Know anything about a BMW 335i?

[cali_beemer]

Now that I am single again and price of gas is insane, I started looking at cars. I test drove a used 335i today with the sport and convenience package. It had the HID lights, nav, paddle shifters, moonroff.....etc. I loved driving this car. Awesome! Room for 4 people, handled like on rails, the paddle shifters are the best I have used and it was comfportable with a great nav display. My concers....well...its a BMW and it has twin turbos...What could go wrong? LOL. Anyone have experience with these? Any years to avoid? I am not sure I will pursue this. My truck is paid for and there is somethign about not having a car payment but I really really loved this car. I should also ask what a realistic gas mileage is as well.

[beemerman2k]

Yeah, this is why I don't test driver BMW cars. I made the mistake of test driving a 3 series station wagon (hey, I have 3 young daughters, so quit laughing) and that car was a dream! I could be a responsible father AND have fun driving! But it was just too expensive for me.

 

I have never heard any BMW owner regret owning their car. Ever.

[russell_bynum]

Now that I am single again and price of gas is insane, I started looking at cars. I test drove a used 335i today with the sport and convenience package. It had the HID lights, nav, paddle shifters, moonroff.....etc. I loved driving this car. Awesome! Room for 4 people, handled like on rails, the paddle shifters are the best I have used and it was comfportable with a great nav display. My concers....well...its a BMW and it has twin turbos...What could go wrong? LOL. Anyone have experience with these? Any years to avoid? I am not sure I will pursue this. My truck is paid for and there is somethign about not having a car payment but I really really loved this car. I should also ask what a realistic gas mileage is as well.

 

Let me get this straight...you are worried about the cost of gas...so you're looking at a $40,000 BMW?

 

Lol.

 

I can't offer any specific insights other than general BMW stuff: tires and brakes go quick and are expensive and dealer maintenance prices are astronomical. The more complicated a machine is, the more likely it is that some subsystem will fail at any given moment...a new BMW is a hideously complicated machine.

 

That motor is intoxicating, though.

[Mike]

I've got a 535xi that I bought a couple of months ago. As you'd expect, these cars with the N54 engine (twin turbo 3.0) are very complex. The consensus is that they're fairly high maintenance.

 

The Achilles heel has been the high-speed fuel pump and injectors. BMW has extended the HPFP warranty to 10 years/120,000 miles, so that big concern is pretty well taken care of. Some cars have had repeated issues with this, but others have been entirely trouble-free. My car had the HPFP and five injectors replaced shortly before I bought it. The other injector went belly up shortly after I took over.

 

They're great cars, but you're likely going to find them to require more maintenance than average. I'd definitely look at cars that have at least a few thousand miles before the warranty expires, as you don't want to be paying for this stuff out of pocket. If you can find one that suits you, the BMW CPO cars are an excellent way to go.

 

With the bigger car with an AWD drivetrain, I get about 20 mpg overall (city and highway). On road trips, cruising at 75-80, I get 28-30 mpg. You should do better with a 335i.

[Richard_D]

Don't own one without a warranty.

[betty]

Bimmerfest and E90 are good internet forums for the cars.

 

I scoured these boards for a while before we bought our 3 series. I opted for a 328 as I didn't want the first year hassles of the turbos as we keep our cars a long time. Great internet deals to be had there also.

[Lmar]

I am on my third BMW, a 325i, 330Ci and now I have a 328. I have accumulated a total of about 500,000 km on them. The 325i had 260,000 km on the odometer. We had to add a battery (after 8 yrs), at 225,000 km a Power Steering pump and we had some seepage on the water pump so we replace it . Other than that it was routine maintenance. The 330Ci had 190,000 km and routine maintenance only. Neither vehicle used any oil. The 328 is only 7 months old.

 

The 335 twin turbo engines are beautiful engines, nice power but fairly complicated. Repair costs could be expensive.

 

I really like the BMW engines, very smooth and fuel efficient. My 328 gets around 38 miles to the gallon.

 

Here is the link to the E90 forum. http://www.e90post.com/forums/

 

Here in Canada we have free maintenance for 4 years. When my other 2 vehicles ran out of warranty I would find out what maintenance was part of the inspection and tell the service manager what I wanted done. For example, I can check my own thread wear, tire pressure, air filter, cabin filter etc. I am not going to pay someone a $120.00 per hr do that.

 

If you are buying a used one, I would buy a certified BMW from a dealer. This would get you two years of warranty. BMW guarantees their certified vehicles.

 

 

[DonB]

I have one. an 07 sedan. Comfort, Premium, Steptronic. It is a drivers car. Kinda like the BMW bikes. Not fancy, complete package, achilles heel to keep things interesting.

 

Very smooth, fast, mine gets 30-32 mpg at a constant 80mph. Midrange is fantastic. Little to no turbo lag.

 

Very high quality interior.

 

Achilles is the High Pressure fuel pump. For a gas engine (remember this is one of the first direct-injected gas engines) the fuel pressures are very high.

 

Also, because of the DI, the intake valves get buildup.

 

Watch for cars that have been tuned as this is easy to do. Prior owners can put a tune on these, beat the hell out of them, and remove the tune. SO check for this.

 

Always buy a CPO as this will protect you.

 

Sport package is a double-edged sword. Great handling but EATS tires, is rough ride, and the stagger prevents tire rotation.

 

The E90Post forum is a great source for info but beware the whiners.

 

Good luck, I really like mine.

[TEWKS]

Nice car for sure but my only interest in this one was the paint color. Vermillion Red, same as the K1600 GT, Oh yeah!!

 

 

 

 

Pat

[Rphoto]

As others have said, the fuel pump has been very problematic. I believe that BMWNA added an extended warranty to 120,000 miles on that part.

 

That said, the E90 3-series cars are outstanding. I have had great success with numerous late model BMW's (325i, Z3 Coupe, X3) and my current '09 328xi (AWD) is the best in terms of refinement. I opted for the smaller engined version because of the cost difference, less complexity and the aforementioned fuel pump issues. Acceleration and handling are still better than 95% of the cars on the road.

 

BMW also offers a diesel version if fuel mileage is that important to you, but with the difference in diesel prices, not sure it is that advantageous.

 

I have also found the BMW auto dealers to be top-drawer in knowledge and quality of service. My experience with BMW motorcycle dealers has not been nearly as positive (it sucked to put it bluntly).

[cali_beemer]

Well, i appreciate all the feedback. As much as I loved driving the BMW, I think keeping my truck is the way to go. Its paid for and I want to love as debt free as possible. I may just put this off for a little bit.

[Art..]

I bought one for my wife, a 2008 convertible with the sport package, 6 speed manual, and all the other good stuff. No active steering. This car was a great find.

 

The car is an absolute animal. My son and I timed it 0-60 with the TCS off and we got 5.19 seconds. Very, very close to an M3.

 

In normal driving, the torque curve of the N54 twin turbo motor puts all the good stuff right in the midrange. There are very few cars that can keep up.

 

Running through the first 4 gears on a highway onramp gets you to 115 way to easily. The car is chip-limited to 155 mph.

 

It's a thinking man's M3. Buy it - love it.

 

 

 

 

[betty]

 

I have also found the BMW auto dealers to be top-drawer in knowledge and quality of service. My experience with BMW motorcycle dealers has not been nearly as positive (it sucked to put it bluntly).

 

This. We get treated like gold when we bring our car in for service. The dealers go out of their way to ensure we are happy with the service. They have gone to bat and done repairs after the warranty expired.

It seems to the Motorrad division of BMW has a different philosophy when it comes to customer satisfaction.