[STRMTRPR]

It’s time for me to move on from my 328xi to something better. Always been interested in the 335i’s but what is the most reliable year on the 335i ? Ever since I had to change my engine on my 328xi I’m not looking forward to have that happen again. I would appreciate some feedback on what year and what to look out for, thank you.

[unrulyteach]

Originally Posted by STRMTRPR

It’s time for me to move on from my 328xi to something better. Always been interested in the 335i’s but what is the most reliable year on the 335i ? Ever since I had to change my engine on my 328xi I’m not looking forward to have that happen again. I would appreciate some feedback on what year and what to look out for, thank you.

Most would say for reliability get the n55. But if a car is maintained well it should be reliable.

[BimmerNugget]

The term "reliable" and "335" should not even be in the same sentence. You should be banned for submitting such nonsense on this forum.

All kidding aside, N55 is pretty reliable. N54 had a boat load of issues. If you can find an unmolested N55 2011+ E9X at a decent price, I'd say go for it.

Just be aware that the same problems N52/N51 have, like gasket leaks and wp/thermostats will carry over to the N55.

[chasemorrow0]

I've also been thinking of upgrading from my 328xi and also curious on what is the best year 335i. Let me know!

[mecheng77]

How do you blow a n52 engine?

[unrulyteach]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

How do you blow a n52 engine?

Tales a lot of skills

[robthewrench]

I would also say the N55 is more reliable than the N54, due to the different oil separator, turbo, fuel injection system, etc...

Many of the other problems areas are the same though: OFHG, waterpump, blower fan, etc...

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by unrulyteach

Tales a lot of skills

Indeed, much more skill than required for a N54 and N55. I smell another impending doom

[Jwallace410]

I bought my 2011 335i N55 for reliability and powerrr. You're not going to reach N54 levels of power from tuning n mods, but the n55 by itself has been plenty reliable for me. I now have 85,208 miles, bought at 63000miles and my only issue so far was a single ignition coil. Plus my last two oil analysis samples showed very low wear metals so it seems to be in good shape. But thats just the engine, some suspension parts will be about ready for replacement on any 335i, or bmw for that matter after 80,000mi+

[unrulyteach]

Originally Posted by Jwallace410

I bought my 2011 335i N55 for reliability and powerrr. You're not going to reach N54 levels of power from tuning n mods, but the n55 by itself has been plenty reliable for me. I now have 85,208 miles, bought at 63000miles and my only issue so far was a single ignition coil. Plus my last two oil analysis samples showed very low wear metals so it seems to be in good shape. But thats just the engine, some suspension parts will be about ready for replacement on any 335i, or bmw for that matter after 80,000mi+

Got my at 57k now it's at 74k had to replace expansion tank, starter, and boost pressure regulator so, thank god for cpo. But other than that it's been rock solid knock on wood

[rick100]

it's a 7-10 year used car, so yes N55 may be a little more reliable than n54 , but overall both are going to cost money to fix , and you are gonna pay a premium for being a BMW. If you are ok with that then go ahead.

[BimmerNugget]

Or save your money and get an E9x M3. These cars have come way down in price. The E9X is a fairly modern looking BMW, last NA M car, and other than rod bearings it's fairly reliable.

IF you buy an E9X M3 and spend $2.2k on red bearing job plus another $1500 to replace throttle actuators you'll have a car that's more reliable than any N54/N55 335i. Also twice as fun as any 335i. Btw the S65 in the M3 has a mechanical water pump that seems to last forever instead of the silly electric ones in the non M cars.

Another plus is that these E9X M cars might even go up in value 10 years from now. A 335 will not. Have you seen how much people are asking for E30 M3's and E36 M3's?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by BimmerNugget

Or save your money and get an E9x M3. These cars have come way down in price. The E9X is a fairly modern looking BMW, last NA M car, and other than rod bearings it's fairly reliable.

IF you buy an E9X M3 and spend $2.2k on red bearing job plus another $1500 to replace throttle actuators you'll have a car that's more reliable than any N54/N55 335i. Also twice as fun as any 335i. Btw the S65 in the M3 has a mechanical water pump that seems to last forever instead of the silly electric ones in the non M cars.

Another plus is that these E9X M cars might even go up in value 10 years from now. A 335 will not. Have you seen how much people are asking for E30 M3's and E36 M3's?

I don't know. I have bee lurking M3 forums for a while and the main bearings were starting to cause issues so rod bearing didn't do any difference.

Ended up with a 335is . Risking to blow a 20k motor compared to just 5k in terms of turbos and other maintenance items..

[John 070]

I have a 10/06 production, and I remember everyone has said to avoid anything up to 3/08, due to that subframe hitting power steering pulley deal. BUT, there are people who have mid 08 productions that also had the issue. So if it were me, I'd skip all the way to 2009 or 2010.

btw mine has been reliable, only major problem was ABS/DSC hydro failed, but I DIY'd.

[tisdrew]

Originally Posted by STRMTRPR

It’s time for me to move on from my 328xi to something better. Always been interested in the 335i’s but what is the most reliable year on the 335i ? Ever since I had to change my engine on my 328xi I’m not looking forward to have that happen again. I would appreciate some feedback on what year and what to look out for, thank you.

The most reliable 335i will be a 2014 f30 chassis.

I own the worst of the worst, an 09 335i n54 and have had a boatload of issues with it. If the seller doesn't have a solid folder of receipts of work done professionally, avoid it. If it's $5k, it's that price for a damn reason. Tbh, I'd only buy a higher mileage (100+k) n54 because it probably means someone has done the maintenance already (injectors, water pump, window regulators, chargepipe, spark plugs, hpfp, bushings, replaced turbo wastegates or whole turbos preferrably).

[John 070]

Originally Posted by tisdrew

The most reliable 335i will be a 2014 f30 chassis.

I own the worst of the worst, an 09 335i n54 and have had a boatload of issues with it. If the seller doesn't have a solid folder of receipts of work done professionally, avoid it. If it's $5k, it's that price for a damn reason. Tbh, I'd only buy a higher mileage (100+k) n54 because it probably means someone has done the maintenance already (injectors, water pump, window regulators, chargepipe, spark plugs, hpfp, bushings, replaced turbo wastegates or whole turbos preferrably).

Weird, one would think newer is better than older, but you have a '09 which clears the subframe issues but had tons of issues. My '07 has been totally reliable except for the ABS/DSC hydro, but since it's an early model, I wouldn't shop for one. F30 has zero feel for steering so might as well just get a non BMW at that point.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by BimmerNugget

Or save your money and get an E9x M3. These cars have come way down in price. The E9X is a fairly modern looking BMW, last NA M car, and other than rod bearings it's fairly reliable.

IF you buy an E9X M3 and spend $2.2k on red bearing job plus another $1500 to replace throttle actuators you'll have a car that's more reliable than any N54/N55 335i. Also twice as fun as any 335i. Btw the S65 in the M3 has a mechanical water pump that seems to last forever instead of the silly electric ones in the non M cars.

Another plus is that these E9X M cars might even go up in value 10 years from now. A 335 will not. Have you seen how much people are asking for E30 M3's and E36 M3's?

My aunt had a M3 Lightweight (e36). A couple years ago they could be 90k. Probably more now. She sold it and got a E46 M3....hindsight is 20/20

The oddity of my 2007 335i is it's been reliable. I even extended the warranty and got burned. This forum made it sound like it was such a sure thing that things were gonna break.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by John 070

The oddity of my 2007 335i is it's been reliable. I even extended the warranty and got burned. This forum made it sound like it was such a sure thing that things were gonna break.

Man I tell ya... forums are not a good thing for this.

Imagine all the people without issues not complaining. IMO maintenance and DIY with this car is ok.

The worst thing that can happen are the Turbos. I just got mine so not a lot of experience yet just what I think.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Man I tell ya... forums are not a good thing for this.

Imagine all the people without issues not complaining. IMO maintenance and DIY with this car is ok.

The worst thing that can happen are the Turbos. I just got mine so not a lot of experience yet just what I think.

You shoulda seen me, I was h*** bent on getting new turbos (now think about it, if they are not broken, why? lol). So I took it to the dealer cuz I heard a tinny rattle sound. 2 days later they said no, you owe us $130 for diagnostics, that sound is the left rear muffler, not covered. So I said ok lemme keep your loaner a few more days and get $130 out of it!

(how I sleep at night is I am rich so the price of a 7/100 warranty is peasant money! hahahahahahahahahahaha yeah right)

p.s. my wife has a GM SUV. I did not learn my lesson and bought an extended warranty on it (way less expensive than BMW). Things did break, but it was pretty close so in reality, the only thing we got out of that was that when things broke, didn't feel that bad.

Example, getting a state inspection at a muffler shop, they said it fails, you have a right front strut leaking, estimate $1,300. I was this close to saying go ahead, then I went online and the extended warranty actually covered it. I felt good at that time....which is part of the price...

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by John 070

You shoulda seen me, I was h*** bent on getting new turbos (now think about it, if they are not broken, why? lol). So I took it to the dealer cuz I heard a tinny rattle sound. 2 days later they said no, you owe us $130 for diagnostics, that sound is the left rear muffler, not covered. So I said ok lemme keep your loaner a few more days and get $130 out of it!

(how I sleep at night is I am rich so the price of a 7/100 warranty is peasant money! hahahahahahahahahahaha yeah right)

p.s. my wife has a GM SUV. I did not learn my lesson and bought an extended warranty on it (way less expensive than BMW). Things did break, but it was pretty close so in reality, the only thing we got out of that was that when things broke, didn't feel that bad.

Example, getting a state inspection at a muffler shop, they said it fails, you have a right front strut leaking, estimate $1,300. I was this close to saying go ahead, then I went online and the extended warranty actually covered it. I felt good at that time....which is part of the price...

Oh yeah haha. I went and got the car without warranty hopefully I don't get F but the price of warranty was like 3500$ for 3-4 years I don't see spending that much on fixing things unless turbos go out. But car is only 90 000km

[jt335i]

I bought my 2010 E92 335i brand new and still own it after 8 years, 8 months, and 102,000+ miles. As of today, it has been pretty reliable and I still enjoy my ultimate driving machine.

Haven’t have had a myriad of issues others have frequently posted on this site. (i.e. wastegate rattle, turbo issues, cylinder misfiring, fuel injector problems, strange engine noisees or behaviors, exhaust smoke, transmission issues, A/C problems, power steering issues, serpentine belt squeal, battery/alternator issues, water pump failure, coolant leaks, starter problem, strange electrical issues, lighting issues (besides busted bulbs), CELs, Bluetooth connectivity issues, iDrive issues, windshield wiper issues, cup holder problems, comfort access, issue, audio issues, radio/amp problems, etc., etc., etc.). The only other wear and tear things, I have had to fix or replace are the rotted front windshield molding, VFG, OHFG, and fuel pump which I consider all as minor. My ride has not ever broken down in the middle of nowhere and I don’t feel paranoid it ever will. I have a trusted BMW mechanic I bring it to for all preventive maintenance services, and compared to other 335’s he’s had to repair, he said mine has had the most minimal of problems. I don’t know if I’m one of the lucky few, or majority, who have little or no reliability issues, but I will keep my 335 for a long time or until it dies.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by jt335i

I bought my 2010 E92 335i brand new and still own it after 8 years, 8 months, and 102,000+ miles. As of today, it has been pretty reliable and I still enjoy my ultimate driving machine.

Haven’t have had a myriad of issues others have frequently posted on this site. (i.e. wastegate rattle, turbo issues, cylinder misfiring, fuel injector problems, strange engine noisees or behaviors, exhaust smoke, transmission issues, A/C problems, power steering issues, serpentine belt squeal, battery/alternator issues, water pump failure, coolant leaks, starter problem, strange electrical issues, lighting issues (besides busted bulbs), CELs, Bluetooth connectivity issues, iDrive issues, windshield wiper issues, cup holder problems, comfort access, issue, audio issues, radio/amp problems, etc., etc., etc.). The only other wear and tear things, I have had to fix or replace are the rotted front windshield molding, VFG, OHFG, and fuel pump which I consider all as minor. My ride has not ever broken down in the middle of nowhere and I don’t feel paranoid it ever will. I have a trusted BMW mechanic I bring it to for all preventive maintenance services, and compared to other 335’s he’s had to repair, he said mine has had the most minimal of problems. I don’t know if I’m one of the lucky few, or majority, who have little or no reliability issues, but I will keep my 335 for a long time or until it dies.

It's fun to hear some people with no to bad reliability!

Just to clarify you never replaced injectors, water pump? Which fuel pump did you had to replace? Low pressure or high pressure?