Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 3 Series/ E92/ Compare

E92, compare every engine

All 16 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
320i N432007–2011170 PS210 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)7.5–9R416€2,500€3,800–€8,250€4,550Caution
323i N522006–2007177 PS230 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R217€2,500€3,900–€7,600€4,650Buy
320d N472007–2013177 PS350 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5–6.5R517€2,500€4,250–€8,750€5,050Avoid unless documented
325d M572006–2010197 PS400 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–7.5R217€2,500€5,050–€10,300€6,000Buy
325d N572010–2013204 PS430 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5.5–7R318€3,000€7,000–€12,800€8,300Buy
325i N522006–2007218 PS250 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11.5R217€2,500€4,600–€8,950€5,450Buy
325i N532007–2013218 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8.5–10.5R418€2,500€5,050–€10,800€6,050Buy with conditions
330d M572006–2008231 PS500 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6.5–8R217€2,500€5,750–€11,050€6,850Strong buy
328i N522006–2013234 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11.5R217€2,500€4,950–€10,550€5,950Strong buy
330d N572008–2013245 PS520 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–7.5R318€3,000€7,600–€15,550€9,000Strong buy
330i N522006–2007272 PS315 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9.5–12R217€2,500€5,400–€10,600€6,450Strong buy
330i N532007–2011272 PS315 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R418€2,500€5,750–€12,300€6,900Buy with conditions
335d M572006–2010286 PS580 Nmdiesel6-sp automatic (ZF)7–9R316€2,500€6,650–€13,800€7,950Buy with conditions
335i N542006–2010306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)10–13R419€3,500€7,250–€14,800€8,450Buy with conditions
335i N552010–2013306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF), 7-sp DCT9.5–12.5R318€4,500€11,550–€19,800€13,450Buy
M3 S652007–2013420 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 7-sp DCT14–18R414€4,500€30,000–€59,950€35,000Buy with conditions

Issue overlap by engine. The row that decides it

IssueCostN43N52N47M57N57N53N54N55S65
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········●
"Lifetime" fluid neglect€400–€2,500●●●●●●●●·
Rear timing chain failurewalk away€1,500–€2,500··●······
DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€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·····●···
Cold-start lifter tick and VANOS rattle€150–€900·●·······
Swirl flap wear and ingestion€400–€900··●●●····
Electric water pump and thermostat failure€500–€800·●···●●●·
Carbon buildup on intake valves€400–€700●····●●●·
Valve cover and PCV failure€400–€700·······●·
NOx sensor failure€300–€600●····●···
Mechatronic sleeve and pan gasket leak€250–€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.