[zack9r]

to make a long story short, as a lot of people on here im a car guy. im 16, and ive been looking at a manual b7/b8 audi s4, or a manual/auto bmw 335i for my first car. I saw what seemed like a good deal for an rwd 2007 e90 bmw 335i. As being a new owner and living in michigan i planned on getting an extra set of rims and snow tires. the normal stuff.

I know the main issues, hpfp, water pump, etc. but from other bmw 335 owners with high milege 335i's (100k+) what should i be prepared for, what should i be concerned about. and what suggestions do you have for me?
Anything is appreciated.
Thanks!

Edit: id like to add that the high/low pressure fuel pump was replaced at 75k miles and so was the water pump under warranty.

[RnmEvo9]

You should be prepared for high insurance premium cost, peer pressure from friends, speeding tickets and tires.

[tcphoto]

I hope that you checked with your insurance agent about your premiums before buying it, I bet it’s about $250 a month for full coverage. My 335 costs me $100 a month just to keep it running and that’s with DIY.

[Twin_Snails]

Hopefully turbos been replaced otherwise be prepared for a new set of turbos if they cease to fail considering you've purchased a high mileage 335i. Also just keep up with maintenance before mods.

[zack9r]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

I hope that you checked with your insurance agent about your premiums before buying it, I bet it's about $250 a month for full coverage. My 335 costs me $100 a month just to keep it running and that's with DIY.

The insurance is going to be under my dad's name. My friend has a b8 audi s4 and his is around $165 a month and i prepared for it to be around $200

[zack9r]

Originally Posted by Twin_Snails

Hopefully turbos been replaced otherwise be prepared for a new set of turbos if they cease to fail considering you've purchased a high mileage 335i. Also just keep up with maintenance before mods.

It has roughly 125k miles. I havent really heard of the n54 needing new turbos but thank you for making me aware

[lookalikehuuh]

Originally Posted by zack9r

It has roughly 125k miles. I havent really heard of the n54 needing new turbos but thank you for making me aware

ummm.... no disrespect but if you haven't heard about new turbos being needed you did not do complete research. Injectors and coil packs are other huge failures along with every gasket known to mankind from oil pan to valve cover to oil filter housing gasket etc.

long story short if you have less than 3K in your bank account ready to spend on repairs at any point in time I wish you luck. There is a very good reason why these vehicles are smashing great deals. 335s are not known for their outstanding reliability thats for sure.

[e90yyc]

Congrats... (N52 4 lyfe tho )

Check out the sticky at the top of this forum on buying a used e90. A wealth of information in there.

Enjoy your new whip, maf’k!

[kens]

Originally Posted by zack9r

The insurance is going to be under my dad's name. My friend has a b8 audi s4 and his is around $165 a month and i prepared for it to be around $200

What happens if you get denied because you weren't listed on the policy

[Gamb1t]

Lol! Sorry I can't help but to think with the multitude of troubled 335i here that you might've just bought one of them. Likely from a fellow forummer who threw in the towel.

[zack9r]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

ummm.... no disrespect but if you haven't heard about new turbos being needed you did not do complete research. Injectors and coil packs are other huge failures along with every gasket known to mankind from oil pan to valve cover to oil filter housing gasket etc.

long story short if you have less than 3K in your bank account ready to spend on repairs at any point in time I wish you luck. There is a very good reason why these vehicles are smashing great deals. 335s are not known for their outstanding reliability thats for sure.

Yes i knew about those issues. But thank you for letting me know

[CTinline-six]

That thing is clean! As others have mentioned just budget for repairs before modding. If you can do repairs yourself then you will save a ton. Make sure maintenance is done on time (fluids, etc).

[mecheng77]

Congrats. It will be more reliable than the s4, with the very expensive dsg and timing chain failures

[tcphoto]

Originally Posted by zack9r

The insurance is going to be under my dad's name. My friend has a b8 audi s4 and his is around $165 a month and i prepared for it to be around $200

Sounds shady to me, let us know what the agent actually said about a teenager as a full time driver of a 335.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

That thing is clean! As others have mentioned just budget for repairs before modding. If you can do repairs yourself then you will save a ton. Make sure maintenance is done on time (fluids, etc).

Originally Posted by mecheng77

Congrats. It will be more reliable than the s4, with the very expensive dsg and timing chain failures

Always good to see some genuine, unqualified congrats . That thing is clean!

Is she an automagic or manual?

When I was around that age, I purchased a D2 A8. I loved that thing. It taught me a lot about cars, and sometimes, about life in general.

This forum is such an amazing resource.

[b92]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

Always good to see some genuine, unqualified congrats . That thing is clean!

Is she an automagic or manual?

When I was around that age, I purchased a D2 A8. I loved that thing. It taught me a lot about cars, and sometimes, about life in general.

This forum is such an amazing resource.

There's plenty to learn about life with a backseat that large

[RicheyG]

Originally Posted by RnmEvo9

You should be prepared for high insurance premium cost, peer pressure from friends, speeding tickets and tires.

I'm in my 50's and I feel I need to be prepared for those exact same things.

I've told many people that if I had my 335i when I was in high school I wouldn't have lived long enough to make it out of high school.

Be safe!

[1sicke92]

For 100k+ miles, this is what I would do. Especially if you want to keep your car for the long haul AND you plan on modding it and pushing the envelope. Now I do understand this is a pretty extensive list but at 100k miles the previous owner should have done/taken care of a lot of these. Also, some of these parts are for you to keep an eye on mainly and do not require immediate replacement. But more or less these are the N54's weak points. I'm sure I'm missing a few other things but this is a fairly good list imo:

-All the gaskets (they all tend to leak over time, typical for all high mileage cars really)
-Boost solenoids
-Vanos solenoids
-Water pump / tstat (If this hasn't been ever replaced, just do it as preventative maintenance since you WILL be left stranded otherwise)
-HPFP? (More than likely this has been replaced, and probably more than once)
-Injectors? (Probably already replaced also)
-Ignition coils?
-Spark plugs? (When was the last time these were swapped?)
-Vacuum lines (Just do it, saves the headache of figuring out where your 30FF code is coming from)
-Coolant flush (When was the last time)
-Oil change (When was the last time?)
-Serpentine belt (Definitely change ASAP if never been done. It will leave you stranded and have the possibility of shards of plastic to go into your engine)
-Transmission service: change & replace fluid, mechantronic sleeve, and pan gasket (Recommended every 100k miles. Don't listen to the "lifetime fluid" BS)
-Change out chargepipe - they're known to crack over time and sometimes doesn't take a ton of boost to do it
-PCV valve - this is know to have issues as well, runs cheap ~$40 and easy to DIY
-Walnut blast - to clean intake valves and have it running right (I'd pair it with a OCC right after you have this done to postpone your walnut blasting interval
-Turbos / wastegate issues (if your turbos haven't failed by now I'm almost sure the wastegate is rattling. Check to see. There's a thread about it somewhere on here)
-O2 sensor? (Really any sensor is fair game but this one specifically. I'd wait to swap until they fail since this won't leave you stranded)
-Main hoses such as radiator hoses, etc. (prone to cracking over time, typical)
-Radiator?
-Starter?
-Battery? (Simple test)
-Alternator? (Simple test)

Not to scare you but this is the nature of the N54. It's sensitive and delicate. However, with proper maintenance and swapping out the main problem components it will last a long while and leave a huge smile on your face. The power you can get out of these things are insane and the engine itself is rather bulletproof.

[cshiznitzj]

Originally Posted by 1sicke92

For 100k+ miles, this is what I would do. Especially if you want to keep your car for the long haul AND you plan on modding it and pushing the envelope. Now I do understand this is a pretty extensive list but at 100k miles the previous owner should have done/taken care of a lot of these. Also, some of these parts are for you to keep an eye on mainly and do not require immediate replacement. But more or less these are the N54's weak points. I'm sure I'm missing a few other things but this is a fairly good list imo:

-All the gaskets (they all tend to leak over time, typical for all high mileage cars really)
-Boost solenoids
-Vanos solenoids
-Water pump / tstat (If this hasn't been ever replaced, just do it as preventative maintenance since you WILL be left stranded otherwise)
-HPFP? (More than likely this has been replaced, and probably more than once)
-Injectors? (Probably already replaced also)
-Ignition coils?
-Spark plugs? (When was the last time these were swapped?)
-Vacuum lines (Just do it, saves the headache of figuring out where your 30FF code is coming from)
-Coolant flush (When was the last time)
-Oil change (When was the last time?)
-Serpentine belt (Definitely change ASAP if never been done. It will leave you stranded and have the possibility of shards of plastic to go into your engine)
-Transmission service: change & replace fluid, mechantronic sleeve, and pan gasket (Recommended every 100k miles. Don't listen to the "lifetime fluid" BS)
-Change out chargepipe - they're known to crack over time and sometimes doesn't take a ton of boost to do it
-PCV valve - this is know to have issues as well, runs cheap ~$40 and easy to DIY
-Walnut blast - to clean intake valves and have it running right (I'd pair it with a OCC right after you have this done to postpone your walnut blasting interval
-Turbos / wastegate issues (if your turbos haven't failed by now I'm almost sure the wastegate is rattling. Check to see. There's a thread about it somewhere on here)
-O2 sensor? (Really any sensor is fair game but this one specifically. I'd wait to swap until they fail since this won't leave you stranded)
-Main hoses such as radiator hoses, etc. (prone to cracking over time, typical)
-Radiator?
-Starter?
-Battery? (Simple test)
-Alternator? (Simple test)

Not to scare you but this is the nature of the N54. It's sensitive and delicate. However, with proper maintenance and swapping out the main problem components it will last a long while and leave a huge smile on your face. The power you can get out of these things are insane and the engine itself is rather bulletproof.

This is spot on. I have a higher mileage n54 Xi and have done almost everything on this list minus the Vanos solenoids and alternator (replaced voltage regulator due to high voltage output). My Crankshaft position sensor also took a shit while driving. This is very easy to replace tho.

N54 awd is a love hate relationship for me. This is not my primary vehicle nor would I want it to be.

[1sicke92]

Originally Posted by cshiznitzj

This is spot on. I have a higher mileage n54 Xi and have done almost everything on this list minus the Vanos solenoids and alternator (replaced voltage regulator due to high voltage output). My Crankshaft position sensor also took a shit while driving. This is very easy to replace tho.

N54 awd is a love hate relationship for me. This is not my primary vehicle nor would I want it to be.

[dakine_surf]

Basically, everything 1sicke92 said is spot on... Especially about the turbos. If they weren't already replaced, with 125K they probably have wastegate rattle and are going to need to be rebuilt or replaced soon. Don't go OEM when you do this, go with Vargas (VTT) 2.0. It's the best deal and reliable, out there at sub $3K.

What is the service history? What has been replaced to date other than the HPFP and H2O pump? Was the thermostat replaced when the H2O pump was installed? Has it ever had the carbon removed from the intake(walnut blast)?

[zack9r]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

Basically, everything 1sicke92 said is spot on... Especially about the turbos. If they weren't already replaced, with 125K they probably have wastegate rattle and are going to need to be rebuilt or replaced soon. Don't go OEM when you do this, go with Vargas (VTT) 2.0. It's the best deal and reliable, out there at sub $3K.

What is the service history? What has been replaced to date other than the HPFP and H2O pump? Was the thermostat replaced when the H2O pump was installed? Has it ever had the carbon removed from the intake(walnut blast)?

Extensive service history. Oil changes 3 times a year. A lot was replace under warrenty. Carfax says at 80k it was sold at a dealer as a cpo.