E93 Purchase advice

[chillywings]

Hello all,

I've been researching bmw's for roughly a year-ish now and I'm finally starting to look around to buy. I've settled on the E93 335is (comes with an N54). I found one in my area and test drove it.. it seems to be in pretty good shape but I have one major concern. There's a quite noticeable gap between the hood and front bumper. This immediately throws a red flag in my mind suggesting it was in some kind of front-end collision. However, looking at other listings it seems like a number of other cars of the same model have a gap there too. But not all of them and this car seems to be the most egregious.

Anyone know if this is a known/common issue and/or if it can be fixed without an unreasonable amount of effort? Even if it turns out there's not structural defects it looks like shit.. here's a picture for reference. Thanks!

[White94RX]

That car has definitely been in a collision. That is way too much gap. I would steer clear unless you know the extent of the damage. I've seen gaps like that, and usually it's caused by sub-standard collision repair. If you were a high-end reputable body shop, would you send that car out like that? Hell no. If they can't even get the gaps right, what else did they botch during the repairs?

[chillywings]

Thanks. Yeah unfortunately there's not much info on the car as the dealer got it from an auction and there's no accident history on the carfax. But I only ask because I've noticed a (not quite as extensive) gap on several listings for this model. So I just can't help but wonder if this is some how a common thing on the 335is. Here's another example:

[JDStrickland]

I can't tell, but it looks like the car I found.... (Your picture is from closer in, but it looks legit. If there's a Carfax report, look to see if it has been in a minor wreck.)





- - - Updated - - -

On second thought, you found a car with its nose pushed in.

You should do more research on the turbo. My brother-in-law has a 535 with the same engine and he's having turbo troubles that we have found out to be common and expensive.

[chillywings]

You should do more research on the turbo. My brother-in-law has a 535 with the same engine and he's having turbo troubles that we have found out to be common and expensive.

Sorry are you talking about the N54 turbos in general? I've heard about wastegate rattle, but not so much about the turbos going bad.

The car fax is clean which unfortunately is a bit confusing. Thanks for the observation. I'm contemplating taking it to a body shop to have them look it over. I'm still not sure if this represents structural damage that would compromise safety or how difficult it would be to fix.

[JDStrickland]

Sorry are you talking about the N54 turbos in general? I've heard about wastegate rattle, but not so much about the turbos going bad.

The car fax is clean which unfortunately is a bit confusing. Thanks for the observation. I'm contemplating taking it to a body shop to have them look it over. I'm still not sure if this represents structural damage that would compromise safety or how difficult it would be to fix.

If there was structural damage, then it should have been reported. Back up the truck a little bit, if there was structural damage that came from hitting another vehicle, it should have been reported. One way this would not be reported is if the hittor paid the repairs to the hittee and did not make a claim for his car. The front bumper is not really a structural component, it's intended to move out of the way so as to spread the impact area. A minor impact can move it without harm to the underlying framework.

Personally, getting a body shop to check it is a good plan, but I think you can buy a car that doesn't have this overhead.

My brother-in-law has a 535xi, but I don't know what year, and he has a problem that has been diagnosed as turbo related. I cannot tell you what the trouble is, but it comes with heavy acceleration, and he cycles the ignition to clear up whatever hissy fit the car is throwing. I say his trouble is the turbo, but it might be the fuel pump. I see there is a Class Action going, or was a Class Action going that has been resolved -- I do not know either way -- for the turbo and the faulty fuel pump. In any case, I'm saying that you might want to do some research before you go for the N54. I'm looking for an E93 with the N52 because I don't need the kick-in-the-ass that the turbo brings -- I'm an old guy and I'm over it. What I cannot find in my area is a 6-spd manual transmission, I want pedals, not paddles.

[chillywings]

I'm glad to hear it might not be a major concern. The car is priced a bit below others, but my interest will definitely depend on the estimated repair cost.

The manuals are harder to find, I have seen some though. Personally, I haven't had the kick in the ass yet.. so I'm not over it :p

[sjdennis]

Chillywings, are you saying this is a 6mt you are looking at? If so they are extremely rare. Don’t give up easily, definitely get it checked out by a body shop, and make an offer accordingly. Minor accidents happen all the time and when properly repaired aren’t a big deal. Could need a simple adjustment at a body shop covered by the seller if they want to sell.

[chillywings]

Sorry, you mean a manual transmission? No, it's a 7-speed auto DCT

[FourWeeks]

I see you're located in MA. Have you looked at e90post? I see manual e93s for sale in the New England area pretty frequently.

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1722475

[MadJoe]

From reading sites like e90post and Bimmerfest I've learned that there's myriad reasons to remove the front bumpers on these cars, including but not limited to: upgrading/painting an intercooler, replacing hood latches, adding ugly-ass body kits, swapping on M-style body parts etc.. So chances are just as good that this was caused by poorly repaired damage/accident, as they are that one of the previous owners had some reason to remove it and didn't take the time to align it very well when putting it back on. Getting a reputable body shop to take a look at it pre-purchase is a very good idea.

[chillywings]

From reading sites like e90post and Bimmerfest I've learned that there's myriad reasons to remove the front bumpers on these cars, including but not limited to: upgrading/painting an intercooler, replacing hood latches, adding ugly-ass body kits, swapping on M-style body parts etc.. So chances are just as good that this was caused by poorly repaired damage/accident, as they are that one of the previous owners had some reason to remove it and didn't take the time to align it very well when putting it back on. Getting a reputable body shop to take a look at it pre-purchase is a very good idea.

Thanks for the tip. This was the conclusion I ended up coming to.. just as likely that the bumper is simply misaligned. And the headlights do look like they've been replaced. I did end up buying the car, partly on account that the gap doesn't look as bad in person. Not quite sure why it looks so terrible in the list photos, but I'll try and finagle with it at some point. I think I just need loosen the top 4 screws and pull it out a bit... we'll see. Also I did take it to a body shop.. unfortunately they basically said they wouldn't know without tearing into it and were hesitant to do so since I didn't yet own the car. However they weren't specifically familiar with BMWs and it seems there's quite a bit of play in the bumper so I'm guessing it just needs adjustment.

[JDStrickland]

E93.jpg

You picked the right color....