Need Urgent Advice before buying this e90 please!!

[ReLiCaRiO]

Hello everyone, ive been looking to get back into a bmw for skmetime now. Specifically a 2006+ e90 with nav. They all seem to be over $10k and recently i fou d one the color i want with navi for $7k. Problem is that it has 200k miles but he has paperwork to show be put a new motor in there and has only 45k.

But today text me saying that a fault code came up and tbat it needs a new control box and that be could do $6k due to that. But according to him the car still runs good. Is this i complete red flag or should i atleast go see it? How much does it cost to replace an ecu? I can install it myself but i would need programming.

Im going to see it in a few hours so any advice is vital to me right now. Thank you!!

[beemer325i]

IMO run away very fast....there's lot's of fish in the sea. Something else to consider it may only have 45k on the motor, but it has 200k on the transmission.

[ReLiCaRiO]

IMO run away very fast....there's lot's of fish in the sea. Something else to consider it may only have 45k on the motor, but it has 200k on the transmission.

Thank you very much for the quick reply. Yes those were my thoughts exactly. But I priced transmissions at around $1500. If it needs no fancy programming or anything, i would be able to install it myself.

Ive been searching abojt faulty dme's and usually people are misfiring and losing power. But this guy says it runs great. Also i read that if its an internal dme fault that it can be repaired easily if you know how to solder. If not they offer a service to fix it for $500.

This seems like a gamble. Hopefully he can knock the price down some more.

I forgot to mention, i googled his phone number and he supposedly owns a pretty professional looking auto repair shop. I do t know if thats good or bad. Good because he is somewhat putting his name on the line. And bad because maybe his shop wasnt able to fix it themselves and was looking at a huge repair bill. But ill know whether theyre just trying to make a quick bucm or not depending on how long thehve had the car as well.

So ill go see it and if he can drop to $5k ill take it.

But please more replies are welcome!!

[MrBlackonWhite]

Thank you very much for the quick reply. Yes those were my thoughts exactly. But I priced transmissions at around $1500. If it needs no fancy programming or anything, i would be able to install it myself.

Ive been searching abojt faulty dme's and usually people are misfiring and losing power. But this guy says it runs great. Also i read that if its an internal dme fault that it can be repaired easily if you know how to solder. If not they offer a service to fix it for $500.

This seems like a gamble. Hopefully he can knock the price down some more.

I forgot to mention, i googled his phone number and he supposedly owns a pretty professional looking auto repair shop. I do t know if thats good or bad. Good because he is somewhat putting his name on the line. And bad because maybe his shop wasnt able to fix it themselves and was looking at a huge repair bill. But ill know whether theyre just trying to make a quick bucm or not depending on how long thehve had the car as well.

So ill go see it and if he can drop to $5k ill take it.

But please more replies are welcome!!

Take the car to a third party shop preferable one that specializes in European cars. Have them go over every inch of the car. If nothing else is wrong then the choice s up to you. Personally I wouldn't even think about buying that car.

[ChristopherG]

Run away, pay more up front for a different car. That one is a money pit.

[dcrothers]

If the car belongs to a shop owner there is no way he is going to sell it to you for cheaper unless it's a total lemon.
He would fix it himself at no labor or at least reduced cost and sell it at auction.
Seriously dude, stay away and save your money for a better car....

[BimmerBreaker]

If it needs no fancy programming or anything, i would be able to install it myself.

Everything on newer BMWs needs fancy programming.

Not sure why you expect a newer BMW with an expensive option like nav to be under $10k anyways? With those miles the value is certainly below $10k but with any of these cars that have enough miles to devalue them that much, they are bound to have problems.

I think you are in way over your head here. I would get an E46 and pocket a good amount of money.

[ReLiCaRiO]

Ok well i didnt get it. I was told to b there at 12 the earliest and when i got there a new owner was already driving off. I was pretty mad because it looked amazingly clean and he let it go for 5500. But maybe it was for the good.

And theres no way in hell im going back to an e46. I love how they look but i hate them with a passion. My 328i gave me neverending problems and that was truelly a money pit.

Well thanks for the good advice. Ill keep searching and hopefully find a good deal.

[MrBlackonWhite]

Honestly that car would have been a money pit to. If you think about it you would have been paying less then 1/4 of the retail price of a car that isnt even close to 10 years old. Thats the pricing Range of a e36... and they are 20 years old

[Stück]

Thinks his old E46 328i was a moneypit, wants a early gen E90.

Oh the Irony....

[BimmerBreaker]

Thinks his old E46 328i was a moneypit, wants a early gen E90.

Oh the Irony....

Yeah, I facepalmed pretty hard IRL when I read that...

[spoonerDee]

Ok well i didnt get it. I was told to b there at 12 the earliest and when i got there a new owner was already driving off. I was pretty mad because it looked amazingly clean and he let it go for 5500. But maybe it was for the good.

And theres no way in hell im going back to an e46. I love how they look but i hate them with a passion. My 328i gave me neverending problems and that was truelly a money pit.

Well thanks for the good advice. Ill keep searching and hopefully find a good deal.

Early model e46, generally known to have A LOT OF ISSUES. Early model E90, gonna have a lot of issues. See the trend? Early models always have the most issues because it's all new. It takes them time to iron out the issues and even still will problems arise.

[Tony P]

Ok well i didnt get it. I was told to b there at 12 the earliest and when i got there a new owner was already driving off. I was pretty mad because it looked amazingly clean and he let it go for 5500. But maybe it was for the good.

And theres no way in hell im going back to an e46. I love how they look but i hate them with a passion. My 328i gave me neverending problems and that was truelly a money pit.

Well thanks for the good advice. Ill keep searching and hopefully find a good deal.

Don't be mad, be grateful!

[ReLiCaRiO]

Early model e46, generally known to have A LOT OF ISSUES. Early model E90, gonna have a lot of issues. See the trend? Early models always have the most issues because it's all new. It takes them time to iron out the issues and even still will problems arise.

That's just ignorant. E46s were a complete failure. Absolutely NO CAR should have as many issues as the e46s did. Being an early model or not is NOT a valid excuse for the poor engineering in that vehicle. Comparing an early model e46 (1999-2000) to any early model gen of any other vehicle that is 5+ years newer is absolutely ridiculous.

I never would have thought BMW owners would actually defend that POS car you call an e46. Get your head out of your ass people!!

[MIMI1]

Last summer i bought a 2007 328xi fully optioned that had shitty spray work on the right side for 7200$ but one with 200k its not worth much.

[trive2]

Electronics aside, the E90 is widely considered an "improved" E46.

And my E46 was something of a disaster as well... but what BMW's aren't?

[beemer325i]

That's just ignorant. E46s were a complete failure. Absolutely NO CAR should have as many issues as the e46s did. Being an early model or not is NOT a valid excuse for the poor engineering in that vehicle. Comparing an early model e46 (1999-2000) to any early model gen of any other vehicle that is 5+ years newer is absolutely ridiculous.

I never would have thought BMW owners would actually defend that POS car you call an e46. Get your head out of your ass people!!

And what do you drive? I find that interesting as my local BMW dealer has contacted me several times over the past two weeks with offers to buy my e46 and each time the offer get's better...i guess it can't be that bad In fact i have been told that the older BMW's are the most reliable ever built.

[BimmerBreaker]

That's just ignorant. E46s were a complete failure. Absolutely NO CAR should have as many issues as the e46s did. Being an early model or not is NOT a valid excuse for the poor engineering in that vehicle. Comparing an early model e46 (1999-2000) to any early model gen of any other vehicle that is 5+ years newer is absolutely ridiculous.

I never would have thought BMW owners would actually defend that POS car you call an e46. Get your head out of your ass people!!

With how many E46s are left on the road, calling them a failure is ridiculous.

[Colo Springs E]

That's just ignorant. E46s were a complete failure. Absolutely NO CAR should have as many issues as the e46s did. Being an early model or not is NOT a valid excuse for the poor engineering in that vehicle. Comparing an early model e46 (1999-2000) to any early model gen of any other vehicle that is 5+ years newer is absolutely ridiculous.

I never would have thought BMW owners would actually defend that POS car you call an e46. Get your head out of your ass people!!

Hello troll. How's tricks?

[beshannon]

With my current E60 I sometimes wish I had my E46 back