335i advice?

[dergside]

As per Ketron, not first hand experience, but I believe that rattling waste gates can be an issue.

[Moe]

Well this is one of my favorite topics. I see yours is gone off donedeal but this one looks terrific and has had all the common faults done. https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sal...urbos/17569981

I got one in 2008 it was a launch car 2006 335i. I owned it for 3 years before it was written off (long story).

Of all the cars I have owned it is my second favorite, albeit my first scary fast car. I thought the engine was a work of art. The turbo power was relentless. Basically the N54 engine on the early ones ( 2011 onwards switched to the n55 single turbo with a twin scroll manifold) are the forerunners of the s55 in the new f80 (m3) and f82 (m4), and combined the classic free revving BMW straight 6 with the torque and fuel economy of turbos. Cause I had a launch car it was well specced. I will go through the pros and cons as I see it.

Pros:

1. Economy, I easily saw low 20's around town and sometimes over 30 on long runs. Very economical.

2. Very fast, you never get used to it its just relentless.

3. Auto gearbox is a great ZF unit well matched to the engine, never drove an manual.

4. I think they look good, aging a bit now. The msport ones look nicer but most irish cars are SE versions.

5. Nice interior big upgrade over the e46 generation. I drive works well, but ensure its not the "brown" version. Get the latest software.

6. Great sound.

7. Handles well enough on smooth surfaces but read cons

8. Cheap as all hell these days ( I paid 63k in 2008 for a 18 month old car that was over 70 new.)

9.

Cons.

1. Can be jumpy on rough surfaces, and this makes you loose confidence. They came with msport suspension even on SE models and its ROCK hard. Changing lanes on the motorway is a jarring experiance. The super firm ride means no body roll but on a back road it can slow you down and make it hard put the power down. Runflats make it worse, change to regular rubber its much better and cheaper. There is not LSD but an aftermarket one is available.

2. Very fast, I racked up 8 point on my licence when I owned it.

3. Seat bolsters wear a lot.

4. high enough tax.

5. Standard radio is a bit crap, look of a upgraded one.

6. Old Idrive works on DVD nav not the best but sure you will use you phone anyway. No bluetooth audio without 3rd party upgrade.

7. Reliability Issues. This is a big one. This was the first of this type of engine for BMW. They hadnt put a turbo on a car in 33 years ( a chap on this forum actually owned a 2002 turbo from the 70's), they also seemed to choose some cheaper components that failed at an alarming rate. The issues to watch for are. Later cars have fewer options.

a. Injectors - very common, they need to be replaced with unrated units (there are 6). BMW would only do this under warranty one injector at a time. One that has had them done is worth a bit. Its a 800-1500 euro jobs to replace them with an indy. Most that are still on the road have had these done. The original Bosche injectors were made of potato it would appear.
b. HPFP - high pressure fuel pump. Prone to failure, mine didnt, a medium expensive thing to fix.
c. Wastegate rattle, again an annoyance but nothing major. A software update got rid of it, but some claim increased turbo lag. I dont know.
d. Blown Turbos - this seems to have become a ting after my ownership ended. Lads out there seem to spend about 2k getting them replaced.
e. Cracked alloys. The hard ride, large wheels, and runflats can cause a lot of the alloys to be cracked especially 230 model alloys.

All in all I think they are an flipping fantastic motor. The sound and the power are terrific. They stand out from the other e92's out there. They can be modded for a lot more power. Cheap to buy, but buy the best one you can, they have fallen in price and may have reached some less caring hands than they demand. The issues are well know and once sorted it would be reliable motor. Economy wise they are very good, but really that doesnt matter. For the money there is no better machine out there.

Few nostalgia pictures of mine.