[toxicnerve]

Hi guys,

As some of you already know I really want to buy an E92. I'm really keen on the 335d and clearly it's a great car but there are a couple of issues that keep coming up and are making me think twice.

1. Cracked alloys:

This, IMO, is a serious problem because as it stands there is no consistency from the supposedly non-existent BMW Group UK and the various dealer franchises. What would you guys suggest? Are any dealers offering assurances for this issue on AUC cars?

2. Excessive and uneven wear on the rear tyres:

Is this simply a characteristic of the E92 coupe or is there an issue here? Carlos, I know it's related to the "massive negative camber our cars run" but I just want to make sure there is not more to it...

3. (VERY) Pre-mature DSC failures:

A number of people here and on various other forums have reported this issue. In most cases there has been 100% goodwill offered on parts but not on labour (which is not cheap!!). Again, there's some consistency here but not 100%. Again, are dealers offering assurances for this issue on AUC cars?


4. Various other smaller issues:

I keep hearing people moaning about smaller niggles, washer bottle lines becoming clogged, headlight washer units failing to eject/retract properly etc. These are all minor issues I guess but could end up costing quite a bit to repair. Has the build quality gone down hill on BMWs? I've heard a few people comment that their E46 era cars were much better built than these newer models.

5. Franchise dealers & general customer service:

Many, many people complain of poor customer service from the various franchise dealers (with a few exceptions). If I am going to spend a large chunk of change on a BMW then surely I should be expecting decent customer service without having to escalate issues or kick up a fuss/embarassing a dealer into action?

The above issues I know could be experienced with any marque but it's still something to consider when making a large purchase. Am I worrying about nothing or is there some legitimacy to my concerns? Any opinions welcome.

[Dr Dave]

It's very easy to paint a very bad picture of these cars having read these forums - as people only tend to come here when things are bad.

1 - Alloys - Not a lot you can do here....
2 - Tyre wear - that is something that comes with a performace motor car.
3 - DSC - You have an AUC warranty so that should be covered for parts and labour
4 - Small issues - as my first paragraph, all cars suffer from minor niggles.
5 - Stealers - an age-old problem that you will struggle to overcome irrespective of the marque. Find a stealer who comes reccomended by others is the only advice I can give.

[toxicnerve]

Good points. I probably sound like a whiney biatch but these things do play on the mind when thinking about laying down a fair amount of cash for something.

As you are absolutely correct that specialist forums like this tend to distort the stats as people with problems generally post more and also in a more "look at me" kind of way (and rightly so).

[AlanQS]

Alloys - problems more with 19", less with 18", not really an issue with 17". Depends what wheels are on your chosen car. If 19" are on them then even if they are not cracked on the day you buy the car, you are buying wheels which have been driven by A.N. other and they might be on the verge of cracking as it appears to be cumulative stress which causes the defect.

Perhaps, if you felt inclined, you could bargain for the dealer to fit new 18" rims (like the 189s on the SE) instead of 225m sport wheels.

Tyres: Keeping religiously to the official tyre pressures will help a lot on tyre wear. Under inflation will increase the inside tyre wear problem significantly.

Other points: As Dr Dave said.

[NFS]

My e90 has been a pleasure to own. I've had it 3 1/4 years and the only warranty issue has been an idrive crash.

Given that I probably caused this by loading a dodgy nav disc and the fix got me a free software update I have ZERO complaints.

[dxb335d]

What age car are you buyinc Toxic? I wouldnt worry if a 1-2 year old car as everything is warrantied. Most of these cars are a pleasure to own with minimal issues. I would not worry yourself. If poss buy the lowest owner/low milage car you can get with comprehensive service.

[themetz]

On my 3rd E92 - never had problems with any of them.

[toxicnerve]

Thanks for all the input chaps.

Carlos, I have been thinking about an 09 car if I can find one. Mainly because I like the look of the new iDrive controller!

The thing is I intend to keep the car for a fairly long time (5 years min)...hence my concerns. I guess the other thing to keep in mind is that an 09 will hopefully have the benefit of a few years of developments in the manufacturing process so some of the day one niggles might have been worked out?

I think my main worries are the cracking alloys, I want either an M-Sport with the 19" 225/255 or an SE with the 19" 230 set. This is mainly due to aesthetics...the 18s look a bit gash to me (just a personal thing, no offence intended) in comparison with the 19" wheels.

Also a final thing, are extended warranties any good (be it BMW or 3rd party)? Or is it one of those things where the smallprint basically gets them out of paying in pretty much 99% of situations?

I'm really doing my final research now as I would hope to buy soon (possibly Dec but more likely Jan/Feb).

[dxb335d]

Toxic mate, i think you will be fine with a car thats as new as that. It would be unfortunate to get a lemon, and most things would be sorted with the warranty in that highly unlikely situation.

Tbh there is less of an issue with the 230's than the 225. Although both it seems crack.

Its another thing to not really concern yourself too much. Make sure therenot cracked when you purchase and avoid every pothole you can LOL..


You can always get bmw to extend there warranty!

[toxicnerve]

I hope you are right, I just don't want to end up with a dreaded "Friday afternoon" car...

Regarding the cracked wheels issue, this is more of a consistency with dealer/BMW response thing for me...if I knew that BMW woudl always replace a set of cracked alloys or not then I would know where I, as a consumer, stand and make more of an informed purchasing descision.

You're probably right, I should not really overly concern myself with these issues...

[F31-340i]

Are BMW still selling cars with 225s? I thought that they were not selling any new ones with them now?

I guess they would have to stand by 225s on AUC - only way to know is to ask what they'll do if they crack - and want to have some confidence prior to buying any car!

[toxicnerve]

Originally Posted by ///ajd

Are BMW still selling cars with 225s? I thought that they were not selling any new ones with them now?

No idea...

Originally Posted by ///ajd

I guess they would have to stand by 225s on AUC - only way to know is to ask what they'll do if they crack - and want to have some confidence prior to buying any car!

Indeed...

[MB London]

Mate, don’t want to throw a spanner in the works but I would seriously give different manufactures some further consideration, your raised points are very valid.

I have been test driving a couple of Audi’s recently and the build quality appears to far superior than the beemer. Just my opinion of course

[feederz]

Most cars have some common faults or lesser niggles and I'm sure if you looked at forums of other manufacturers you could come up with a similar list.

The wheel cracking issue is a very valid concern, however I would certainly enquire when buying what they would do if they were to crack while in and out of warranty (ideally get them to give a written guarantee for replacing them but I doubt they'd go for it).

There are some things you can do to avoid cracking...

- Try to avoid potholes or going over humps at high speed (not always easy I know)
- Replace tyres (especially rears) with non RFT's (lots of threads on the pros and cons for this)
- Keep tyres at recommended pressures (check manually, do not rely on pressure warning as it normally appears too late)

[toxicnerve]

Originally Posted by MB London

Mate, don’t want to throw a spanner in the works but I would seriously give different manufactures some further consideration, your raised points are very valid.

I have been test driving a couple of Audi’s recently and the build quality appears to far superior than the beemer. Just my opinion of course

I have been looking at the A5...but is it any better than the E92? The interior does look a bit more swish...with Quattro what's the RWD/FWD bias like?

People have been bitching about BMW all over the shop but I've not been on any forums that look at Audi in particular so I don't know if they suffer similar issues?

Originally Posted by feederz

Most cars have some common faults or lesser niggles and I'm sure if you looked at forums of other manufacturers you could come up with a similar list.

The wheel cracking issue is a very valid concern, however I would certainly enquire when buying what they would do if they were to crack while in and out of warranty (ideally get them to give a written guarantee for replacing them but I doubt they'd go for it).

There are some things you can do to avoid cracking...

- Try to avoid potholes or going over humps at high speed (not always easy I know)
- Replace tyres (especially rears) with non RFT's (lots of threads on the pros and cons for this)
- Keep tyres at recommended pressures (check manually, do not rely on pressure warning as it normally appears too late)

I intend to ask any dealer I approach for some assurances though I read something over at the Watchdog website and found this:

"If a wheel rim is presented with cracks, a full technical evaluation is made in every case. If the wheel is found to be deflected from a perfect circle by 0.3 mm or more this is evidence that an impact has taken place and this has been the cause of the cracks. In this case the customer would be responsible for the repair. If the wheel is deflected by less than 0.3 mm and yet is cracked, then it will be replaced under warranty."

So it seems this is the official line....0.3mm does not sound like a lot though...

[dxb335d]

Ive driven the A5 3.0tdi, it drove well, but it was no BMW. It felt numb and unconnected to the road. Was not half as quick as a 335D. Remember also, a re-mapped 335d is quicker than even a tuned S5 V8. I know this as I have few budz with them.


The ''Enthusiast'' side to the Audi A5 is much smaller in the UK compared to the E9x side of it for sure. Much smaller.

Buy the car, enjoy it and iron out any niggles along the way.

[MB London]

I took an S5 out recently for a test drive and it was night and day better than my 335.

If I can get the right price for my piece of **** I will defo be going the way of S5 – awesome car

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by MB London

I took an S5 out recently for a test drive and it was night and day better than my 335.

If I can get the right price for my piece of **** I will defo be going the way of S5 – awesome car

You just had ''Rose tined spectacles'' on when driving the Audi due to your ongoing issues with your own car. I do agree though, an E90 is not aswell screwed together as an E92.

Performance wise, it aint much better than yours. Re-map yours and it will put the S5 to shame majorly.

[Irnbrukid]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Ive driven the A5 3.0tdi, it drove well, but it was no BMW.It felt numb and unconnected to the road. Was not half as quick as a 335D. Remember also, a re-mapped 335d is quicker than even a tuned S5 V8. I know this as I have few budz with them.


The ''Enthusiast'' side to the Audi A5 is much smaller in the UK compared to the E9x side of it for sure. Much smaller.

Buy the car, enjoy it and iron out any niggles along the way.

How can you something drove well then contradict yourself in the next sentence.

And it should be matched to the 330d not the 335d.

You just had ''Rose tined spectacles'' on when driving the Audi due to your ongoing issues with your own car. I do agree though, an E90 is not aswell screwed together as an E92.

Performance wise, it aint much better than yours. Re-map yours and it will put the S5 to shame majorly.

I didnt find any difference in quality or how well they were screwed together, and ive owned both...

[beemerbird]

Right ok. I've owned an E92 335d SE and now obviously own a S5.

BMW 335d - Bloody excellent all round very capable car - end of. Masses of torque, good fuel economy relative to power delivery (more so on a long run), handles well for it's size/weight/displacement but back end can be a bit too twitchy in the wet imo but no big deal overall. Mine had no mechanical problems whatsoever in 7 months of ownership. Minor niggles - drivers side seat belt butler threw the towel in, a headlight washer stuck and for some reason the SOS facility would be inactive when I'd been on the phone via bluetooth for a while, then come back on again - bugger all in the grand scheme of things.

Can't comment on the alloys tbh, mine was on 18's that now appear to be 'unavailable', but seemed perfectly fine during my ownership.

Can't comment on the Audi A5 - But for what it's worth I can comment on the quattro system. Handles well with an occasional sense of understeer from the 40% front wheel bias, grip is very good. Steering not as communicative as the BMW overall and would say the BMW still has the edge for driver involvement. Depends what you're after in a car. No other car I've yet driven can beat either of the Porsche's I've owned for sheer full on driver involvment/enjoyment/ cock on steering etc - even the excellent Audi R8 V10 I've had a blast in still didn't feel as 'complete' as the Porsche Turbo. Again only my opinion.

I prefer the Audi interior/build quality overall but there's more to a car than that.

Off to the dealers on Wednesday to have a new passenger door handle fitted along with some other handle part. They've fixed it twice as the door wouldn't open from the outside but want to fit some new parts to ensure it doesn't happen again. What other problems/niggles the car has had, I don't know as it's a second hand vehicle and the E92 335d I bought from new.

Tbh, I'd go with the car that gives you the most of what you want out of a car. The warranty is there to be used (if required).

[NFS]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

I do agree though, an E90 is not aswell screwed together as an E92.

What do you base that on Carlos?

[toxicnerve]

Really appreciate the info guys (and gal). You all know that I've been deliberating over this decision for some time and I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger. My heart is set on an E92 to be perfectly honest and my issues are not based on the driving experience (I pretty much know that the BMW can deliver in that respect having had a TD in a 335i) but more around the aftersales service and potential problems of ownership.

I guess what we see posted on the various forums does distort the facts and only shows a microcosm of reality. I am sure there are far more happy BMW owners out there than disgruntled...sorry if I am whining on but I need to be sure (both heart and head) before I lay down the best part of £30-35k on a vehicle.

Would love to see some stats about E92 models from 2006 until now, how many have had cracked alloys, failed DSC units etc...I'm sure the figures exist somewhere in the vaults of BMW in Germany!!!