Should i get a E90 N54 car?

[bowlofturtle]

I’ve been given a chance to buy a friend’s grandpa car. The guy is going to a retirement home soon.

Its a 2008 or 2009 BMW 335i Sedan. Black on black leather. Automatic RWD with 82k. I don’t know what option/packages were available but I don’t think it has any. I think they car was complete babied its whole life. He is the orginal owner, garage kept for like the first 10 years and the last 5 it sat in the driveway because garage was converted into storage. Car is overall clean and accident free. He does keep to a 10k OCI last time we talked. He takes to a local shop.

I’ve worked on this car and from what I can its mostly clean car. I did the waterpump and theromstat housing maybe at 70k because it was leaking. Somehow his moonroof shattered and I’ve replaced with junkyard glass. Around 80k he has a pinhole leak in the radiator. So I did that for him, all hoses and the mickey mouse pipe. All FCPeuro parts but sadly on his name/account.

I did recommend him do the valve cover gaskets and spark plugs because I saw a minor leak in the back corner. I think he was battling some medical stuff and just forgot about it.

I drove it a few times post repairs, call pulls NICE and strong. All stock. Definately has most if not all 300ish HP it came with from factory.

How bad are these N54 turbo engines? I’ve seen injector prices like $600 per, I’m assuming it was never done and will need it at somepoint. I think these turbo replaces are 16 hour job. I’m OK with a wrench following DIY guides but that seems scary. Suspension was tight on the car but I think wear and tear will get to it soon.

The friend told me he is going to list it for $6500 but the grandpa said if I wanted it, he would give me a “Special price”, I’m guessing $4-5k.

Honestly, I’m tempted get it as a weekend toy. If it was AWD and $4k, I can talk myself into this but RWD and maybe $5k, I’m not sure. The other side is could this be a money pit? I’m familiar with euros mainly VW MK4 but not E90s. I’m OK with spending $2k a year on maintenance/repair. But maybe not $3-5k. Should I stay away or go for it?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

A BMW will move you right into the proud high cost Social program!

 

[GMBoy]

We service several of these and to be honest - they are solid cars. The thermostats and valve cover leaks are seen on every one of them. With the history of the car known so well and low miles you should buy it and enjoy it.

 

[CleanSump]

If you can do the work required yourself. Be sure to have a proper tool, either a laptop with dongle and software or something like Foxwell that can do resets etc. Change the transfer case fluid and do the reset. That's the big boogeyman with the "Triad of Lights" on the dash.
Do a google AI on the N54 for a list of common problems with the engine itself.

 

[14Accent]

If you can do the work required yourself. Be sure to have a proper tool, either a laptop with dongle and software or something like Foxwell that can do resets etc. Change the transfer case fluid and do the reset. That's the big boogeyman with the "Triad of Lights" on the dash.
Do a google AI on the N54 for a list of common problems with the engine itself.

Luckily, it's a proper BMW and RWD so no t-case to worry about. Exactly the way it should be.

 

[CleanSump]

Luckily, it's a proper BMW and RWD so no t-case to worry about. Exactly the way it should be.

You'll have a blast!

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I’ve been given a chance to buy a friend’s grandpa car. The guy is going to a retirement home soon.

Its a 2008 or 2009 BMW 335i Sedan. Black on black leather. Automatic RWD with 82k. I don’t know what option/packages were available but I don’t think it has any. I think they car was complete babied its whole life. He is the orginal owner, garage kept for like the first 10 years and the last 5 it sat in the driveway because garage was converted into storage. Car is overall clean and accident free. He does keep to a 10k OCI last time we talked. He takes to a local shop.

I’ve worked on this car and from what I can its mostly clean car. I did the waterpump and theromstat housing maybe at 70k because it was leaking. Somehow his moonroof shattered and I’ve replaced with junkyard glass. Around 80k he has a pinhole leak in the radiator. So I did that for him, all hoses and the mickey mouse pipe. All FCPeuro parts but sadly on his name/account.

I did recommend him do the valve cover gaskets and spark plugs because I saw a minor leak in the back corner. I think he was battling some medical stuff and just forgot about it.

I drove it a few times post repairs, call pulls NICE and strong. All stock. Definately has most if not all 300ish HP it came with from factory.

How bad are these N54 turbo engines? I’ve seen injector prices like $600 per, I’m assuming it was never done and will need it at somepoint. I think these turbo replaces are 16 hour job. I’m OK with a wrench following DIY guides but that seems scary. Suspension was tight on the car but I think wear and tear will get to it soon.

The friend told me he is going to list it for $6500 but the grandpa said if I wanted it, he would give me a “Special price”, I’m guessing $4-5k.

Honestly, I’m tempted get it as a weekend toy. If it was AWD and $4k, I can talk myself into this but RWD and maybe $5k, I’m not sure. The other side is could this be a money pit? I’m familiar with euros mainly VW MK4 but not E90s. I’m OK with spending $2k a year on maintenance/repair. But maybe not $3-5k. Should I stay away or go for it?

Walnut blast every 30k-40k miles.
Piezoelectric injectors are sweat but expensive.
Soft touch interior bits will begin to flake off if not already. (Door handle, center console, steering wheel).

Run the VIN is a VIN decoder to see what how it was equipped. The 335i always had more options standard.

 

[fantastic]

Sounds like it's a decent deal to get.

 

[Egg_Head]

Do it, that is a sweet motor when it's behaving. Lots of tasteful mods out there for suspension, intake, exhaust and chip tuning.