Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

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KiranD3
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Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by KiranD3 » Thu Dec 08, 2022 12:02 am

Hey all, first post on this awesome forum, little back ground before we start, been luckily enough to have owned some great cars (couple of E46 M3’s Mk1 Golf GTI’s and currently a Porsche 997 Carrera) but I can seem to shift the idea of an D3 in my life.

I remember seeing one whilst on the A40 near Hanger Lane and even for those brief moments it below my mind, the search will start once the Porsche has gone, is there anything I should be looking out for when buying? Ideally want a black LCI sub 100k (either manual or Auto) any advice would great! Cheers all

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JohnW
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by JohnW » Thu Dec 08, 2022 6:47 pm

N47 engines have weak timing chains, prone to slipping or shredding, factor in a full chain kit replacement and new tensioners for preventative maintenance. The new kits have better oil journals so reportedly don’t have the issue. Also the recommended oil is 10w/60 for these, not 5w/30, expensive. Also check for clean oil, frequently changed oil, turbos whining. Rarer specified cars with the lux pack have the later and better cic iDrive with HDD.
JohnW
2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #161
Previous: 2011 D3 BiTurbo Saloon #373, 2014 F30 320iX M Saloon, 2009 M3 DCT Coupe, 2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #074, 2009 E82 123d Coupe, 2006 E92 325i Coupe, 2002 E46 325iSE Coupe, 1998 E36 318iSE Saloon

Wellsy
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by Wellsy » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:14 am

Hi morning,

The D3 Biturbo E90 is a great all rounder, I use mine everyday. It might of even been me you saw on the A40 as I used to travel up and down there to visit my family. Mine is black with gold decals and the dynamics No114.

As mentioned above there a few things to look out for but nothing out of the ordinary. The timing chain needs to be considered yes, but as long as the car has been serviced regularly and not BMW regularly as there service intervals are huge, but someone who has changed the oil yearly no matter what or around 8 to 10k miles. The reason chains snap is thick oil that blocks the oil feed to the chain, making it go dry and wearing out the guides which then causes the problem. Apparently you can hear a rattle on start up, more than a normal diesel rattle, it may only last a few seconds but should be quite apparent.
Apart from that check the Alpina specific things are in good order. Things like the wheels obviously, straight and not cracked, the front spoiler, it does sit lower and can bottom out on speed bumps and sloped driveways etc. Cracks and broken spoilers would be expensive to repair. D3/s come fair basic trim level, they all do, there are only a few with the full CIC dash and leather trim.
The suspension is SE Dampers and M Sport springs. So sits nice, but not as crashy. The nice thing about the N47 is its just before anything mechanically needs to be coded to the car. A while ago my water pump let go and a garage near me took it in and they said it would be been double the price if the car was a bit newer and needed coding. So from that point of view they are pretty straight forward to maintain.
Just remember, everything Mechanical on the D3 Biturbo is a BMW part. Its not all from the same car, its a mix match of all the best parts you can fit to a E9x platform. Brakes are 330D, Gearbox is 330D, engine 123D from E82 1 Series.
when you get one there is a catalog of the parts that are different from the base car, its available to down load in the main part of this website.
Just watch out for Alpina roundals, you will get comments from people saying take them off. They were never fitted from factory and mostly e-bay specials so not great quality.
Its got 214bhp and 450nm available from 1500rpm, so not the quickest car on the road and many normal new cars will be faster, but its quick enough to surprise a lot of people and will still do 40mpg average and well over 50mpg on a good run. What's not to like.
If your anywhere near the High Wycombe area and want someone to come have a look at an example with you, just give me a shout would be more than happy. Watch the guys face drop when you pull up in the same car and know what to look for.

Let us know how you get on, Mark.
E90 D3 Biturbo 2009 No114
Black with Gold Decals
Piano black interior trim (looking for trim with Gold inlay, watch this space :P )
Upgraded Stereo system

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JohnW
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by JohnW » Mon Dec 12, 2022 10:28 pm

They are quite easily mapped to 250-260bhp without much more risk, I had my 123d tweaked to around 250 and it just pulled and pulled like nothing else right up to the higher rev band.
Also they do return good economy on motorway journeys. I travelled from Bolton to Bideford, fully loaded up on holiday and it averaged 50mpg.
JohnW
2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #161
Previous: 2011 D3 BiTurbo Saloon #373, 2014 F30 320iX M Saloon, 2009 M3 DCT Coupe, 2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #074, 2009 E82 123d Coupe, 2006 E92 325i Coupe, 2002 E46 325iSE Coupe, 1998 E36 318iSE Saloon

KiranD3
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by KiranD3 » Tue Dec 20, 2022 2:35 pm

JohnW wrote:
Thu Dec 08, 2022 6:47 pm
N47 engines have weak timing chains, prone to slipping or shredding, factor in a full chain kit replacement and new tensioners for preventative maintenance. The new kits have better oil journals so reportedly don’t have the issue. Also the recommended oil is 10w/60 for these, not 5w/30, expensive. Also check for clean oil, frequently changed oil, turbos whining. Rarer specified cars with the lux pack have the later and better cic iDrive with HDD.
Think I will hold of for lux car, be great to have a few extra bits, just to confirm was the non LCI a single turbo unit?

KiranD3
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by KiranD3 » Tue Dec 20, 2022 2:41 pm

Wellsy wrote:
Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:14 am
Hi morning,

The D3 Biturbo E90 is a great all rounder, I use mine everyday. It might of even been me you saw on the A40 as I used to travel up and down there to visit my family. Mine is black with gold decals and the dynamics No114.

As mentioned above there a few things to look out for but nothing out of the ordinary. The timing chain needs to be considered yes, but as long as the car has been serviced regularly and not BMW regularly as there service intervals are huge, but someone who has changed the oil yearly no matter what or around 8 to 10k miles. The reason chains snap is thick oil that blocks the oil feed to the chain, making it go dry and wearing out the guides which then causes the problem. Apparently you can hear a rattle on start up, more than a normal diesel rattle, it may only last a few seconds but should be quite apparent.
Apart from that check the Alpina specific things are in good order. Things like the wheels obviously, straight and not cracked, the front spoiler, it does sit lower and can bottom out on speed bumps and sloped driveways etc. Cracks and broken spoilers would be expensive to repair. D3/s come fair basic trim level, they all do, there are only a few with the full CIC dash and leather trim.
The suspension is SE Dampers and M Sport springs. So sits nice, but not as crashy. The nice thing about the N47 is its just before anything mechanically needs to be coded to the car. A while ago my water pump let go and a garage near me took it in and they said it would be been double the price if the car was a bit newer and needed coding. So from that point of view they are pretty straight forward to maintain.
Just remember, everything Mechanical on the D3 Biturbo is a BMW part. Its not all from the same car, its a mix match of all the best parts you can fit to a E9x platform. Brakes are 330D, Gearbox is 330D, engine 123D from E82 1 Series.
when you get one there is a catalog of the parts that are different from the base car, its available to down load in the main part of this website.
Just watch out for Alpina roundals, you will get comments from people saying take them off. They were never fitted from factory and mostly e-bay specials so not great quality.
Its got 214bhp and 450nm available from 1500rpm, so not the quickest car on the road and many normal new cars will be faster, but its quick enough to surprise a lot of people and will still do 40mpg average and well over 50mpg on a good run. What's not to like.
If your anywhere near the High Wycombe area and want someone to come have a look at an example with you, just give me a shout would be more than happy. Watch the guys face drop when you pull up in the same car and know what to look for.

Let us know how you get on, Mark.
Cheers for the reply Mark! i'm actually not too far from you (I live in Aylesbury) think I may have spoken to you before, did you attend the Car Audio Security meeting at the start of the year? I came down in my E46 M3 Estoril blue coupe. I've been seeing on fb posts that LCI cars are not ULEZ compliant, are you aware of this? its not a huge deal for me being in Bucks, but would be nice to visit family and friends down London when I do get a D3, do you know if the early cars came in any other trim levels. Haha might have to call you up on the offer when i do go see one!

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JohnW
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by JohnW » Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:32 pm

The pre LCI D3 was the single Garrett turbo M47 engine model, and not the N47 engine. Back to back it’s not as powerful but an easier unit to maintain with higher mileage, it’s a tuned 320d engine, the LCI D3 is the N47 twin turbo from the 123d, these are BorgWarner turbos, more tuning potential, not the same series engines.

More discussion here:
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=14425

You can always retrofit an Android unit into a non-CIC dash (even a CIC dash as I have in mine, with an inexpensive reversing camera too) and have CarPlay etc.
Last edited by JohnW on Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
JohnW
2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #161
Previous: 2011 D3 BiTurbo Saloon #373, 2014 F30 320iX M Saloon, 2009 M3 DCT Coupe, 2008 B3 BiTurbo Coupe #074, 2009 E82 123d Coupe, 2006 E92 325i Coupe, 2002 E46 325iSE Coupe, 1998 E36 318iSE Saloon

ali
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by ali » Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:45 pm

JohnW wrote:
Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:32 pm
the LCI D3 is the N47 twin turbo from the 123d,

Ahem, BMW pinched if from Alpina for the 123d Not the other way round
B3 3.3 Coupe #090
D3 2.0 Biturbo Touring #098

ali
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by ali » Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:49 pm

ali wrote:
Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:45 pm
JohnW wrote:
Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:32 pm
the LCI D3 is the N47 twin turbo from the 123d,

Ahem, BMW pinched it from Alpina for the 123d Not the other way round
B3 3.3 Coupe #090
D3 2.0 Biturbo Touring #098

Wellsy
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by Wellsy » Wed Dec 21, 2022 2:30 pm

Cheers for the reply Mark! i'm actually not too far from you (I live in Aylesbury) think I may have spoken to you before, did you attend the Car Audio Security meeting at the start of the year? I came down in my E46 M3 Estoril blue coupe. I've been seeing on fb posts that LCI cars are not ULEZ compliant, are you aware of this? its not a huge deal for me being in Bucks, but would be nice to visit family and friends down London when I do get a D3, do you know if the early cars came in any other trim levels. Haha might have to call you up on the offer when i do go see one!
[/quote]

Yes I did attend the CAS meet, I grew up in Hayes so was a nice trip down memory lane. I'm in Risborough so only 15mins away. There is a mix on the ULE piece, my car for example is compliant for London but your right I have seen cars same age and model as mine that are not. So if you have the Registration of the car your looking at check it on the GOV website.
I use DMWorx and Swift Motorsport now to maintain my car as local near Stokemandeville Hospital.
Yes happy to help if you want me to join on a viewing, I'm not expert by any means, but I should be able to spot any obvious things on the car and having mine next to it would be good reference. I'll drop you a DM with my number.
E90 D3 Biturbo 2009 No114
Black with Gold Decals
Piano black interior trim (looking for trim with Gold inlay, watch this space :P )
Upgraded Stereo system

KiranD3
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Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2022 10:47 am

Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by KiranD3 » Wed Dec 21, 2022 6:00 pm

Small world, I grew up in Hayes too (Uxbridge road, near the Beck) where abouts were you? yeah know Risborough usually do Kop Hill with my father in law in the summer, so just to be confirmed yours is compliment AND LCI?, I've heard good things about DMWorks, recommend? how long have you had yours now?

Wellsy
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Re: Looking to purchase an E90 LCI D3

Post by Wellsy » Tue Jan 24, 2023 10:56 am

KiranD3 wrote:
Wed Dec 21, 2022 6:00 pm
Small world, I grew up in Hayes too (Uxbridge road, near the Beck) where abouts were you? yeah know Risborough usually do Kop Hill with my father in law in the summer, so just to be confirmed yours is compliment AND LCI?, I've heard good things about DMWorks, recommend? how long have you had yours now?
Hi KiranD3, apologies only just seen your reply. I grew up on the Bourne Ave estate near Harlington School spent many evenings in he Music Box or Contis in Uxbridge. I've been going to Kop Hill for last 11 years its great as we can walk up there.
Mine #114 is 2009 and for London yes it is ULEZ compliant, but I have noticed for Birmingham it is not. To be honest it doesn't bother me as I have no reason to drive into London or Birmingham.
I bought my car at the end of 2018 - its been a bit of a journey as I bought it cheap and had a list of things I wanted/needed to do. When I bought it I had to replace all the brakes, all four tires and all wheels refurbished. After a few months of ownership I decided I wanted to replace the gray decals with Gold and at the same time have the whole car detailed and paint corrected. Then new Gold Decals fitted by Simon "Spa69" then whole car ceramic coated. Since then its really just been maintenance, water pump went, coolant tank split, then had an issue with the DDE (ECU) so needed reprogramming. Other then that though its just been routine maintenance and now I've found DMWorx that's being taken care of nicely. Mines also going into Swift in a few weeks for a suspension upgrade as I have a leaking Damper and a control arm on the way out. So having a Bilstein B12 kit fitted with poly bushed control arms full alignment then a new set of tires.
E90 D3 Biturbo 2009 No114
Black with Gold Decals
Piano black interior trim (looking for trim with Gold inlay, watch this space :P )
Upgraded Stereo system

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