well, my 16 year old nephew, in his ongoing quest to be a baller, cajoled my brother into buying him this car... it's the venerable E90 chassis with the 3.0L I6 (which is a fucking runner in my opinion). It has the automatic transmission, AWD and the odometer is sitting at 122,000 miles.

What should be some things to worry about in this car? It looks like it was well-maintained and not driven very hard. It was originally purchased at Keeler BMW in Albany NY and has made it through two owners before landing in my brothers' yard. Honestly, I know nothing about BMW's... nothing. I've never owned one and have drive two in my life, both cars short distances... one was a 92 M3, the other an 90-something 318ti.

my buddy had one as a summer cruiser... probably the most fun car i've ever driven (coming from economy japanese imports)

we must have changed the fuel pump outta that thing every god damn year though

Posted by blitz my buddy had one as a summer cruiser... probably the most fun car i've ever driven (coming from economy japanese imports) we must have changed the fuel pump outta that thing every god damn year though

Bandi doesn't have a high opinion of them... I was talking to him on facebook the other day, picking his brain over the car. And on top of that, the kid is obsessed with the thing... He wants to do rims, and exhaust and all this stupid shit I thought was cool when I was a kid and learned really wasn't.

Plastic cooling system pieces, oil filled bushings.

Posted by gambino Plastic cooling system pieces, oil filled bushings.

the deeper i look into this one, the more I fear it's a flaming piece of shit. You're probably going to roll your eyes and think it's the same old me... no, after driving and riding in this car, I think it has been wrecked and traded quickly and quietly, the shipped off to auction. It's chewing the insides of the tires, wanders a bit, has the wrong, el cheapo tires on it (this model car calls for run-flats as it has no jack or temp sealer/inflator kit), has a strange almost misfire that comes and goes, has a weird vibration in the driveline that comes through the seat when cold and has a really wonky throttle. I was behind it today taking it back for the second repair to the hoodlatch today and at one point, it started to run really rich and then straightened up. You could smell the fuel go bonkers wide open in the exhaust.

anyways, it's not the car's fault. i do find the 3-series of that vintage pretty attractive.

I am guessing this car did not come with a service history?
It really sucks owning one of these off warranty.

I recommend washing it, parking it, and selling it.

Then buy a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry!

Posted by gambino Then buy a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry!

DO NOT TELL HIM THAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT IT.

Posted by bandi DO NOT TELL HIM THAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT IT.

i wanted them to get the kid an Impreza or Civic.

Posted by bandi DO NOT TELL HIM THAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT IT.

It needed to be done!

Posted by gambino I am guessing this car did not come with a service history? It really sucks owning one of these off warranty. I recommend washing it, parking it, and selling it. Then buy a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry!

honestly, a corolla or camry would've made a good first car for him, but he was having none of it

oil filter housing leaks
valve cover leaks
water pump failure
transfer case grenading and taking out the oil pan
footwell module issues
water infiltration

e90s keep my pockets full

Posted by Nismo oil filter housing leaks valve cover leaks water pump failure transfer case grenading and taking out the oil pan footwell module issues water infiltration e90s keep my pockets full

it's a gutsy car, but it feels like a bomb waiting to happen, honestly.

my first car was an 84 Volvo sedan, whoever this kid is must be living large right now and super happy. Ive been driving the same BMW product as a commuter for almost 11 years now and it really hasn't given me any problems (2002 MINI no turbo). I feel like this beamer will be a 1-2 year vehicle and then the maintenance and oil changes will force him in to selling it. I second your Subaru opinion I think those cars are awesome.

Posted by Samurai it's a gutsy car, but it feels like a bomb waiting to happen, honestly.

still less of a ticking time bomb then the audi b8 platform

So I asked one of the BMW shops about the 5th gen 3-series, they tell me that the 5th gen had a lot of gremlins due to BMW putting in lots of stuff that was new to them so is quite needy. Shop owner's suggestion was look for ones that does have major service history on it then you know most of these gremlins are gone.

Posted by Agent Skelly So I asked one of the BMW shops about the 5th gen 3-series, they tell me that the 5th gen had a lot of gremlins due to BMW putting in lots of stuff that was new to them so is quite needy. Shop owner's suggestion was look for ones that does have major service history on it then you know most of these gremlins are gone.

this car had no history... lol

Posted by gambino Plastic cooling system pieces, oil filled bushings.

my brother just had to replace a bunch of the cooling system, oil filter housing and the master cylinder has this weird behavior where it almost goes to the floor, catches, and then has full, normal pedal feel. Master is full and there are no leaks that we can see under the car or at the wheels... it's almost got 200,000 miles on the thing.

it was indeed the master cylinder and then, after that repair, it blew a brake line just before the fitting (where the coating ends, of course)... Still driving it with almost 200,000 miles on the clock.

if anyone is paying attention, the kid totaled the car a couple of weeks ago.. he slid into a fire hydrant and bent the car... the drivers side rear wheel was bent in at the top and back of the wheel, took a chunk out of the wheel, bent both control arms and even managed to warp the subframe. On top of that, he caved the door and quarter panel in on that side.

So, yeah, no more BMW...

As long as he is alright.
What will insurance pay out for it?