[JingChai]

I have a 2011 E90 328i with the N51 SULEV engine with 72k miles. Recently I been toying with the idea of going to a 335is as an upgrade from my current car.

I know that there's significantly more maintenance and issues that need to be dealt with a N54 compared with N51.

From those that made the switch, how has your experience been and knowing what you now know, would you say that you wished you had know about before getting a N54 car?

[BSG335]

Originally Posted by JingChai

I have a 2011 E90 328i with the N51 SULEV engine with 72k miles. Recently I been toying with the idea of going to a 335is as an upgrade from my current car.

I know that there's significantly more maintenance and issues that need to be dealt with a N54 compared with N51.

From those that made the switch, how has your experience been and knowing what you now know, would you say that you wished you had know about before getting a N54 car?

I had an N52 325i, prior to that an E46 M54 325i, both auto. I also had an E30 323i (worked) in the 90s. This is just to say that I'm familiar with BMW ownership and I have done a lot of mechanical repair and maintenance work myself.

I did a lot of reading of forums, blogs, and websites and research before buying the E92 N54. I wanted one for a long time and things aligned for me to buy it 3.5 years ago.

In my experience, you can read and research as much as you want but owning and living with an N54 is a different story. The good from the reading and "book knowledge" is having a stsrting point (and sometimes more) of diagnosing issues and understanding the car's behaviour in certain situations.

The bad thing is knowing that there are a multitude of things that *can* go wrong but not to say they *will* go wrong. I look at it this way - it's a high performance, kinda high strung (compared to N52 or M54) vehicle and things do go wrong.

I love the performance of the N54 and often I can only legally or safely use under 50% of that performance. When it's on song, it's amazing. I want to extend the drive just to keep enjoying what it's soon. When it's just not having a happy day (doesn't mean anything is wrong) it's the opposite. Things run through mind about what that noise was or why the performance is a little off on this particular drive. You're always planning or thinking of the next maintenance item or that thing to fix. BTW, I have no go fast mods, only maintenance mods.

Aside from turbo car specific issues, it still has the usual E92 issues such as water pump failure, starter motor, some people get power steering pump failure (common on some years), and some usual engine and general electrical gremlins. The bushings are far longer lasting and better than the E46 but I found the shocks are probably worse. Just my ownership experience.

As for N54 specific issues, there's plenty of threads here to scare the pants off you. It's rare and unlikely you'll get most or many of all the issues happen to you. You should get familiar with diagnosis process, get apps for diag and coding or get INPA etc running, find a good Indy shop that you trust and treats you right. You'll probably be on a first name basis with your mechanic in no time due to fixes or upgrades. Lastly, learn how to turn a wrench if you don't already know and don't be afraid to get under there - there's plenty of guides and support here and other places. Keep a cash reserve for unscheduled repairs. That said, the engine itself it bullet proof and I love it. Almost anything that connects to the engine is suspect (I'm being kind).

Why did I buy it? I wasn't ready for an M car - either E46 or E9x - but I wanted something fast, good looking, fun when I wanted, good handling, and BMW. I kinda knew what I was getting myself into but even then somethings made me say "What the!". I would do it again but with a low mileage 6MT.