Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 3 Series/ E90/ Compare

E90, compare every engine

All 21 variants in this chassis on one screen. Identical body, identical electronics, identical suspension. Everything below is a consequence of which engine is in the bay.

Full comparison

VariantYearsPowerTorqueFuelTransmissionsEconomyRiskIssuesWorst single repairBandGood buyVerdict
316d N472009–2011116 PS260 Nmdiesel6-sp manual5–6.5R515€2,500€3,600–€6,550€4,200Avoid unless documented
318i N462005–2011143 PS190 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8.5–10R313€2,500€2,600–€5,650€3,100Buy with conditions
318d N472007–2011143 PS300 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5–6.5R517€2,500€3,500–€7,000€4,100Avoid unless documented
320i N462005–2007150 PS200 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8.5–10R313€2,500€2,900–€5,500€3,400Buy with conditions
320d M472005–2007163 PS340 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5.5–7R315€2,500€3,200–€6,100€3,800Buy
320i N432007–2011170 PS210 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)7.5–9R416€2,500€3,300–€7,200€3,950Caution
323i N522005–2007177 PS230 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R217€2,500€3,400–€6,600€4,050Buy
320d N472007–2011177 PS350 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5–6.5R517€2,500€3,700–€7,650€4,400Avoid unless documented
325d M572006–2010197 PS400 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–7.5R217€2,500€4,400–€8,950€5,200Buy
325d N572010–2011204 PS430 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5.5–7R318€3,000€6,100–€11,100€7,200Buy
325i N522005–2007218 PS250 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11.5R217€2,500€4,000–€7,800€4,750Buy
325i N532007–2011218 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8.5–10.5R418€2,500€4,400–€9,350€5,250Buy with conditions
330d M572005–2008231 PS500 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6.5–8R217€2,500€5,000–€10,450€5,950Strong buy
328i N522006–2011234 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11.5R217€2,500€4,300–€9,150€5,150Strong buy
330d N572008–2011245 PS520 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–7.5R318€3,000€7,200–€13,500€8,500Strong buy
330i N522005–2007272 PS315 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9.5–12R217€2,500€4,700–€9,200€5,600Strong buy
330i N532007–2011272 PS315 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R418€2,500€5,000–€10,700€6,000Buy with conditions
335d M572006–2010286 PS580 Nmdiesel6-sp automatic (ZF)7–9R316€2,500€5,800–€12,000€6,900Buy with conditions
335i N542006–2010306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)10–13R419€3,500€6,300–€12,850€7,350Buy with conditions
335i N552010–2011306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF), 7-sp DCT9.5–12.5R318€4,500€10,050–€17,200€11,700Buy
M3 S652007–2011420 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 7-sp DCT14–18R414€4,500€30,600–€61,150€35,700Buy with conditions

Issue overlap by engine. The row that decides it

IssueCostN47N46M47N43N52M57N57N53N54N55S65
DCT mechatronic and clutch wear€1,500–€4,500·········●●
Turbocharger wastegate rattle and turbo failure€1,200–€3,500········●··
Rear timing chain wear€1,800–€3,000······●····
Fuel injector failure€1,800–€3,000········●··
Rod bearing wear€1,500–€2,800··········●
Rear timing chain failurewalk away€1,500–€2,500●··········
"Lifetime" fluid neglect€400–€2,500●●●●●●●●●●·
DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800●·●··●●····
Timing chain and guide wear€1,000–€1,800·●·········
Dual-mass flywheel and clutch wear€900–€1,600●●●●●·●●●●●
Throttle actuator failure€800–€1,600··········●
Timing chain tensioner rattle€300–€1,400···●·······
Injector seal leak (soot around injectors)€400–€1,400·····●·····
Variable-vane turbo actuator sticking€400–€1,200●·●··●●····
High-pressure fuel pump failure€700–€1,100········●··
EGR cooler leak€400–€1,000●·····●····
High-pressure fuel pump failure€600–€950·······●···
Swirl flap wear and ingestion€400–€900●·●··●●····
Cold-start lifter tick and VANOS rattle€150–€900····●······
Electric water pump and thermostat failure€500–€800····●··●●●·
Carbon buildup on intake valves€400–€700···●···●●●·
Valve cover and PCV failure€400–€700·········●·
Mechatronic sleeve and pan gasket leak€250–€600●●●●●●●●●●·
NOx sensor failure€300–€600···●···●···
Oil filter housing gasket leak€300–€600····●●●●●●·
VANOS solenoid and Valvetronic motor faults€200–€600·········●·
Piezo injector failure (lean-burn petrol)€350–€500···●···●···
Valve cover gasket leak€250–€500····●······
Eccentric shaft sensor leak€250–€450····●······
Charge pipe cracking€150–€400········●··
High oil consumption€0–€0··········●

Only engine-differentiating issues are listed. 9 further issues apply to every engine in this chassis. Cooling, electrics, suspension and the gearbox, and are on the chassis page.

Cross-chassis comparison

To compare against a different chassis: an E92 335i against an E90 330d, say, use the general comparison tool, which takes up to four variants from anywhere in the database and encodes them in the URL so the comparison can be shared.