Assume 328, AWD and automatic. What do I need to watch out for?
Assume 328, AWD and automatic. What do I need to watch out for?
XDrive is good, inline six motor is solid. Not sure there is much to watch out for overall.
If N52 motor (unsure if they started putting the turb four in these or not), belt tensioner, valve cover and oil filter housing gasket oil leaks. Electric water pump has a varied reported life.
Otherwise, just remember that if it's been maintained per factory specs, the engine coolant and the fluids in the front and rear diffs, transfer case and the transmission have never been changed -- all "lifetime fills".
None of these fluid changes are all that tough, though getting to front diff requires removing a reinforcement plate that uses about 6 "one time use" $4-6 bolts, and you need a suction device to remove the rear diff fluid. Use the OEM coolant during replacements-- it's not that expensive, and your high dollar water pump electronics are submerged in it.
Transmission fluid isn't that tough, just messy, and harder to access the fill port in the AWD version than the RWD version. Getting the seal for the fluid filter in and out for replacement is a bit of a pain.
Transfer case fill port cannot really be accessed without pulling the bolts that hold it to the mount and letting it drop. Getting the primary mount bolt back in is a puzzle unless you drop the exhaust. You will need a trip to a dealer or someone with a magic box to reset the transfer case ECU and clear the faults after a fluid change.
Oh-- and a battery change requires a magic box too. For that, and diagnostics, I at least use an app called Carly
My dad (76 years old at the time) had a 2006 e91 manual for ~1 year, not long ago. I drove it on many occasions. It was "fine" but didn't make me warm and fuzzy like virtually all of the other BMWs I've owned. Less sporty and more appliance like.
In reply to Karacticus:
Great info. Thanks. Is it more complicated than an E46 AWD wagon or about the same?
The rear wiper tends to fail. There is a pivot in the rear glass that seizes. Most times you can replace that and all is well, but sometimes the extra load will kill the motor. Check the wiper function. The hatch area is not all that big. The washer fluid reservoir neck cracks on many.
Woody wrote: In reply to Karacticus: Great info. Thanks. Is it more complicated than an E46 AWD wagon or about the same?
A few more electronics, both in the engine and and drive train, complication wise relative to an E46.
The transfer case looks almost identical from the exterior, but more electrical whizzy bits.
Front control arm set-up is more complex, at least two control arms, IIRC, compared to the E46 style boomerangs. But it's supposed to be better from a suspension geometry standpoint (if you believe Germans, complicated things are automatically better!).
oh-- and based on my friends E91, if the one you're looking at has the big sunroof, it may be more prone to rattles and also likely has more drains to make sure stay clear.
You can't avoid the big sunroof at least in CND spec. E91s because it was standard, so are power seats, HIFI stereo, X-drive, and HID. There is a premium, executive, sport package (which doesn't change the suspension like in sedans and doesn't include sport seats, it's wheels, tires and trim) a la carte things were available like sport seats, flappy paddles, radar cruise, dynamic headlights, Logic 7, and manual transmission. I would love to have the sport seats, but it seems to be a pretty rare option. They are usually in a manual car with leatherette in my experience. I have seen a few completely loaded up cars with pretty much every option, may have been executive specials or super demo press cars. My sunroof is quiet as a mouse, but the power shade has some gremlins. It likes to close by itself when someone gets into the passenger seat before the car is started. Weird.
Another thing, the accessory roof crossbars work nicely. They are expensive so if you find a wagon with them, that is a nice score.
I recommend the executive package as it includes Park Distance Control. One can't see much out of the back of these things when backing up. Look for the sensors on the rear bumper when scanning ads.
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