[QuinnUTD]

Hows it going, I'm new to the forum btw!

I'm considering buying an e90 320d after having two e46 3 series. I was considering getting a high miler for less money, so I could then afford some mods.

How reliable is an e90 320d with 130 thousand miles on it? If it has a full service history? Do they give a lot of problems with turbos and injectors?

I really want a 320d but don't want to make a mistake and buy one and face an expensive repair bill as I won't have a whole lot of money as I'm a student.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[JaySTee]

There have been a few posts about turbo's failing recently at about 70k miles, and a few people having issues getting poor mpg compared to what they think they should. Generally though if it has got fsh (pref bmw) and you check the usual stuff it should be ok. If it has that kind of miles I guess most would have been M roads so not too stressful on the car...

There are lots on here with more experience with them than me who i'm sure can add to this...

[QuinnUTD]

Originally Posted by JaySTee

There have been a few posts about turbo's failing recently at about 70k miles, and a few people having issues getting poor mpg compared to what they think they should. Generally though if it has got fsh (pref bmw) and you check the usual stuff it should be ok. If it has that kind of miles I guess most would have been M roads so not too stressful on the car...

There are lots on here with more experience with them than me who i'm sure can add to this...

Thanks man. Hopefully some others will post opinions too! I don't know if the turbo has been replaced or not, I asked the current owner but he doesnt know, there was one previous owner before him so maybe it was changed during their ownership. Are there any other expensive problems you know off?

[JaySTee]

Only other thing I may have read somewhere was that a few people may haver had gearbox issues, but not so sure on that one... There is another BMW forum that has a list of general E90 faults but it is bad etiquette to link to other forums - if you google i'm sure you'll find it...

[Falmouthboy]

I would say fine if the service history checks out, but in the end 130k is 130k and things will have started to fail. Yes, they can be fixed and specialist/used parts will keep costs down, but if I were you, I would keep the 'modding' money to one side until you are confident that there are no underlying snags.

[Jeff123]

I would pay slightly more for a lower mileage car and leave the mods.

The 320d is happiest cruising at motorway speeds. 100mph is an absolute breeze. At 70mph it's running at 2000rpm. Doesn't seem to matter how hard you drive it, the mpg is good. There is one proviso - the car needs to be warmed up. Short trips, or hard-driving when cold hammer the mpg. It's still good, but not the mega figures that BMW suggest.

Diesels sell at a premium to petrol cars, so you need to be doing plenty of decent journeys to make it pay. If you plan to do that, then 130k on the clock may be too high.