[ipdaily]

Hi guys,

I'm currently looking at a very cheap E93, MY09, but it has no service history and it's done 160k+ km.

Going to view the car and test drive it tomorrow night.

I've read the buying guide. If the seller cannot provide proof of having the DCT transmission oil changed, should I stay away?

Also I was told by a tuner that the N54 can possibly have an issue with the timing chain? If so does that issue provide an error code or how can I detect it? Is it a relatively easy fix?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

[Socket]

Transmission fluid etc are not deal breakers
At 160K you will need to put aside a good $5K to $10K to cover all the maintenance that may or may not have been done to restore it to reliable condition. Water pump, oil filter housing gasket, plugs and coils, fuel pump, replacement turbos etc
Seller will be selling low for a reason either needs to offload or mechanical issues. All are fixable but these cars need to be maintained then they are brilliant drives with heaps of modding potential. Good luck 🍀

[Socket]

If taking for a test drive look for smoke from the exhaust, any signs of oil leaks (especially around the oil filter housing (above the alternator) and wastegate rattle (sounds like can of gravel) from the turbos on idle and acceleration
Like I said most 335s will have one or more of these issues and all can be fixed for a price
The thing all new owners do not do is budget for maintenance $5k should be your min
If this pushes you out of your budget then I would look elsewhere tbh

[ipdaily]

Thanks for the advice guys. THe seller is a friend of mine - she is selling due to financial reasons. She does get it serviced but probably not as regularly as it should.

Any info regarding the timing chain issue?

Also in regards to parts - is the best place to get it from FCPEuro? Where do most Australian owners source their parts from?

In regards to coils - will OEM suffice or should I go with "R8" coils?

Any recommendation for mechanics/workshops in SE Melb that know these cars back to front?

Also as for the turbos - better to replace or rebuild? is rebuilding cost-effective?

EDIT: nevermind about R8 coils, googling advises that you need specific tuning to utilise these?

[vtl]

Timing chain is not an issue on these cars. Maybe talking about the rubber accessories belt (serpentine belt). The serpentine belt can in some cases slip and shred if oil has leaked on it.

[Socket]

Cool sounds like a legit seller
No need for R8 coils unless pushing big power mods
Most people buy through FPC euro, local suppliers are hard to come by

Eastern BM is a good workshop in Melb or speak to Vtl (above) he is the authority on these cars

[Socket]

Oh don’t bother rebuilding turbos much cheaper to buy new Oem replacements

[vtl]

This is something I posted on the 1M, 135i, 335i Australia FB group:

Here are some tips for new owners:

Forget looking at mods after your new purchase! Do the preventative maintenance first. For some reason, the most common thing people do here is whack on a tune and complain about check engine lights. With these cars you have to be proactive about the maintenance. Its also worth noting, that service history means nothing for these cars. Most of the things that go wrong with these cars are not covered by normal servicing.

The mentality of fixing things when they break will just result in more pain down the track, and it is easy for things to snowball. You only need a few key issues on your car until it feels like a real turd, and the repair costs to get it back to normal can quickly become staggering.

I know a lot of the younger crowd has bought into these cars since they're as cheap as $15k, but what you might not realise is that they can be crazy expensive to maintain. Personally, to get my car up to 200k kms and maintaining it to a high level has cost $10-15k so far, this is DIY, with labour not taken into account.

The best thing you can do is to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible, so you can be self sufficient.

Important links:

https://www.fcpeuro.com - Based in the USA, shipping usually takes around 5-7 days maybe longer if you have obscure items in your cart. This place has almost every part you'll ever need to maintain your BMW and at good prices

http://newtis.info - This is a web based rip of ISTA (factory service instructions), very useful for repair information

http://www.realoem.com/ - This is a web rip version of BMW ETK (parts catalog) this is very handy for tracking down part numbers to buy from places like FCP. You can also use this powerful tool to see if parts from other models will fit your car, as it will tell you if the same part is used on other models.

Maintenance guide:

As soon as you buy the car:

Plugs and coils - The plugs and coils are weak items on this platform, buy them immediately after you purchase your car. I would suggest buying NGK 95570 gapped at 0.022", the 3 pronged bosch ones I have seen the gaps be very inconsistent. ON a tuned car the NGKs are highly reccomended.

Water pump 11517632426 - The water pump is prone to crapping out very suddenly and can leave you stranded. If you are on the original pump then you should change it straight away. The old style pump is bolted onto the block and isolated with rubber grommets (rubber will usually be swelling from the oil leaks over the years), the new one is directly bolted to the block. The car will overheat on a dead pump quite quickly and can take out weak components like the radiator with plastic end tanks. You need to buy the pump and 3 STEEL (11517602123) screws, do not buy the aluminium screws or reuse the old ones.

Fix any oil leaks immediately
The oil filter housing is a common thing to leak, along with the valve cover and lately I have seen a lot of slow oil pan leaks as these cars cross the 10 year mark. If you've leaked oil on any of the hoses and let it sat for a while, this degrades the rubber so make sure you replace any hoses that look swelled. Oil leaking on the drive belt should be rectified immediately, this can cause the belt to slip and cause a shredded belt. It is also possible for the belt to get sucked into the crank seal, resulting in belt fragments being caught in the oil pickup, causing oil starvation and dead engine.

Charge pipe - For model years 2009+ including N55 you should replace it immediately, as it is prone to cracking and exploding. The 2006-2008 2 piece rubber charge pipes are very strong and do not require replacements. Theres many aftermarket chargepipes out there, most of them fit like crap. Personally if it was me i'd source a pre09 charge pipe, but if you had to get a metal one (if youre n55) I'd go for the Evolution Racewerks one.

Short term:

Walnut blast - These cars are direct injected and have no fuel passing over the intake valves to clean them. This results in the intake valves getting clogged up over time. After 60-100k they'll be pretty gummed up, reducing performance and idle quality.

Thermostat to cylinder head hose 11537541992 - This hose has a plastic flange that bolts onto the cylinder head and you need to remove it to access the oil filter housing. After several years it gets brittle and cracks, I would highly recommending getting a metal replacement off eBay.

Radiator hoses - The top thin overflow hose for the expansion tank (17127565094) is prone to bursting, replace it and buy a new clamp (34321156893). Upper radiator hose (17127540127) that clips into the oil filter housing is plastic and also prone to deteriorating.

Vacuum hoses - These should be replaced with silicone rubber, the rubber ones perish after a number of years and can split and be the cause of vacuum leaks. Locally you can buy the SAAS branded 3mm hose (its actually 1/8" 3.2mm) from Autobarn, or buy the CRP hose from FCP euro. Do not use 4mm hose as commonly recommended off the forums, it does not fit well.

Boost solenoids - These are sometimes the cause of boost related issues, these also get less effective over time and you can feel a difference in boost response when replacing old ones.

High pressure fuel pump - This part will probably have already been replaced on your car, the latest revisions appear to be reliable. If its never been done then keep an eye out for long cranks in the morning

Coolant flush - These cars are quite old now and may have changed through the hands of many mechanics. The coolant should be blue, if it is not, flush it out and put the genuine stuff in (83192211191), its not expensive.

Engine mount - The engine mounts are hydraulic and are prone to blowing out on the hot side (right hand side). They fail as early as 100k kms.

Automatic transmission service - You'll want to service the Auto to keep it shifting nice. If you leave it until 150k no amount of servicing will make the ZF auto shift better short of a rebuild. Youll need to get the pan and the ZF lifegaurd fluid. Do not use anything other than the ZF fluid!

Manual Transmission Fluid - I would only reccomend using BMW fluids, in general they last for ages and give you very slick shifts. MTF LT3 for the N54 gearbox, and MTF LT5 for the n55 gearbox (includes BMW 1M)

Oil filter housing gasket - This is an extremely common leak point and is worsened by the fact that these cars have changed hands many times over the years, resulting in poor repairs. This is a critical gasket and even if the procedures are followed exactly, it can still result in leaks in rare cases. A lot of times the bolts have been overtightened by the previous mechanic, or copious amounts of RTV silicone has been used to seal it. To do it properly you will require both the oil filter housing seal (11428637821), thermostat seal (11428637820) and 2 oring seals for the oil cooler (17222245358). You will also want to buy an aluminium cylinder head fitting, as the original one is plastic and prone to cracking.

Long term

Turbochargers - Eventually the turbos will fail, a lot of the 2006-2007 cars and some of the later cars are prone to wastegate rattle. The only proper way to fix these are to remove the turbos and replace the wastegates or the turbos themselves. The installation costs are quite high so not worth throwing the old turbos back in imo. Brand new turbos would be the best option, instead of stuffing around with reconditioning. Aftermarket turbos have a very poor reliability record, so don't buy them unless you can afford to replace a set of smoking turbos.

Injectors - These injectors are expensive and not very reliable, if you plan on keeping your car for a long time then budget in a set of Index 12 injectors at some point. Faulty injectors can be the cause of rough cold starts and misfires. Unfortunately these are very expensive, so just bearin mind this is something that will have to be done eventually.

Oil pan (11137548031)- These are now starting to go after these cars are close to 10 years old. Make sure you buy a new set of aluminium bolts (11132210959). The gasket and bolts are cheap but its quite labour intensive. A lot of cars will be leaking from the oil pan, near the transmission, it starts off as a very slow leak then gets progressively worse over time.

Valve cover - These will leak eventually. You can get the gasket on its own but it is not recommended unless you have a relatively new cover. They are prone to cracking and the removal sometimes requires a bit of force to unstick the gasket, resulting in the valve cover being stressed. Might not crack immediately but would probably end up replacing the valve cover later. Just do it once and do it right. Normally you'll get plenty of warning that the gasket is leaking

Suspension - Shocks will have lost a lot of performance by 90k kms, front upper control arm bushings will tend to leak as well, best to start looking at aftermarket suspension options

VANOS Solenoids (11367585425) - These will be the cause of various VANOS check engine lights, some that may be very hard to reproduce. You can clean the solenoids but most of the time only a replacement will fix it.

Drive belt (11287628652) - Worth doing to avoid a shredded belt.

Fluids - You will want to keep on top of the fluids as they hardly ever get changed by owners. Power steering (CHF11S), brake fluid (DOT4), trans fluid, diff fluid and coolant should all be done eventually

Turbo oil drain seals - These are common to weep oil, the flat oval shaped seal (11422246091) is a common leak source.

Gear selector shaft seal (23128677736) - This seal is a common failure point on the manual gearbox. It weeps oil and leaks onto the shifter (has a foam bushing in it), which is the cause of a sloppy shifter. Worth replacing this and the shifter bushes at the same time. This requires a special tool to remove, removing it with tiny screwdrivers is possible with enough fortitude and swearing but not worth it.

[ipdaily]

Thanks VTL, I joined the group a few days ago. Will keep reading up. Are the sellers on that page reputable?

[DR-JEKL]

Not to deter you too much, but the E93 weighs a hell of a lot more then a E92. So something to consider if you're after a fun tight steering performance car.

The E93 is more of a 'cruiser' with some poke IMO

[Austins]

Exactly what VTL said.
Obviously do a revs check, make sure the body panels line up, and the rest.
I just bought mine in march and had to replace 80% on VTLs post hah

Then enjoy the beast! and expect the mod bug to bite you

[donR]

Maybe even just shine a torch into the rocker cover and check to see if there is much sludge in there. That would surely be a sign of lack of oil change and potential premature engine failure. I little bit around the cap opening is ok but if it is covering the moving parts that is not good.

[ipdaily]

Thanks guys, will do. Will be checking out the car tonight. Regarding Transmission flush - does this apply to both DCT and the ZF Auto?

[Austins]

Originally Posted by ipdaily

Thanks guys, will do. Will be checking out the car tonight. Regarding Transmission flush - does this apply to both DCT and the ZF Auto?

Transmission oil / filter should ideally be changed (bmw says lifetime fluid)
Mine is at 155,000kms and is fine with factory oil. But it *should* be changed to avoid future issues

[ipdaily]

copy and paste from my fb post on thr Australia group:

so went for a test drive tonight. 2009 e93 335i. my friend brought his 2008 e93 along for comparison.

The car was in a bit of neglect - all the fluid warnings were on, brake pad warnings were on etc. mismatching rims flat tyres...interior looked good for its age though.

started the car, and CEL came on. rough idle. took it for a spin and it went into limp mode. pumped up tires at the servo, added a litre of oil. no sludging as far as i could tell.

drove it a bit more and still went into limp mode. pulled over and reset all the tire warnings. turned it over again, cel.light still light but no more limp mode. gave it a bit of squirt, engine felt sluggish and not very responsive. dct changed gear ok.

plugged my odb2 reader in and pulled a few codes via torque pro. A quick google shows it might be hpfp related?

i can see slight leak below the Oil filter housing doesnt look like it got onto the belt though .

any insight into the dtc and why the sluggish engine would be appreciated.

oh and the headlight sprayers are missing- not sure if the whole unit is missing or just thr covers?

codes were p3283 and p0171. Fuel related I think...

[Austins]

run
If it hasn't been serviced properly then you're more than likely going to run into bigger issues down the track (if not already). Especially with 160,000kms its more than likely going to need a whole lot of work, see VTLs list. Mine had 130,000 and was properly maintained and i still had to do most of that.

Spend an extra couple grand (if bank allows it) and get one that has been properly serviced/ maintained and then you wont worry of something going bang every time you put your foot down

[DR-JEKL]

Could be something as simple as plug and coils? but you need to get the fault code decriptions

[jzx_andy]

Originally Posted by ipdaily

copy and paste from my fb post on thr Australia group:

so went for a test drive tonight. 2009 e93 335i. my friend brought his 2008 e93 along for comparison.

The car was in a bit of neglect - all the fluid warnings were on, brake pad warnings were on etc. mismatching rims flat tyres...interior looked good for its age though.

started the car, and CEL came on. rough idle. took it for a spin and it went into limp mode. pumped up tires at the servo, added a litre of oil. no sludging as far as i could tell.

drove it a bit more and still went into limp mode. pulled over and reset all the tire warnings. turned it over again, cel.light still light but no more limp mode. gave it a bit of squirt, engine felt sluggish and not very responsive. dct changed gear ok.

plugged my odb2 reader in and pulled a few codes via torque pro. A quick google shows it might be hpfp related?

i can see slight leak below the Oil filter housing doesnt look like it got onto the belt though .

any insight into the dtc and why the sluggish engine would be appreciated.

oh and the headlight sprayers are missing- not sure if the whole unit is missing or just thr covers?

codes were p3283 and p0171. Fuel related I think...

Seems about right for a $10k 335i. It's likely a far bigger gamble than any other N54 powered car would be, but I'm not gonna say it's impossible to power through with some tlc and be ballin' on a budget at the end of it, especially if you know your way around cars and can be handy with a wrench. Just need to set realistic expectations and accept you probably won't be able to daily the thing until you confidently sort out issues that could leave you stranded on the side of the road with a dead car (water pump, dme, lpfp and hpfp failures come to mind).

A few people tend to use analogies on maintenance costs like "these cars used to retail for $120k so you better be prepared to spend good money on maintaining them" but that's just a load of BS. The retail costs of these cars was in all respects ridiculous even after considering how inflated BMW/Audi/Merc pricing was at the time in Aus. You can probably buy something slightly better than a new base model M3 with that money today after adjusting for inflation and it's common knowledge that an M car will cost you more on maintenance than a non-M car. Common replacement parts for the platform are relatively inexpensive if you know where to buy them from, it's really just big ticket items, injectors and labour costs that can potentially sting you.

In saying that, I'd repeat that you just need to set your expectations right, N54 135/335i's aren't your average passenger cars maintenance wise, they're more or less a German car with a performance motor that needs a careful eye.

[Socket]

$10K sounds like a fair price if you allow another $5 or $6K to sort out all the issues
Hopefully it won’t cost that much and you got yourself a decent ride pretty cheap
Clearly it needs some work so you can’t look at it as getting a 335 for $10k
Really it comes down to how much is your budget and appetite for risk
I’d say I you can afford $16K it’s probably worth a go

[donR]

The way I see it is if you buy it for $10k and spend another $5 or $6k or even $10k you are still way off the $120k it was worth

But then what else can you get for $20k? Maybe one that has been looked after and serviced to the book.

[BM3Rrrr]

For 10k id risk it.

[juld0zer]

Water test the convertible and check for water ingress in the boot