[Kayani_1]

Maybe you should ask yourself that question

Originally Posted by 335BBS

How old are you? Youre off topic....

[Game]

I've had my car for only about a year now and it's at 85k miles (put 7k now). I don't drive the car hard. Haven't had a single problem. It's been a dream.

Seems like these cars are just hit or miss.

[BigJoeTX]

I've had a 2009 335i for almost a year now, bought it CPO. At 55k miles my evaporator coil started leaking and had to be replaced. This seemed a little weird, considering my last two cars, a Camry and Mustang, went about 150k and 160k miles before having AC problems. But then again, I bought both of them with 70k miles so I'm not sure what was replaced before I bought them. I can kinda compare though, as best as I can recall:

1994 Toyota Camry

90k miles: CV joint. 900 dollars to repair in back in 2000, inflation adjusted this is about 1200 dollars now.
95k miles: Accelerator cable broke... BROKE. 60 dollars. I actually fixed it by taking the cable off the cruise control and going straight to the throttle body just to get the car moving again until I got a new cable. The cruise control never worked again. (more on this at the end)
110k miles: Timing belt, basic tune up, 400 dollars. (It is very hard to change the spark plugs without removing the entire intake plenum so I let the shop do it.)
120k miles: Another CV joint / front axle problem, 400 dollars.
150k miles: Evaporator coil. 400 dollars.
210k miles: Fuel filter / ignition problems, probably 1200 dollars after it was all said and done.
240k miles: 200 dollars trying to make it last. Years of a leaking valve cover gasket (problem since about 80k miles, almost since I bought it) had infused leaking oil into the main wiring harness that runs underneath the hood. The dealer quoted me about 2 grand to repair this. I was told myself "WTF??".. then I looked on eBay, and indeed, that main under-hood wiring harness was selling for 1200 ON EBAY!! This was the last time the car was in the shop, it died for good about 3 weeks later and I rode a bike to work for about 3 weeks before I found my next car.

2001 Ford Mustang:
~80k miles: Leaking exhaust manifold. A very common problem on Mustangs, I found a new manifold on eBay for 70 bucks and did it myself.
100k miles: Leaking fuel filler gasket. Another very common problem on Mustangs, I told the guy at the dealership, "I need the gasket that goes around the gas tank filler neck", he said "Mustang?". Every time I filled the car up it would leak gasoline. I put up with it for a few thousand miles by just never filling it up all the way, then finally changed the gasket. It was a 20 dollar gasket, but you had to drop the fuel tank, it was remarkable pain in the ass.
150k miles: MAF sensor, 60 bucks.
155k miles: Alternator, 120 bucks.
157k miles: Driver's side window stopped rolling down. Never fixed it.
160k miles: Ignition coil, 70 bucks.
165k miles: Traded for the 335i

2009 BMW 335i:
55k miles: Evaporator coil (thankfully covered by CPO) and rear tail light failure (also covered by CPO). Those together would have been about 1200 dollars without the CPO.

Again, I can't comment on the pre-70k mile reliability of the Mustang or Camry, I bought both of them at about 70k miles. But I can say without a doubt, it seems the Ford Mustang is by far the most reliable car I've owned. Which blew me away because it's American.

There are probably very few cars out there that have such a HUGE aftermarket and simple mechanics, that the parts are dirt cheap and nearly every job is a DIY. I probably would've bought the new 5.0 Mustang had I not gotten married and have the potential for kids in the near future. I wanted something fast and with 4 doors, and after doing tons of research, the 335i pretty much took the cake.

Consumer reports actually ranks the 3-series comparable in reliability to the Camry, which so far I believe. Ask me again when my car turns 100k miles and the CPO expires but so far I haven't had many problems at all, and nothing serious except the AC. *knock on wood*

I have to wonder, how much of the perceived reliability problems are because we browse e90post in our spare time? You can look at the forum for ANY car and it will be nothing but problems, simply because it's a self selection bias. The only people who take the time out to read a forum for their cars are tuners and people who are having problems. It really makes things seem worse than they are.

Also, I personally drive my car pretty normally. Don't get me wrong, I'll light it up and take fast corner every now and then, but I do drive pretty reasonably. However, how many of these problems are because we own fast cars and (some of us) drive the absolute hell out of them? I had a friend who was a bit of a rice-boy, and he managed to have a Honda Civic in the shop every few months because he floored it off of every light and took hard corners at every chance. Not to mention the bevy of mods he had on it, which do affect long term reliability (depending on what they are).

I'd bet a lot of the perceived problems with the 335i have a lot to do with self-selection bias, both from reading forums like this on and driving the hell out of the car.

BONUS: The accelerator cable problem I had on my Camry was made famous years later when the "unintended acceleration" scandal became the story of the year. Twice, in the two weeks before it totally broke, my car's pedal got stuck while I was accelerating. I had to kill the car, coast to a stop, then hit the pedal a couple of times to make it return to normal position. It turned out the cable was fraying (I have no idea why, defects) and the frayed parts were getting hung up in the tube that contained the cable. That's why the pedal was sticking. Of course, Toyota blamed it on the floor mats but in my case, it was actually the cable.

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by BigJoeTX

I've had a 2009 335i for almost a year now, bought it CPO. At 55k miles my evaporator coil started leaking and had to be replaced. This seemed a little weird, considering my last two cars, a Camry and Mustang, went about 150k and 160k miles before having AC problems. But then again, I bought both of them with 70k miles so I'm not sure what was replaced before I bought them. I can kinda compare though, as best as I can recall:

1994 Toyota Camry

90k miles: CV joint. 900 dollars to repair in back in 2000, inflation adjusted this is about 1200 dollars now.
95k miles: Accelerator cable broke... BROKE. 60 dollars. I actually fixed it by taking the cable off the cruise control and going straight to the throttle body just to get the car moving again until I got a new cable. The cruise control never worked again. (more on this at the end)
110k miles: Timing belt, basic tune up, 400 dollars. (It is very hard to change the spark plugs without removing the entire intake plenum so I let the shop do it.)
120k miles: Another CV joint / front axle problem, 400 dollars.
150k miles: Evaporator coil. 400 dollars.
210k miles: Fuel filter / ignition problems, probably 1200 dollars after it was all said and done.
240k miles: 200 dollars trying to make it last. Years of a leaking valve cover gasket (problem since about 80k miles, almost since I bought it) had infused leaking oil into the main wiring harness that runs underneath the hood. The dealer quoted me about 2 grand to repair this. I was told myself "WTF??".. then I looked on eBay, and indeed, that main under-hood wiring harness was selling for 1200 ON EBAY!! This was the last time the car was in the shop, it died for good about 3 weeks later and I rode a bike to work for about 3 weeks before I found my next car.

2001 Ford Mustang:
~80k miles: Leaking exhaust manifold. A very common problem on Mustangs, I found a new manifold on eBay for 70 bucks and did it myself.
100k miles: Leaking fuel filler gasket. Another very common problem on Mustangs, I told the guy at the dealership, "I need the gasket that goes around the gas tank filler neck", he said "Mustang?". Every time I filled the car up it would leak gasoline. I put up with it for a few thousand miles by just never filling it up all the way, then finally changed the gasket. It was a 20 dollar gasket, but you had to drop the fuel tank, it was remarkable pain in the ass.
150k miles: MAF sensor, 60 bucks.
155k miles: Alternator, 120 bucks.
157k miles: Driver's side window stopped rolling down. Never fixed it.
160k miles: Ignition coil, 70 bucks.
165k miles: Traded for the 335i

2009 BMW 335i:
55k miles: Evaporator coil (thankfully covered by CPO) and rear tail light failure (also covered by CPO). Those together would have been about 1200 dollars without the CPO.

Again, I can't comment on the pre-70k mile reliability of the Mustang or Camry, I bought both of them at about 70k miles. But I can say without a doubt, it seems the Ford Mustang is by far the most reliable car I've owned. Which blew me away because it's American.

There are probably very few cars out there that have such a HUGE aftermarket and simple mechanics, that the parts are dirt cheap and nearly every job is a DIY. I probably would've bought the new 5.0 Mustang had I not gotten married and have the potential for kids in the near future. I wanted something fast and with 4 doors, and after doing tons of research, the 335i pretty much took the cake.

Consumer reports actually ranks the 3-series comparable in reliability to the Camry, which so far I believe. Ask me again when my car turns 100k miles and the CPO expires but so far I haven't had many problems at all, and nothing serious except the AC. *knock on wood*

I have to wonder, how much of the perceived reliability problems are because we browse e90post in our spare time? You can look at the forum for ANY car and it will be nothing but problems, simply because it's a self selection bias. The only people who take the time out to read a forum for their cars are tuners and people who are having problems. It really makes things seem worse than they are.

Also, I personally drive my car pretty normally. Don't get me wrong, I'll light it up and take fast corner every now and then, but I do drive pretty reasonably. However, how many of these problems are because we own fast cars and (some of us) drive the absolute hell out of them? I had a friend who was a bit of a rice-boy, and he managed to have a Honda Civic in the shop every few months because he floored it off of every light and took hard corners at every chance. Not to mention the bevy of mods he had on it, which do affect long term reliability (depending on what they are).

I'd bet a lot of the perceived problems with the 335i have a lot to do with self-selection bias, both from reading forums like this on and driving the hell out of the car.

BONUS: The accelerator cable problem I had on my Camry was made famous years later when the "unintended acceleration" scandal became the story of the year. Twice, in the two weeks before it totally broke, my car's pedal got stuck while I was accelerating. I had to kill the car, coast to a stop, then hit the pedal a couple of times to make it return to normal position. It turned out the cable was fraying (I have no idea why, defects) and the frayed parts were getting hung up in the tube that contained the cable. That's why the pedal was sticking. Of course, Toyota blamed it on the floor mats but in my case, it was actually the cable.

I agree with you that people here vent about their problems making the cars look less reliable then they really are.

[saxon]

Originally Posted by 335BBS

I agree with you that people here vent about their problems making the cars look less reliable then they really are.

ive had my car for less than a year, less than 60k miles and ive had over 2500 in maintenance (most of that was me doing the installs)

again tell me how these are reliable cars with misfires, failing dme's, failing water pumps, vanos issues, wastegate issues, hpfp issues.. the list goes on

if you dont have any problems you should be thankful

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by saxon

ive had my car for less than a year, less than 60k miles and ive had over 2500 in maintenance (most of that was me doing the installs)

again tell me how these are reliable cars with misfires, failing dme's, failing water pumps, vanos issues, wastegate issues, hpfp issues.. the list goes on

if you dont have any problems you should be thankful

I agree 100%. I will never have another. I just went back to Audi.

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

Maybe you should ask yourself that question

53.

[bob.g]

i recommended a 335 to my cousin, gotta say hes had quite a few issues in the 4 months hes owned it. 09, cpo, 40000 miles (65k km). issues fixed so far were cabin wind noise, phantom mirror moving issue, some clanking noise when hed reverse (forgot what they changed to fix it), coils, fan blower noise.. and now hes losing oil and his hood wont open. He'll probably have to pay out of pocket for both since he just entered into the cpo stage of his warranty and the gaskets arent covered here in canada, and the hood issue wont be covered either.

[cotmfk]

111k miles... not a problem car by any means, but my footwell module just went bad. Can't complain about that. My brand new Suburban is already in the shop for warranty work! Now THAT sucks!

[Vegetable]

Originally Posted by BigJoeTX

Consumer reports actually ranks the 3-series comparable in reliability to the Camry, which so far I believe. Ask me again when my car turns 100k miles and the CPO expires but so far I haven't had many problems at all, and nothing serious except the AC. *knock on wood*

I believe CR is referring to the 328i when they speak of the 3's good reliability.

[Lifted07Duramax]

I learned a good lesson at seeing if someone has put a tuner on the car before. When my tuner was put on the guy helping me said by the way my computer cables were snapped in and the dust build up around it that theres no way theres ever been a JB on the car which I was glad to hear.
So next one I buy first thing Im checking is to see if it looks like the computer cables under the hood have been moved before indicating a tuner was on it

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by Lifted07Duramax

I learned a good lesson at seeing if someone has put a tuner on the car before. When my tuner was put on the guy helping me said by the way my computer cables were snapped in and the dust build up around it that theres no way theres ever been a JB on the car which I was glad to hear.
So next one I buy first thing Im checking is to see if it looks like the computer cables under the hood have been moved before indicating a tuner was on it

...............yikes.........................

[Kayani_1]

Then act like it. Because your post made you seem like 5.3

Originally Posted by 335BBS

53.

[M4LF]

Originally Posted by koss2010

What my other concern is, how is BMW not loosing a shit ton of money due to unreliable cars, with a warranty up to 50k and the problems people are reporting it seems as though the company should be doing terrible.

My guess is great marketing and branding. Look at Bose stereo. Sounds like crap yet many people buy them.

Originally Posted by xlid007

My friend I feel your pain. I've always driven Jap cars and my 335i has been a nightmare since I bought it. It's been in the shop more times then any of my other 12+ jap cars that I've had combined.

In the last 20 years of driving, the only time when I know the dealer service department personally (i.e. first name basis with service advisor) was when I owned BMW's. Sad but true.

Originally Posted by DVaughan

Okay... I have read (more than) enough and now I can't help but question my own sanity...

I suppose I can always ask a dealer this question... but... can you add on an extended warranty after the fact?

Thanks,

Darren

Highly recommend that you get extended warranty. Do some research since I think you can still buy extended warranty as long as you're still under manufacture warranty.

[luckydawg003]

I have a 07 328i sedan and have a love hate relationship for it. Bought it used with 56k miles 2 years ago with no warranty. Spent a bunch of money on repairs at the dealer until I got a repair manual and did the repairs myself. Replaced brake pads, valve cover gasket, starter, washer fluid pump-huge pain to get to inside fender, thermostat, windshield top gasket plus more. Even my hood BMW emblem is peeling and I rarely drive the car or wash it and its garage kept.

Sometimes I like it but mostly dislike it for the constant problems and how expensive parts are and how complicated every repair is. Wish I could find a cheaper reliable car that's also luxury. How are audis, Mercedes?

[ChasVS]

POS posts like this are useless. LOVE my E92!

[ChasVS]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

Then act like it. Because your post made you seem like 5.3

[LeftLane]

Interesting to read all the inputs here. Most disconcerting is the 60k mile ticking time bomb. Im looking at some older (2007-2010) 335i coupes (some CPO but most not). One of the cars I'm considering has 58k miles on it.
My main concern is the time bomb repair bill on that one. I can go the CPO route for something more new/younger, but there's fully a 14k difference in some of these cars. Sure, I'm comparing a 2007 (non-CPO) to a 2010 (CPO), and maybe that's apples and oranges. But am I going to drop 14k in repair costs for a 2007 335i vs a 2009 or 2010?
By comparison, I'm coming out of a pre-owned 325i in Germany that I had no real problems with. The sunshade motor crapped out 3 months into ownership, but that was the only real expense aside from having to buy and put on bloody winter tyres thanks to German laws. The 320d and 318d I had before the 325 were both new and I didnt have any issue with either of those. Maybe I got lucky.

[Antartic]

My 335i has over 70k miles- with no major repairs whatsoever. Just performed the factory scheduled maintenance, and replaced wear/tear items such as brake pads/rotors, wiper blades, tires, etc.

The only time I took the car to the dealer for repair was when one of the rear seats was squeaking (I had just gotten the car). They took care of it and nothing since then.

[AndreyT]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Expanding on that logic must mean the Yugo was the most soulful car ever made.

Logic FAIL on your part.

"More soul => error prone" and "error prone => more soul" are two completely different things.

slowSwede stated the former (and he's right). You for some reason are trying to make it look as if he stated the latter.

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by LeftLane

Interesting to read all the inputs here. Most disconcerting is the 60k mile ticking time bomb. Im looking at some older (2007-2010) 335i coupes (some CPO but most not). One of the cars I'm considering has 58k miles on it.
My main concern is the time bomb repair bill on that one. I can go the CPO route for something more new/younger, but there's fully a 14k difference in some of these cars. Sure, I'm comparing a 2007 (non-CPO) to a 2010 (CPO), and maybe that's apples and oranges. But am I going to drop 14k in repair costs for a 2007 335i vs a 2009 or 2010?
By comparison, I'm coming out of a pre-owned 325i in Germany that I had no real problems with. The sunshade motor crapped out 3 months into ownership, but that was the only real expense aside from having to buy and put on bloody winter tyres thanks to German laws. The 320d and 318d I had before the 325 were both new and I didnt have any issue with either of those. Maybe I got lucky.

Its the turbocharged gas engines that are causing grief. 325, 328 and 330 seem to be considerably more reliable.

[DML]

5 Bimmers with a total of 1 HPFP replacement other than that zero issues,Truth.Please don't mention Honda or Hyundai with BMW and yes for the most part they are reliable but like driving a sofa.