[S114HED]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your past experiences it has helped a lot. Needed some advice on whether to purchase a used e92 coupe. I've always loved the e92 and now I am able to afford one. It's from a private seller, it's a 59 plate 320i Msport with 1 owner from new, full BMWSH and only 25k on the clock with heated leathers etc, but its warranty ran out back in september 2012. Asking price is £14k. There are 2 main concerns.

1: it has the dreaded 19inch alloys and the rear inner shoulders are wearing more then the outside. Would a 4 wheel alignment sort this out?

2: it went to BMW for a coil change some time last year. So how would I tell if it still has the problem and if it doesn't how would I be able to make sure it doesn't come back?

I still haven't viewed the car as it is very far away, but any advice would help. What should I look for when I go to view it? Any other common problems I should look for?

I would prefer to get a 325 but I'm only 22 and my insurance would be more then the car.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[norman1979]

I know this probably isn't the advice you want to hear, but the 320i is a terrible engine IMO. I would test drive one locally and see if you like how it drives. If you like it, then I would do a search on this forum for 320i issues as there are plenty of discussions about this.
If you still then want to buy it - then go for it

Edit: Main thread is here http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136258

[coopersim]

Personally I'd hold out for 6 pot when you can afford the insurance

[Chris100]

I bought brand new 320i back in 2009 and frankly wouldn't have one again if they were free.

Whether it had had the coils replaced or not does not mean that you will not have the well documented problems with it over and over again.

I only kept mine for 9 months and during that time it had various parts replaced which made no difference, in the end the dealership agreed to change to a 320d for me.

[S114HED]

Originally Posted by Chris100

I bought brand new 320i back in 2009 and frankly wouldn't have one again if they were free.

Whether it had had the coils replaced or not does not mean that you will not have the well documented problems with it over and over again.

I only kept mine for 9 months and during that time it had various parts replaced which made no difference, in the end the dealership agreed to change to a 320d for me.

As I would be buying private I would'nt have that option. So is all the N43 engines a no go? Or are they some good ones?

[S114HED]

Originally Posted by norman1979

I know this probably isn't the advice you want to hear, but the 320i is a terrible engine IMO. I would test drive one locally and see if you like how it drives. If you like it, then I would do a search on this forum for 320i issues as there are plenty of discussions about this.
If you still then want to buy it - then go for it

Edit: Main thread is here http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136258

Any advice is appreicated mate!

I have read the issues with the N43 engine on that thread, but its the only one I am able to get insurance on.

I'll try and get a test drive on a local on to see how it drives.

[Drrncour]

Hi keep looking there are some great deals about at the moment. I just bought a 2008 325i (3ltr engine) Msport, with many extras and options. Yes it's 1 year older and has more miles, but I paid 6k less with a warranty from a reputable dealer.

[xPETEZx]

When I first started looking at the 3 (e90) I wanted the 320i too.
However all the reading around just put me straight off.
I then looked at the 320d, but could only afford the 177bhp engine which appears to have a lot of issues too.
In the end, I managed to find a 325i, and havent looked back!

I did find that the insurance cost for me at the time was almost no different between a 320i/320d/325i/325d. (was 24 @ the time with just 2 years ncb)

Lastly, if you have £14k to spend, why not get a slightly older/higher miles 325 or better and use the saved money to pay insurance?

[makkan00]

[quote=xPETEZx;13383554]
Lastly, if you have £14k to spend, why not get a slightly older/higher miles 325 or better and use the saved money to pay insurance?[/QUOTE]

What he said.

[S114HED]

Originally Posted by Drrncour

Hi keep looking there are some great deals about at the moment. I just bought a 2008 325i (3ltr engine) Msport, with many extras and options. Yes it's 1 year older and has more miles, but I paid 6k less with a warranty from a reputable dealer.

It will be virutally impossible to insurance myself on a 3 litre BMW, I'm 22 with 6 points on my licence, even tho my initial intention was to buy a 325i M Sport.

I did check, and to extend the warranty with BMW is around £600 for the year. Which I might be able to haggle with the seller.

[S114HED]

Heres what it looks like.

[xenon]

FWIW I never had any problems with my 320i which I bought new in 2008. If (and I suppose it's a big "if") you get one with no faults then it's a much nicer engine than the 320d which sounds like a London taxi. It's not as powerful as the 320d but the rev-range makes it more fun to drive, imo.

[S114HED]

Originally Posted by xenon

FWIW I never had any problems with my 320i which I bought new in 2008. If (and I suppose it's a big "if") you get one with no faults then it's a much nicer engine than the 320d which sounds like a London taxi. It's not as powerful as the 320d but the rev-range makes it more fun to drive, imo.

Well it has been in for the coil change and the seller assures me its as sweet as a nut. I havent viewed the car myself as its around 600 miles away from me.

[P 5UML]

my mate is looking to buy a 320i vert, i test drove one yesterday that we saw and it seemed ok, was the auto box too!

anyone else with good/bad experiences??/advice please let us know as it would be a great help

thanks

[norman1979]

I would buy a 320d if you cant get insured with anything straight 6.

[sohlman]

I don't subscribe to the notion that BMW builds a bad car. Yes the 6 cylinders are better, but if the car is well looked after and has been treated in the right way then there is no reason why it would be a bad car. it will be an efficiency dynamics model which is good and BMW is usually very good at goodwill should something major go wrong. If you keep the BMW service history and the car is under 60k that seems to be the zone of goodwill, so you have plenty of mileage.

rear tyre wear is common on Bridgstones RFT. When they were out go with non run flats and have the suspension aligned and that should cure that.

Ask the vender where the car has been serviced and then phone them up. The main dealer should be able to confirm all the service history and what work has been done.

As for warranty through the BMW car club you can buy an extended warranty through warranty wise which is a like for like match of the BMW warranty. should be around £400 for that car.

Colour and specification is good. The only other thing i would check is the wheels carefully for cracks. They normally go on the inside edges and requires getting up close and personal with the floor.

[S114HED]

Originally Posted by sohlman

I don't subscribe to the notion that BMW builds a bad car. Yes the 6 cylinders are better, but if the car is well looked after and has been treated in the right way then there is no reason why it would be a bad car. it will be an efficiency dynamics model which is good and BMW is usually very good at goodwill should something major go wrong. If you keep the BMW service history and the car is under 60k that seems to be the zone of goodwill, so you have plenty of mileage.

rear tyre wear is common on Bridgstones RFT. When they were out go with non run flats and have the suspension aligned and that should cure that.

Ask the vender where the car has been serviced and then phone them up. The main dealer should be able to confirm all the service history and what work has been done.

As for warranty through the BMW car club you can buy an extended warranty through warranty wise which is a like for like match of the BMW warranty. should be around £400 for that car.

Colour and specification is good. The only other thing i would check is the wheels carefully for cracks. They normally go on the inside edges and requires getting up close and personal with the floor.

Thanks Sohlman,

I have phoned the BMW Dealer and they have confirmed everything the seller has said, and I do honestly think the seller has looked after his car.

I will defo check all wheels throughly and make sure they are not cracked, also just got a quote from warranty wise for around £300, but would they cover all work by a BMW dealer or would I need to choose their own? Also there isnt a spare wheel, so if I was to go to Non RFT I would need to get an extra wheel

What do you think about the price, is 14k too much? I was going to try and haggle to around 13k.

[bigdave196]

As a current 320i owner, my advice would be: don't.

It seems BMW must have hired a bunch of engineers from Alfa to build the 320i, as when it works as it should it's a great drive, but those moments are rare.

It's definitely the least reliable car I've owned

[S114HED]

I guess its a mixed bag of feelings towards the 320i. Well I'm going to car giant to test drive one and see how it feels, also can see where everything is, so I would know when I got to see the car.

[shortie]

It does look nice but i would never buy the 320i after my recent experience. The car is being purchased back by the dealer as in 11 months the car has been back countless times under warranty with endless coilpack / injector problems, not to mention ABS or the cat. And its still misfiring now!!

There are people that have never had a problem with the 320i, but if i had of found this site before i got mine, i would never have bought it

[S114HED]

Originally Posted by shortie

It does look nice but i would never buy the 320i after my recent experience. The car is being purchased back by the dealer as in 11 months the car has been back countless times under warranty with endless coilpack / injector problems, not to mention ABS or the cat. And its still misfiring now!!

There are people that have never had a problem with the 320i, but if i had of found this site before i got mine, i would never have bought it

What plate is your one? I read somewhere that if you have the new bosch coils the problem goes away. I guess there must be some good 320i out there, you just got to find the right ones. The one I'm thinking of buying has had its coils changed and the seller assures me that i hasnt happened again.

[mob17]

Don't trust car dealers, trust people on here.

I'd say get a 4 pot diesel engine until you can afford a 6 pot petrol/diesel. With the 320D you can easily get much better tuning results than a petrol. All it takes is a little box or remap.