Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 3 Series/ E92

BMW 3 Series Coupé, E92

The last 3 Series with hydraulic steering and a straight-six worth having, in the body people actually want, priced accordingly.

Overview

The E92 is the coupe BMW 3 Series, built 2006–2013 and facelifted in 2010. 15 standard engines are documented here plus 1 M model, each with its own issue list, inspection sequence and price band. Asking prices across the standard range run €3,800–€19,800, and 5 of the 15 carry a risk level of 4 or 5; the facelift cars sit at a premium over otherwise identical pre-facelift ones. The cheapest way in is the 320i N43 from €4,550, while the 323i N52 is the lowest-risk engine at €4,650, which engine you buy matters more here than which year. Prices are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology.

BMW 3 Series coupe (E92) · photo BMW 335i Coupe (E92) Washington DC Metro Area, USA by OWS Photography · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Body style	coupe	Production	2006–2013
Platform siblings	E90 sedan · E91 wagon · E93 convertible	Facelift (LCI)	2010

What changed at the 2010 facelift

N55 single-turbo replaced the N54 twin-turbo in the 335i; N57 replaced M57 in the six-cylinder diesels; Revised lights, bumpers and iDrive; Seven-speed DCT offered on the 335i. The engine changes are the ones that matter, a car built in the changeover year can carry either engine, so check the engine code on the block rather than the registration date.

Engine matrix: pre-facelift, 2006–2009

The 13 variants sold before the 2010 facelift. Power and years come from the variant records; prices are illustrative, not sourced.

FilterFuelGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under13 of 13

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
320i	N43	petrol	2007–2009	170 PS	210 Nm	R4	16	€3,800–€7,600	€4,550	Caution	View
323i	N52	petrol	2006–2007	177 PS	230 Nm	R2	17	€3,900–€7,600	€4,650	Buy	View
320d	N47	diesel	2007–2009	177 PS	350 Nm	R5	17	€4,250–€8,050	€5,050	Avoid	View
325d	M57	diesel	2006–2009	197 PS	400 Nm	R2	17	€5,050–€9,450	€6,000	Buy	View
325i	N52	petrol	2006–2007	218 PS	250 Nm	R2	17	€4,600–€8,950	€5,450	Buy	View
325i	N53	petrol	2007–2009	218 PS	270 Nm	R4	18	€5,050–€9,900	€6,050	Buy w/ conditions	View
330d	M57	diesel	2006–2008	231 PS	500 Nm	R2	17	€5,750–€11,050	€6,850	Strong buy	View
328i	N52	petrol	2006–2009	234 PS	270 Nm	R2	17	€4,950–€9,650	€5,950	Strong buy	View
330d	N57	diesel	2008–2009	245 PS	520 Nm	R3	18	€7,600–€14,250	€9,000	Strong buy	View
330i	N52	petrol	2006–2007	272 PS	315 Nm	R2	17	€5,400–€10,600	€6,450	Strong buy	View
330i	N53	petrol	2007–2009	272 PS	315 Nm	R4	18	€5,750–€11,250	€6,900	Buy w/ conditions	View
335d	M57	diesel	2006–2009	286 PS	580 Nm	R3	16	€6,650–€12,650	€7,950	Buy w/ conditions	View
335i	N54	petrol	2006–2009	306 PS	400 Nm	R4	19	€7,250–€13,550	€8,450	Buy w/ conditions	View

Engine matrix: facelift / LCI, 2010–2013

The 11 variants sold from the facelift on, priced at a 9% premium over the pre-facelift car.

11 variants from the facelift on, carrying a real market premium of roughly 9% over an otherwise identical pre-facelift car. Variants appearing in both tables were sold either side of the changeover, the build month decides which one you're looking at, not the model year.

FilterFuelGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under11 of 11

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
320i	N43	petrol	2010–2011	170 PS	210 Nm	R4	16	€4,150–€8,250	€4,950	Caution	View
320d	N47	diesel	2010–2013	177 PS	350 Nm	R5	17	€4,650–€8,750	€5,550	Avoid	View
325d	M57	diesel	2010–2010	197 PS	400 Nm	R2	17	€5,500–€10,300	€6,500	Buy	View
325d	N57	diesel	2010–2013	204 PS	430 Nm	R3	18	€7,000–€12,800	€8,300	Buy	View
325i	N53	petrol	2010–2013	218 PS	270 Nm	R4	18	€5,500–€10,800	€6,600	Buy w/ conditions	View
328i	N52	petrol	2010–2013	234 PS	270 Nm	R2	17	€5,400–€10,550	€6,450	Strong buy	View
330d	N57	diesel	2010–2013	245 PS	520 Nm	R3	18	€8,250–€15,550	€9,800	Strong buy	View
330i	N53	petrol	2010–2011	272 PS	315 Nm	R4	18	€6,250–€12,300	€7,500	Buy w/ conditions	View
335d	M57	diesel	2010–2010	286 PS	580 Nm	R3	16	€7,250–€13,800	€8,650	Buy w/ conditions	View
335i	N54	petrol	2010–2010	306 PS	400 Nm	R4	19	€7,900–€14,800	€9,250	Buy w/ conditions	View
335i	N55	petrol	2010–2013	306 PS	400 Nm	R3	18	€11,550–€19,800	€13,450	Buy	View

Market availability varied by country; check the engine code stamped on the block rather than the badge on the boot. · Compare every engine side by side →

M models, separate category

Listed apart because they share a bodyshell with the range and little else. Their prices are excluded from the range figures on this page.

BMW M cars share a bodyshell with the range they come from and almost nothing else that matters: different engine, different cooling, different running costs, and a different buyer. They're listed separately because putting an M3 in the same table as a 320d makes both harder to read.

FilterGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under2 of 2

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
M3M	S65	petrol	2007–2009	420 PS	400 Nm	R4	14	€30,000–€55,000	€35,000	Buy w/ conditions	View
M3M	S65	petrol	2010–2013	420 PS	400 Nm	R4	14	€32,700–€59,950	€38,150	Buy w/ conditions	View

Prices above are for M cars only and aren't included in the range figures quoted elsewhere on this page.

Model-year availability

Which engines were on sale in which year, from the year ranges in the variant records. Availability varied by country.

Variant	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13
320i N43		◐	●	●	●	◐
323i N52	●	◐
320d N47		◐	●	●	●	●	●	●
325d M57	●	●	●	●	◐
325d N57					◐	●	●	●
325i N52	●	◐
325i N53		◐	●	●	●	●	●	●
330d M57	●	●	◐
328i N52	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
330d N57			◐	●	●	●	●	●
330i N52	●	◐
330i N53		◐	●	●	●	◐
335d M57	●	●	●	●	◐
335i N54	●	●	●	●	◐
335i N55					◐	●	●	●
M3 S65		◐	●	●	●	●	●	●

● full year · ◐ arrives or leaves mid-generation. Years from 2010 in the accent colour are facelift (LCI) cars. Verify the engine code, not the model year.

Rating map, price against risk

Good-buy price plotted against risk level for every standard engine, so the value corner is visible at a glance.

Every standard engine in the chassis, plotted at its good-buy price against its risk level. Cheap and low-risk is the top-left; expensive and fragile is the bottom-right. M cars are excluded, they would stretch the price axis and tell you nothing about the rest.

Buy / strong buy Buy with conditions Caution / avoidLeft is cheaper, up is safer. The top-left corner is where the value is.

Prices across the range

Where the money sits across the whole chassis. Every figure here is an illustrative placeholder, not a sourced market sample.

Every standard engine on one euro axis: the bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile of asking prices, the tick is the median and the green marker is the good-buy figure. M cars are excluded; they sit an order of magnitude above the rest.

Cheapest good buy€4,550320i N43

Median good buy€6,450across 15 engines

Dearest good buy€13,450335i N55

Full range€3,800–€19,800P10 to P90

Every standard engine · cheapest first · 328i N52 highlighted as best value

€5k€10k€15kGood buy

320i N43€4,550 323i N52€4,650 320d N47€5,050 325i N52€5,450 328i N52€5,950 325d M57€6,000 325i N53€6,050 330i N52€6,450 330d M57€6,850 330i N53€6,900 335d M57€7,950 325d N57€8,300 335i N54€8,450 330d N57€9,000 335i N55€13,450

at or under the good buy · good buy · median · bar spans the 10th–90th percentile

Chassis-wide issues, every engine inherits these

Faults recorded against the bodyshell and running gear rather than one engine, so every variant on this page inherits them.

Front control arm bushing wearE9x chassis€300–€700

Knocking over bad surfaces, vague or wandering steering, uneven front tyre wear, steering shimmy under braking. The front lower arm bushings are a known wear item on this chassis and go well before the ball joints.

Check: Drive over a rough road at low speed with the windows down and listen. Check the inside edges of the front tyres for feathering.

SuspensionuniversalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–150k km

Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheelsE9x chassis€150–€900

Harsh ride, vibration at speed, slow punctures. Stiff-sidewall run-flats transmit impacts straight into the rim, and these alloys crack rather than bend.

Check: Inspect the inner rim edge of every wheel for cracks and hairline splits, not just the face for kerbing. Budget for a set of conventional tyres; most owners switch and the ride improves markedly.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seamsE9x chassis€300–€2,000

Bubbling at the rear arch lip, scaling on subframe mounting points and rear suspension components. Age plus road salt. This generation isn't a notorious rotter, but nothing from 2005–2013 is immune in a salted market.

Check: Put it on a lift and look at the rear subframe mounting points and the arch lips from behind. Largely a non-issue on cars from southern Europe, a real one on northern and Baltic cars.

Body & corrosionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Footwell module (FRM) failureE9x chassis€150–€700

Headlights, indicators, windows, wipers and central locking stop working at once, usually right after a battery change or a jump start. The module's memory corrupts when supply voltage dips. It is the single most common electrical failure on this generation.

Check: Test every window, both mirrors, the wipers, all exterior lights and the central locking before you drive. If any cluster of these is dead, this is why.

ElectricalcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Rear shock mount wearE9x chassis€250–€500

Knock from the rear over speed bumps, a hollow thump from the boot area. The rubber mounts perish. On hard-used cars the mount can crack the surrounding turret metal, which is a far bigger job.

Check: Lift the boot floor and look at the top of the shock towers for cracking or a lifted mount. Listen for a knock over bumps.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented100–180k km

xDrive transfer case actuator failureE9x chassis€600–€1,200

Grinding or binding at low-speed full lock, 4x4 warning lights, a shudder when manoeuvring. The actuator motor and the transfer case's internal chain wear, especially on cars run with mismatched tyre sizes.

Check: Full-lock circles in both directions in a car park, slowly, listening for binding. Check all four tyres are the same brand and wear, mismatched tyres destroy these.

DrivetrainoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented120–220k km

iDrive CCC head unit failureE9x chassis€300–€900

Black screen, rebooting, refusal to read the drive, non-functioning navigation. The early CCC unit's hard drive and mainboard fail with age. Later CIC units are more reliable.

Check: Turn it on and use it for a few minutes: navigation, radio, settings. Reboots during that window are the fault showing itself.

ElectricaloccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Coolant expansion tank crackingE9x chassis€120–€250

Coolant smell after a drive, slow unexplained loss of coolant, crusty residue around the tank seams. The plastic tank goes brittle with age and splits, usually at a seam or around the level sensor.

Check: Look at the tank with the engine warm, dried coolant leaves a white or pink crust. Cheap to fix, but it tells you how the car has been maintained.

CoolingcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented90–200k km

Unregistered replacement batteryE9x chassis€30–€60

Random electrical faults, warning lights that come and go, a battery that dies again within a year. The car's power management must be told a new battery was fitted. Cheap replacements are routinely fitted without coding, which then overcharges or undercharges the new battery.

Check: Ask when the battery was changed and whether it was registered. A car with a new battery, no registration and a scatter of odd electrical faults usually just needs coding.

ElectricalcommonPartly detectableevidence: documented

Written once against the chassis and shown on every variant page below, so nothing here is repeated 16 times: M cars included, since the bodyshell and electronics are shared.

Buying summary

Our read on the chassis, built on the records above rather than added to them.

Best value: 330d. The M57 is the most durable engine in the range and the N57 is close behind: torque, 6 l/100 km on a run, and no failure mode that ends the car. Best long-term petrol: 330i N52, naturally aspirated, no high-pressure fuel system, no turbos. It leaks, but nothing on it's frightening; only sold to 2007, so the pool is small. Avoid: 320d N47. The rear timing chain fails and the engine-out repair costs €1,500–2,500 on a car worth €7,000. The trap: 335i N54. It's the cheap fast one, and it's cheap because the fuel system, turbos and cooling all cost real money. The N55 costs around €3,000 more and is meaningfully less trouble; that premium is roughly one N54 repair.

Cheapest and dearest in this chassis

The ends of the range by good-buy price. Useful for sanity-checking anything you're quoted.

Lowest entry price

320i N43 : from €3,800, risk 4

323i N52 : from €3,900, risk 2

320d N47 : from €4,250, risk 5

Lowest risk

323i N52 : risk 2, good buy at €4,650

325i N52 : risk 2, good buy at €5,450

328i N52 : risk 2, good buy at €5,950