[MrGonk]

EDIT: I didn't buy the car described in this initial post, but I did buy one. Now I'm seeking advice from the sagely veterans of e90 post. I've never owned a BMW or a diesel before, and I'm learning everything I can as fast as I can - but there's so much to know. I'd like advice on anything you guys have to offer. For the time being, I'm wondering about mods: body kits, JBD and paddle shifters, mainly, and whether/to what extent they might run afoul of my CPO warranty.


Guys,

New poster here. I do not currently have a BMW nor have I ever had one. However, I'm earnestly in the market for a used 2011 335d. I've read up extensively on the carbon issues that these cars have with the EGR, needing to have maintenance blasts done, etc. I am aware that they can be potentially very problematic. For that reason, I've been looking for a CPO unit, but they're very hard to find.

I did locate one, with 60k miles plus change. It has every feature I want, etc., and it's CPO with a warranty running through November 2016/100k miles. But it was bought back by BMW NA under California lemon law this summer. The service record shows a lot of battery recharging and tail light work in the months prior to the buy-back.

I'm wondering if I'm insane for considering buying this thing. The price is good, assuming it's not any more of a ticking time bomb than any other 335d might be. And it is certified. I guess I'm looking for advice - should I have faith that the certification and the warranty will ensure that there isn't some enduring issue with the car, or that it can be fixed while it's under warranty? Or is buying a unit that was bought back just crazy, certified or no?

Help a (potential) brother out.

Thanks!

[rulonger]

Originally Posted by MrGonk

Guys,

New poster here. I do not currently have a BMW nor have I ever had one. However, I'm earnestly in the market for a used 2011 335d. I've read up extensively on the carbon issues that these cars have with the EGR, needing to have maintenance blasts done, etc. I am aware that they can be potentially very problematic. For that reason, I've been looking for a CPO unit, but they're very hard to find.

I did locate one, with 60k miles plus change. It has every feature I want, etc., and it's CPO with a warranty running through November 2016/100k miles. But it was bought back by BMW NA under California lemon law this summer. The service record shows a lot of battery recharging and tail light work in the months prior to the buy-back.

I'm wondering if I'm insane for considering buying this thing. The price is good, assuming it's not any more of a ticking time bomb than any other 335d might be. And it is certified. I guess I'm looking for advice - should I have faith that the certification and the warranty will ensure that there isn't some enduring issue with the car, or that it can be fixed while it's under warranty? Or is buying a unit that was bought back just crazy, certified or no?

Help a (potential) brother out.

Thanks!

There are a few 2011 owners that may be looking to sell and some have CPO warranties attached. Scan some of the threads and see what else is out there. Good luck.

[MrGonk]

Additional note: after a bit more research, it looks like this is one of the fuel pump cars. It shows three replaced fuel pumps prior to the CA buy-back.

Am I correct in my impression that the fuel pump problems with the affected cars were never actually FIXED? In other words, to buy a CPO lemon with a fuel pump history would basically just be signing up to spend the next year getting my fuel pump replaced over and over again. Right?

[Yozh]

Fuel pumps are not known to fail on the 335 diesels. This is not even close to the N54 fiasco.

[dr_dirtg]

i put 50k on my car with Jbd and fuel pump has never been an issue.
car is at 102k already.

[Hoooper]

Fuel pump is not a problem normally, once fixed if there is one bad then it should be good to go. This car sounds like it has some serious electrical gremlins...

[mefferso]

I don't know about that one MrGronk. Its kind of like trying to rationalize dating a woman that just got out of prison. "I mean, she's fully reformed now..."

But seriously, if the only issues were battery/taillight related, might not be too bad. If you could get them to extend warranty longer than the CPO on those specific things it was bought back for, at least get a little more comfort. On the other hand, that car had been such a headache that someone went through the trouble to get it bought. Is it really worth the risk to have to deal with the same frustrations? It better be a hell of a deal to do that. Otherwise, you could probably save quite a bit of $$$ by not going CPO.

[335D Alpha Pappa]

Checkout carguru.com. They have 72 335d's listed nationally. You should be able to find the one you want.

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by MrGonk

Guys,

New poster here. I do not currently have a BMW nor have I ever had one. However, I'm earnestly in the market for a used 2011 335d. I've read up extensively on the carbon issues that these cars have with the EGR, needing to have maintenance blasts done, etc. I am aware that they can be potentially very problematic. For that reason, I've been looking for a CPO unit, but they're very hard to find.

I did locate one, with 60k miles plus change. It has every feature I want, etc., and it's CPO with a warranty running through November 2016/100k miles. But it was bought back by BMW NA under California lemon law this summer. The service record shows a lot of battery recharging and tail light work in the months prior to the buy-back.

I'm wondering if I'm insane for considering buying this thing. The price is good, assuming it's not any more of a ticking time bomb than any other 335d might be. And it is certified. I guess I'm looking for advice - should I have faith that the certification and the warranty will ensure that there isn't some enduring issue with the car, or that it can be fixed while it's under warranty? Or is buying a unit that was bought back just crazy, certified or no?

Help a (potential) brother out.

Thanks!

I purchased a 2011 with a manufacturer buyback. As its been great for me. Though I had some issues early on, I found a dealer who had good diesel mechanics, most don't and they resolved me remaining issues. 10k of,trouble free miles here. Make sure you get a substantial discount as the car is a lemon, and financing can be hard and resale is permanently lowered. I got a great deal about 30% below market. My car was a loaded 2011 nav, hk, adaptive cruise, every option. Paid 24k with 28k miles and normally it was a 29k car when I bought it in March.

[MrGonk]

Thanks for the input, ladies and germs. Seeing as this will be my first Bimmer experience and that I am 100% absolutely not handy with a wrench myself, I've decided not to roll the dice on this one. I am now, however, considering purchasing another one, sight unseen (except for pictures in the listing, obviously). It has basically everything I'm looking for , a short service history, 40k miles and 2 full years left on its CPO warranty. Now I just need the balls to pull the trigger ...

[ice rckt]

Originally Posted by MrGonk

Thanks for the input, ladies and germs. Seeing as this will be my first Bimmer experience and that I am 100% absolutely not handy with a wrench myself, I've decided not to roll the dice on this one. I am now, however, considering purchasing another one, sight unseen (except for pictures in the listing, obviously). It has basically everything I'm looking for , a short service history, 40k miles and 2 full years left on its CPO warranty. Now I just need the balls to pull the trigger ...

Send it for a pre-purchase inspection at a local dealer, then book your plane ticket. That's how I got mine, anyhow.

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by MrGonk

Thanks for the input, ladies and germs. Seeing as this will be my first Bimmer experience and that I am 100% absolutely not handy with a wrench myself, I've decided not to roll the dice on this one. I am now, however, considering purchasing another one, sight unseen (except for pictures in the listing, obviously). It has basically everything I'm looking for , a short service history, 40k miles and 2 full years left on its CPO warranty. Now I just need the balls to pull the trigger ...

Really, I'm glad I bought mine, even though it has a manufacturer buy back, it's been fine. A 20-30% discount is good compensation. Btw, I live in Texas and bought my car in Phoenix.

[MrGonk]

Well, I pulled the trigger. Found a nice one in Tennessee. 40,000 miles, 2 years of CPO warranty along with BMW Maintenance on it. Jet black with Dakota Beige leather interior; sports package; premium package; navigation; heated seats; BMW Assist; Bluetooth, the whole shebang. The only thing it doesn't have that I'd like to have is the parking distance indicators, but hey, whatever. It's shipping up here next week. I cannot wait.

Not sure what kind of mods I want to pursue, if any. But I'm looking into the JDB tuner, LED angel eyes, LED fog lights and an M style body kit.

Does anyone have recommendations for M body kits that fit all around on the 335d?

[Yozh]

Beige leather is beautiful but is a pain to keep clean. Nothing worked for me as well as this one: http://www.spraywayinc.com/content/v...eather-cleaner when I had an E92 with beige interior. Just a suggestion.

[MrGonk]

Yozh - Thanks. Good call. I have two little girls - one 2 and a half, one 4 months. I'll need to stay on top of the rear seat leather. Or give up on it. I'll definitely pick up a can of that stuff.

Any other recommendations from anyone - about anything - would be welcome, too. I'm reading up on my diesels. Looks like the best I'll have regular access to here will be Shell, so I'm probably gonna pick up some additives to boost cetane and lubricity.

[tek4tex]

If you use that product on your leather you need to plan on using a conditioner to add moisture back into the leather to prevent cracking. The main component of the cleaner in the link is butane which is nasty stuff.

[Yozh]

Conditioner is always a must. I use AutoGlym.

[MrGonk]

I've been googling around and searching this forum, so I apologize if this has been beaten to death, but I'm having trouble just getting oriented to this question:

Can anybody recommend a resource where I can study up on body kits? I really like the look of the Extreme Dimensions 1M kit look here, for example, but I have read that the material is less than desirable.

I also like the look of the Sarona BM-043-FB kit, which says it's for the e90 sedan, but the headlights in the picture appear to be the M3/3-series coupe design. And I don't even know where to begin to understand how they're different or what accounts for the huge differences in price.

It seems like there are SO MANY kits out there, and the quality and price appear to vary wildly. I don't want to buy anything at all that would not fit perfectly. Any advice or resources to help get me started would really be very much appreciated.

[Mrdeezy]

Those kits are cheap and going to hurt the value of your car. I would look for used oem m sport parts.

[Hoooper]

Whatever you decide to do, DO NOT PUT A FIBERGLASS BUMPER ON YOUR CAR. That is something you will undoubtedly regret after a year or two when its falling to pieces. If you feel that you must get a kit, at least get a quality urethane bumper.

[BB_cuda]

I have Msport and have scraped the nose several times. My point is you may want to evaluate how many dips and such your car needs to go over. I like the the msport looks but i have damaged my lower edge of the bumper. If i were in your shoes and had to go up my driveway and area commute, I would leave the standard bumper on there. My 2 cents but others have not had this problem.

It got hung up on one of those parking lot bumpers and when i backed up, it got hung up and tore up a little. Its mainly scratched down to the white underlying plastic on the bottom "chin".

[NC335d]

Originally Posted by MrGonk

I've been googling around and searching this forum, so I apologize if this has been beaten to death, but I'm having trouble just getting oriented to this question:

Can anybody recommend a resource where I can study up on body kits? I really like the look of the Extreme Dimensions 1M kit look here, for example, but I have read that the material is less than desirable.

I also like the look of the Sarona BM-043-FB kit, which says it's for the e90 sedan, but the headlights in the picture appear to be the M3/3-series coupe design. And I don't even know where to begin to understand how they're different or what accounts for the huge differences in price.

It seems like there are SO MANY kits out there, and the quality and price appear to vary wildly. I don't want to buy anything at all that would not fit perfectly. Any advice or resources to help get me started would really be very much appreciated.

I have a base model 2011. I looked for an M-Sport but was unable to find one w/ low miles, so I settled for a 2011 base w/ 21k miles.

I liked the look of the M-Sport so I bought the M-Sport Front, Rear and sides from Tischer. I could have gone the cheaper route and bought the M-Sport replicas from the many aftermarket vendors that offer them, but I wanted to ensure the most optimal fit and quality. I guess it really depends on your budget.

You may also want to look at the BMW Performance front bumper, I personally really like the look of them and may consider it in the future. If you want a durable front lip yu may also want to consider the Volkommen front lip, which is very durable. I think they go for around $450.