2005 330i E90 Face-lift - worth £4250?

[MMiah21]

Hi all,

Hoping to get a bit of advice on a car for sale through a colleague of mine. Looking for an automatic and reliable car under £4.5K. Have been driving a Vauxhall Astra being sensible and want something I can enjoy.

Saloon grey
130K Mileage
N52 Engine
FSH MOT until Jan 23
Sunroof / power folding mirrors
Auto wipers
Wide screen pro idrive
Heated front seats

It's being sold by a colleague who is pretty trustworthy that's why I'm ok with the price and I have test driven the car for 1hr, feels really good.

Keen to get some advice on anything to watch out for, if the price is OK and if should take the plunge?!

Thanks for your comments in advance.

[Mr Tidy]

Interesting question as I bought a Sparkling Graphite manual 2005 330iSE in March 2019 with 107,000 miles for just under £3.5K including a 2nd set of wheels with winter tyres. Mine has the sunroof, power-fold mirrors, Bi-Xenons and the split/fold rear seat plus a retro-fitted DAB head unit.

The N52 engine seems to be more reliable than the later N53, but can suffer from oil leaks from the cam-cover Gasket and oil filter housing gasket. And these early ones have Hydraulic PAS which I prefer to the later Electric set-ups. Don't b surprised if suspension bushes and shocks are getting tired at that mileage. They have an electric water pump which at some point will just stop causing the car to overheat in about a mile so recovery cover is worth having unless there is evidence of a new one being fitted in the recent past. New pumps cost over £500 from BMW, but you can get the same part for about half that from other places!

I know most used car prices have gone up of late, but I keep an eye on these for obvious reasons and sadly they don't seem to have followed that trend.

Personally I would want to pay less than £4K, unless it's a Sport model as the M-Sport seats are a fair bit nicer than the SE ones, although the SE ones are fine even for longer 3 or 4 hour trips.

It's a great car - decent bit of performance, very refined and reasonably economical for a 3 litre petrol.

Hope that is of some help.

ETA 2005 models were early ones, the facelift was later.

[georgeyboy12345]

I think £4250 is a bit on the high side considering its mileage.

I don't like buying cars from friends, colleagues or relatives. What if said car sts it's guts out the day after you have bought it? It might make things awkward.

[MMiah21]

Thanks both - that is really helpful. It is the M-sport version. If I can get 2-3 years out of this car, I would be more than happy with it.

[W201_190e]

Buying from a friend or colleague is always a risky move if it goes belly up, awkward!

I’m not an expert but it seems a bit pricey for a 17 year old 3 series, even with the desirable engine. Maybe £3500-£3750ish is about right, top end.

Whilst they are very nice cars, they can be expensive to run, potentially far more than your Vauxhall. It’s really up to you to decide if it’s worth the extra risk/costs. As above water pump needs checking and maybe doing as preventative maintenance if it’s the original (or even 7-10 years old) and they do like to go through suspension. Genuine BMW or OEM parts, which really is all you’d want to use, are not usually cheap (or plentiful at the moment)

Regardless it needs to have full service history with no gaps and low ownership ideally.

[ZX10R NIN]

It has some choice options in the Sunroof/idrive & heated seats so he's actually asking okay money only you've seen the rest of car, so if it's condition is good then maybe negotiate a bit so you both get a price you're happy with.

[MMiah21]

So the car has had the following done

- oil pan gasket and automatic transmission fluid changed at the same time
- tensioner replaced
- suspension arms replaced recently
- run flats replaced

Will be seeing the receipts and history on the above tomorrow and waiting on the owner to confirm on what the situation is with the water pump, oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket. Other work has been done but owner just needs to double check the receipts and garage's bad handwriting lol... Feeling more inclined to go for this.

Will keep you all updated. Due to run through all this with him tomorrow.

[Mr Tidy]

MMiah21 said:

Will be seeing the receipts and history on the above tomorrow and waiting on the owner to confirm on what the situation is with the water pump, oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket. Other work has been done but owner just needs to double check the receipts and garage's bad handwriting lol... Feeling more inclined to go for this.

Will keep you all updated. Due to run through all this with him tomorrow.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the oil filter housing and valve cover gaskets having been replaced as you should be able to see if they are leaking, and if they aren't all is well!

Water pump failure is very random. I've had 4 cars with the N52 engine and had a failure at 60K miles on the first. The second was on the original when I sold it on 91K and the third had one die at 135K. Current one is now on 117K and an unknown quantity - you'd just have some peace of mind if it has been done and maybe some negotiating power if it hasn't!

A Sport model is usually a bit more desirable for the seats, although they sit a bit lower and have stiffer suspension which is a bit stiffer and with 18" wheels they have a firmer ride.

I wouldn't pay more for a 17 year old Sat-Nav though. My 2006 Z4 has Sat-Nav and it feels like a ZX Spectrum! Much easier to use a phone with live updates.

Good luck with the viewing.

[samoht]

It's a slightly above-average price, but if the car's in above average condition then it is probably worth it, or at least £4k if you can get it for that. If it's not in good condition then you may as well look elsewhere, but if it is, I wouldn't hesitate to pay a little more for a well-kept car.

Costs, yes running an old performance car will cost money. In compensation for that, you're getting a range-topping car with a 'proper' inline six and plenty of power for not a lot of cash; and it'll probably be worth most of that in future if not more (E46s seem to have risen in value).
If the seller has all the previous service history, sit down and line up the invoices in date order, add them up and calculate the cost per year running the car, that'll give you a rough idea if you can afford to keep it on the road.

Buying from a colleague, well IMHO it's fine as long as you take the view that when buying a used car privately you're accepting it 'as is', complete with all risks. If the engine blows up tomorrow, that's on you. As long as the seller hasn't lied, nothing to hold against him.