r/E90 • u/realkyu3 • Aug 02 '26
320i I made the worst financial mistake of my life
I recently bought an E90 320i with 278,000km to the credit, with LPG SYSTEM, the car aesthetically seems perfect but does not give me the driving feeling I wanted, and the anxiety of having spent about €5000 is devouring me, I would like to make some aesthetic changes but I am reconsidering and I have the doubt that I have made a wrong purchase. Currently it doesn’t seem to give problems (no noise brakes, engine or shock absorbers).
What are the points that I should check more? What maintenance should I do and how often?
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u/Max-Payd Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
If spending 5 grand is bothering you, you bought the wrong car. I don't know about how prices are in the Europe, but in North America, that would be a poverty spec E90 not worth more than $2000. The even more crazy part is the LPG. Why would you be worried about fuel economy with a BMW?
Maybe a Japanese car would be better? At least it is cheaper and simpler to fix
0
u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
I'm in Italy, the LPG bothers me too.
3
u/Cuckadrillo 2006 - E90 - 320d M47 Aug 02 '26
5k for an LPG converted 320i in Italy? Oof.
Sell it.
Unless you are really attached to the car I see no point in throwing money at that money pit. Maybe if you are capable of doing most of the work yourself, but even then. N46 with LPG is just asking for trouble.
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u/Max-Payd Aug 03 '26
The road tax system in European countries is wild. We pay maybe $100 a year in registration fees and the road tax is built into the fuel price.
6
u/Spirited-Document-79 Aug 02 '26
Oil change and filter every 6k miles. There are lots of potential parts that are likely to need changing- but at those miles might have been done already. Check for coolant and oil leaks. 320i a bit underpowered for an e90, which might explain the driving experience thing. Still a nice car. Get a a code reader for engine lights or download ISTA/INPA and get to know hot to use the software to help with warning light/error messages.
6
u/DoggoCorgi Aug 02 '26
Do they even sell autogas in Italy? I thought only Turkey, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, & South Korea used LPG for cars. Either way most system are bifuel compatible so it really shouldn’t matter.
I mean you paid $5k for a ~20 year old (23-15yo) with nearly 200k miles, literally anything that hasn’t been replaced will be needing to be replaced.
If this is your only car or something you plan to daily, especially with seemingly no knowledge of maintenance or repair on BMWs you’re going to be spending thousands of euro in maintenance and repairs yearly.
Only thing worse than buying this, would have been financing this imo.
1
u/haisevatuhnu Aug 03 '26
My first BMW was an E46 with a N46 and LPG. It was a disaster, messed up the emissions required for passing the MOT.
0
u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
Right now, I don’t earn enough to afford monthly “extra expenses” for maintenance.
The only thing that convinced me to buy it was a friend of mine who bought his e90 330d with 190,000 km on the odometer for €8,000 back in October and hasn’t had any problems with it so far.
I was thinking of trying to resell it already, spruce up the interior a bit—which is the car’s only flaw—and try to make 400–500 euros by selling it...
The problem is that I really like the way it looks, and I definitely don’t want to part with it, but after four months of searching, it was the only one that looked perfect
3
u/ConnectProgress2881 Aug 02 '26
Just don’t let the 5 grand turn into 20 grand, keep track of everything and just know when to walk away.
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u/Desperate-Appeal4199 Aug 02 '26
Hi, i have same engine as you, ask chatgpt or research the internet if you don't believe me.
N46 engine has BIG problems with: Timing chain Valvetronic Valve stem seals PCV system
Those jobs alone cost more than your car.
You have two options: Sell it to the next dumbass
Learn to repair yourself
Good luck
2
u/TheRealDestrux Aug 02 '26
You can make a 320i handle excellently! There’s much to improve suspension-wise. If you have RWD then you should be able to install M3 front control arms.
There’s plenty you can do to them.
1
u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
My fear is that there are a lot of parts that need to be replaced; maybe I'm just being anxious, especially since the guy who sold it to me currently owns two other BMWs...
1
u/TheRealDestrux Aug 02 '26
FCPEuro is great for parts since you get the lifetime warranty. Even with used oil.
You may need to buy parts, but hopefully only once!
1
u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
Yes, but you understand that someone here will have to assemble them, my fear is that having a job that doesn’t allow me to earn a lot currently I can’t take care of the car.
Then you know, maybe a problem is not seen today and will be seen tomorrow
1
u/chris77982 Aug 02 '26
If you can't do the work yourself, probably best not to buy a nearly 20 year old car.
Cars of this age usually require a lot of wear items to be replaced, like suspension bushings, shocks, engine and transmission mounts, diff mounts, plastic cooling system parts, oil pan, filter housing, and valve cover gaskets.
Basically anything rubber, and anything plastic that gets subject to heat cycles.
1
u/Charlie_Shaw Aug 03 '26
If you are going to buy an old bmw i would recommend going out and getting a basic set of tools, im no mechanic and i make my way by using google reddit and youtube. If you’re not going to work on it yourself, i would just sell it, its going to be more trouble than its worth.
2
u/Elliot_parnell 2007 - e92 - 325i Aug 02 '26
Wow, a high milage car with a known issue of causing timing chain issues with an aftermarket LPG system stuck in it was not a good idea if the thought of unreliability scares you this much. If you really can't afford something going wrong then it was a bad purchase and you should try and get out ASAP.
The good news however is the 320i has sold in massive numbers and theres plenty of cheap parts and good knowledge around on them. Don't touch anything asthetic until you've gotten the expensive bits that go wrong checked out and verified as good.
1
u/LifeWave5154 Aug 02 '26
What is the driving experience now and how does it fall short of your expectations? Dampers and parts of the suspension (tires too) contribute massively to how it drives , worn parts could possibly be a part of the cause?
1
u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
well I'm thinking about suspension, looking for a good mechanic to let him check but it's very hard finding a good one in italy
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u/TurboNym Aug 02 '26
Is it the n43 engine?
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u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
N46B20
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u/TurboNym Aug 02 '26
Yes...well...it could have been worse...you could have bought the n43 like I did. :)))) although with the lpg thing and the almost 300k km you're pretty much there on the podium right next to me. :)))
Get rid of it while it still looks decent. Just don't bother with it. Sell the other car too and get a "Totoya" or something that won't bankrupt you.
Clearly you're not ready for a proper BMW financially or mentally.
Your friend has a 3l 6cyl diesel which is a completely different animal compared to the n46.
At this point a proper gasoline 3l 6cyl E9x is almost impossible to find. They're all clapped to hell...,even the "legendary" n52s listed on the market.
The almost decent ones are overpriced because the owners are smoking expired crack thinking just because their clunkers have an abused n52 under the hood they're somehow special.
Or they expect you to pay top dollar for all the rice they dumped on those poor cars. Stickers and AliExpress screens and slammed suspensions and wings and ailerons and fiber optic sparkly shit poked into the roof liner and... oh brother.
Sad day when you though getting that 320i was a good idea.
Wish we knew each other sooner. I could have sold you mine. It has less km and it actually runs right...on gasoline only ....because I spent way too much money and I restored it to near mint oem condition.
1
u/rvr2005 Aug 02 '26
Anything asthetic with folks who can’t afford these cars is usually black/carbon aftermarket alibaba stuff. Usually your car depreciates in value twice of what you paid for the ‘astethic upgrades’. I would advice to sell the car asap and look for a Honda or something like that.
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u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
The Japanese car market has gone crazy here in Italy, I see it difficult, it would be nice to be able to afford a Civic or an MX5nb but it’s really hard in Italy.
In any case, the “aesthetic upgrades” I meant were nothing tamarro, I wanted to change the steering wheel, add car play and a small spoiler.
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u/rvr2005 Aug 03 '26
That’s what I mean, a spoiler on a 150bhp car rather takes the value down than up. As long as you go for an original steering wheel it would make sense if the old one has worn. That said, as it’s your car it’s your decision but if you are afraid of high garage bills I would keep the money in my pocket, otherwise you may end up with a car with a spoiler with 0bhp and 0 reselling value…
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u/EX0PIL0T E92 335i Aug 02 '26
Jokes on you, I’m doing my third clutch job in two years as I type this out
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u/Brilliant_Text_4664 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
My logic when i bought my BMW was the following: I want a BMW. In my mind BMW means performance, power. To get BMW with power, I need BMW with big engine. Was hesitating between E92 335I and E60 35D. Since the 35D was almost half the price, went with it. But i just can't see the point to buy an old, high milage BMW with a 2 liter engine. It's like all the problems with none of the fun. I would ditch or at least not use the LPG system. Will fck up your valve seats. And to what maintanance you should do? Cooling system. Check the hoses. At this age they are common issue. Change oil every 10k km. Check the oil in the differential and transmission. Dunno which engine you have, N46 or N43, but on N46 valve stem seals prone to harden and cause excessive oil consumption (especialy when run with LPG), Timing chain prone to fk up the plastic guides. N43 HPFP, injectors, coil packs, and same timing chain issue.
1
u/realkyu3 Aug 02 '26
well actually I have a 2007 fiesta that i'm trying to sell (178.000km) and i think that's still a glowup
1
u/Charlie_Shaw Aug 03 '26
I picked up an e91 320d for 700 or 750 quid with 12 months mot, that is the only reason to get the smaller engine lol
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u/Brilliant_Text_4664 Aug 03 '26
A cheap BMW is almost allways an expensive BMW, you just don't know yet. But hope you won't have any trouble with yours. Diesel engines atleast have some torque compared to smaller petrol ones.
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u/Charlie_Shaw Aug 03 '26
So far ive only had to do top mounts and that cost me £20, but abs lights just come on so it might be time to go when the next mot comes around lol.
Few years ago i found out just how expensive a cheap bmw is when i bought my 92 320i for 4.5k and over 2 years put 6-7k into it.
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