrible standard, they look ok from a few feet away but look closely and there are sharp edges/runs in the paint all over the place. It was however pretty cheap for what it is and the mechanicals seemed good on the test drive. It was however, disgustingly dirty! It had been washed and hoovered, but things like the start button and aluminium trim were almost black and there were tonnes of crisps, nuts and wrappers under the seats. Anyway, I drove it home knowing a well overdue valet would improve it no end.
Aside from a low oil light (the dealer had serviced it and the car did say full on the onboard display when I collected, but clearly needed a good drive to settle) the first few weeks were great, right up until it suddenly ran on at most 2 cylinders and then died on the smart motorway section of the M3 during rush hour (which was fun). My technician friend diagnosed a faulty ECU, which when located was found to be completely submerged in water. Arse!
The photo above shows some of the water that came out from that area when the drain hole was unblocked - the fix? A new ECU at BMW, for £1700... Fearing the worst, I called the warranty company who cheerfully told me water ingress is not covered in any way, so I called the dealer expecting the same only for him to apologise profusely, and offer to pay in full for any work needed. Bearing in mind the car was under £5k I was stunned!
So with a new ECU and a fresh service I’m really enjoying the car. I’ve still got the Integra which is used for trackdays / nice days, but I am thinking this would be a great thing to take up to do North Coast 500/Nurburgring 24hr etc.
So the to do list - I’ve spent a couple of hours going over the interior etc but it really needs an all day clay bar/polish and a professional go at the headlights. The wheels are ok for now, but I may change them. The head unit loses colour if you drive for more than an hour which it seems is common, and I need to source some roof bars!
So - this is my attempt at an affordable, interesting do it all daily car. It amazed me in the recent snow climbing the steep hill to work no problem, although my car park donuts were pretty disappointing/embarrassing.
Fingers crossed we have many more positive updates in the future, and well done for reading so far!
Well done finding a manual E91 330i. 
In 2018 I gave up looking and bought a manual 325i SE with heated Lemon leather.
But it felt a bit sluggish so in 2019 I replaced it with an E90 330iSE with Bi-Xenons, electric glass sun-roof and split/fold rear seats, but sadly in the same Sparkling Graphite - whatever happened to colours in the early 2000s?
In 2018 I gave up looking and bought a manual 325i SE with heated Lemon leather.
But it felt a bit sluggish so in 2019 I replaced it with an E90 330iSE with Bi-Xenons, electric glass sun-roof and split/fold rear seats, but sadly in the same Sparkling Graphite - whatever happened to colours in the early 2000s?
croissant said:
Nice car and good choice. Sounds like you got a good deal and from a decent dealer if he fixed it for you.
Can I ask where the ecu is located so I can check mine for damp in that area also?
LH Rear of the engine bay. Take the cover off to reveal the white plastic ECU box.Can I ask where the ecu is located so I can check mine for damp in that area also?
There's a gromit in the base of that and one in the body underneath.
Pull the ECU / loom/ box out and put bigger holes in both gromits to avoid ECU taking a bath...
Best do it sooner rather than later. Ask me how I know.
BW Chiptune sorted me out at a third of the dealer expense...
Cheers
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