[LSoto_22]

I've been a long time visitor to the forum and have gained alot of great knowledge from everyone here. I'm considering buying a 2007 E90 with 117k miles on it. They're asking $13k. One owner vehicle, all highway miles. The dealership it was purchased at has serviced it meticulously every 5k miles or so. HPFP was replaced in 2011, turbos in 2008. Everything else looks good and it looks like almost a new car. Being sold by the same dealership it was sold and serviced at...Is it worth it or should I look for something with less miles? Thanks for the input!

[themyst]

Find someone local with experience to confirm that the car has not been tuned in any way, shape or form. I would not want to buy a car that was previously tuned. I'd also ask a reputable body shop to check for frame damage or major body work.

Not all cars that were tuned are bad though. The motor is quite stout with relatively few instances of failure.

[Greatdane84]

Pretty nice it's 1 owner and sold by same dealership. Still sucks you aren't getting private party. I'd have a mechanic check it out. Also HPFP warranty expires at 120k miles, but hopefully it got a good one in 2011

[335gtl]

I find 335's to be high maintnance... anyways... in my case

[SCSRe92]

do it!!

personally i would try to nego the price a little but i got mine with similar history at 110k and got a 5yr 100k extended warranty and have never looked back, very glad i made that decision.

just make sure you thoroughly inspect it and bring a mechanic for a ride if necessary, pay attention to any sputtering or misfiring as sometimes bmws can be prone to things like this and deteriorate with time and take a good look for leaks and listen for vacuum leaks. If it looks nice, it runs nice and the price is nice make it yours!

[JStang]

Are you mechanically inclined at all? If not, keep in mind that repairs on these cars are usually not cheap but if you can work on your car yourself I would do it in a heart beat.

[GoRomeo]

Any pictures?

[daemonicus]

Originally Posted by themyst

Find someone local with experience to confirm that the car has not been tuned in any way, shape or form.

and with a BT cable and the tune taken out, how would this "experienced" person visually know the car was tuned?

I would not want to buy a car that was previously tuned. Not all cars that were tuned are bad though.

this is great advice...and what differentiates a "bad" tuned car from a "good" tuned car?

the reality is, nobody here can know or tell you what kind of car you're buying. the only thing even a mechanic can tell you is what they visually see.

how can they tell you if the car was run at high boost? and even if they could, with 117k miles on it, how many times did the owner go into boost? i know cars with half that mileage that are beat harder than some with twice their mileage. can they take an x-ray of the motor and tell you if the rings are getting close to end of life? you think they'll take the intake manifold off to look at all the carbon buildup to see if the owner cleaned the valves? you think they'll take the intakes off to see if the turbo compressor wheels have shaft play?

i have a friend, and i can only assume most of the cars for sale on here are the same way, that beat the hell out of his car and then returned it to stock. kept the exterior and interior cleaned, put the stock exhaust/downpipes back on, stock airbox, stock IC, and removed the tune and codes with a BT. if i didn't know him and i went to look at the car, it would seem completely stock to me. does that mean it really was?

come on guys, any car with 117k miles on it is going to have or potentially have problems. dont try to steer this guy wrong.

[Flava]

Originally Posted by JStang

Are you mechanically inclined at all? If not, keep in mind that repairs on these cars are usually not cheap but if you can work on your car yourself I would do it in a heart beat.

This. Gotta pay to play.

[CT335xi]

Have the car looked over by a mechnic that knows these cars, have a compression test done on the engine. If everything looks good I would say buy it for $13000, that seems like a very good price.

[ihc95]

Make sure you are financially able to pay for unexpected repairs. Ask me how I know. Turbos, water pump, valve cover gasket could all go unexpectedly and each repair is over $1k. Its all about being lucky with these cars but at the end of the day, it's worth it. Such an amazing car to drive. Good luck. $13k seems like a reasonable price to me.

[saxon]

never buy a X35i out of warranty

[wtfmateim65]

need to check some common maintenance parts on these cars: oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, make sure it has sport oil cooler, sometimes oil pan gasket, front control arm bushings go bad around 70k, make sure water pump has been replaced with newer version (always fails 60-100k miles), check all silicon and vaccuum lines, some report that these crack and leak over time. Otherwise you could probably pull at least another 100k out of it.


edit: ihc95 water pump is around 475 + labor...you should never have paid over 1k

[kautiongsr]

Originally Posted by wtfmateim65

need to check some common maintenance parts on these cars: oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, make sure it has sport oil cooler, sometimes oil pan gasket, front control arm bushings go bad around 70k, make sure water pump has been replaced with newer version (always fails 60-100k miles), check all silicon and vaccuum lines, some report that these crack and leak over time. Otherwise you could probably pull at least another 100k out of it.


edit: ihc95 water pump is around 475 + labor...you should never have paid over 1k

yup those are common problems.. if all checks out.. your good to go

[ihc95]

Originally Posted by wtfmateim65

need to check some common maintenance parts on these cars: oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, make sure it has sport oil cooler, sometimes oil pan gasket, front control arm bushings go bad around 70k, make sure water pump has been replaced with newer version (always fails 60-100k miles), check all silicon and vaccuum lines, some report that these crack and leak over time. Otherwise you could probably pull at least another 100k out of it.


edit: ihc95 water pump is around 475 + labor...you should never have paid over 1k

Water pump and thermostat done at the dealer is easily over $1k. And some people are daft enough to let the dealer fix it.

And btw my water pump never went out *knock on wood.* I was just stating things that could go wrong.

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by saxon

never buy a X35i out of warranty

Nice blanket statement. But that's like....your opinion, man.

[Wedge1967]

IMOP, I can't wait for X35i's to drop below 10k so I can buy another one for a track day car even if it's out of warranty. OP, if it runs good, buy it. Try to get the dealer to knock a few K off the prices. The more you get them down, the more you have for MODS..

[wtfmateim65]

Word, I feel sorry for people who actually pay for that kind of stuff at the dealer...mine hasn't died yet either fingers crossed! Getting thermostat codes tho so I think that is going, forgot to mention to OP water pump and thermostat go hand in hand and that 475 is for both, Find a good indy or DIY and drive the car till its death!

Originally Posted by ihc95

Water pump and thermostat done at the dealer is easily over $1k. And some people are daft enough to let the dealer fix it.

And btw my water pump never went out *knock on wood.* I was just stating things that could go wrong.

[saxon]

Originally Posted by stashtrey

Nice blanket statement. But that's like....your opinion, man.

Chances are that he is at his budget limit to get into the car and that's why he is looking at a car with that high of mileage, do you think he can afford a thousand dollar repair if he is trying to get a $200 car note

[BMWM.D.]

I personally would never buy one with that kind of mileage, but that is a fantastic price if it's in good condition. The cheapest 335i's I see listed (non-salvage title) are going for ~$16k. Those saying you need to "negotiate" the price need a little bit of a reality check.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

The car may be mechanically sound and in good condition. However, with that mileage expect to replace and do some maintenance that comes with a high mileage vehicle.

Suspension bushings, lowering control arm bushings and other rubber materials may be getting old at this time.

Oil filter gasket, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket and other things like water pump and anything in between may need replacement at any time in the near future too.

For a few grand more you may find it's in your interest to seek out a vehicle with about half that mileage.

[bigdaddycane]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

For a few grand more you may find it's in your interest to seek out a vehicle with about half that mileage.

This ^