[gcbimmer]

I was looking at a 2006 330i 6/mt with 98k on the clock. I noticed a small puddle of oil down in the dead center of the engine compartment. Down under the plastic cover. I could not tell if it was coming from the valve cover or head. It did not look like it was coming from the valve cover, but I could be wrong. Are these cars known to leak? I can get the car pretty cheap and that worries me. Best case scenario? Worst case scenario?
Thanks.

[erichighley]

Originally Posted by gcbimmer

I was looking at a 2006 330i 6/mt with 98k on the clock. I noticed a small puddle of oil down in the dead center of the engine compartment. Down under the plastic cover. I could not tell if it was coming from the valve cover or head. It did not look like it was coming from the valve cover, but I could be wrong. Are these cars known to leak? I can get the car pretty cheap and that worries me. Best case scenario? Worst case scenario?
Thanks.

yikes idk man....98k miles???? thats almost out of the EXTENDED warranty

how good of a deal are you getting?

p.s. a car leaking oil is never a good thing

[Bentrix]

Get it inspected..i would never buy a car without having it inspected first

[yomama69]

Why would you buy a 4 year old car with 98K miles? That's like double the normal mileage. I'd suggest finding something with low miles. No 3rd party warranty company will touch that car with that many miles.

[erichighley]

Originally Posted by Bentrix

Get it inspected..i would never buy a car without having it inspected first

+1

[gcbimmer]

How about for under $16K with tax total. Other then the oil leak, everything looks brand new inside and paint is great. The front brakes need to be done, but will be covered under the extended maintenance warranty. The engine bay was dirty, which leads me to believe he was not trying to cover anything up by cleaning it up. It has Premium package, NO sport, NO nav. Car was serviced ON TIME for ALL extended maintenance, I saw the records. Carfax checks out. The car seems to have been taken care of and it was mainly highway miles, that checks out. How is the reliability on the '06 330i? HOw about Maintenance costs?
Thanks.

[Bimmerista]

Maintenance cost on an out-of-warranty BMW can be a pretty penny.

The oil leak can come from a broken engine block seal (worst case) to a badly re-fastened plug after an oil change (middle ground - tighten plug) to a simple spill of oil after a top-up (best case).

I strongly recommend a thorough mechanical inspection, not by the local guy, but preferably a shop that has experience with BMWs.

I strongly believe that often what is too good to be true is in fact not true. A rock bottom price is often there for a reason.

Check the paint with a paint gauge while you're at it, with those miles the paint shold not be perfect, but should have the nicks that are unavoidable as a result of Hwy driving.

If you want the Murphy's law version you could be looking at a car that had a bad accident (frontal)

[erichighley]

Originally Posted by Bimmerista

Maintenance cost on an out-of-warranty BMW can be a pretty penny.

The oil leak can come from a broken engine block seal (worst case) to a badly re-fastened plug after an oil change (middle ground - tighten plug) to a simple spill of oil after a top-up (best case).

I strongly recommend a thorough mechanical inspection, not by the local guy, but preferably a shop that has experience with BMWs.

I strongly believe that often what is too good to be true is in fact not true. A rock bottom price is often there for a reason.

Check the paint with a paint gauge while you're at it, with those miles the paint shold not be perfect, but should have the nicks that are unavoidable as a result of Hwy driving.

If you want the Murphy's law version you could be looking at a car that had a bad accident (frontal)

+10000

im sure the $16k price tag is enticing but think about it this way...if you spend like $4k (which this 4k will probably go to repairs on this out of warranty BMW) more you can get a 330i with an extended warranty and not have to worry about mechanical issues (at least the cost related to them).

i ran a 2006 330i with 6MT, 98k miles and premium packages through KBB and it came out to about $20K. also i did a search on cars.com for 2006 330i's, 250 miles out side of Jamaica, NY (not sure where in NY you are but i went to school at St. John's so I knew that zip code) and there were 5 vehicles with 70k miles or less for less than $20k. Id prefer to spend a little more money for piece of mind but thats just me.

you should get this car looked at by a mechanic though. either by a local BMW dealership or a lot of high end import dealers have certified BMW mechanics that work for them..you could try that for a more neutral opinion.

good luck with your decision.

[Sara]

I'd keep looking. you can find 330's with a lot less mileage for cheap.

[yomama69]

Fuck a 330. Get a used 335.

[erichighley]

Originally Posted by yomama69

Fuck a 330. Get a used 335.

hahaha yeah or you could just do this

[Express]

if it check out okay, why not. i expect my 330 to go for a long time. i have 48xxx and the only thing thats went wrong so far was a dead battery and some ticking valves.

then again, im trying to trade it =(

[AMT92]

Originally Posted by yomama69

Fuck a 330. Get a used 335.

[gcbimmer]

Originally Posted by Bimmerista

Maintenance cost on an out-of-warranty BMW can be a pretty penny.

The oil leak can come from a broken engine block seal (worst case) to a badly re-fastened plug after an oil change (middle ground - tighten plug) to a simple spill of oil after a top-up (best case).

I strongly recommend a thorough mechanical inspection, not by the local guy, but preferably a shop that has experience with BMWs.

I strongly believe that often what is too good to be true is in fact not true. A rock bottom price is often there for a reason.

Check the paint with a paint gauge while you're at it, with those miles the paint shold not be perfect, but should have the nicks that are unavoidable as a result of Hwy driving.

If you want the Murphy's law version you could be looking at a car that had a bad accident (frontal)

I seller checked it with the paint guage right in front of me and all panels read 3.5-4.0. Is that normal as I do not know what a repainted panel would read? I should not have used the word perfect either, good to very good would be more accurate. The oil was in the valley down in the middle of the engine right in the area above the red circle in the photo. Photo is not the actual engine, but does look like it is in the same condition though.

[Express]

thats the oil filter. is it tight?

[roozie2001]

Originally Posted by Bimmerista

Maintenance cost on an out-of-warranty BMW can be a pretty penny.

The oil leak can come from a broken engine block seal (worst case) to a badly re-fastened plug after an oil change (middle ground - tighten plug) to a simple spill of oil after a top-up (best case).

I strongly recommend a thorough mechanical inspection, not by the local guy, but preferably a shop that has experience with BMWs.

I strongly believe that often what is too good to be true is in fact not true. A rock bottom price is often there for a reason.

Check the paint with a paint gauge while you're at it, with those miles the paint shold not be perfect, but should have the nicks that are unavoidable as a result of Hwy driving.

If you want the Murphy's law version you could be looking at a car that had a bad accident (frontal)

+1000. great advice. couldnt have said it better myself.

[Bimmerista]

A repainted pannel will read higher than stock - not an expert though so 3.4-4.0 is borderline as far as I am conerned.

The oil looks (and I repeat "appears") to be spillage from oil top up (the circled cap is the oil re-fill cap). The oil filter cap is underneath where the oil filter is near the plug for the pan (where the oil comes out when you empty it).

So not sure what to tell you - there better be rock chips on the hood otherwise its 100% sure that it was repainted.

[gcbimmer]

Originally Posted by Bimmerista

A repainted pannel will read higher than stock - not an expert though so 3.4-4.0 is borderline as far as I am conerned.

The oil looks (and I repeat "appears") to be spillage from oil top up (the circled cap is the oil re-fill cap). The oil filter cap is underneath where the oil filter is near the plug for the pan (where the oil comes out when you empty it).

So not sure what to tell you - there better be rock chips on the hood otherwise its 100% sure that it was repainted.

I will see the car again and will give it a much better look then the first time. The car is white and I was expecting it to be really beat on for the price. So I can say that I didn't look close enough as I was very surprised at the condition. Are you saying that where the oil comes out when you empty it is not the lowest part of the car and some can end up in a pan that is actually lower then the drainplug?

[Bimmerista]

To be honest I don't know for sure since I have not ever changed the oil myself, but as I understand it the oil filter is low and to the side of the plug where the oil pours out - but not sure.

[Tee-Dub]

Not sure if the E90's are similar but I bet they are. I just sold a 100k mile 2001 E39 540 and bought my 2006 330i. My 100k mile 540 required a full suspension rebuild that I did. New upper/lower control arms with bushings, new struts/shocks front and rear. The struts were completely blown with no rebound at 100k miles. I probably spent close to $2k just doing the suspension with labor. Also, I imagine E90's are like all other BMW's and will need a full cooling system overhaul at 100k miles if it hasn't already been done, figure another $1000 if you have an independent do it.

[E92_328i_Boston]

Given the location you showed above, I think there's a good chance it's simply an issue of oil that spilled when the filter was last changed. Or, perhaps after the change the filter assembly wasn't completely tightened.

-A

[Kroy]

Originally Posted by Sara504

I'd keep looking. you can find 330's with a lot less mileage for cheap.

+1 GL on your decision. I just don't think it's worth the potential headache that comes with a 100K+ mile bmw. I can just see the maintainance cost exploding. Although I haven't seen it in person, I've heard many horror stories about high milage BMWs.

Originally Posted by yomama69

Fuck a 330. Get a used 335.

+2 If you can afford it.