2009 E92 325d M-Sport Highline Coupe buying advice please

[Pearler]

Hi

325d will be enough for me, not looking to discuss remaps/chipping!

So far I've found issues with thermostats cited and how to read the coolant temp in the hidden menu.

Would really appreciate knowing what to look for. Do they rust at the wheel arches like the E46?? Where do they rot?? Common faults?? What listen for?? Look for??

Thanks, appreciated

[mjn]

Rust doesn't seem to be an issue, unlike the E46.

I'd personally find a LCI model with CIC iDrive.

[Pearler]

Rust doesn't seem to be an issue, unlike the E46.

I'd personally find a LCI model with CIC iDrive.

Going to fall out of my budget mjn, I think. I've got a 13k max, so looking at 2009 325d with roughly 40-50k miles

[bungers]

Front wings are plastic so not an issue; time will tell if BMW have upped their game or not to the levels of French cars rust wise.

Thermostats are problematic, as are a few other bits like vacuum hoses, boost hoses, glow plugs & DPF's, basically the same as any other modern DERV.

I'm always puzzled why people buy the 325; it's obviously not for economy else you'd get the 320d & it's not for power else you'd get the 330d if you 'had' to have manual or the 335d if you wanted max non m performance?

Edited September 22, 2015 by bungers

[bungers]

Rust doesn't seem to be an issue, unlike the E46.

I'd personally find a LCI model with CIC iDrive.

Going to fall out of my budget mjn, I think. I've got a 13k max, so looking at 2009 325d with roughly 40-50k miles

You can always upgrade later, just get one with nav else it's a fair bit more budget wise on a non nav car. If I was to do it again, I'd go straight from CCC to NBT.

[Pearler]

Rust doesn't seem to be an issue, unlike the E46.

I'd personally find a LCI model with CIC iDrive.

Going to fall out of my budget mjn, I think. I've got a 13k max, so looking at 2009 325d with roughly 40-50k miles

You can always upgrade later, just get one with nav else it's a fair bit more budget wise on a non nav car. If I was to do it again, I'd go straight from CCC to NBT.

Afraid I don't know what CCC or NBT are! Enlighten me!

If I can find one with sat nav in that budget with my target miles, but I'll not lose sleep if there's no sat nav.

[Pearler]

Front wings are plastic so not an issue; time will tell if BMW have upped their game or not to the levels of French cars rust wise.

Thermostats are problematic, as are a few other bits like vacuum hoses, boost hoses, glow plugs & DPF's, basically the same as any other modern DERV.

I'm always puzzled why people buy the 325; it's obviously not for economy else you'd get the 320d & it's not for power else you'd get the 330d if you 'had' to have manual or the 335d if you wanted max non m performance?

Thanks bungers. Plastic, that's an improvement right there.

Nothing outstanding then in terms of problems.

I have a 4 pot at the mo, and want the 6 pot smoothness but don't need loads of power. The 330d are harder to find in my budget it seems, with my target mileage,.

[mjn]

CCC / CIC / NBT are the different versions of the iDrive / sat nav.

CCC is dvd based, while CIC and upwards is HDD based. You can check the full spec of any BMW using the last 7 digits of the VIN and use www.bmwvin.com

[Ged]

I would get something higher mileage and save yourself a few pennies.

Our 2009 330d (same engine) has 170k on it, and the car still drives like the day we got it

[Pearler]

Thanks for the posts gents, appreciated.

Ged, appreciate can save some money by getting one with more miles, but I'm aiming for a 4-5yr ownership. And working on reducing the odds for issues.

[Ged]

Mileage plays almost no part in today's generation of cars. You're just as likely to get issues on a 40k car as you are on an 80k car. In fact, many people (myself included) believe that good higher mileage cars develop fewer issues than lower mileage cars.

The best way to keep cars issue free is to use them often and keep them well maintained. Leaving them to stand all week, or just running 3 minutes down the road each day is a sure way to a problem car.

[bungers]

^ couldn't agree more

[oli8925]

Especially on a diesel

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pearler]

I think I do agree with you guys in principle when talking about the engine. Though I'm also thinking about the whole package though. For example, tired suspension, worn components, wheel bearings, discs pipes etc etc etc

On the site BMWVIN.COM, does this show the options actually chosen and are on the car itself, or does it show the options available at time of purchase?

[mjn]

Bmwvin.com shows the options purchased.

However. There is no way a car with 170k miles on it drives the same as one with less mileage unless its had some serious refresh work.

[Pearler]

Bmwvin.com shows the options purchased.

However. There is no way a car with 170k miles on it drives the same as one with less mileage unless its had some serious refresh work.

Thanks mjn.

Test drove that 325d today. Drove really well, very clean car. Going to have a full inspection carried out on it...

[mjn]

Was that the one with 45k miles?

[Pearler]

Was that the one with 45k miles?

Yep, that's the one.

[bungers]

Bmwvin.com shows the options purchased.

However. There is no way a car with 170k miles on it drives the same as one with less mileage unless its had some serious refresh work.

Maybe not, but I'd sooner a 6 year old car with 100,000 on it than 45,000. Suspension and rubber bits, brakes and engines don't like not being used. Plus, most common issues & perishable parts would've already been taken care of with either superceded or uprated parts - in the case of the e46 I'm thinking coolant system issues and fcabs etc, in the e9x case, 'stats and turbo system issues.

[mjn]

Yeah, i agree, but we assume everybody looks after their cars like we do. How many people in the general public choose the best parts compared to the cheapest parts when work needs to be done?

[Ged]

However. There is no way a car with 170k miles on it drives the same as one with less mileage unless its had some serious refresh work.

Yeah, it's had replacement bushes and suspension / steering components over the years. That's the point though, well used and well maintained cars are generally in better mechanical order than rarely used and just maintained to the service book (i.e. just an oil and filter change every 2 years)

My E91 is probably half the price of 50k mile versions, and it likely in better mechanical condition than the majority of them too.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Ged

[bennno2005]

Bmwvin.com shows the options purchased.

However. There is no way a car with 170k miles on it drives the same as one with less mileage unless its had some serious refresh work.

I disagree I bought a ten year old 306 HDI once with 220k on it. Bloke I had it off had owned from new and it came with a very full history. All it had was servicing, consumables (brakes and tyres, cambelts etc) and a crank pulley. It was even on the original clutch and he used to get 30k out of a set of tyres. It needed a few bushes etc but so did all the ones that ages with low mileage.

Maybe not the best example as those 306 HDI's are much more reliable than the BMW dervs but think about it - what parts wear out on a motorway?

Compare a motorway car to a town car with half the mileage and I know what I'd rather have. Just be careful to buy a motorway car and not a taxi though where steering and suspension will have taken much more of a hammering.

Edited September 30, 2015 by ben.embrey