Any BMW owners in here?

[bustednutz]

I'm considering the purchase of an e90 body.
I've just started researching them so I'm still a little green.
What known or common issues happen to these cars? I think I read that the 2006 models had head and waterpump problems. Not sure if they ever got resolved.
So any of your experience and knowledge of all things BMW are welcome.
Thanks.

 

[JHZR2]

Plenty of owners. Electric water pumps are a ?, and hpfps on DI models could be an issue.

My problem with the E90 vs my E30 was just how giant it got. Different driving dynamic. I went with a 1 series as a personal car.

 

[randomhero439]

Ah Ha! Only thing i know about BMW is not to follow their scheduled maintenance, or lack of.

 

[MBS500]

I read somewhere bimmer related sites that smaller engines on 5 series have gaskets troubles, they often leak. V8s like 550 have oil coolers installed, which prolong seals life. Also auto transmission may be "jerky", it is pretty common, needs "brains" update or replacement. One in my sig is in the shop right now till monday, for that very same problem, until I have extended warranty, I want them to eliminate it.
Also it had leaky lower radiator hose, which messed up coolant level sensor. but it may be due fender bender, where headlight, fender and radiator mounts were bended.
Buddy has biturbo 335i, which is fine and fun,bumpy, very fast after chip tuning, but has it's own little "things".
It is rebuild car(hard hit in the back), so that may be the case.
Otherwise-ultimate driving machines like they claim.

 

[kschachn]

It has been my experience that for BMWs more than a few years old you will find whole websites devoted to the problems and faults of particular models. On my old 530i it seems that every time I have something go wrong and I look for answers on the Internet there is tons of information.

Between myself and two other friends we have a total of seven BMWs or Minis. My take is that new or old, they all have "issues" of one sort or another. They are fun to drive, mine is always my first choice when I have a pick but they aren't cheap nor are they as reliable as say a Toyota or Honda. Parts are readily available online including very good aftermarket brands. If I have the time I generally buy from an online dealer as their costs are often less than an aftermarket part. But they don't have a lot in stock so you have to wait.

Some good aftermarket places are RM European, Autohaus AZ and (if you check brands carefully) FCP Euro. Go by price on aftermarket parts, the cheap stuff like Karlyn is just that, cheap. Lemfoerder is an OEM for a lot of BMW parts and is a reliable brand.

A cheap online BMW dealer is Husker (www.bmwmercedesparts.com) but they are slowwwww so you have to be able to wait. Other dealers are faster but slightly higher prices.

 

[Fleetmon]

We had a '99 528i and drove it until the 200k mile mark with very minimal issues....front suspension rework, ABS issues (2 speed sensors and a $187 module rebuild), idler pulley replacement, and front brake work twice...that was it.

We thought so much of it (we commute 150+ miles per day) that we purchased a X535d and couldn't be more satisfied.

If you do your own maintenance work, they are very simple to work on but, from what I hear, BMW dealers are very expensive for maintenance work. Bimmerfest forums can get you through any job you have to do if you're the least bit mechanically inclined.

As mentioned by one of the posters....BMW's do not tolerate overheating and overheating it WILL result in very expensive repairs....not trying to scare you off, just a friendly reminder. All, or at least the great majority of them have marginal (good systems but when they fail can cause bigger issues) cooling systems....keep a close eye on it. Check out the E90 Bimmerfest forum for opinions.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Fleetmon
We had a '99 528i and drove it until the 200k mile mark with very minimal issues....front suspension rework, ABS issues (2 speed sensors and a $187 module rebuild), idler pulley replacement, and front brake work twice...that was it.

We thought so much of it (we commute 150+ miles per day) that we purchased a X535d and couldn't be more satisfied.

If you do your own maintenance work, they are very simple to work on but, from what I hear, BMW dealers are very expensive for maintenance work. Bimmerfest forums can get you through any job you have to do if you're the least bit mechanically inclined.

As mentioned by one of the posters....BMW's do not tolerate overheating and overheating it WILL result in very expensive repairs....not trying to scare you off, just a friendly reminder. All, or at least the great majority of them have marginal (good systems but when they fail can cause bigger issues) cooling systems....keep a close eye on it. Check out the E90 Bimmerfest forum for opinions.


Well put

 

[JohnathanDm]

Originally Posted By: bustednutz
I'm considering the purchase of an e90 body.
I've just started researching them so I'm still a little green.
What known or common issues happen to these cars? I think I read that the 2006 models had head and waterpump problems. Not sure if they ever got resolved.
So any of your experience and knowledge of all things BMW are welcome.
Thanks.


better off buying a new one. and set a side a couple 1000's if ur going to buy an e90.. you either buy a bmw with over a 100k or a bmw with less then 40K on the clock never buy a mid to high millage. there's alot of reason's why e90s are so cheep to get now thanks to the 335i... like my bmw adviser told me nobody trades or sell's there bmw unless they upgraded 2 a newer one or trade in because the cost of Maintenance. but on the e90s most reliable one would be one with out I drive and very low mile's like a lease model.

 

[The Critic]

http://edgemotorworks.com/wordpress/e90-93-2005-2012-3-series-including-m/

 

[m6pwr]

You'll get an owner's perspective if you ask your questions on http://www.e90post.com/forums/index.php.

I've had 20 BMW's over the years (starting with a '72 Bavaria and now with a '12 535, and a bunch of M cars in between), and about an equal number of other cars, euro and domestic. I'll always have a bimmer in the garage. I may have a golden high pressure fuel pump up my auspuff, but they are hands down the most reliable and fun to drive cars I've ever owned (incl Fords, Chevies, Dodge, VW's, Porsches, and Alfa Romeos). Actually, I wish I had been able to keep all of the BMW's. Can't say the same about the others. Hey, JHZR2, I had a '88 e30. One of the greatest.

They also have a great owner's club, BMW CCA, which I think is now the largest marque club in the world (pretty good for a car that so unreliable, etc). The club mag is called the ROUNDEL and many issues have featured letters to the editor from BMW owners that have compared very favorably the reliability of their bimmers to such other family cars in their garage, like Toyota's and Honda's, which sometimes don't come off as well as the bimmer. Everyone has their story to tell, I guess, positive and negative.

 

[Spazdog]

I don't personally own one. I've strongly considered purchasing one.

IMHO, the biggest most overwhelming problem with the cars? The current owners.

Every single one of them that comes in has a check engine light on. The owners are content to ignore it. I wonder how many are VANOS related. More often than not the maintenance minder is indicating that an oil change is very long overdue and a cursory check underhood reveals crusty black goop on the oil fill cap and a low black tar oil level on the stick.

To compound their stupidity, the OCI maintenance minder averages, what... 12-15,000 miles? Something like that. They're showing -6500 miles...etc....so you know they are pushing upwards of 20,000 miles on an OCI. I guess they figure since the last service cost them $800 that it is good.....

forever.

Many have an odd combination of one Conti, two Linglongs, and a Triangle brand tire or something similar! A 225/45 on one side of the rear and a 215/50 on the other. Why would you buy a car like this and put that Chi-Com.... [bad words intentionally omitted by poster]?

Arrrrgggghhh!

I hate the way the doors sound when they close on the E93 and all the fluttering and weird noises at speed. It's such an exceptionally beautiful car. Why can't they make the doors as quiet and solid as a hooptie'96 Sebring? Maybe the top noises are caused by the previously mentioned idiot owners operating the top at speed.

I don't know .... but those doors!

 

[JohnathanDm]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
I don't personally own one. I've strongly considered purchasing one.

IMHO, the biggest most overwhelming problem with the cars? The current owners.

Every single one of them that comes in has a check engine light on. The owners are content to ignore it. I wonder how many are VANOS related. More often than not the maintenance minder is indicating that an oil change is very long overdue and a cursory check underhood reveals crusty black goop on the oil fill cap and a low black tar oil level on the stick.

To compound their stupidity, the OCI maintenance minder averages, what... 12-15,000 miles? Something like that. They're showing -6500 miles...etc....so you know they are pushing upwards of 20,000 miles on an OCI. I guess they figure since the last service cost them $800 that it is good.....

forever.

Many have an odd combination of one Conti, two Linglongs, and a Triangle brand tire or something similar! A 225/45 on one side of the rear and a 215/50 on the other. Why would you buy a car like this and put that Chi-Com.... [bad words intentionally omitted by poster]?

Arrrrgggghhh!

I hate the way the doors sound when they close on the E93 and all the fluttering and weird noises at speed. It's such an exceptionally beautiful car. Why can't they make the doors as quiet and solid as a hooptie'96 Sebring? Maybe the top noises are caused by the previously mentioned idiot owners operating the top at speed.

I don't know .... but those doors!



babahahaha I get it all the time at work..... it makes me so mad! i have a 00 and Idont ask questions on what cost what i just get it done and dont think twice about it. all these people just buy it for the look then complain on how everything cost so much money. I always bite my tongue at work when customers complain,about there bmw's.But people tend to forget is Maintenance. I have 2 customer's at work who take care of there bmw like if it was there child and virtually never replaced a major part beside's gasket's and tune up's.

 

[montero1]

Love mine, will always have one, or something
German. Not hard to do your own maintenance.

 

[Spazdog]

I do have two clients with exceptionally maintained BMWs

One is a fairly basic 318ti. 200,000+ miles and it looks like she just rolled off the showroom floor.

The other is a 2002 745i. He comes in virtually every month with a new repair receipt. i-drive problems, cooling system, transmission, suspension, sunroof....etc... For the money he puts into it, he could probably afford a newer 7-er. But he says he does not want a newer one. He wants that one. It is pristine in appearance. Not a scratch or dent. Silver paint as good as anything on the dealer lot right now. He really loves that car.

Everything in between? Bad owners.

Worst is a kid with a 530i 5 speed manual. Fairly rare car. You know that it has a bad owner when the first thing you see is a hood scoop in the center of the hood.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

BMW spends lots of time and money on drivetrain, chassis development and interior and exterior styling - and the results are obvious. They are the best driver's cars and have a dedicated following.

But the effort spent on quality of design is not evenly distributed throughout the car as it is on many other vehicles. Lift the back seat cushion, open a door panel or look under the dash. Evaluate the quality of wiring connectors including contact materials and moisture sealing, the design of interior panels and attachment techniques, pretty much the design of any non-critical vehicle system - then they start to look pretty average. And when it comes to verification, I have to wonder how much long-term testing they do.

There are many bimmer support boards because of the conflict between highly-dedicated owners who love their cars and long-term reliability that does not meet the same high expectations.

 

[cchase]

My sister owns a 2006 E90 330xi. Other than bent wheels (a common issue with all BMW's) and constant transmission progamming updates that cause her increasing aggravation, with >60,000 miles on it from my perspective, it's been a fairly trouble-free car. She also had to have the steering column replaced, which is apparently a common failure point. The battery also died at about 4 years, which is an expensive replacement since the dealer has to do it.

 

[Spazdog]

I find the wiring on BMWs to be remarkably normal compared to other German makes. You can figure out a BMW relatively quickly. Just got to get through the layers of goopy cloth tape

Underneath the dash you find all sorts of cheap and brittle PET and ABS plastics. Out of sight out of mind right? BMWs come apart much more logically than most German cars. (I recently installed a Panamera and it was a nightmare of ultra fragile PET blind fastened and attached with 3 different size/style fasteners)

They do some stupid things, like the 5-series pushbutton start cars that made you insert the fob into the column, turn it like you would a normal key-start car, then locate the pushbutton on the dash and start it. Same procedure on a '50s domestic momentary on starter button car. Did they just look at the Honda S2000 and decide, "Jah! Zat is vhat vee vill do!"? Or the early i-Drive that should work like a computer mouse but the navigation is so counterintuitive that it renders the system a hazard to vehicle operation.

Don't know what's up with LCD displays on BMWs.

14 year old Daewoo Leganza? LCD and backlighting work fine. Rest of the car is garbage but the LCD still works. 14 year old BMW? Missing segments, scrambled displays...etc...makes no sense at all. Maybe BMW sourced their LCDs from some sketchy former Soviet republic and should have sourced them from the Republic of Korea.

 

[VicVinegar]

So is just buying a new BMW the way to go? Seeing that so many used ones may be lacking the proper maintenance? For me, I was recently tempted by a 2010 328i M Sport package that was apparently an "executive demo". Finally sold after 3 months of teasing me. Had maybe 28k on it.

On the other hand, a former co-worker of mine bought a E46 with 100k on it and had no problems for a while. Lost touch so I can't say how it is now.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: VicVinegar
So is just buying a new BMW the way to go? Seeing that so many used ones may be lacking the proper maintenance? For me, I was recently tempted by a 2010 328i M Sport package that was apparently an "executive demo". Finally sold after 3 months of teasing me. Had maybe 28k on it.

On the other hand, a former co-worker of mine bought a E46 with 100k on it and had no problems for a while. Lost touch so I can't say how it is now.


You just need to be careful when you shop. You can find one that has been babied and treated right, I did. Just takes some looking.

My sister's car ('03 330i) has had a few issues, but nothing major. Mostly just maintenance stuff with the exception of the coolant expansion tank, the filter housing (which was cracked) and the valve cover gasket (which I did in the driveway and was a whopping 40 something bucks....).

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

You just need to be careful when you shop. You can find one that has been babied and treated right, I did. Just takes some looking.


Yep - be patient, and you'll find one, and do a thorough PPI before you purchase.
I found my 2005 330 Ci with the ZHP (Performance package, somewhat rare) with 12k babied miles several states away, and have been very happy with it so far...it's definitely a driving experience that one needs to experience - even just regular daily commute to work can be fun

When I got mine a few yrs ago: (grills have been changed to black, and the front lic. plate and holder is gone now):
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1996873