E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

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hap
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E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by hap » Thu Jun 17, 2021 10:10 pm

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zedwheels
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by zedwheels » Thu Jul 01, 2021 4:21 pm

Can I ask for any advice about this car please i do like a convertible. Are they an expensive car to maintain and run? Does it compare to my existing D3 2ltr that I also like very much in this Santorini Blue???

kaiser01
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by kaiser01 » Thu Jul 01, 2021 9:09 pm

Hi, I owned a similar one, number 223 basically the same car in black for 7yrs. I sold it last year and bought a Z4 M.

It was pretty reasonable to run, services were £250-£450 depending on what needed to be done. But you do have to change the ATF every other service which is about £400 on top. Brakes are 335i spec, so pretty cheap compared to what an M3 would cost.

As most of these are 10yrs+ the condition of the roof seals will be starting to deteriorate unless they have lived inside. This can get expensive, but effects 320s through to M3s equally.

They do between 20-25mpg, so will use close to double the fuel of a D3. However, they have double the power, which follows the laws of thermodynamics!

The performance is on another level to the four cylinder diesels. Most normal cars appear to go into reverse in your mirror when you open it up. I used it on the autobahn a few times and it was very impressive. Effortless up to 160mph which is great as finding long empty (derestricted) sections is getting really difficult. I got 180mph on the A8 on a Sunday morning, leaving an E36 B3 in my wake at about 120 onwards.

I think mine is still for sale at a dealer in Surrey.

zedwheels
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by zedwheels » Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:35 pm

Thank you Kaiser01 for your help and info, much appreciated. I'm thinking about taking a test drive next week but some of the posts on here say about some serious issues that the N54 engine can throw up between 60 to 80k mile mark?
I used to have the Alpina roadster and kept that for 7 years really liked that one and find myself yearning for another convertible.

How's the Zed 4 M are you liking that? And what garage has your old car?

Gunslinger1976
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by Gunslinger1976 » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:13 am

It’s with Hamptons of Surrey. Good car.

kaiser01
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by kaiser01 » Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:07 pm

Hi Zedwheels, my pleasure!

I think the advice on n54 failures is useful to know. Mostly it’s around the fuel injection, pumps and injectors. The nice thing with B3 S models is they were built 5yrs after the n54 went on sale, whilst the n55 was being put into 335is which suggests they should have the revised / better parts.

The K3 has different pistons which lower the compression (9.4:1 vs 10.2:1). The turbos are then run at higher boost. This is the better way to make more power in a forced induction setup, a properly engineered solution from Alpina. This makes them less susceptible to pre-ignition. They also have Middle Eastern spec cooling too. You have massive oil coolers in front of the wheels. They also use Alpina spec (Mitsubishi) turbos. Compression and a good cooling system are two ways to make reliable power with boost.

The third way is to run a rich fuel map as a higher fuel density cools the combustion chamber temps. All modern ECU controlled cars can do this. I have a theory that the regular n54s might run a richer mixture to control knock which contributes to the carbon build up, basically you are putting more carbon in relative to air. The ideal value is 14.7:1, known as stoichiometric ratio. If you use a rich mixture (say 10:1) there isn’t enough air to fully oxidise (burn) the fuel. If through the two other “knock” control methods above, you can run a higher AFR ratio on the K3 vs.the n54, you’ll get less carbon build up.

Of the n54 derivatives, the Alpina K3 is most likely the best of the bunch.

I ran mine exclusively on super unleaded for the 7yrs and 25k miles under my ownership. Higher octane fuels don’t provide more power, but are more resistant to pre-ignition which allows either more boost / cylinder temp at a given AFR (to make power) or higher AFR ratio at a fixed boost reference verses lower octane fuel.

Another point with properly maintained B3’s is the ATF service which is optional on normal 335i. The ZF 6HP is a pretty reliable box, assuming the fluid is kept in good condition. All n54s are powerful engines and will put a lot of heat into the fluid which degrades it and reduces it effectiveness over time. With a B3 they should have fluid that is 20-30k old at worst, whereas 335i could be running the same fluid at 80-100k.

The only thing I didn’t like on my B3 was the lack of an LSD. Instead, the stability program would use the rear brakes to emulate the torque biasing. The rear wheels would be covered in brake dust and the pads wore a lot more than other cars I’ve had.

I thought about a Roadster S, but the steering put me off. I had a 3.0 Z4 about 15 years ago and hated the EPS. It’s a shame Alpina didn’t swap to the M3 rack as that would have made it perfect!

I’m loving the Z4 M, it is such an analogue thing. It’s still flawed compared to a Boxster, but that’s where it’s charm lies. It’s a bit tricky / spikey but rewarding. Quite brave car from BMW as you have to spend time learning it to appreciate it. On a short test drive you’d think it’s a bit rubbish. They are also quite quiet on standard exhausts and induction kits so you don’t get the immediate wow factor. But after some time you hear and feel the wonderful noise of the S54. It plays different tunes at different speeds, loads and throttle positions. It takes time to learn this instrument!

Bob
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by Bob » Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:10 pm

zedwheels wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:35 pm
And what garage has your old car?
Here's the link:
B3 S BITURBO CABRIO [E93 LCI] #223; 475 - Black Sapphire/LCSW - Black Dakota Leather; 2011_11; £25.0k; 38k; Trade
B3 3.2 TOURING #062

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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by Bob » Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:18 pm

B3 S BITURBO CABRIO [E93 LCI] #242; A52 - Space Grey/LCSW - Black Dakota Leather; 2010_60; £24.0k; 56k; Trade
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3-048-1_B3_S_BITURBO_CABRIO_[E93_LCI]_#242_04b.jpg
3-048-1_B3_S_BITURBO_CABRIO_[E93_LCI]_#242_04b.jpg (719.82 KiB) Viewed 1168 times
Last edited by Bob on Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
B3 3.2 TOURING #062

zedwheels
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by zedwheels » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:28 pm

kaiser01 wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:07 pm
Hi Zedwheels, my pleasure!

I thought about a Roadster S, but the steering put me off. I had a 3.0 Z4 about 15 years ago and hated the EPS. It’s a shame Alpina didn’t swap to the M3 rack as that would have made it perfect!

I’m loving the Z4 M, it is such an analogue thing. It’s still flawed compared to a Boxster, but that’s where it’s charm lies. It’s a bit tricky / spikey but rewarding. Quite brave car from BMW as you have to spend time learning it to appreciate it. On a short test drive you’d think it’s a bit rubbish. They are also quite quiet on standard exhausts and induction kits so you don’t get the immediate wow factor. But after some time you hear and feel the wonderful noise of the S54. It plays different tunes at different speeds, loads and throttle positions. It takes time to learn this instrument!

Well your knowledge of how things work is all above my scope of things mechanical :) All I know is I put fuel in one end and oil in the other when it's needed. That's the issue really if anything goes wrong I have to use a garage, can't do it myself and then I'm paying through the nose.

Good that your enjoying the Zed 4M bet its much more of a demanding drive.

I just checked the website for your old Alpina and it must have sold because it's not showing now.

zedwheels
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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by zedwheels » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:35 pm

CaesarBob wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:10 pm
zedwheels wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:35 pm
And what garage has your old car?
Here's the link:
B3 S BITURBO CABRIO [E93 LCI] #223; 475 - Black Sapphire/LCSW - Black Dakota Leather; 2011_11; £25.0k; 38k; Trade
Seems they must have sold the black one its not showing on their web page now?
That space grey one is the car I was going to test drive on the weekend but have called it off now after reading the posts on here that was suggested a buyer should put aside 10K to cover the problems that will inevitably happen, that frightened me off :shock:
Don't think it was owned by anyone off the forum? but looks a nice example. I'm still thinking about it :roll:

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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by Bob » Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:33 pm

zedwheels wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:35 pm
CaesarBob wrote:
Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:10 pm
Here's the link:
B3 S BITURBO CABRIO [E93 LCI] #223; 475 - Black Sapphire/LCSW - Black Dakota Leather; 2011_11; £25.0k; 38k; Trade
Seems they must have sold the black one its not showing on their web page now?
That's literally gone in the last few hours, I checked the link still worked when I posted it! :o
B3 3.2 TOURING #062

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Re: E93 B3s cab space grey #242 56k £23995

Post by kaiser01 » Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:51 pm

That’s a shame, this dealer has had it for 6 months! But there should be someone out there enjoying it now.

Having a budget set aside for any older car is a wise move. Sure, it could throw up a £10k bill or series of bills. However, you’d be quite unlucky to have that much failure. It’s possible, but not probable if the history and provenience are good.

There are so few E9x B3 out there, that most are known to this group (and owned by many on here) that you can get a pretty decent first hand view. Most are unlikely to have been modified and will have been cared for by enthusiasts.

Used cars come with risk, but also reward. These were £60k+ when new, but you can get something with plenty of life left for 1/3 of the original price. There is also very little depreciation as well. I paid £33k in 2014 when it was 3yrs old with 14k and it’s market value is in the low to mid 20’s now. In it’s first 3yrs (under manufacturers warranty) it lost almost as much per month as it did per year when I had it. Realistically, buying new is the only way to fully mitigate the financial risk of failure, but in this specific example that comfort cost someone £30k!

The eternal advise, buy on condition, history and provenance. Don’t overstretch yourself, leave a bit in reserve. Buying from a good dealer will mitigate your risk for at least the first 6 months.

How do you know if it’s a good dealer? Check the reviews, forums and a background check.

If you go to companies house, you can pull the financial data on any UK business. Look at how long they have been in business, look for multiple changes of name and appointments and resignations of directors. Then look at the accounts, a small trader will have total exemption fillings which only show the net assets, a larger one will have full accounts detailing profit and loss. If the business has a decent level of assets and stable trading history, you are in a decent position. Your consumer rights are pretty strong for the first 6 months, a decent business will fix the issue, rather than go to court and get a judgment served against them.

A company can “fail” and it it’s a limited firm, you probably won’t get anything. But with good / well established business, you wouldn’t metaphorically ram it into the rocks to avoid paying £3k to fix an after sales issue. You’d also want to avoid CCJs as this can effect your ability to borrow money and the credit facilities at the auction houses. Traders with 20-30 nice cars will have their inventory on some form of working cash credit facility.

These basic checks will help. Think about yourself as a short term investor in their business, you pay a price for a tangible asset (the car) and an intangible asset called goodwill (min of 6 months of consumer protection). The checks will determine if the company has the means (and position) to honour that goodwill.

You can also see a history of the directors as well. If they have a huge number of links to other firms with in the motor trade that have failed or been liquidated, approach with caution.

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