Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 3 Series/ E93/ Compare

E93, compare every engine

All 11 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)7.5–9R418€2,500€3,700–€8,050€4,450Caution
320d N472007–2013177 PS350 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5–6.5R519€2,500€4,150–€8,550€4,950Avoid unless documented
325i N522007218 PS250 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11.5R219€2,500€4,500–€8,750€5,350Buy
325i N532007–2013218 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8.5–10.5R420€2,500€4,950–€10,500€5,900Buy with conditions
330d M572007–2008231 PS500 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6.5–8R219€2,500€5,600–€10,750€6,700Strong buy
328i N522007–2013234 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11.5R219€2,500€4,800–€10,250€5,750Strong buy
330d N572008–2013245 PS520 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6–7.5R320€3,000€7,400–€15,150€8,750Strong buy
330i N532007–2011272 PS315 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9–11R420€2,500€5,600–€11,950€6,750Buy with conditions
335i N542007–2010306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)10–13R421€3,500€7,050–€14,400€8,250Buy with conditions
335i N552010–2013306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF), 7-sp DCT9.5–12.5R320€4,500€11,250–€19,300€13,100Buy
M3 S652007–2013420 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 7-sp DCT14–18R416€4,500€26,400–€52,750€30,800Buy with conditions

Issue overlap by engine. The row that decides it

IssueCostN43N47N52N53M57N57N54N55S65
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·●··●●···
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·······●·
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. 12 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.