BMW E93?

[Hades]

Having just inherited a cheap hatchback as a workhorse my plans for next proper car don't require me to get a hatchback any longer.

My brother's wife has a leased 4 series hardtop convertible. It got me looking at cheaper alternatives and I see there is an earlier 3 series which is similar. I think this is the E93?

Any thoughts/opinions would be appreciated. Would this be a good or bad idea at £11k budget? Any particular engine to get or to avoid? Any good or bad years? Are they generally reliable? Any common issues to consider, etc? Thanks.

 

[ShivP]

Avoid all 4 pot engines. Put simply all have issues both petrol and diesel

 

[Hades]

Thanks. I've done a bit more research and the normally aspirated straight six 330i seems to be the model to aim for. So I will see if I can find one to take a look at.

 

[wedrum]

the N53 does have injector and coil pack issues

 

[ShivP]

the N53 does have injector and coil pack issues

Yes early n52 cars are as bulletproof as BMWs can be (only thing problematic can be electric water pump) n53 returned to form with issues

 

[wedrum]

Yup I have the n52 325i and touch wood engine related its been great. 180k on it still solid.

 

[[TW]Fox]

There are no E93 with the N52 in the UK. They are all N53.

Not sure I could be bothered with spending all week driving a free hatchback so i could have an old E93 as a weekend car mind, may as well just use the E93 all the time?

 

[Simon]

Get one with 4.0

 

[nas]

I had a look at the 330 and struggled to find one with the spec/or service history I wanted/expected and ended up with a facelift e92 325i, a few things however:
- 330s cost the same to run yet have more power, although I wouldn't by any means consider the 325 'slow'.
- 330s are rarer so be patient for a good one
- spec is important for resale if you don't plan to keep for long
- iDrive is a must - don't get talked out of it by people without! (try to go for MY09 or newer I think)
- be realistic with your mpg expectations (avg 19 - 22) London driving
- consider BMW warranty
- if you end up with 313's or MV4 alloys 1) query repairs/cracks 2) ditch the runflats - I replaced 255 30 19 with non-rft 255 35 19, a lot smoother and less prone to cracking.

 

[Hades]

Thanks.

 

[MoRT489]

E93 330i (2011) owner here for the past 4 years. I would recommend it as a great daily driver, as said 18-22 mpg for town/city driving. If you can afford to budget to change the run flats to non-flats if running on 19” rims as it’s much more comfortable/less jarring but is not an essential change immediately. Lovely car to drive, fairly good power and grip and feels solidly built. Xenon headlights are a must have. I didn’t go for a 335i as read of too many people having problems with the turbos.

Also take out the extended BMW comprehensive warranty (approx. £50 month with £100 excess per claim) because if anything does go wrong with the convertible roof it’s a shed load of cash to fix (I had one issue early on but fully covered otherwise would have cost north of £2k). If buying from BMW AUC you get 12 months automatically and may be able to negotiate this to up to 24 months but certainly not a given.

However, if I didn’t have kids I would probably have gone for a Z4.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Xenon headlights are a must have

Standard fit.

 

[Aero Rich]

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