[Tomar10]

Hi experts and enthusiasts. I am a noob considering buying a 2011 335d 44k miles with Premium and cold weather package. My concern is with how reliable it is going to be and will I be saddled with expensive repairs.

I have had an Acura RL for a long time which has been essentially trouble free for me. I intend to keep my Acura as my winter driver should I buy this car.

I am trying to familiarize myself with some of the words here like CBU issues, alphabet delete (still don't understand it fully).

There is also another 2011 335 d with 35k miles with navigation and convenience , premium package and Navigation available but requires me to travel out of state to get that.

Another car that I like is a 2012 335 xi coupe with 26k miles with premium package and navigation. Though it's been in an accident early in its lease but the owner persisted with the lease so it wasn't that bad.

I don't have a commute to speak of so the d would be a weekend ride and used on vacation.

Now what would the recommendation be of you enthusiasts for me?

If you recommend the 335 d then what are the essential mods that I should get done to make it reliable and last long? I don't mind doing the mods as I am not in California and hopefully passing inspection isn't an issue. Also where could I get these done and how much would they cost, a ballpark

Any insight and advice would be greatly appreciated for I know very little.

[bvanlieu]

Coming from a Honda, any BMW will be lower on the reliability scale, that's a given.

The 335d is very much a niche car. Sure some folks just drive it but there seems to be a fair amount that know the joy and quirks of the torque monster that gets 35 mpg all day doing 75.

If you are not driving a lot of miles, what is the allure for you with the Diesel? Do you also enjoy torque monsters? V8 giddy up in a 6 cylinder package?

For tooling around, short driving etc...its hard to recommend this car over a solid 335 gasser where you have a greater selection of cars to choose from and the fuel economy really isn't going to be a concern.

I'm not trying to talk you out of the D: I love ours but I also have a lot of highway commuting to do and chose the car for that reason over a 335. I looked for a sport/Msport specifically with heated seats, slapped 4 snow tires on it and use it as my winter car here in PA as well.

If you can, get it CPO as that should cover a carbon cleaning but that can be hit/miss with BMW warranty. Check your state laws, if it follows CA emissions laws then you get 70K miles emissions warranty which can cover the SCR problems that have plagued many of us.

Otherwise yes, its going to cost some money to maintain over time. The biggest gripe is the emissions system: BMW did a crap job with the SCR system, the pump etc...it fails too often and is expensive to repair. Carbon build up, if it was a 100K service for 1000 (like a timing belt) many of us would be OK with as cost of owning it, but its also hit/miss depending on driving style.

You can read for hours on this form, do some research of your own but remember you read more complaints then kudos on the inter tubes

- b

[Mark M]

Agreed. The 335d is definitely a niche car. It will never win an award for reliability. It's like a bipolar blonde cheerleader - on her good days she will bring you excitement like no other, on her bad days you'll be left holding an open wallet in one hand and a tissue for your tears in the other.

I'd only recommend this car to the real hands on enthusiast prepared with a full tool chest. Unless of course you've got cpo warranty. In my 3 plus years of ownership she has spent a combined amount of about 5 months in the shop.

[Persian Whisperjet]

Having a second car (the Acura) is helpful.

I would not go out of my to get the Nav system. A $150 GPS outperforms the Nav and doesn't break down.

[335D Alpha Pappa]

Originally Posted by Persian Whisperjet

Having a second car (the Acura) is helpful.

I would not go out of my to get the Nav system. A $150 GPS outperforms the Nav and doesn't break down.

Yep. the accuracy of the Nav system sucks!

Female voice: "Turn Left in 500 feet" followed immediately by "Turn left Now!" all while driving 30 mph. At least there is no "Recalculating" after you have missed your turn.

[BEWWWM]

I drive 60mi/day and 700-1k mi every other weekend, that is my reason for having diesels in the garage. Before the d I was driving a jetta tdi, great mileage but I kept getting kicked out of sorority events for not being an 18yr old girl.

Diesel cars are not worth it for city/short drives, and often increase the problems within the emissions systems.

[Tomar10]

Thanks for replies. When I took the car for a ride it was sheer joy. I used to have a Yamaha VMax motorcycle which was a torque monster and a sound to match. This car here is an automotive equivalent I think.

The car is at Car Max and just fell out of BMW warranty so I don't know if I can get a CPO. I got a quote from endurance supreme of about 4200 for 5yrs 60000 additional miles with 100$ deductible.

Is that advisable or should I just put that amount separate for repairs? This will be my first BMW and I don't to keep spending on it endlessly just to run. Is there a way to make it more reliable ?

[Twilight1]

I wouldn't pay over $17000 and be prepared for lots of expensive service. Personally , I'd go with the 335ix. Silky smooth six and you don't have the stench of raw diesel fuel.

[335D Alpha Pappa]

Originally Posted by Tomar10

Thanks for replies. When I took the car for a ride it was sheer joy. I used to have a Yamaha VMax motorcycle which was a torque monster and a sound to match. This car here is an automotive equivalent I think.

The car is at Car Max and just fell out of BMW warranty so I don't know if I can get a CPO. I got a quote from endurance supreme of about 4200 for 5yrs 60000 additional miles with 100$ deductible.

Is that advisable or should I just put that amount separate for repairs? This will be my first BMW and I don't to keep spending on it endlessly just to run. Is there a way to make it more reliable ?

Dealer cost for SCR and DEF Tank repairs are $4000 & $2500. Earlier last year there was a 4-6 month backlog on both parts. Don't know where it is now.
A bad SCR will not allow your car to pass inspection, but a bad DEF tank will brick the car after you go past the 1000 mile no start warning.

Verify that the Carbon Build-Up (CBU) cleaning is covered under the warranty.

[Venom107]

I spent a lot of researching before I bought mine. I would not have bought mine without the plan to do deletes and tune. I absolutely love this car as it is now. 340hp-563tq at the wheels, whats not to love.

[dixy2k]

Don't buy any new diesel car/truck for the legendary reliability. Not the case anymore.

Don't compare the Japanese cars to the German ones in terms of reliability.

A 335i has far less things to go wrong compared to 335d. All emissions related.

Diesels are more prone to CBU. They go through regeneration whereas the gassers don't. If multiple regenerations are ignored the DPF, SCR and Turbos will foul up so bad they will need to be replaced.
You need to know what the potential problems may be, so you can judge for yourself if you are ok with paying for those problems down the road.
If you drive 90% on the freeway (no traffic), a lot of those problems are less likely to happen to you.

[Twilight1]

Originally Posted by Venom107

I spent a lot of researching before I bought mine. I would not have bought mine without the plan to do deletes and tune. I absolutely love this car as it is now. 340hp-563tq at the wheels, whats not to love.

That is amazing torque ! Are you worried about the transmission, at all?

[Tomar10]

Originally Posted by Venom107

I spent a lot of researching before I bought mine. I would not have bought mine without the plan to do deletes and tune. I absolutely love this car as it is now. 340hp-563tq at the wheels, whats not to love.

How much did cost you to do the deletes and tune? What's your experience been like after this in terms of issues faced? Or does it take care of most issues?

[Tomar10]

335 d is available for 21k plus tax and 335xi for 26k plus tax

[Venom107]

Originally Posted by Tomar10

How much did cost you to do the deletes and tune? What's your experience been like after this in terms of issues faced? Or does it take care of most issues?

Doing all of the mechanical myself, I was in for about $2500 for the deletes, tune and meth. There are plenty of threads on the deletes and tunes on here. I have not had any issues, but only have about 4k on the car since.

[GadgetBMW]

Originally Posted by Tomar10

Hi experts and enthusiasts. I am a noob considering buying a 2011 335d 44k miles with Premium and cold weather package. My concern is with how reliable it is going to be and will I be saddled with expensive repairs.

I have had an Acura RL for a long time which has been essentially trouble free for me. I intend to keep my Acura as my winter driver should I buy this car.........

Any insight and advice would be greatly appreciated for I know very little.

I agree with the others, the 335d is very much a niche car. What an anomaly! A rare combination of twin-turbo diesel performance, fuel efficiency, responds very well to mods/tuning and yet has some issues in terms of reliability with the emissions related components.

It's safe to say that a 335d or any BMW for that matter most likely won't be as reliable as an Acura RL or any Acura, BUT no Acura will quite match the driving dynamics of a BMW. I had a 1995 Acura Legend (RL predecessor) and it too was a very reliable car for me. It had 170K miles when I sold it and it probably is still on the road today! I replaced my Acura Legend with my currently daily driver/winter beater, a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

I purchased my 2011 335d M-Sport almost two year ago. Before buying it, I educated myself on everything 335d related including the new diesel technology (DPF regens, Alphabet technology, etc) and the issues with it. I purchased mine for the same reasons, a performance capable low mileage weekend ride. My 335d doesn't see snow or salt. In hindsight, based on my current usage, I probably could have went with an M3 or a 335i being that the fuel efficiency of the 335d hasn't really benefited me thus far with the limited driving that I do with it. With that being said, I've been very happy with my 335d and it's been trouble free so far except for early onset of CBU, which I cleaned up and enhanced it to reduce future CBU occurences. I'm very comfortable working on my own cars and nothing about this car worries me. The 335d puts a grin on my face every time I drive it and the torque and responsiveness of it is amazing!

I don't recommend the 335d if you have a short commute or if you are expecting the reliability to be on par with an Acura. The 335d (like most newer diesels) works well for a highway driver, especially with the need for the car to be able to perform successful DPF regens and sustained highway driving helps to aid in this. You will mostly likely encounter issues with the emissions components at some point, all of which can be addressed without too much worry in my opinion. The 335d isn't for everybody nor is it recommended for certain types of drivers. I drive 90+ miles daily to/from work, mostly highway. If I had a short commute or I did a lot of city driving, I wouldn't own a 335d without some form of alphabet deletes.

I'm a diesel fan in general and I like the "clean" diesel technology in the 335d. My wife has driven behind both my 335d and my old Jetta TDI and has commented how she can't tell that the 335d is a diesel (no diesel exhaust smell), not so with the old Jetta. I especially like the rarity of the 335d relative to other cars in my area. I've only seen one other 335d on the road since I've owned it. Sometimes I get thumb-ups from fellow BMW enthusiasts and diesel enthusiasts when I drive it, including my neighbor (BMW fanatic) who owns an F30 335i M-Sport. I think that the M57 engine and the ZF transmission in the 335d have been in service for some time and are quite robust under normal usage and with scheduled maintenance. The other emissions related issues are just the price of admission, IMHO!

I truly wish you the very best with whatever you decide!

[Tomar10]

So I am thinking 335 d with the deletes and tune up and no additional warranty or the 335 xi with no warranty. Any thoughts, is the asking price bit much? And do you see major flaws in my plan.

I am not planning on doing the mechanical myself.

[Tomar10]

Originally Posted by Mark M

Agreed. The 335d is definitely a niche car. It will never win an award for reliability. It's like a bipolar blonde cheerleader - on her good days she will bring you excitement like no other, on her bad days you'll be left holding an open wallet in one hand and a tissue for your tears in the other.

I'd only recommend this car to the real hands on enthusiast prepared with a full tool chest. Unless of course you've got cpo warranty. In my 3 plus years of ownership she has spent a combined amount of about 5 months in the shop.

Thanks Mark, after reading your post a warranty seems a must. It is just pushing the cost of ownership real high with the deletes and tune up included.

[Pierre Louis]

I like the idea of having a warranty when buying a used car. Someone else's problems, you know what I mean. I usually buy new and hold on to my cars a long time. I can trust its owner, ha ha.

Most aftermarket and BMW warranties are overpriced by at least 50%. This leaves money for profit and pays the middle man.

A car of the 335d's character can easily force you to drop a grand or two in maintenance and repairs, perhaps yearly. The other choice would be to get a new Honda or Toyota if reliability and cost are more of a concern.

The only "niche" a 335d fills is one of being at the top of the game: power, fuel economy, handling, ergonomics, style, safety. Reliability of newer cars as a whole has likely been pretty good compared to cars 10 years ago (JD Powers yearly improvement something like 5%), so I wouldn't necessarily call the 335d unreliable, but those that had problems with CBU etc. would likely disagree.

PL

[Built4Sin]

Originally Posted by Tomar10

Thanks for replies. When I took the car for a ride it was sheer joy. I used to have a Yamaha VMax motorcycle which was a torque monster and a sound to match. This car here is an automotive equivalent I think.

The car is at Car Max and just fell out of BMW warranty so I don't know if I can get a CPO. I got a quote from endurance supreme of about 4200 for 5yrs 60000 additional miles with 100$ deductible.

Is that advisable or should I just put that amount separate for repairs? This will be my first BMW and I don't to keep spending on it endlessly just to run. Is there a way to make it more reliable ?

I don't know if you've ever read Jalopnik, its a halfway sarcastic site about cars. One of the writers has a section where he buys the most tragic reliable cars from Carmax and gets their Carmax warranty to take car of the car... Apparently their warranty is worth its weight in gold and you can use it at any dealership without hassle (BMW). See how much it runs for the car you're looking at.

As for the Nav, yeah its not the greatest thing ever. However I wouldn't want to not have mine, its too useful, and the maps can be updated yearly for just about free, you'll need to purchase an FSC code from members here and the map download's are in the forum

[dixy2k]

Originally Posted by Tomar10

335 d is available for 21k plus tax and 335xi for 26k plus tax

$21k for 335d?

I'll sell mine to you for $18k then. Great deal. Renntech, vroom vroom.

[tek4tex]

Originally Posted by Tomar10

So I am thinking 335 d with the deletes and tune up and no additional warranty or the 335 xi with no warranty. Any thoughts, is the asking price bit much? And do you see major flaws in my plan.

I am not planning on doing the mechanical myself.

I have a 2009 with 63K that has zero issues other than emission equipment replaced under warranty. Of course I've been proactive on service. I'd try to get the service history of any D you are considering. Finding one with the right service history I'd put the money into CBU cleaning and deletes and enjoy the ride of your life.