Oli77's other maintenance thread: 2010 E93 space grey, 6MT

[Oli77]

Tell me what you know and think about the E93 please!

I am thinking about trading in my 2015 2L T Audi A6 Premium Plus quatro to get back into a BMW with a 6 cylinder and 6 speeds.

I found this E93 (55K miles) at CarMax near Baltimore and realize I will loose a bit a money doing this but I find the Audi terribly boring to drive.

The E93 is here

There are some nice lines to it, nice seats, and a sport package I think.

There was a small accident with it like 8 years ago. No airbag deployment.

Too expensive I think, but I am not sure so I ask my Mafia friends.


Thanks for looking,

Olivier

[fredo]

That vert is nicely loaded. Mdecoder ( https://www.mdecoder.com/decode/px12253 ) reports this :

M Sports package
M Sports suspension
M Aerodynamics package

The N52 engine is very reliable. There's one guy in the e90 forum with a 2006 E90 330i. He's at around 400k miles with just regular svc and mtc. On the down side, you would be going from a 2015 to a 2010 year model. You can expect small issues to happen sporadically. But they should be minimum.

Sounds like a fun car, and it looks very sharp. GL on your decision !

[Cabrio330]

I encourage anyone that is considering an E93 to research and test drive an E93 335is with DCT. Or 6-speed if you prefer. Either way, the car is sublime in a way similar to the ZHP.

[ZHPizza]

I encourage anyone that is considering an E93 to research and test drive an E93 335is with DCT. Or 6-speed if you prefer. Either way, the car is sublime in a way similar to the ZHP.

To be fair, the N52 in this car is super reliable as fredo mentioned, while the N54 is a hot mess of issues. A badass hot mess, though.

@704sw and I drove a 335is with DCT and found it to be a snoozefest. I couldn't wait to get back in the e46 after that. I'd still like to drive a 135/335 with a 6 speed and see if it makes the N54 as fun as people say it is.

[704sw]

To be fair, the N52 in this car is super reliable as fredo mentioned, while the N54 is a hot mess of issues.

@704sw and I drove a 335is with DCT and found it to be a snoozefest. I couldn't wait to get back in the e46 after that.

I encourage anyone that is considering an E93 to research and test drive an E93 335is with DCT. Or 6-speed if you prefer. Either way, the car is sublime in a way similar to the ZHP.

While I’d certainly prefer a DCT to a torque converter AT, I don’t know if rolling the N54 vs. N55 dice is worth the gamble to get it. I wouldn’t own an N54 unless it was (a) not my only car, (b) I did all my own labor, and (c) had a lot of extra time to devote to it. That’s just not an engine I want to own if I’m paying someone else to turn the wrenches.

The N52, on the other hand, is basically just the next evolution in the M50/52/52TU/54 lineage. It’s laughably smooth across the entire power band, easy to work on, and has all the reliability of any BMW NA I6 before it. Sure, it has a few quirks, all NA BMW engines do—the N54 doesn’t have a quirky personality though, it has a personality disorder.

Will the N52 blow you away with power? No, it most certainly will not. But if you want N54 power in that price range and don’t need a big backseat you’re better off buying a Mustang or Camaro—both the LT1 or Coyote V8 offer more power with more reliability. But then again I don’t think power is end all be all for a car’s enjoyment (cough cough Miata).

@Oli77 this looks like a great car, but not knowing the E93 market I can’t comment on price. Space Grey is a gorgeous color, the miles are low, and it’s a “single hump” (no iDrive). I know a lot of people would find that as a negative, but I prefer it—10 year old technology is clunky. I’d certainly see what the market says in terms of price, and see what kind of room there is for negotiation. Between my old man’s 530i and my X3 we have about 250k miles on our two N52s, ~200k of those miles we put on the cars (both were bought CPO with 30k and 50k miles, respectively). The only engine-related issue either of us had was a warped valve cover on the X3 at about 110k. Everything else is just standard BMW stuff (the 3 common oil leaks, cooling system, etc.). The N52 also has an internal CCV so you don’t have to deal with that crap like on the E46.

[Cabrio330]

Never had a single issue in 150k miles with my N54, and throughout my ownership did not encounter others with issues. The version in the 335is did not have the HPFP issues or recall. It is inaccurate to say the N54 is a hot mess, i.e., worse than other contemporary BMW engines. Yes, there are non-engine potential issues to be aware of (e.g. water pump), but no more than for a ZHP. Is the N52 more reliable than an N54? On average, probably. Car by car, indiscernible. But we aren't discussing Toyotas in here!

As for the impression of the 335is DCT being a snoozefest, I can only disagree based on my experience and preferences and perhaps the OP is a rigid "stick only" guy. Admittedly, I may be jaded by my kids teasing me about my left calf being larger than my right!

[DeathTrap]

The only "issue" that the N52 has is that it can eat serpentine belts and brick your engine, but we're alway on top of maintenance here right?

[fredo]

I heard about that issue. I believe there's an oil leak that affects the belt. The trick is to fix it promptly.

[Oli77]

Thank you all for chiming in with real knowledge and expertise on different aspects/components of the car.

The car is going to come to Lexington and I will have a while to decide. Can't wait to see it.

Will drive it and report back but I appreciate everyone's help. I think it's the OFHG that may leak and destroys the belt.

Thanks for pointing to the no Idrive.

I looked at kbb value arethere other places I can check for the value of the car?

[fredo]

Edmunds.com is another good source.