[Nev05]

Hi guys, long time lurker here but I think I am ready to buy my first BMW. I am looking specifically for a E90 or F30 335 in manual. I wanted to go N55 as I heard those are more reliable than the N54. I don't plan to do any extensive mods but probably some bolt-ons after I enjoy it stock for a bit. I have heard the horror stories in regards to maintenance so I do have extra cash for a rainy day. But I am also looking for one that has been maintained properly.

That being said, I found one that I wanted to run by here to see if it's a good deal. It's a 2011 335i x-drive sedan, m-sport package with the manual. It's located in Montreal, which is about a 5 hour drive away. I spoke to the seller and he sent me all the maintenance receipts for the car since day 1 along with 30 high-res pics of the car with all the dents and scratches marked. Looking through the maintenance receipts, it seems starter has been replaced twice, alternator has been replaced, water pump and thermostat has been done, and the front and rear brakes have been done as well. The rest is just oil changes. Looking at the pics, body seems all good for this age except 2 of the rims have bad curb rash (it was lady driven). The car currently has 108,000 KM on it and it's posted up for $19,000 CDN. I spoke to the seller and tried to get him to come down to $16k atleast, but he won't budge. Lowest he said he can do is $18k. My question is, do you guys think it's worth it for $18k? And what other major maintenance should I be expecting from this car if I were to buy it and keep it for about 3 years. I'm open to any advice/suggestions. Thank you !

[marvinstockman]

First, get the Carfax for the vehicle, and if it has a salvage title, walk away.

Second, ask him to take it to a BMW dealer (you'll pay) for a pre-purchase inspection.

From the inspection and the Carfax, you can determine what the price should be, but at least you'll know.

[StradaRedlands]

The huge expense coming your way is the oil pan/sump gasket which will be $$$.
Definitely get the PPI and see what else is going on.
Rust will potentially be an issue.

[Nev05]

Originally Posted by marvinstockman

First, get the Carfax for the vehicle, and if it has a salvage title, walk away.

Second, ask him to take it to a BMW dealer (you'll pay) for a pre-purchase inspection.

From the inspection and the Carfax, you can determine what the price should be, but at least you'll know.

He sent me the Carfax as well and it's clean. 2 owners, no accidents, clean title. I am considering a PPI, do you know how much does the dealer usually charge for this?

[Nev05]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

The huge expense coming your way is the oil pan/sump gasket which will be $$$.
Definitely get the PPI and see what else is going on.
Rust will potentially be an issue.

How much does it usually cost for the oil pan gasket? Since its a Montreal vehicle, I will definitely need to get it checked for rust. My uncle has a indy mechanic he goes to in Montreal so I will be taking it there before purchase just to inspect underneath. I never gotten a PPI before, do you know what things they look for and what they don't check?

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Nev05

How much does it usually cost for the oil pan gasket? Since its a Montreal vehicle, I will definitely need to get it checked for rust. My uncle has a indy mechanic he goes to in Montreal so I will be taking it there before purchase just to inspect underneath. I never gotten a PPI before, do you know what things they look for and what they don't check?

The oil pan gasket should probably be fine for now, but will eventually leak. Just plan for it and find out of it has already started. Some people just ignore it and are fine. It will be expensive labor on an AWD BMW, probably best done by someone with experience doing them (German car specialist).

The rest of the general BMW problems aren't that big of a deal. Manual transmission means you won't have to worry about automatic problems!

Rust could be a huge issue... it may not be destroying actual body panels or subframe, but every fastener on the car might be coated and will be a huge problem to work on. A PPI will address that... they don't fix anything, just point out problems and give a priority and repair cost quote.

Chances are car is fine, don't let either of the above scare you off, just know what you're getting!

[Boston4]

If you skip xDrive, you'll cut down on the maintenance. Lots of projects get easier (e.g. water pump, oil pan gasket), and you skip all of the wear items in the front. I had to do both front axles last year.

[Nev05]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

The oil pan gasket should probably be fine for now, but will eventually leak. Just plan for it and find out of it has already started. Some people just ignore it and are fine. It will be expensive labor on an AWD BMW, probably best done by someone with experience doing them (German car specialist).

The rest of the general BMW problems aren't that big of a deal. Manual transmission means you won't have to worry about automatic problems!

Rust could be a huge issue... it may not be destroying actual body panels or subframe, but every fastener on the car might be coated and will be a huge problem to work on. A PPI will address that... they don't fix anything, just point out problems and give a priority and repair cost quote.

Chances are car is fine, don't let either of the above scare you off, just know what you're getting!

Thank you, this was really helpful! I'm trying not let it scare me off. My heart wants the car, but my wallet is saying no lol

[Nev05]

Originally Posted by Boston4

If you skip xDrive, you'll cut down on the maintenance. Lots of projects get easier (e.g. water pump, oil pan gasket), and you skip all of the wear items in the front. I had to do both front axles last year.

I'm not stuck on Xdrive but I noticed finding a e90 sedan+manual+RWD seems like a unicorn.

[Suvorovo]

Originally Posted by Nev05

I'm not stuck on Xdrive but I noticed finding a e90 sedan+manual+RWD seems like a unicorn.

The wait for a RWD is worthwhile. I spent 4 months looking for a low mileage 330i N52. Unfortunately, I jumped on an Xdrive since it was a family car and had a stack of receipts with it. Xdrive lower gearing and is quite slower than RWD. Also, an alignment shop (used a torch to loosen bolts and burned my boot) ruined my CV axle so that was around $500 in parts and tools.

[bkwld]

I did a quick search as if I was buying the vehicle here in the States.
Typically, the dealers here are pricing $16-17K USD (about $15-16k USD purchasing price with some negotiation). This is about $18K CND) for low mileage 67,000 miles for the vehicle you’re looking at. So buying direct from an owner is likely saving you about $2-3K from retail. This has been the case in my experience. So the question of if this is good deal, is different for every situation. So many variables, options, condition, owner’s mindset etc. It always come down to what you’re willing to pay for it. You’re looking at M-Sport package (assuming if its M-Tech bumpers its even better, with manual) then its a unicorn in itself. Most Canadians in the East will need the AWD. Here in the States we have inventory shortage so the E90 prices have gone up.

[Boston4]

Originally Posted by Suvorovo

The wait for a RWD is worthwhile. I spent 4 months looking for a low mileage 330i N52. Unfortunately, I jumped on an Xdrive since it was a family car and had a stack of receipts with it. Xdrive lower gearing and is quite slower than RWD. Also, an alignment shop (used a torch to loosen bolts and burned my boot) ruined my CV axle so that was around $500 in parts and tools.

Similar story here. I wanted an N52 6MT RWD that was well-equipped and well-maintained, and an M-Sport xDrive popped up for a pretty good price. Overall don't regret it, and there are definitely times where AWD has come in handy, but I think RWD would have been a better ownership experience.

[ppointer]

If I was that far north and this was my only car, I would take the x-drive. In fact, I got stuck in Ohio in December just 50 feet from my driveway with our '11 e90 335i. Anyway, I agree with most of what else has been posted. I would do the PPI ($300 last time I paid for one), and expect a couple of oil leaks since it appears no gaskets have been addressed. I would expect some rust on the fasteners underneath. Mileage is really good for a 2011. Price is good for a MT, too.

At that mileage, probably also a good idea to change out the coils and plugs. A kit is <$300 US from FCP and you can do the work yourself in about an hour.

[NorthernDancer]

Montreal, as does Toronto, has a very active BMW club. Absolutely get in touch with them. They'll recommend the best BMW indy garages, no need to go to a dealer.

[Nev05]

So just an update on this. Montreal recently had a pretty bad ice storm so they were out of power for a bit. I scheduled a PPI with BMW but they cancelled due to this. The next appointment with BMW was a few more weeks out so I decided to find a BMW mechanic to do the PPI. I found CSN auto ralph and booked an appointment which was this morning. Here are the results:
1. Chargepipe is broken
2. Turbo wastegate is sticking open
3. Front brake rotors warped
4. Tires are mismatched and car needs an alignment

Now, I'm not too worried about the rotors, tires or the charge-pipe. I'm assuming this still has the OEM plastic chargepipe hence why its broken? But according to that mechanic, replacing the turbo to fix the wastegate sticking will set me back around 3 grand. What do you all think? I can use this info as a bargaining chip to bring it down more in cost but is it worth it? Other than these things, the car is in immaculate condition.

[oVeRdOsE.]

same car as your 1st post? can't find it on fb market, still up?

wastegate at 108k km?

and 18k$. This is freaking expensive, Im looking at bmws everyday.
So much that Ive scored a 2009 m pack , fully loaded (yeah all options checked) 335xi, manual, no winter driven, 115k km , for 7k$, in montreal...

N55 tend to be rare in manual , but I saw few around 13-14k$ max at this mileage. Spring tax I guess.

Might be a good opportunity to negociate. I dont believe the waste gate is 3k$.
Call Eurozone motorsport or StanceDub or Momentum Motorsport.
At 3k$ you better get a upgraded turbo for that price lol.

Charge pipe is common tho, get a upgrade one, check with CTS turbo, they are located in BC, so no customs.

I dont dig the tire missmatch, are they all the same size? bmw transfer case is not known to be the strongest.

also if you want a RWD, those transmission are very similar to RWD one, but with a transfer case and diff slapped on . that means with a obd dongle you can toggle AWD/RWD.

My N55 got 150k km, and it still all OEM, finger crossed.

[Nev05]

Another update: I bought the car and brought her home yesterday! I negotiated with the seller and agreed on $15k flat. I will post some pics soon, once I give her a wash and get her registered here in Ontario. A couple things I noticed; when driving normally at low speeds, shifting between 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th I would get some white smoke from the exhaust. I drove it like a granny and 2 hours into the journey, I got a message saying my oil level is low. Stopped at a gas station and topped up with oil and it was happy. I don't see the white smoke anymore but when i got home, i checked the oil level and it dropped a little. Anyone know what might cause this? Would it be something related to the wastegate being stuck open?

[oVeRdOsE.]

pcv are known to fail on the N engines. N55 is easy to change, you can do it without changing the valve cover, but require JB weld.

PCV can be the oil consumption issue.

Or you can have blowby on the turbo. One easy way to see is to remove the intercooler hose and see if its full of oil.

I don't think a open waste gate can cause this issue.


Congrats for the purchase, but I have to say this don't sounds good, N55 should not have the described issue on such low mileage. Hopefully is simple a storm in a glass of water.

[Nev05]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

pcv are known to fail on the N engines. N55 is easy to change, you can do it without changing the valve cover, but require JB weld.

PCV can be the oil consumption issue.

Or you can have blowby on the turbo. One easy way to see is to remove the intercooler hose and see if its full of oil.

I don't think a open waste gate can cause this issue.


Congrats for the purchase, but I have to say this don't sounds good, N55 should not have the described issue on such low mileage. Hopefully is simple a storm in a glass of water.

Thank you man. I haven't gotten a chance to get it fully diagnosed yet but I'm also hoping its minor. I finally got it registered and plated. I took her out the past weekend for a ride and took some pics.

[bkwld]

Yeah! That is a beauty. A proper M-Tech package too.

[StradaRedlands]

That steering wheel... dreamy...

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by hdl88

Seems like a good deal man.

depends of the issue, but im looking everyday for bmw part and car, and this was not a deal. It's a ok price for spring tax.

However, those car are sooo rare, that if you want one, you DON'T wait for a deal.

Finally, it was not overpriced, just ok-ish high, so in a way, yes this could be a deal on a such rare car.

For something I really want I dont wait now. I passed on a REAL fully loaded 2010 E91 ( m pack, executif, comform, sport, individual), 70k km, manual, red int. back in 2015, the guy was asking 23k$... This was a deal, that I missed.