[BreakingTraction]

Hello all, my first post here so please be kind

I've located a 2008 335i with a colour combo and spec to my liking and agreed a price with the seller. The only thing preventing me from putting down a deposit is the mileage of the car at 140,xxx km.

Now I've read the buying guides and various pieces of owners advice to death and understand the various common N54 issues quite well. This car has had the injectors and water pump replaced fairly recently and the service history looks up to date otherwise. No waste-gate rattle that I could notice and presumably the car has it's factory HPFP. Many seem to think that these things would be likely to go within the next 20,000 kms but others say it's somewhat luck of the draw. Given they have lasted this long without issue, is there any reason to be concerned?

I would of course have a PPI done also prior to purchasing but it would be good to have some input before I start putting money down. I'm not naive enough to think this engine will cost nothing to run, I'm just wanting to cover my bases so that I'm not left with a nasty shock.

On the one hand, this car ticks my boxes and seems in good nick with only the possible service bills weighing on my mind. On the other, I could wait for a car with fewer km's to pop up within my budget and area or look at the 135i too which tend to be similarly priced but with less km for their age.

On a seperate note, my DIY knowledge is fairly limited but I figure I can do the basics myself such as an oil change. I have good access to some reputable independent shops if anything goes wrong so would I be alright on the maintenance side?

All help is much appreciated, cheers!

[335iN54enthusiast]

I bought mine with 294k kms. Mileage doesnt matter all that matters is how the car was taken care of. All the common issues still need to be addressed on a lower mileage car.
Check out my you tube channel to learn more
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUH...np96CSleQFSvXw

[Socket]

Originally Posted by BreakingTraction

Hello all, my first post here so please be kind

I've located a 2008 335i with a colour combo and spec to my liking and agreed a price with the seller. The only thing preventing me from putting down a deposit is the mileage of the car at 140,xxx km.

Now I've read the buying guides and various pieces of owners advice to death and understand the various common N54 issues quite well. This car has had the injectors and water pump replaced fairly recently and the service history looks up to date otherwise. No waste-gate rattle that I could notice and presumably the car has it's factory HPFP. Many seem to think that these things would be likely to go within the next 20,000 kms but others say it's somewhat luck of the draw. Given they have lasted this long without issue, is there any reason to be concerned?

I would of course have a PPI done also prior to purchasing but it would be good to have some input before I start putting money down. I'm not naive enough to think this engine will cost nothing to run, I'm just wanting to cover my bases so that I'm not left with a nasty shock.

On the one hand, this car ticks my boxes and seems in good nick with only the possible service bills weighing on my mind. On the other, I could wait for a car with fewer km's to pop up within my budget and area or look at the 135i too which tend to be similarly priced but with less km for their age.

On a seperate note, my DIY knowledge is fairly limited but I figure I can do the basics myself such as an oil change. I have good access to some reputable independent shops if anything goes wrong so would I be alright on the maintenance side?

All help is much appreciated, cheers!

140km is not to bad, most cars here on the forum are pushing 200,000 and running strong. Sounds like you have done your research and know something about these cars which is more then most. It is hard to give advice because not sure how much the car is being sold for. tbh for a 2008, $18K to $19K is about as much as you should pay. Lots of people asking stupid money like $25K. These cars are over 10 years old now and are simply not worth that type of coin. With that out of the way lets answer your specific questions:

mileage of the car? 140,000km is no problem if it has been well maintained. Most things that will blow up, should have already done so

Is there any reason to be concerned about the original HPFP? If its original it may last another 50,000 KM or fall over tomorrow. No real way of telling other then long cranks when starting the engine. Tbh they are not that expensive and they are easy to get to when replacing

Consider 135i too which tend to be similarly priced? Depends on if you like small or big cars. Mechanically they are pretty much the same. handling is different main because of the size difference etc. I prefer the bigger cabin of the 335i but thats just me

if anything goes wrong so would I be alright on the maintenance side? Yep should be. There are plenty of DIY guides if you want to have a go at something yourself and if not these cars are not too complicated to work on, any decent indy should be able to fix a water pump or a replace a valve cover gasket

Tbh I think the 335i and 135i are awesome cars. Affordable to buy, plenty of power, great fun to drive and lots of modding potential.
Like all aging cars, there will be things to fix and maintenance to do, the cars that constantly break down are those where the maintenance hasnt been done and people throw modifications at them and wonder why things break

Anyway good luck with your purchase, if you need any help, just shout out

[Baker e92gc]

Hey mate, I got mine recently for 18k with 110k kms. My HPFP was replaced before I got the car at about 100k so looks like its a bit of a luck draw on that one.
I am also in the same boat as to mechanical aptitude, but after having a small look around on these forums, the info on this platform is endless. There is a DIY for everything and the people help no end!
You could probably build a 335i from scratch just reading sockets thread
I would say if you have a good indy mech and you are willing to do some work yourself, go for it! I couldn't be happier with my 335i.

[Brule]

Jump in I say.

Ive had the same hpfp and injectors for 6 years.
All the things that break around the engine are well known and easy to fix.

Stay away from bmw dealer and you will be fine.

[newbie335i]

Originally Posted by BreakingTraction

Hello all, my first post here so please be kind

I've located a 2008 335i with a colour combo and spec to my liking and agreed a price with the seller. The only thing preventing me from putting down a deposit is the mileage of the car at 140,xxx km.

Now I've read the buying guides and various pieces of owners advice to death and understand the various common N54 issues quite well. This car has had the injectors and water pump replaced fairly recently and the service history looks up to date otherwise. No waste-gate rattle that I could notice and presumably the car has it's factory HPFP. Many seem to think that these things would be likely to go within the next 20,000 kms but others say it's somewhat luck of the draw. Given they have lasted this long without issue, is there any reason to be concerned?

I would of course have a PPI done also prior to purchasing but it would be good to have some input before I start putting money down. I'm not naive enough to think this engine will cost nothing to run, I'm just wanting to cover my bases so that I'm not left with a nasty shock.

On the one hand, this car ticks my boxes and seems in good nick with only the possible service bills weighing on my mind. On the other, I could wait for a car with fewer km's to pop up within my budget and area or look at the 135i too which tend to be similarly priced but with less km for their age.

On a seperate note, my DIY knowledge is fairly limited but I figure I can do the basics myself such as an oil change. I have good access to some reputable independent shops if anything goes wrong so would I be alright on the maintenance side?

All help is much appreciated, cheers!

Hi - just thought I'd share my 2c as a recent buyer of one of these

I think you are already ahead of the curve as you have done your homework, you know what common issues could crop up so are going in 'eyes wide open' .. do the usual checks and inspections upfront to make sure you know what you are buying and then keep up the maintenance! As others have said, the issues are well known and can be managed.

I personally feel its an excellent platform - the car is brilliant in stock spec and if you are inclined to modify it you have a fantastic platform to start with

Good luck with it!

[Aus335iguy]

Best bit of N54 buying advice I got was "don't" lol

Having said that I love my car and glad that ignored it.
Read through here about things like plugs coils injectors hp and Lo fuel pumps.
If you start modifying all bets are off.
Rewarding cars to own though I must say. I still get compliments on my car. Still look back every time I park it.

[BreakingTraction]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm going into this with a little money on the side expecting things will break, but hoping they won't, so at least it won't be a nasty shock if something does happen.

This will be my only car and would be preferable if it can run reliably as I don't really have access to other cars. I imagine a bit of preventative maintenance wouldn't go amiss. Although there were no issues with the HPFP and no long crank time, perhaps replacing it is a good idea?


Regarding the tuning aspect, I was thinking of doing stage 1 MHD with a little mod to free up the exhaust. I don't have crazy high aspirations for power output and I think even stage 1 gives me a fair chunk of power (especially over my outgoing BRZ). Am I right to think that this would be a fairly reasonable approach?


I've gone through the other alternative options and I think this is the car for me. It's really a question of 335i or 135i. I have people one one side telling me the 335i is the sleeker, more premium and practical car (and I have to agree) but on the other hand, the 135i appears to be more suited to an enthusiast and seems likely to put a bigger smile on my face. Decisions, decisions...

[EB89]

Originally Posted by BreakingTraction

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm going into this with a little money on the side expecting things will break, but hoping they won't, so at least it won't be a nasty shock if something does happen.

This will be my only car and would be preferable if it can run reliably as I don't really have access to other cars. I imagine a bit of preventative maintenance wouldn't go amiss. Although there were no issues with the HPFP and no long crank time, perhaps replacing it is a good idea?


Regarding the tuning aspect, I was thinking of doing stage 1 MHD with a little mod to free up the exhaust. I don't have crazy high aspirations for power output and I think even stage 1 gives me a fair chunk of power (especially over my outgoing BRZ). Am I right to think that this would be a fairly reasonable approach?


I've gone through the other alternative options and I think this is the car for me. It's really a question of 335i or 135i. I have people one one side telling me the 335i is the sleeker, more premium and practical car (and I have to agree) but on the other hand, the 135i appears to be more suited to an enthusiast and seems likely to put a bigger smile on my face. Decisions, decisions...

MHD is a good choice, stay away from the JB4 please!

Get the PE mod done to the muffler, don’t do that stupid gold tee mod

Join the Australian Facebook group of you haven’t already

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1Man...ust/?ref=share

Get catless downpipes and and intercooler as soon as you can and flash MHD Stage 2+

Forget an intake, it’s not needed.

Get a metal charge pipe

Get to the basic bolt ons with a serviced maintained car and enjoy it for a while

I wouldn’t just replace working parts for no reason.

Unless you have the cash to replace everything at once, you could find that you change 3 things and 2 others break and you are out the cost of 5 expensive parts.

[Aus335iguy]

Hey EB89 what do you have against the golf tee ? Just unplug the thing! Its free 200 horsepowers and makes you irresistible to women (or men).

[Socket]

Originally Posted by Baker e92gc

You could probably build a 335i from scratch just reading sockets thread

Hahaha

[Socket]

+1 .... Good advice from everyone above

It is a myth that the 135 is the better performing car (#shotsfired)

The N54 produces so much torque that the extra weight in the 335 is not noticeable

How each owner mods their car, (what tires they run, suspension set up, manual vs auto etc etc) is what makes the difference imo

If you are tossing up between the two, choose the one you like best and go with it, both will be a great base to turn it into what you want

[Gee-Dog]

Originally Posted by BreakingTraction

I've located a 2008 335i with a colour combo and spec to my liking

Other than reliability issues, there are a few other things that might sway your decision. You haven't said if you want an E90, E91, E92 or E93, and whether manual or auto.

In 2009 the E92 coupe (and I think the E93 convertable) changed from a CCC idrive to a CIC idrive, which is a huge improvement. Also the "auto" option changed from a ZF 6 speed auto box to a 7 speed DCT, which I also regard as a major improvement. When I was looking, I looked at a number of 07 - 09 models in both sedan and coupe. I ended up spending a fair bit more than originally planned to get an E92 with these 2 upgrades.

If you are looking at a manual, and are happy to upgrade to an Android based CCC replacement, this won't apply.

If you want an E90 sedan, I don't believe these were ever sold in AU with a DCT, and I think the change to CIC was done later than in the E92.

[Socket]

What did you end up buying?

[BreakingTraction]

Originally Posted by Socket

What did you end up buying?

Still on the hunt, wanting to look at a few different cars before putting down a deposit

[BreakingTraction]

Originally Posted by Gee-Dog

Other than reliability issues, there are a few other things that might sway your decision. You haven't said if you want an E90, E91, E92 or E93, and whether manual or auto.

In 2009 the E92 coupe (and I think the E93 convertable) changed from a CCC idrive to a CIC idrive, which is a huge improvement. Also the "auto" option changed from a ZF 6 speed auto box to a 7 speed DCT, which I also regard as a major improvement. When I was looking, I looked at a number of 07 - 09 models in both sedan and coupe. I ended up spending a fair bit more than originally planned to get an E92 with these 2 upgrades.

If you are looking at a manual, and are happy to upgrade to an Android based CCC replacement, this won't apply.

If you want an E90 sedan, I don't believe these were ever sold in AU with a DCT, and I think the change to CIC was done later than in the E92.

Yep, I've had a look, and it seems there are plenty of ways to freshen up the cars on the technology side and bring them into 2020, which is great!

Certainly with you on the DCT front, it's more appealing than the regular auto to me. That said, I think manual is still the way I want to go.

[Aus335iguy]

XHP just released flashing upgrades for the DCT. Once they release custom mapping and MHD release anti lag and adjustable launch, the DCTs will be the box to have. The DCT features in the M3 will be in non M cars plus much more.
Just need to stop mine from being a sieve. It leaks, bad but have a full service kit on its way.

[SSW]

I bought my 2000 335i E90 (Sport) about 6.5 years ago for $16k (which was below "book" at the time) w/about 85k miles on it (I've only put about 15k miles on it since then) and I've put about another $10k into it for repairs/improvements.

You can read my Build Thread (see the link in my Signature) for the details. This is an old pic but still what the car looks like now (only difference that you can see is that it has black side markers now) and I'm still happy w/the result:



I've had no major mechanical problems w/the car and did NOT do a PPI before I bought it. I actually never do a PPI before I buy a car and have not had any cause to regret not doing so (yet). FWIW, I've bought/owned/sold a lot of cars/trucks/bikes in my life (probalby over 100) so I'm pretty confident in assessing the condition of any car I'm interested in and haven't been wrong yet.

When I bought the car I did a lot of things that could be categorized as "normal" maintenance, which included replacing all of the plugs/coils/fluids, getting a walnut blast valve cleaning. I also replaced the braker rotors/pads, coolant overflow tank and the water pump and had the air bag and HVAC wiring recalls done. Dropped in a K&N air filter, a new cabin air filter and fixed the screws on the cabin air filter housing (a common problem) w/a kit provided by another forum member.

The parts purchased to "improve" the performance of the car included: 1) a complete change of the front suspension to M3 parts (even though it already had the "Sports" suspension installed), including the front sway bar and M3 engine brace (which was necessary to gain access to the top of the Koni adjustable yellow shocks added in front which replaced Koni
FSDs in front but the Koni FSDs were retained in back, 2) Michelin Pilot Sports all around and 3) a Mishimoto intercooler and a Cobb tune to improve engine performance and 4) the Alpina Be AT flash to improve transmission performance.

Cosmetically, optionally and/or additionally, I had the hood/front bumper/mirrors respayed because they were all dinged up, also replaced the front windshield (insured) for the same reason, bought the M193 wheels and added spacers, had a tape job done to cover all the chrome, bought black grill inserts, bought black side markers, bought a device that lets me control the exhaust valve for a better exhaust note, bought WeatherTech mats for the interior & trunk and had various driver/user options recoded in the car to make it suit my taste. The last thing I did was to finally get the annoying SOS fault coded out of the car, which is a common problem w/the E90 series. Also bought a variety of "accessories" incluidng an emergency spare time and other knick nacks that are mentioned here/there in my Build Thread.

I love the car and have no plans to ever sell it because I'd never get my money back out of it and I enjoy driving it too much. With the Cobb tune, the HP has been upped to 390 (theoretically) which is delivered instantaneously. It's very fast and the front end improvements have made the speed much more controllable beyond straight line acceleration.

It still won't win any races on a road track, like Sonoma Raceway, but I wanted to build it into a fast, well handling GT type car that I could drive fast on the open road and I think I've been successful in this regard.

The car is insured as a "collector" car for $18k w/Haggerty which is far less than I have in the car but far more than a regular auto insurer would cover it for This coverage is available for any "sports car" that is NOT your daily driver and that is garaged and only driven sparinly.

If you car qualifies for such coverage, I recommend you get it if you are going to put a lot of money into your car "improving" it. Even w/a higher than KBB valuation, your premiums will be far less than what you've pay to a regular insurance company for less collision/total loss coverage.