CPhillips93 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Hi all! As some of you may well now, I currently work as a Paralegal and in September I will be attending UWE to begin my LPC. As a result, I had to part ways with the Zed; I honestly got a bit choked up when I heard the Invidia on tick over . It has gone to a good home and I hope that it's new owner is enjoying it as much as I did! So I started looking at replacements in readiness for the long trip up to Bristol from Cornwall, mainly E92 335d or 330d. Unfortunately, due to the budget a decent 335d was out of the question and in the end I settled for this lovely 330d:- It's a 2008 E92 330d Automatic - my first auto! The car was located in Bristol and so I took the trip up to have a look after a discussion with the garage that was selling it; I had travelled all the way to Nottingham to purchase the 350 so was very happy to find a replacement relatively close. The spec is as follows:- Interior:- - Cream Beige Dakota Leather - M Sport Steering Wheel with Paddles - Cruise Control with Brake Function - BMW Professional Radio - Lights Package - Anthracite Headlining - Electric Front Seats with Memory - 'Oplar Grain Grey' Wood Trim Exterior:- - M Aerodynamic Bodystyling - Sun Protection Glass - High-Gloss Shadow Exterior Trim - M Sport Suspension - Exterior Mirror Package Other:- - Automatic Air Conditioning - Auto Drive Away Locking - Electric Folding Exterior Mirrors - Park Distance Control (PDC) - First Aid Kit and Triangle - Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror - Rain Sensor with Auto Headlights And my plans for the car:- - Refurbish the wheels - New battery - Brake fluid service is due; will also replace the hoses for braided lines at the same time - General tidy up - Proper detail (hopefully this Sunday!) - Possibly remap. Thanks for reading. Conor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leosille Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Miss mine was a pretty perfect car I did have manual but I'm sure the auto is smooth and quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) The E92 330d is an awesome car!! Eats up the miles and wafts around on a cloud of torque. You can always have it mapped for less than a couple of hundred quid and get 500 ft pounds of torque Rapid!! Edited July 19, 2016 by Rock_Steady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I'm not convinced there's a better looking modern day regular car than the E90/2 y'know. It's an incredibly well proportioned car, and styling wise it's much better than the current F30. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 nice car! muchly approving of BMW e92s, and I love a dark graphite on a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
un1eash Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Still love the E92, have ways thought it's one of the best looking cars on the road. Traded my E92 320d M Sport in last weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyZ Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Love the E92. Wanted a 335i before I went with a z, partly because nearly all of them were grandpa spec. I was looking for that colour with the 313 alloys, red leather and M Sport kit, but they were all crappy colours, crappy wheels and wood interior which I didn't want. The diesels all seemed to be much better specced... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonty88 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Love the E92. Wanted a 335i before I went with a z, partly because nearly all of them were grandpa spec. I was looking for that colour with the 313 alloys, red leather and M Sport kit, but they were all crappy colours, crappy wheels and wood interior which I didn't want. The diesels all seemed to be much better specced... That was exactly me before I got my Z! Always loved the shape of the E92 and looked smart in the Gunmetal Grey! Was really hard to find one in a good colour / spec with red leather though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyZ Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Yeah, I'm happy that I went with the zed in the end, apart from the odd occasion that I need 4 seats. That said I still admire the E92s when I see a good one, and annoying there's a really nice 335i that lives round the corner from me in the right colour, right wheels and the M Sport kit. It's probably a bloody auto though, which is something else that people seemed to go for but I didn't want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 Miss mine was a pretty perfect car I did have manual but I'm sure the auto is smooth and quick! How did you find the manual? The auto is perfect imo, just can be annoying when it changes gear for you - not something I am used to! The E92 330d is an awesome car!! Eats up the miles and wafts around on a cloud of torque. You can always have it mapped for less that a couple of hundred quid and get 500 ft pounds of torque Rapid!! Don't tempt me I'm not convinced there's a better looking modern day regular car than the E90/2 y'know. It's an incredibly well proportioned car, and styling wise it's much better than the current F30. I think I would have to agree with you... not that I am biased ! nice car! muchly approving of BMW e92s, and I love a dark graphite on a car. Thanks I wanted either black or the grey, but so glad I picked the grey as it's such a great colour. Love the E92. Wanted a 335i before I went with a z, partly because nearly all of them were grandpa spec. I was looking for that colour with the 313 alloys, red leather and M Sport kit, but they were all crappy colours, crappy wheels and wood interior which I didn't want. The diesels all seemed to be much better specced... Funnily enough I was also looking at the 335i before getting the z, but unfortunately they were just out of my price range and I was a bit put off with some of the reliability issues. It is difficult trying to find the right spec even with the diesels. Most of them that I looked at had the crap wood interior and the black leather seat with no iDrive (which I don't think it's worth getting a BMW without it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
un1eash Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) My first choice was grey with red interior but as you say pretty rare. Black looks great when clean but it doesn't stay that way for long. I did a few little mods to mine, M3 spoiler, led angel eyes and interior lights, black grills and alpine audio upgrade. Edited June 15, 2016 by un1eash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 My first choice was grey with red interior but as you say pretty rare. Black looks great when clean but it doesn't stay that way for long. I did a few little mods to mine, M3 spoiler, led angel eyes and interior lights, black grills and alpine audio upgrade. Looks great mate, exactly what I would like to do to mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Tidy Up (Part 1) PIC HEAVY! As someone who suffers with a mild case of OCD, one of the very first things I aimed to do with the car was give it a serious tidy up! The car itself was in relatively good condition, but just had a few bits and bobs that I wasn't happy with. For starters, the left hand side of the rear vent had broken; it was likely that someone had climbed over the seat and knocked it with their foot, probably quite common on the E92. It started a little like this:- I took apart the remainder of the broken side of the vent, leaving this:- After which it was just a matter of re-assembly (not that easy given how small the parts were), saving me a bit of money! Next part up for fixing *ahem*bodging*cough* was the drivers seat belt extender, which was suffering from the usual problem where it would extend but not have the strength to push the seat belt forward. First things first, extend the arm and remove the fuse to leave the arm extended like so:- Next step is to pull the extending section of the arm away from the remainder of the extension to leave the relevant part like so:- Leaving the relevant section of the extender together with the now redundant spring! You will see from the picture below the broken part of the extender which is the weak metal "L" shape Which needs to be removed from the extender together with the spring:- Once the offending parts have been removed, the arm can be placed back into the car fully functioning, saving the need for an expensive replacement part:- Other parts just needed slight adjustment like the trim below the steering wheel as there was a gap like so:- Which was improved by simply loosening the screws holding it in place and adjusting it ever so slightly:- Much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Tidy Up (Part 2) PIC HEAVY! Turning to the interior of the car, due to it being a very light colour, there were several marks on both the interior door cards, door sills and the leather was a tad on the murky side. The weapon of choice for the plastic items that were heavily marked was a Flash Magic Eraser, which for a couple quid worked perfectly. Anyways, the worst affected areas looked like this:- And after:- (For whatever reason I didn't get a picture of the seat, but the Magic Eraser removed the black mark completely!) I then treated the seats to a clean with Gliptone Liquid Leather Gentle Cleaner, agitating with a soft bristle brush. A quick 50/50 on the front seat revealed the extent of the grime:- This was then continued onto throughout the remainder of the interior and sealed with Gyeon Q2 Leather Coat. Turning to the exterior, which wasn't as bad, bar the exhaust tips which were in a bad way. Using my usual routine, I rinse the car and snow foamed leaving it to dwell and aggravating any intricate areas like the grills or badges:- The car was then rinsed off and treated with CarPro Trix (combination of iron and tar remover). Unfortunately, this still bears a still resemblance to Iron-X in that it reeks of rotten eggs so this was left to dwell and rinsed thoroughly. Like Iron-X it runs purple when iron is evident on the paint:- The car was then washed using the two-bucket method, dried and rolled into the garage ready to be clayed using Bilt Hamber medium grade clay and Auto Finesse Glide. The worse areas (as expected) were the lower parts of the doors as well as the rear quarters with the bonnet and roof not suffering too much. Pictures of the clay following the passenger door:- And drivers door:- The car was then wiped down with CarPro Eraser ready for the DA! Overall the paintwork wasn't in bad condition really but it was very difficult to pick up any swirls or marks on the paintwork. I guess the colour is just very forgiving! But got to work with the DAS-6 Pro, using a combination of Chemical Guys White Hexlogic Pad and Megiuars #83. I then finished up by sealing it with Auto-Glym HD Wax leaving the car looking like this:- Not too shabby Finished off the rest of the car using Rain-X on the glass and Megiuars Endurance Tyre Gel on the tyres. Autosol and wire wool was used on the exhaust tips to bring them from this state:- To something a bit more acceptable:- Thanks for reading! Conor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Let there be light... One of the very first things I like to do whenever I get a new car is to swap all of the dull interior bulbs out for LEDS; something which costs very little bit improves the look of the interior considerably. So a couple of bob spent on eBay and I had the entire interior bulbs swapped out for LEDS. Boot before:- Boot after:- Glovebox before:- Glovebox after:- Vanity mirror before:- Vanity mirror after:- Under door before:- Under door after:- Footwell before:- Footwell after:- Rear dome before:- Rear dome after:- Rear footwell before:- Rear footwell after:- Looks like I forgot to get one of the front dome, but its much the same as the rear in any event Also had some spare 'Silvatec' indicators hanging around so swapped those at the rear... you now the drill, before:- After:- Although the BMW lights tend to hide the orange tint quite well, the SIlvatecs look so much smarter! I will do the fronts when I get around to order some LED replacements for the DRLs. Thanks for reading, any comments or suggestions welcome! Conor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 EGR Thermostat Change and Service So whilst I had improved some of the superficial problems with the car, some of the more mechanical issues still remained outstanding. In the past couple of weeks the short trips took the toll on the 330d and as a result the DPF warning light popped up on the dash. It turns out that a common fault on these cars are the EGR thermostat and main thermostat remaining stuck open; if the car doesn't warm up to the correct temperature, it won't allow the DPF to do a active regeneration. I unlocked the coolant temperature on the dash and went for a 'spirited drive' to ascertain what temperatures the car was getting to. I discovered that the temperature never really rose up 80 and tended to hover around the high 60s. In light of the indication that one or both of the stats were bust, I ordered them from the main dealer on the E90 Forum (together with a new Isofix cover and battery) and got to work on the easier of the two, the EGR stat, in the hope that this would resolve the issue. With the engine cool, the first thing to remove was the engine cover. There are four bolts that require removal from the cover, with two only accessible by unclipping the plastic cover shown removed below:- So with this removed, the next step was to move an oil breather tube out of the way. The bolt holding this pipe in place (see picture below) is removed and the tube wiggled out of place:- This allows enough room to access the 10mm bolts on the EGR stat, which can be removed and the jubilee clip loosened to allow the suspected broken part to come off the car. Having rinsed off the stat, I could easily blow through the part indicating that it was in fact faulty. Putting the new part in was merely a matter of a reverse of the removal and topping up the coolant lost in removing the old part. So I took the car out for a test drive with the temperature unlocked on the dash. Thankfully, the new one seems to be doing it's job; rising quickly to 75 and easily going on to the high 80s. I do still think that the main stat has also gone and as I have it just sitting in my room, I will swap them round when I get a free weekend and flush the coolant just to be sure that the engine is reaching the right temperature. However, the fault code was still appearing for the DPF. It turns out that despite how hot you get the car, it won't undertake a regeneration whilst there is a current fault code reading on the car. Luckily, my dad works in the motor vehicle department at the local college and he was able to bring home their diagnostic tool (I have since bought a cable and the BMW diagnostic system off of eBay!). Thankfully, after clearing the fault from the system, it hasn't appeared since and I can only assume that the car has managed to regenerate the DPF so it's satisfactorily clear. When using the diagnostic tool however, several other codes were revealed These were relating to the glow plugs (code 4212, 4232, 4242, 4252 and 4262) and the auxiliary water pump (code A6D1). On Googling the codes, it appears as though I need a new glow plug controller and auxiliary water pump! Currently in the process of getting a quote for the parts - would be nice to not be spending so much money on repairs but I guess it's the joys of BMW ownership! I managed to pop the new Isofix cover in at the same time as changing the thermostat, which needed replacing after I got a bit vicious with the hoover :- Much better! Just the battery to fit now, as the past couple of times that I have been cleaning the car, the time and date have been reset and an 'increased battery discharge' warning shows up on the dash. Once I get the hang of INPA and the various other software systems that I have purchased, I will be able to swap the old one over and 'register' the new battery to the car. Otherwise, when I purchased the car the brake fluid service was showing up on the iDrive; the BMWs now work on 'Condition Based Servicing' which actively monitors the various serviceable components on the car for wear. This was booked in and done yesterday. £54 lighter and the brake fluid flushed, the garage asked if I wanted to come and look at something whilst it was on the lift... In to the workshop I go and the mechanic points me in the direction of both the passenger rear damper and drivers front damper both of which were leaking fluid; the front one more so than the rear. So I have come away from the service with a quote for labour and parts for just under £600. Given the fact that I only purchased the car early in May, I am a bit disappointed to say the least especially considering that the car came with a fresh MOT (the legitimacy of which I am now doubting). Thankfully (or not depending on the result) the car was sold with warranty and I am hoping that this work will be covered, I will be calling them tomorrow to get the verdict! Thanks for reading. Conor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
un1eash Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I can recommend a Bluetooth obd2 dongle and Carly for BMW app. I used this on a android device to code new features, register a new battery and keep an eye on dpf status and regens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeybrain1234 Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Nice car and good tidy up with some proper OCD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Just googled that Carly app, looks like a different GUI for the usual NCS/INPA tools. Very handy, I'll grab that and have a play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
un1eash Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 http://cartechnology.co.uk is really useful, with information and software from there I've managed to do quite a bit with my old E92 and also the new F11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 I can recommend a Bluetooth obd2 dongle and Carly for BMW app. I used this on a android device to code new features, register a new battery and keep an eye on dpf status and regens. Thanks will look out for them, unfortunately more pressing things to purchase at the moment Nice car and good tidy up with some proper OCD. Thank you bud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 So been a busy couple of weeks... I have managed to change the main thermostat and flush the coolant last week. The car now sits at 90 degrees when warm and the mpg has risen from the low twenties to the low thirties - perfect I also took the car to Specialist Vehicles in Plymouth to have the shock problem 'investigated'. The warranty that I got with the car required that any repair is investigated by a garage, who provides them with a report before they confirm whether or not they will cover the fault. So after a brief phone call with the garage, Autoguard confirmed that they wouldn't cover the problem as it was wear and tear. Great. I have had prior experience with these warranties; my brother had a similar policy in place and his window regulator bust - similarly, his warranty wouldn't cover as it was wear and tear. So when I purchased the car, the garage, as a sign of good will, offered to add wear and tear to the policy. This was offered and confirmed in front of both me and my dad. It turns out after speaking with Autoguard myself that this was never added to the policy. I gave the garage and salesman I bought the car from a call the same day and stated that I was very disappointed that this was omitted from the policy, which was greeted with the usual 'I don't recall that it was ever agreed' - I did advise him that both me and my dad were witness to the conversation. Nevertheless, the salesman offered to give Autoguard a call himself to see if he could get some goodwill from them. I chased the guy last Thursday and he was going to chase Autoguard again and said that they would call me back. I have not heard anything from him or them, despite chasing him every day of this week (but not speaking to him!). I am a bit stuck in limbo now, as I don't want to get the car fixed without confirmation that I will be reimbursed, but I am really not sure what recourse I have. Under the Consumer Rights Act, if a fault comes to light between 30 days and 6 months after the sale, you are entitled to a refund, repair or replacement. The assumption in law is that the fault was present at the time of sale and the burden of proof is on the seller to proof that the fault was not present at the time of sale. I was going to start quoting this at the garage, but unfortunately, the car came with a completely clear MOT the day before I bought it... so clearly the garage can proof that there were no faults in relation to the shocks (although the glow plug and aux water heater are a whole different story!). If I was aware of the fault within 30 days of the MOT I would have been able to appeal the MOT and perhaps get confirmation that the fault was evident at the time of sale, but I wasn't aware of the damper leak until I got the service. Of course this doesn't stop me from threatening to speak to the Police or Trading Standards regarding the MOT centre, but as the garage I bought the car from didn't provide the MOT I doubt this will be very successful. I am going to email the garage/salesman tonight to try and get him to give me a call tomorrow, but I thought I would post this in here to see if anyone else any help or suggestions? Any comments would be greatly appreciated! Conor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 What shock problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 What shock problem? When I took the car in for the brake fluid service the mechanic called me in to the garage. The front drivers side shock was leaking heavily and the rear passenger one was leaking a little less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPhillips93 Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 So only two months after ordering a new one, I finally decided to get my hands dirty and replace the battery on the E92. Essentially the battery was dead; everytime I left the doors open or moved the seats whilst cleaning, I would get an 'Increased Battery Discharge' warning. When I also took the car to Specialist to get the glow plug fault investigated for Autoguard, they had to plug the car in to charge (it was only reading 30% charge) First step is to remove the battery interior panel, by turning the black knob shown below half a turn:- The black retaining bar then needs to be removed by undoing the two 10mm bolts:- The negative terminal connection can then be disconnected and removed. Again, it's a 10mm bolt which needs loosening and moving out of the way of the battery:- Then onto the positive terminal in the same manner as the negative terminal:- The two metal clips either side of the positive terminal assembly can then be un-clipped with a flat head screwdriver. The cables that plug into the red assembly can be removed to give you more clearance when removing the battery from the car. The overflow plug on the positive side of the battery can also be removed and finally, the 10mm bolt holding the battery in place can then also be removed:- With this bolt removed the battery can simply be lifted out (easier said than done mind, bear in mind that the battery in these diesels are horrendously heavy and BMW don't give you much room to get them out!). To make things easier, I taped the positive and negative cables out of the way to allow myself enough room to maneuver the battery out. Then it's just a matter of a reverse of the above for fitting the new battery! Oh and don't forget that the batteries in the new BMWs need registering in accordance with a guide found on e90post - http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532315 The old battery had 05 08 stamped on the negative terminal, which I presume is the date of manufacture. So if I am correct, it's the original battery and so I can't really complain at 8 years, not that I had much use out of it mind! Otherwise, whilst there are many mods/improvements I am desperate to do on the car, I am in limbo at the moment until the shock and glow plug issues are sorted. I am currently in the process of writing a complaint letter to the garage in relation to the Consumer Rights Act to see if they will offer me a discount in respect of the repairs... wish me luck Any comments or suggestions are appreciated Conor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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