[zltm089]

OP, I've had most of the N54 issues! i.e HPFP, injectors, vanos etc....It was a real pain in the a$$, car spent months at the dealer, didn't know much about n54 (and I'm still learning!) and before buying I wasn't aware of these issues.

Now, you have done your research. So you know.

My advice, get the BMW warranty and get something in writing from the dealer, on how they would "support" you if things go wrong!

As you don't want to spend most of your time taking your car to the dealer, and beg them to actually "open up the engine" rather than just updating the software to "solve" some warning light issue.

My car has been running very good once all the issues were sorted. The 335i is a great car, very easy to tune and with good gains! The power delivery is very linear and smooth.

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by creepy coupe

That's what warranties are for Ricky.


Old idrive



New

The new iDrive does look miles better! when did this come in do you know? Was it an additional option or standard spec?

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by Mike in Hampshire

Hi Ricky. You've found the right place for advice.
OK a new HPFP pump is around £225 and I'm told 2 hours fitting time (i.e. £150 ish at a good independent like Darren Woods in Manchester).
The 10 year warranty for HPFP's only applies in the USA.

Thing is, though, you sound quite anxious about the faults people have mentioned, so I would make the following points:
1) if you believed all the stories of doom on any forum you'd never buy ANY car
2) but the 335i is a complex machine, and if you were unlucky might cost you a lot of money
3) buy an AUC with a warranty if you're still worried
4) the 335i is a fantastic car, I love mine, genuinely the best car I've ever had, no question.

Mike.

although nervous about expensive repairs i suppose deep down i know this will be the case and i dont feel put off too put off.

can i just ask what AUC means? i fear i should know this!

if i buy a car over 3 years old without an extended warranty can i take it to BMW and ask for the warranty to be renewed still or once the warranty has run out is that it? I know you can get warranties through parties like warrantydirect etc. are these companies decent?


- Is it Approved Used Car by any chance!

[BIGTIME]

Once the warranty has run out that's it. Mine hasn't had a single issue but at the end of August when she's 3 I'll be extending the warranty as it should help with resale.

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

The new iDrive does look miles better! when did this come in do you know? Was it an additional option or standard spec?

Around October 2008 depending which model 3 series you went for. My 58 plate 335i had the later type.

It's not just the controller, but the . Bigger, higher res screen and HDD.

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by BIGTIME

Once the warranty has run out that's it. Mine hasn't had a single issue but at the end of August when she's 3 I'll be extending the warranty as it should help with resale.

so if i buy one over 3 years old i need to find one with extended warranty. do you extend for 3 years or 1 year at a time?

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by creepy coupe

Around October 2008 depending which model 3 series you went for. My 58 plate 335i had the later type.

It's not just the controller, but the . Bigger, higher res screen and HDD.

i think this is a must have then for sure!

this thread was well worth starting ive learned a lot over the last 24 hours so thank you all for your help so far

[Sir_Pigley]

Originally Posted by BIGTIME

Once the warranty has run out that's it.

I think you can take a BMW Insured Warranty out on any car that has a FSH.

See:

BMW Warranty

I am paying about £43 per month for a warranty with £0 excess.

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by creepy coupe

Around October 2008 depending which model 3 series you went for. My 58 plate 335i had the later type.

It's not just the controller, but the . Bigger, higher res screen and HDD.

ive been looking at AUC on the BMW website and even 2009 models have what looks like the older idrive system?

does this mean they came in late or was it an optional extra perhaps?

[BIGTIME]

Originally Posted by jdcampbell

I think you can take a BMW Insured Warranty out on any car that has a FSH.

See:

BMW Warranty

I am paying about £43 per month for a warranty with £0 excess.

A work colleague was told that he couln't buy a BMW warranty even though the car he was looking at had been serviced by BMW. The sales guy said he couldn't extend the warranty as it had left the BMW network as it would have been sold to him from a non BMW dealer. I wonder if the sales gut was telling porkies?

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

ive been looking at AUC on the BMW website and even 2009 models have what looks like the older idrive system?

does this mean they came in late or was it an optional extra perhaps?

I can only say, my 58 plate had the later type. Not aware of it as an option.Unless business nav had the older style for longer.

[MLAM]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

ive been looking at AUC on the BMW website and even 2009 models have what looks like the older idrive system?

does this mean they came in late or was it an optional extra perhaps?

I am fairly sure the new iDrive came into effect as of September 2008 Build Date cars, which of course tied in with the E90 Facelift.

Ricky, I suspect the reason why you see a number of 2009 cars with old iDrive is because they are pre Sept 2008 builds that have been left lying around unregistered until 2009, I work for MINI and I have seen a fair number of 2008 spec cars with 09 plates on for that reason.

Late 2008 of course was around the time of the recession so I suspect there was a lot of cancelled orders etc etc.

As other's have said, the new iDrive unit is much much better.

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by MLAM

I am fairly sure the new iDrive came into effect as of September 2008 Build Date cars, which of course tied in with the E90 Facelift.

Ricky, I suspect the reason why you see a number of 2009 cars with old iDrive is because they are pre Sept 2008 builds that have been left lying around unregistered until 2009, I work for MINI and I have seen a fair number of 2008 spec cars with 09 plates on for that reason.

Late 2008 of course was around the time of the recession so I suspect there was a lot of cancelled orders etc etc.

As other's have said, the new iDrive unit is much much better.

that would make sense. i think finding the right car with the best spec possible is going to be harder than i thought

so not only do i want black with black leather, i want ProNav, BT and USB, 58 plate or newer with later iDrive, with 40k miles or less and fsh, ideally BMW approved, under warranty for less than 18k. oh and needs to be auto, DCT seems to raved about but im sure will mean a couple of grand more minimum.

errr...am i dreaming or will i need to borrow more than what i wanted ha ha!?

[Sir_Pigley]

Originally Posted by BIGTIME

A work colleague was told that he couln't buy a BMW warranty even though the car he was looking at had been serviced by BMW. The sales guy said he couldn't extend the warranty as it had left the BMW network as it would have been sold to him from a non BMW dealer. I wonder if the sales gut was telling porkies?

Prob just a misunderstanding. There is a difference between a manufacturer extended warranty or AUC warranty and a BMW Insured Warranty. The latter is what I have and is a Mondial Insurance backed warranty not manufacturer backed, although it does have the BMW brand associated with it and can be bought fomr the BMW website on the link I posted previously.

I bought my car privately and the only condition of taking out the insured warranty was that it had a FSH.

[nicktyler]

^^^ I would think you will need to put up a bit more budget than that but you might get lucky

Originally Posted by BIGTIME

A work colleague was told that he couln't buy a BMW warranty even though the car he was looking at had been serviced by BMW. The sales guy said he couldn't extend the warranty as it had left the BMW network as it would have been sold to him from a non BMW dealer. I wonder if the sales gut was telling porkies?

I bought from an independant dealer and just rang up the BMW Warranty number and went through a few questions and the quote was much better than any of the other main third party companies for the top cover. No issues with it "leaving the network".

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by BIGTIME

A work colleague was told that he couln't buy a BMW warranty even though the car he was looking at had been serviced by BMW. The sales guy said he couldn't extend the warranty as it had left the BMW network as it would have been sold to him from a non BMW dealer. I wonder if the sales gut was telling porkies?

Porkies.

I never bought mine from a BMW dealer and I've extended mine with no problems.

If your manufacturers warranty has expired you can't claim within the first month of extended warranty when you set it up.

[Subzero2003]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

so not only do i want black with black leather, i want ProNav, BT and USB, 58 plate or newer with later iDrive, with 40k miles or less and fsh, ideally BMW approved, under warranty for less than 18k. oh and needs to be auto, DCT seems to raved about but im sure will mean a couple of grand more minimum.

errr...am i dreaming or will i need to borrow more than what i wanted ha ha!?

Black with black leather! What a boring combo!! Black + red leather = sweet, and anything + cream leather = sweet

Anyway, yep, Professional Nav is the one to go for (although with the new iDrive i believe it was called "Profession Nav with Media Pack" or something. The easiest way to tell if it has the new iDrive is that there should only be ONE DVD slot on the dash and should have the new iDrive controller.

The new iDrive is a good step up from the old one, so definitely look out for it, especially if you're spending £18,000.

USB, again a VERY nice option to have (although if the car has the Media Pack, i believe this is part of it). USB can't be retrofitted economically, so is a very good idea to have it from factory.

95% of 58 plate cars will have the old iDrive. Most of the 09 cars will have the new iDrive

Under 40k miles is a bonus, and make sure it has FULL BMW SH.

A BMW Warranty is a MUST on the 335i. It has too many problems that can be expensive to run the risk IMO. With a bullet proof dealer warranty, you no longer need to worry about this. If you buy the car, get the salesman to throw in another years warranty (on top of the year that comes with AUC cars). He'll say he can't do it - but he can. Insist he asks his boss if you need to.

DCT is very good, but you won't get one for £18k. Auto is good too, but Manual will always be king in my eyes.

As others have said, beware of 19" alloys cracking. This was especially prevalent on the Style 225m and Style 230 alloys. The Style 313 alloys should have resolved this.

If you do buy, make sure that the dealer has serviced the car properly (they always convenient forget to do things like microfilters and brake fluid).

[Subzero2003]

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

that would make sense. i think finding the right car with the best spec possible is going to be harder than i thought

so not only do i want black with black leather, i want ProNav, BT and USB, 58 plate or newer with later iDrive, with 40k miles or less and fsh, ideally BMW approved, under warranty for less than 18k. oh and needs to be auto, DCT seems to raved about but im sure will mean a couple of grand more minimum.

errr...am i dreaming or will i need to borrow more than what i wanted ha ha!?

Originally Posted by rickyjones1209

the N54 engine has been characterized by a very large number of High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) failures, leading to many BMW NA vehicle Lemon Law "buy backs" and reduced customer goodwill. On some engines the HPFP was replaced four times within the first few years of service.[citation needed] BMW has instituted a 10-year, 120,000-mile (190,000 km) warranty on the part, but only for 2007, 2008 and 2009 model year vehicles with the N54 engine. Other model years, to include 2009 models, continue to report HPFP failures.[15] As of late 2009, the low pressure fuel sensor has become suspected of causing some premature failures of the HPFP by engine tuners such as AMS and CP-E.

BMW tried to engineer a newer HPFP solution to eliminate HPFP issues users were having. The first 335/135s came out with 1351 7 537 320 HPFP followed shortly by 1351 7 585 655 HPFP and 2009 model had 1351 7 592 881 HPFP followed by 1351 7 596 123 HPFP. These pumps were updated and replaced again due to the high rate of failure with 1351 7 594 943 HPFP. But these also started to fail and got updated and replaced in May 2010 with a brand-new re-manufactured pump 1351 7 613 933 HPFP.[23] On the 26th of October, 2010, immediately following an ABC News story about HPFP failures,[24] BMW announced a recall of vehicles with the pump in question from manufacturing years 2007-2010.[25] A class action suit has been filed against BMW regarding these problems.

This is NOT true for BMW UK.

This was only BMW USA who did this. If your 335i HPFP in the UK and you don't have a warranty - you have to pay your monies.

[Kerr]

I much prefer black on black.I like red leather too and would be happy to buy another car with red leather but I just don't like cream at all. But it's all personal opinion isn't it?

I didn't realise that 230s had much issues with cracking? Fair enough you are always going to get some failures with 19" wheels on British roads but I didn't seem to notice it was that common.

I'd be surprised to find 313s were any better. They look a very brittle design and easy to knock out of the round.

[Subzero2003]

Originally Posted by Kerr

I much prefer black on black.I like red leather too and would be happy to buy another car with red leather but I just don't like cream at all. But it's all personal opinion isn't it?

I know, i know i was just messing

Originally Posted by Kerr

I didn't realise that 230s had much issues with cracking? Fair enough you are always going to get some failures with 19" wheels on British roads but I didn't seem to notice it was that common.

Yeh, the 230's are easily as bad at the 225M's. The guy i bought my car off had been through 4 x 230 alloys and finally had enough so fitted a set of 18" MV3's..

Originally Posted by Kerr

I'd be surprised to find 313s were any better. They look a very brittle design and easy to knock out of the round.

They do look brittle, but i guess with the 230's and 225M's there was an inherent design fault, as i haven't heard about any 313's cracking?

[Kerr]

I've seen quite a few 230s cracking, but it's nowhere near the proportion of 225ms going.

[rickyjones1209]

Originally Posted by Subzero2003

Black with black leather! What a boring combo!! Black + red leather = sweet, and anything + cream leather = sweet

Anyway, yep, Professional Nav is the one to go for (although with the new iDrive i believe it was called "Profession Nav with Media Pack" or something. The easiest way to tell if it has the new iDrive is that there should only be ONE DVD slot on the dash and should have the new iDrive controller.

The new iDrive is a good step up from the old one, so definitely look out for it, especially if you're spending £18,000.

USB, again a VERY nice option to have (although if the car has the Media Pack, i believe this is part of it). USB can't be retrofitted economically, so is a very good idea to have it from factory.

95% of 58 plate cars will have the old iDrive. Most of the 09 cars will have the new iDrive

Under 40k miles is a bonus, and make sure it has FULL BMW SH.

A BMW Warranty is a MUST on the 335i. It has too many problems that can be expensive to run the risk IMO. With a bullet proof dealer warranty, you no longer need to worry about this. If you buy the car, get the salesman to throw in another years warranty (on top of the year that comes with AUC cars). He'll say he can't do it - but he can. Insist he asks his boss if you need to.

DCT is very good, but you won't get one for £18k. Auto is good too, but Manual will always be king in my eyes.

As others have said, beware of 19" alloys cracking. This was especially prevalent on the Style 225m and Style 230 alloys. The Style 313 alloys should have resolved this.

If you do buy, make sure that the dealer has serviced the car properly (they always convenient forget to do things like microfilters and brake fluid).

well i want black and black ideally with the silver inserts on the dash however i would be more than happy with red as i think this looks great too. dont think i fancy the cream leather though. ive even considered a white car with red leather but seem to be few and far between especially at 18k.

as you say i dont think i can afford dct but if i drive one and think its worth it i might consider it.

i think on my budget i should be looking for 08 or 58 plate cars so il hopefully try and pick up one with the later idrive but we'll see i guess. its good to know that it comes as part of a media pack something to look for i suppose. i also read on another thread that 2008 registered cars and onwards have slightly lower emissions and a years tax is nearly half as much, £240 against £400 and something i read. also typed in some reg plates off autotrader into dvla site and this proved to be true so worth noting.

i worried about the wheels if im honest though but again i see loads of these cars on the road with 19 inch 225 wheels, in fact there must be 5 or so at work and i hadnt heard of problems before looking on this forum. im hoping that il be okay and il try to find a car without run flats as i read this increases the chance of cracking. whats the general feeling of replacing the wheels with aftermarket wheels? i feel that its a bit criminal to have different wheels on a nice car but what about csl style replicas? nice or naff?