E90 335i

titaniumx3

titaniumx3

titaniumx3

Soldato
Joined
11 May 2006
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Hi all,

Looking for some advice here. Will be looking at a few E90 335i (and 330i) this weekend, all going for around the £10k. Will be looking at both the coupes and saloons, in the 2007 - 2009 age range. Milage is up to 70k and lowest is 22k.

I know these cars are meant to be unreliable and expensive to maintain, but I plan on getting the BMW warranty to cover this.

Is there anything specific I should look for when inspecting the car? Complete novice at any sort of car maintenance, so will be a steep learning curve for me, but I guess I have to start some where.

Would appreciate some advice or even anything else I can get for around the £10k mark? Has to be sporty yet reasonably practical and not too difficult to run and maintain.
 
The facelift does look much nicer. And for the warranty to be reasonable, you had best get an example with less than 60k on it, rather than 70k.

I doubt that will lie in budget though.
 
I have a facelift 335I. Tbh i wouldn't personally go for the twin turbo (i think all if not most pre-facelift models). IIRC the facelift starts from March 2010 but i may be wrong on this. Mine is a sept 10 (60 plates). If you're going to buy a car like this, do it proper, don't go for now an older model / older plate and skimp. Either get the 330i or stretch your budget IMO.

I did extensive research before buying 18 months ago which completey put me off the twin turbo for all the problems it had (turbo wastegates / HPFP etc). Yes you can get the bmw warranty, but again IIRC anything over 55/60k (cant remember exact cut off) the warranty cost goes up considerably. I got my bmw warranty as soon as i bought it, pay £52/53 a month now i think with the 'inflation' increase they put on it.

I paid 19.5k for mine in mint, 50k on the clock, DCT model (simply awesome...), all the fancy options ticked. Overpriced for what glasses said, but was in the ball park for the condition and what they were all demanding up and down the country 18 months ago. The 335i DCT's do hold their money better than manuals. I've had a trade in offer of 12.5k part ex on an M4, but private i reckon i could get 15k+ for mine now looking around.

They are awesome cars, i've an uprated FMIC, intake and stage 2 map on mine. Circa 400hp, loads of power and torque.

Mine has been really reliable actually touch wood. Other than the usual things you would expect to repair on any other car of this age (wheel bearing, track rod ties/ends) but didn't come to a lot of money at a bmw independant specialist. The pre-facelift all the reliability issues are mostly with the engine/carbon buildup/fuel pump/turbos, other than that its usual bmw pretty reliable build quality. For the facelift BMW redesigned the engine, went single twinscroll turbo and direct injection.

Manual versions command less than DCT. Although i am biased, the DCT i think is awesome, it converted me atleast, i will never have a manual car again now.
 
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Pretty sure all 335i's are twin turbos regardless of age.

The LCI does look miles better, much fresher, and more likely to have the better CIC iDrive.

Warranty cut off is 60k.

As said, you would have to increase budget to get a good LCI 335i, but personally, that's where my money would be going. I was never a fan of the 330i. But then I like boost.
 
Xplo said:
I have a facelift 335I. Tbh i wouldn't personally go for the twin turbo (i think all if not most pre-facelift models). IIRC the facelift starts from March 2010 but i may be wrong on this. Mine is a sept 10 (60 plates). If you're going to buy a car like this, do it proper, don't go for now an older model / older plate and skimp.
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The Coupe facelift was 2010, the Saloon facelift was September 2008.

Buying an older one, provided it's post September 08 for the upgraded iDrive isn't skimping - it's the same car. Arguably it's a better idea than spending way over the odds on a newer model of what is essentially now a 10 year old design.

The N54 is a better engine than the N55 (Which is why it was kept for the higher power iS cars after it's replacement by the N55 in the regular ones) but the N55 is more reliable. So swings and roundabouts.
 
N54 is more capable when modifying from what I understand too. A friend has his N54 335i running around 500BHP at the minute on the stock turbos.
 
[TW]Fox;29601332 said:
The Coupe facelift was 2010, the Saloon facelift was September 2008.

Buying an older one, provided it's post September 08 for the upgraded iDrive isn't skimping - it's the same car. Arguably it's a better idea than spending way over the odds on a newer model of what is essentially now a 10 year old design.

The N54 is a better engine than the N55 (Which is why it was kept for the higher power iS cars after it's replacement by the N55 in the regular ones) but the N55 is more reliable. So swings and roundabouts.
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Mine is a coupe.

I disagree the N54 is a 'better' engine, in the stock or even iS form you suggest. I've never myself seen any factual proof that BMW kept the N54 for this purpose because it was 'better' infact when i was researching a lot of people were suggesting bmw had stock left over from the lapping over period so decided to use them in those limited applications to use up the last stock of the engines. I guess none of us will ever know though unless BMW publicly state the idea behind it, which i'm unaware if they have. As the iS only have what another 30 or so HP, to gain that is essentially a re-tune and a slightly larger intercooler i think, just as easily attainable on the N55. Besides the op is not on about buying an iS, so IMO in his situation the N55 would better suit him if he can stretch to it, due to reliability mainly, i know the warranty can be had for the N54 but people hardly want the inconvenience of their car going in for work. I personally wouldn't buy a car or put myself in a position knowing it has potentially unreliable engine problems but 'it's ok i've got warranty' there's lots of other choice that that option i don't feel is necessary, unless the OP is aware and decides that he's prepared to do that and understands to atleast expect it if it does happen, that's why i ended up going for the N55, after having originally had my heart set on an N54 when i started out my research, i decided to spend the little extra, among actually many other reasons, for peace of mind

The N55 is also very tuneable, there are some die hard people over the pond who swear on the N54 for tuning for massive power outputs, but that's when their all going way above the average joe as far as tuning is concernced and as far past 400hp as they can. For probably the OP's purposes an N55 IMO would be the better option and probably suit him much more considering he's looking for something that isn't too difficult to run and maintain, the OP hasn't stated he wants an engine that is massively tuneable by throwing thousands and thousands of pounds at it, and as we all know the N55 design and ancillary components are much more reliable considering. Other than that N54 & N55 in stock form have the same output and performance, and one would argue the N55 actually has better power pickup from the low range as it hits peak torque quicker. I threw in my tuning experiences just to show how easy the N55's can still get to 400hp on a relatively small budget, 400 HP personally cost me circa £1200, which may or may not be in the OP's interest, probably not infact, but additional info all the less.
 
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I had an e92 335i N54 engine for two years. Great cars, with regards the engine, largely the same however the N54 definitely feels a bit more punchy as it sustains peak torque over a larger rev band (1400-5000 vs 1200-4000 in the N55).

Reliability is better on the N55, however if you have the BMW insured warranty (which you've stated you will be) it's less of an issue if something does crop up.

Like Fox said, i'd be aiming for a car with CIC as a priority. The E92 facelift wasn't as pronounced as the E90 iirc and was largely new front light housing and bright white DRL's.
 
Xplo said:
Mine is a coupe.

I disagree the N54 is a 'better' engine, in the stock or even iS form you suggest. I've never myself seen any factual proof that BMW kept the N54 for this purpose because it was 'better' infact when i was researching a lot of people were suggesting bmw had stock left over from the lapping over period so decided to use them in those limited applications to use up the last stock of the engines.
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It's still in production some 6 years after the N55 appeared - infact it's lasted as long as the N55 which is now being replaced..
 
xs2man said:
iaind said:
Even I know that the 335i changed from a twin to a single turbo during its lifespan :p

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_N55
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Every day is a school day. Always thought the x35x was a twin turbo. Regardless of petrol or Diesel engine.
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Wow, I had no idea my dad's 535i GT was a single turbo engine. I remember warning him of HPFP and twin turbo failures when he bought it.

That's quite embarrassing actually :o
N55 probably explains why it's had no issues after 5 years :p

[TW]Fox;29601332 said:
The N54 is a better engine than the N55
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Based on what? Purely because they kept it?
(Genuinely curious; not a dig!)
 
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