[Jet1990]

Hi all,

I've been wanting a 3 series E92 coupe for the past 4 years and i finally bit the bullet and got one over the weekend.

I went for a 57 plate 330i auto m sport (which i believe has the N53 engine) 69k on the clock full service history from dealers/ independent garages. Fully loaded with everything i could think of ( paddle shift, sat nav, electric seats etc)

I wasn't initially looking for a petrol as i was leaning towards the 330d or 335d but as soon as i saw it i had to go view it. Did a diagnostic on it and found a few minor problems but with only doing approx 10k a year i decided to go with it ( not to mention the car came in phoenix yellow as standard which i haven't seen before!)


the car checks out fine but with the mileage being 69k it hasn't had any major work done bar injector 5 and 6 being replaced; which brings me onto a few questions regarding this particular model.

when does the timing belt/ chain usually need changing?

what mpg could i expect to get out of it doing 95% urban driving?

any common issues i need to be weary of that i could try to prevent now?

i have mechanics and auto electricians in the family so i like to think we could sort 95% of the issues ourselves.

this is my first petrol in quite a few years with my most recent car being a b6 audi a4 1.9 tdi 100 bhp model and im loving the power upgrade. Now with all that being said when i bought the car i ran a diagnostic on the car's electrics whilst in the previous owners garden, it threw a fault up saying "30E9 nitric oxide catalytic converter ageing" to which i questioned this with the owner; he said he had the car looked at by a specialist that put the car into a special regen mode and told him to drive it a 4k revs so im thinking either the cats blocked and needs replacing or possibly it could be a dodgy nox sensor or worst case scenario both. ( the car does seem to throw out quite abit of smoke like what you see in a morning but this is whenever the engine is on - no smell of petrol or anything just odourless)

ive also noticed the mpg is quite poor compared to others on the forum. i filled it up with shell v power and so far out of a half tank got 115 miles driving normal, i do around 30 miles a day which is 30/40 mph roads. surely i should be expecting 300-350 miles out of a fuel tank so correct me if im wrong but if theres an issue in either the cat or nox sensor this could cause the car to run alot richer on petrol thus increasing petrol consumption? my plan is to decat the car and replace the nox sensor if need be.

What are your thoughts/ experiences on this? i dont want my experience of owning it to be ruined by this issue.

as a side note i noticed on the recent service invoice from a bmw specialist (8/2/16) it stated "exhaust camshaft sensor fault SWOPED with inlet & resent nitrogen sensor"

thanks

[DriverLDN]

Welcome to the club!

If you want to know rough MPG, check the link in my signature. I have an E90 330i N52, so I'm guessing it will be slightly better than what you see on mine.

[Jet1990]

thanks! im getting nowhere near what you are lol

[tasn1]

Nice car well done!

[DriverLDN]

Originally Posted by Jet1990

thanks! im getting nowhere near what you are lol

To be honest if I'm pottering around town and doing sole urban driving, its generally about 20mpg or 16mpg if its the wife using it. A lot of my mileage though is on the motorway as I use the car mainly to commute London to Bracknell a few days a week.

On long motorway runs I've hit just under 34mpg, but that's with really steady, zero fun driving.

[AWSAWS]

Well done OP. I spent 3 years looking until I found one I went for. It has been a gem. Worth waiting for!!!
I also looked at Diesels but then drove a 335i and I had to have one!

Enjoy!

[Jet1990]

Thanks guys. It was defo the colour that attracted me. Still trying to figure out what the crack is on how it came to be that colour.

[ben-e92]

I remember seeing this on eBay and even I was tempted. Love the colour

Also I get about 250-280 town driving on my 325i so your mpg seems about right. They're abit rubbish

Chain should be good for life time of the car

[RajB]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome. I took about 3 weeks to decide to go for one and buy one LOL.

[E90-AMD]

Lovely and very rare Colour! Congrats!

[RENT-A-GOAT]

This thread needs pics I want to see this colour!

[Robin330i]

I get 21-24mpg around town and the odd longer commute and about 32mpg on a longer run - mines a 330i N52 Auto.

No timing belt to worry about either.

[Jet1990]

Clean the car this weekend. pics attached.

[BMW-330i]

Very nice, I've never seen an E92 in this colour but I like it.

[AndyT330i]

Just love the colour. Reading through the thread I originally thought it would be awful but after looking at the photo I was so wrong

[RajB]

Very individual for sure. I like it as its not too bright to shout.

[Simpson196]

I also thought it would be an absolutely terrible colour, I actually winced when you said the colour, but them pictures have proven me wrong! Awesome car man!

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Looks good in that colour and definitely a rare one have never seen that before