I am thinking of buying a 2008 335xi from an individual seller. Believe it or not, it has only 5300 miles. I have heard of problems with the early e90 turbos, fuel pumps, oil pumps, etc., but could use a refresher if anyone has specific information. Appreciate any feedback that you can offer. Thanks!
Wow, an incredible find! Amazing! We all dream of finding such a time capsule - 5,300 miles. This may well be a once in a lifetime opportunity (or once in several lifetimes). We leased a 2008 335xi back in the day and had decidedly mixed experiences with it. Ridiculously fun to drive, very capable and versatile for all seasons. Most people Love them! For us, the first year was largely fun, a few problems. After that ... well ... read the past posts I've linked below. Before that, a few questions that pop up for a vehicle eight years old, particularly with such low miles ... What's the cars history? . 1. Where was it delivered? . . a. Desert? . . b. Rust Belt? . 2. Is there a service history for the car? . . a. Has the car been serviced? . . b. Where was it serviced? . . c. What service was performed? . . d. When was it last serviced? . 3. Have any recalls been issued for this specific car? . . a. Have they been applied to the car? ( If not, are they still in effect? ) . 4. How/where was it stored? Where has it been the last 8+ years? . 5. Damage History? . 6. Title . . . . Clear . . . Salvage What is the car's condition? . 1. Is the car presentable? . . a. Rust? . . b. Damage? . . c. Just cosmetic / clean-up? . 2. What are the tires like? Even with such low miles, the original run-flats are aged-out by now. . . a. If it has the original Bridgestone 1st Gen run-flats ... Take them off ... burn them. . 3. Battery? . . a. Replacement registered to car's computer? . 4 . Fuel system? . . a. If long-term storage, was fuel stabilizer used? If the car has not been serviced regularly/recently there will be a laundry list to go through. Beyond the things mentioned above a few are: . 1. Fluids . 2. Belts / hoses . 3. Wiper blades . 4. Filters? . 5. etc. People on here far more knowledgeable than I can give you specifics. Who/Where will perform service for you? . 1. The dealership will be good but, expensive. . 2. Is there a local independent you can trust? . 3. Are you a serious D.I.Y.er? Your local BMW Club chapter members can be great resources. I'm not trying to scare you, just mentioning a few real world things that an 8 year old car might need. A vehicle having long periods of inactivity or storage might need a little lovin' to ready it for reliable service. Understand, many/most owners of the early 335i/xi (and 535) vehicles did not encounter all of the publicized problems but, many did. In the forum threads you typically don't hear from the satisfied owners who don't experience the trouble, that's just life. Also, remember most (probably) of the affected cars have been treated under warranty for the failures. BMW extended a special warranty to cover the failing High Pressure Fuel Pumps that I believe is still in play. You can easily check on that. https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.php?threads/hpfp-failure-on-2011.6862/#post-45445 https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.php?threads/hpfp-failure-on-2011.6862/#post-45456 https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index....ressure-fuel-pump-hpfp-issue.7055/#post-46742 https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.php?threads/concerns-with-n54-engine.7390/#post-48738 Let us know how this opportunity plays out for you! Good luck!
I want to thank you for all of your input and for including the threads as well. All this does make me nervous, but I'll check out the car (owner is only a few miles from me) and then if I really like it will get it fully checked out. He's standing firm on $21,999, but if I have to replace tires, hoses, belts, battery, etc. he's going to have to come down on price. I'll let you know how this turns out. Thanks again!
Tires do age-out, but, many variables involved as to how long that takes - the last paragraphs on the tire aging pages mention in-service life of 6-10 yrs. Obviously this car's tires have not been much in service, so part of the picture is what conditions they were exposed to when it hasn't been driven. See: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138 http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=183 It's on truck spares, but the essential info is still relevant - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=264 My own experience with aged-out tires - bought an extra set of tires (same as what I had on the E30 at the time that I liked) that were on close-out. Didn't think about tire age at all back then. Got a 2nd car, the E30 was no longer daily driver, so, took a lot longer to wear out that set of E30 tires. When they were done, grabbed the other set that had been stored in the basement for, by that time, probably 5-6 yrs., maybe more, had 'em mounted, and put 'em on the car. Dry driving was fine, but - first time it rained, was on the highway and exited on a loop exit ramp, at a completely sedate speed, and halfway thru the loop, the car *snapped* sideways with not even the remotest hint that complete loss of traction was imminent. Since it was at pretty slow speed, thankfully I caught the skid - also, immediately realized that the tire compound had aged-out and that even though there was mechanical grip in dry conditions, there was dangerously little there for wet pavement. That was the end of running those! If you get the car and _don't_ get tires, remember to be skeptical about what grip you might have in the wet.
Just be sure to have it checked out by someone who knows these cars. Also do a carfax to make sure nothing has happened to it.
