[mob17]

The whole BMW brand is going in the wrong direction. I think we can all admit that. For eg electronically assisted steering, so far that is pants and is the main reason thats putting me off the newer cars. Maybe they will improve it.

Plus the BMW maintenance/service schedules are bullshit, the cars need better maintenance from day one.

[mob17]

Yoxall you don't have to end every sentance with an explanation mark, kinda makes your post annoying to read

[Yoxall]

Mob17 your spot on ! If I had 25k to buy a second hand 335d, 330d f30 series ! I would rather spent 10-15 on a spot on late e90 series and keep the change for repairs mods etc They look cheaper and plastic in a way ! Even more complex which ain't a good thing ! I really think Bmw got there act together after problems with the e46!

The e90 is still not perfect I've got the servatronic steering in my 335d can't believe they have gone electric ! It's taking a step back not forward !

[Yoxall]

You being serious? It's kind of annoying? Sorry my dyslexia afends you. It's a post on a forum not an important formal letter which I need to spell check and use proper grammar.

Come on!

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by LM

Why do you bring up the age of the car? people had to get their hpfp's replaced as early as 500 miles 1-2 months. It's a problematic car end of.

I've said it before and I'm saying it again, I'm blaming myself because I knew the common problems and still went for it. Just a shame such a beautiful car with good specs turned out to be a so unreliable. It has nothing to do with the performance. Audi s3, golf r, audi tts, audi s5 all performance cars but the common problems are stuff like window regulators, sagging seats and maybe coil packs. Nothing nearly as pricey or hard to fix as with this.

How many Golf Rs have gone bang, suffered turbo failure or had haldex failures? Quite a lot according to the internet. I've seen a few first hand too.

You need to get to the bottom of your fault before you make a big song and dance about it.

The forum is here for helping people and is generally very good at doing so. However coming in with your attitude isn't going to get you the responses and help you want. Join any forum with the same opening post and manner and they'd all be on your back in seconds.

I'm still deciding if you're serious or on the wind up.

Anyway, best of luck with the car. You'd be better getting someone who knows what they are doing to have a look.

It strongly sounds as if the previous owner sold the car as it was giving him issues. A proper test drive or inspection would have caught the issues before purchase.



I had my 335i for 5 years and really enjoyed it. I didn't have much to worry about either.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by Yoxall

You being serious? It's kind of annoying? Sorry my dyslexia afends you. It's a post on a forum not an important formal letter which I need to spell check and use proper grammar.

Come on!

How does having dyslexia stop you from using full stops? Genuine question and sorry if im wrong, but i thought spelling/grammar was affected, not the repetitive use of explanation marks.

[Will maddox]

This escalated quick

[dest]

I owned 5 high performance Audi's before my 330d and they cost a LOT more to maintain, let alone anything going wrong, which it did.
Turbo Oil seal on a B5 RS4? Cost me nearly a grand at mates rates.
It makes no difference what make or model you buy, they all go wrong at some point.
When you've owned other makes OP, did you have a strop and post threads like this on other forums?

Just because you got a 9 year old performance car cheap it doesn't mean it's cheap to maintain.

[Yoxall]

It hit a nerve. It's affected me all my life. from school to work. I've always been ashamed of my spelling and grammar. Dyslexia has really affected my confidence when it comes to writing etc. Never thought on a forum someone would have a problem with it and comment about it.

I will take more care in writing my posts in future.

As said earlier if you want a realible performance car buy a honda type r.

there is something about BMW's that has got me.

I've learned over the last 2 years what to look out for and have used this knowledge buying a 335d e91 that has had 80% of the common faults changed/fixed.

Be the same buying a 335i I would look very carefully at the history has it had the recall work done, has the injectors been changed. I would not buy 1 unless most if not all had been done espically 9 years old.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by Yoxall

It hit a nerve. It's affected me all my life. from school to work. I've always been ashamed of my spelling and grammar. Dyslexia has really affected my confidence when it comes to writing etc. Never thought on a forum someone would have a problem with it and comment about it.

I will take more care in writing my posts in future.

As said earlier if you want a realible performance car buy a honda type r.

there is something about BMW's that has got me.

I've learned over the last 2 years what to look out for and have used this knowledge buying a 335d e91 that has had 80% of the common faults changed/fixed.

Be the same buying a 335i I would look very carefully at the history has it had the recall work done, has the injectors been changed. I would not buy 1 unless most if not all had been done espically 9 years old.

Hey don't get the wrong idea, i wasn't complaining about your spelling/grammar, yours seems better than most on here. It was just using the explanation marks on every sentence, made you sound like you were shouting all the time lol.

In regards to the topic in question, best thing to do is get a low mileage car and maintain it yourself properly after researching the problems and finding out what good preventative maintenance can be done.

[dest]

Low mileage means nothing, if anything it can often mean it's going to be due parts in the near future that a higher mileage one has already had done.
Service history means very little, just because Mr smith paid through the nose 9 years ago for an oil change at a dealer and got a stamp, so what?
Number of owners means nothing, it's a number on a bit of paper.

Always buy on current condition, do your home work and look for common faults on the model you're looking at. Never buy the first one you view. Never let your heart rule your head.
Buyer beware

[Ao1]

Originally Posted by Yoxall

It hit a nerve. It's affected me all my life. from school to work. I've always been ashamed of my spelling and grammar. Dyslexia has really affected my confidence when it comes to writing etc.

I always go by content not spelling and grammar, regardless if it is a forum post or a letter. I would be more ashamed of myself on the content of some of the posts in this thread than spelling mistakes

OP, you will find (with the right attitude) that there are a lot of good people on this forum that will help you with problems. You have assumed the problem is a massive issue without first finding out what the problem is. As others have stated chances are this car is a lemon and someone wiped the fault codes prior to selling it. Find out the problem and take it back to whoever sold it to you and get them to sort it out.

You are coming across as someone who knowingly rolled the dice on a 9-year-old car and assumed the worst at the first sign that your gamble did not pay off. Despite knowing the problems associated with the car you decided to make a purchase without properly checking the car out. You then started to accuse people of being fan boys because they had no sympathy for you.

There is no doubt BMW’s are expensive to maintain and I agree they should be more reliable. They are refined driving machines, but regretfully they suffer more than their fair share of failures. With that knowledge you have to decide if the car is worth it.

I raised car age as I will only buy newer BMW's covered under a BMW warranty. That way I don't end up with large maintenance bills.

[The0pportunist]

I personally think all cars are designed to go wrong from time to time. Really no incentive for their cars to exceed 100k if they want a steady stream of people buying new cars.

If cars were truly bullet proof id still be in my e36

[_Ascension_]

I hate the word "fanboy", it's up there with "hater" as a totally pointless word, usually used to deflect comments made against a weak argument.

I bought my 335i knowing about all the potential issues having done my research and bought one with an extended BMW warranty which I took over. When I had to have both turbos replaced, paid £100 excess to have it sorted.

You can't really moan about reliability issues in the same sentence as writing that you were aware of them and hoped they might not happen to you, lol.

But hey, what do I know, I'm just a fanboy, right?

[Yoxall]

It's true espicially with BMW's I bought mine knowing it had been looked after by 2 different independent specialists after the first main dealer service. Regular oil changes all less than 15k plus filters all done every time never seen that before with bmw's I've seen.

When I've seen bills from indy's and main dealer's more is normally on the indi receipt. Ie actually oil filter pollen air filter. Instead of just 1 or 2 things.

I don't trust Bmw main dealers my Indy has told me some horror story's with things being ticked with nothing being changed.

Also when I've looked at previous cars service history some have got ticks in the book for a inspection only? Then there's the brake fluid change with no oil or filter change at same time why? Especially when you check it's actually due but then it gets done at 23,000 miles wtf! air filters not being changed for 60k absolute madness you really have to check carefully and see what has been done.

i always buy private my latest car the owner had spent a small fortune on it ! And got fed up with vac hoses going, then pressure converter dpf, swirls, glow plugs etc so bought knowing most have been dealt with. The car was only at 70k with above issues very low for a 9 year old 335d.

Also the extended oil changes with filters im sure cause a lot unnessery problems for second hand owners like ourselves at 50k plus !

That's how I see it anyway.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Ao1

There is no doubt BMW’s are expensive to maintain and I agree they should be more reliable. They are refined driving machines, but regretfully they suffer more than their fair share of failures. With that knowledge you have to decide if the car is worth it.

I raised car age as I will only buy newer BMW's covered under a BMW warranty. That way I don't end up with large maintenance bills.

+1

Same opinion, wasn't much different way back when I had my first E12 528. OK BMW were better than the average car back in the 1970 - 80s, but not without issues.

We must buy with eyes and wallet wide open, any other way is likely to disappoint.

I run with the extended warranty, once outside the original warranty. I view it as part of the day to day running costs. How we judge what is expensive to run, that is a different issue, for me the rewards of driving a BMW have additional value, warts and all.

[Chappers 71]

I've had my 335i for 4 years now, it had done 52k when I bought it with full BMW service history & it has now done 94k.
I have had it go into reduced power mode a few times.
55k 1st time cooper at Sevenoaks diagnosed a faulty hpfp, I had it replaced & on the way home the same fault occurred. I took it back & they then said it was the electric water pump. That was replaced & all was good, apart from the big hole in my wallet.
90k 2nd time, faulty coil. I replaced all six,didn't cost much & was a easy job. I would just put coils down to routine maintenance & they are made by Bosch, not BMW.
92k third time, Arden at Maidstone diagnosed loss of boost pressure. They replaced boost pressure pipe work & exhaust pressure converters, although they only did half a job & didn't replace the pipe work they thought I wouldn't see. They then told me that hadn't fixed it & i needed two new turbos. After getting the car back I had a look at it myself & discovered that it was just the clamps that connect the turbos to the charge air manifold that were the problem. I think they become weak due to repeated heat cycles. Replaced them & everything was fine & still is.
Imo most of the problems are due to being diagnosed incorrectly. The only real fault my car has had was the electric water pump.
My dad always used to say " if it's got tits or wheels its trouble"

[LM]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

I've had my 335i for 4 years now, it had done 52k when I bought it with full BMW service history & it has now done 94k.
I have had it go into reduced power mode a few times.
55k 1st time cooper at Sevenoaks diagnosed a faulty hpfp, I had it replaced & on the way home the same fault occurred. I took it back & they then said it was the electric water pump. That was replaced & all was good, apart from the big hole in my wallet.
90k 2nd time, faulty coil. I replaced all six,didn't cost much & was a easy job. I would just put coils down to routine maintenance & they are made by Bosch, not BMW.
92k third time, Arden at Maidstone diagnosed loss of boost pressure. They replaced boost pressure pipe work & exhaust pressure converters, although they only did half a job & didn't replace the pipe work they thought I wouldn't see. They then told me that hadn't fixed it & i needed two new turbos. After getting the car back I had a look at it myself & discovered that it was just the clamps that connect the turbos to the charge air manifold that were the problem. I think they become weak due to repeated heat cycles. Replaced them & everything was fine & still is.
Imo most of the problems are due to being diagnosed incorrectly. The only real fault my car has had was the electric water pump.
My dad always used to say " if it's got tits or wheels its trouble"

Isn't it funny that after 5 years they still couldn't find a permanent fix for the hpfp? Seriously when using a new manufacturers hpfp unit what do they do try it on one car for a mile and say ye seems legit lets go for it?

Did you have all these probs on the n54 or n55?

This is what I don't understand so many of you guys that disagree with me have had soo many problems with the car yourselves yet you still love it. Please explain the unconditional love you have for bmw.

[Yoxall]

Can't explain it.

I was a honda man before Bmw. Very good cars very reliable but did not feel special.

I always wanted to own a rear wheel drive car. Not many manufactors make them. I'd loved the design and look of the 330d e46 so took the plunge and bought 1.

Looking back it was a mistake. The money I had I should of bought a e90 330d as said in earlier post it was a money pit. But it was a great car when it was running right and it started my journey of falling in love with Bmw.

Really I should of bought a Honda Accord icdti after over 5k in maintence in 1 year of ownership! But no I bought a 330d e90 which was a much better car and had a tiny fraction of the problems the e46 had!

I've learnt so much by the forums, getting 2 fantastic Indy's who are actual friends who I trust and who know what they are doing!

It's a passion for me 100% my gf thinks I'm insane the money I spend on my car.

[AWSAWS]

All this for what is probably an old worn out £5 spark plug...

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by AWSAWS

All this for what is probably an old worn out £5 spark plug...

Yep

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by LM

Isn't it funny that after 5 years they still couldn't find a permanent fix for the hpfp? Seriously when using a new manufacturers hpfp unit what do they do try it on one car for a mile and say ye seems legit lets go for it?

Did you have all these probs on the n54 or n55?

This is what I don't understand so many of you guys that disagree with me have had soo many problems with the car yourselves yet you still love it. Please explain the unconditional love you have for bmw.

I didn't have a fault with the hpfp, it was the electric water pump . I also had to have a water pump on my 328, that was around 50000 miles as well. I had the 328 for 11 years 130k & no issues with that, just routine maintenance.
I don't agree that bmws are any more unrealible than anything else. My mk2 Jetta GTI 16v ate its own gearbox. None of my bmw have done that.