E90

kasbatts

kasbatts

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Hey all,

My darling wife had managed to write off our 06 Suzuki Grand Vitara
(everybody fine) so now looking for a new car.

What if anything can you tell me about e90 station wagon, looking at a nice M spec 2.5 ltr with 50 k on the clock, ex Japanese import

Thanks


Steve
 
I've got the sedan, not wagon, with the N54 motor. However, my coworker had the wagon with the 3.0l naturally aspirated motor.
Overall, I'd say this isn't the BMW of yore. It's a softly sprung, large German Buick.
I even have the sport package, but because it's 4WD the suspension calibration is soft and not well damped. If the wagon you are considering has BMW's sports calibration (like the 2wd E90's here in the USA), then it'll drive more like a BMW and less like a Mercedes/Volvo.

The 2 saving graces are (1) I can take the kids skiing in any weather, (2) better for pulling a race car on a trailer (IMHO).
 
I like them they drive nice,
Im a BMW tech and they are just starting to come in to my shop
heres a list of things known to go wrong with the N52 engine in that car

Electric water pumps are failing like flys and pricey
all the bolts in the engine are Aluminum and need to be replaced when removed
the aluminum bolts are known to break in various places in particular the valve cover and some bolts under the valve cover that hold the head down
the valve cover is a big job and not really a DYI job any more due to valvetronic placed on top of the valve cover
valvetronic eccentric shaft sensor will get oil saturatured and malfunction
coils are common like the older cars
starters for some reason are going bad freaquently and usualy require intake removal
software issues , had to get a car reprogramned just to turn off the brake linning light after a brake job !
window regulators still failing often like older generation but intializition is akward
door lock issues , end up having to replace latches frequently
Im sure there are few other things Im forgetting
and theres a whole other list for the turbo motors which are really expensive !
 
Bloody hell! They sound like lemons!
Who in there right mind thought it would be a good idea to put Aluminium bolts in the engine?
I can just hear the conversation between Fritz and Hans.

(Put your best German accent on for this)

Ya ya, good idea Fritz, the aluminium bolts will really get them, they will snap when the car is just out of za warranty and they will have to buy lots of new parts from us.
Yes Hans, and I have another good idea, we can make all of the engine water fittings from plastic!
Again, these will get very brittle and break just out of za warranty!
We will be very rich from all if this.
We will have so much money we will be able to buy the very nice Lexus for ourselves because they are Japanese and very very reliable.

Bugger that, I think I'll buy her a Mazda 6 or CX-5
 
My daughter picked up a 2009 Mazda CX7 with 32k on the clock. One owner, dealer serviced, all records. Loaded! New tires, AWD, $15K. Looks sort of like the new ones.

I'll bet it doesn't have aluminum bolts or 10% of the BMW's problems.
 
Lived with a 2007 for a while. Aluminum bolts holding the alternator (or so e other accessory) shattered, flew off into the fan and radiator. Has to replace fan and radio and some other things.

Get a Mazda.

Scott
 
bdigel said:
I like them they drive nice,
Im a BMW tech and they are just starting to come in to my shop
heres a list of things known to go wrong with the N52 engine in that car
(snip)!
Click to expand...

Yup, complex and really well engineered in the sense that technology allows designers to remove cost and mass ... knowing the car isn't expected to last more than about 5-6 years without failures. I only know of one Asian car company (located on the lower half of a peninsula) that generally asks suppliers for a nominal 10 year in-service life on major and most minor components. That's why I have bought a 4 year 50kmille additional warranty. When mine goes much over 100k, I'll sell it.

Put yourself into the mindset of a good German. By the time a car is 5 years old, the technology is out of date. How embarrassing to be caught driving something that is techically and style-wise inferior and 2nd rate.

On the other hand, if you're handy with cars, you should be able to do most of the things on this list at home and parts costs are less than depreciation on a new car.
The point where I gave up on my last 5 series was when a repair required removal of the engine. At that point, I said screw it to myriad of hoses/wiring and got a new car. But, that was after 14.5 years at 140k miles.

I have no doubt that the complexity and engineering to within a razor's edge of failure is one reason I like puttering around with old cars. They were designed to be service/rebuilt to the detriment of cost cutting, economy, and performance. Rear tail light lenses being a rare execption

John
 
bfeng said:
Yup, complex and really well engineered in the sense that technology allows designers to remove cost and mass ... knowing the car isn't expected to last more than about 5-6 years without failures.

Put yourself into the mindset of a good German. By the time a car is 5 years old, the technology is out of date. How embarrassing to be caught driving something that is technically and style-wise inferior and 2nd rate.


John
Click to expand...


For us down here in NZ we tend to keep our cars for a long time. I guess from them being expensive to buy, The average age of cars here according to the latest statistics is 13.8 years old.

For me, who has usually driven Toyota's and Mazda's, and have had nothing ever go wrong--ever, I just expect all other cars I own to be the same.
While I'm not prepared to buy a car new as the depreciation in the first year or so is just a killer, so its usually a 3-5 year old car with lowish Km that I will buy (20-40k), drive for 6-7 years and get rid of it at 120,000 - 140,000 km, Up to this sort of distance I really expect trouble free motoring, bar the normal regular servicing, tyres etc.

If the Japanese can do it why cant the Germans? they used to, e21-30's e28's (bar the heads cracking), and old M Benz's would go for ever if you looked after them.

Having said that, there has definitely been a down turn in the longevity of the likes of Toyota etc, And I guess it's all to do with having to make the cars bigger, lighter, safer and more fuel economic, while at the same time keeping the price as low as possible.

All of which gives engineering like

Plastic for radiators and hose fittings
plastic head lights
Aluminium bolts
Electric water pumps (plastic)
etc etc
 
Last edited:
"If the Japanese can do it why cant the Germans?"

I work with German and Japanese automakers daily. I'd hazard to guess that the Germans OEM's
(1) Value reliability less the Japanese
(2) Value optimizing performance via complexity more than the Japanese

Then there's a cultural aspect. There's no question that obsession with detail and perfection is deeply embedded in Japanese culture.

If you want more reliable cars, we need to dumb down the engineers so they start designing in excessive safety margins to balance their lack of knowledge and accurate simulation data.

FWIW, my wife's Mercedes have been consistently 3x more reliable than any BMW I've had since the late 1990s. Her vehicles get horrendously abuse (child transport duty), but seem to hold up really well in comparison to the products out of Munich.
 
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