The time for me to get a 335i

[Subwoofer]

Hello, So I've finally convinced myself to get a 335i, I've found a really nice one. it has 105k Miles, just had the water pump changed. EDIT: also had the front suspension replaced

My reasoning behind the "high" mileage is because I plan on doing all labour inhouse, Just before I go ahead and buy it without actually looking at it.
What should I look out for? I already have the bimmer geeks cable so I can plug it and check for codes, but my question is, wont all cars have codes ?

Its a 2007, E92, and has a FULL service history, I don't believe the transmission fluid has ever been changed so that will be the first thing I do along with, oil change and oil filter housing gasket.

When I finally get to see the car in person, is there anything other than leaks I should be looking for ? I know about the wastegate rattle..
Im fully aware that I could be buying a car that has problems, but I would also like to know if there is anything I should know straight away that will stop me from buying it.
Things like the HPFP are not a problem (in the scheme of things) I hope

My list of things to do as soon as I get it before I mod.

Oil change with oil filter housing gasket replaced.
Transmission fluid change
Brake fluid change
Valve cover gasket.
Possible the belt (not sure if theres any tips for whether it should be replaced)
Was thinking about whacking some new 1 step colder Plugs in, and coils, but I also wanted to ask about whether on stock (whilst its being maintained before I mod if thats a bad idea)
Definitely a new chargepipe.



Thanks for reading all of this, hope to find out some more info before I go ahead and just buy this puppy!

 

[The Convert]

Simple answer: Don’t buy a 335. They’re pieces of shit that require too much up keep, are far too fickle, and there are far better platforms out there that won’t suffer the same issues as this one. I think the only reason we all still have ours is because we’re all too stubborn to cut our losses and move on to better platforms.

 

[Subwoofer]

Simple answer: Don’t buy a 335. They’re pieces of shit that require too much up keep, are far too fickle, and there are far better platforms out there that won’t suffer the same issues as this one. I think the only reason we all still have ours is because we’re all too stubborn to cut our losses and move on to better platforms.

Haha, What would you say better platforms are?

 

[NoGuru]

Has it ever been walnut blasted?
Injectors original? If they are, news ones are going to run you about $1300 if you do them yourself.

What is your goal with this car. Daily drive or weekend or....

 

[Subwoofer]

Has it ever been walnut blasted?
Injectors original? If they are, news ones are going to run you about $1300 if you do them yourself.

What is your goal with this car. Daily drive or weekend or....

Finally, a sensible answer, and no, I dont believe its been walnut blasted. Any particular way to tell if injectors are going bad ?
To be honest, a daily drive. I don't drive much anyways at the moment (not because of Corona) but definitely will be using it regularly

 

[NoGuru]

Finally, a sensible answer, and no, I dont believe its been walnut blasted. Any particular way to tell if injectors are going bad ?
To be honest, a daily drive. I don't drive much anyways at the moment (not because of Corona) but definitely will be using it regularly

Depending on your location, you can find someone local to Walnut blast for around $300-$400 or you can DYI if you have the tools.

If the injectors are going bad they usually leak and will make starting the car a little rough. Current version is 12, and I would think 9-12 might be okay but previous to that they are probably going out.There is a recall on most older gen cars so your might have been done already. I think you can read them if you remove the plastic engine cover.

Over Head oil filter housing tends to leak after a while but that is pretty cheap and easy.
Get new coils and plugs right way if you are not sure how old they are.

 

[RNM]

Simple answer: Don’t buy a 335. They’re pieces of shit that require too much up keep, are far too fickle, and there are far better platforms out there that won’t suffer the same issues as this one. I think the only reason we all still have ours is because we’re all too stubborn to cut our losses and move on to better platforms.

Damn, I can't argue with this post lol.

 

[typedRew]

do the whole valve cover, not the gasket

 

[Subwoofer]

Depending on your location, you can find someone local to Walnut blast for around $300-$400 or you can DYI if you have the tools.

If the injectors are going bad they usually leak and will make starting the car a little rough. Current version is 12, and I would think 9-12 might be okay but previous to that they are probably going out.There is a recall on most older gen cars so your might have been done already. I think you can read them if you remove the plastic engine cover.

Over Head oil filter housing tends to leak after a while but that is pretty cheap and easy.
Get new coils and plugs right way if you are not sure how old they are.

I think I would try and get the tools myself, so then I can do it it again.
And okay, but isnt the roughness associated with HPFP, or do you mean it starts rough, as in "stutters"
Yeah new coils and plugs then, do you think 1 step colder is better for a non modded (yet) car

 

[Subwoofer]

do the whole valve cover, not the gasket

Hey! Any particular reason over doing the whole thing and not just the gasket ?

 

[NoGuru]

I think I would try and get the tools myself, so then I can do it it again.
And okay, but isnt the roughness associated with HPFP, or do you mean it starts rough, as in "stutters"
Yeah new coils and plugs then, do you think 1 step colder is better for a non modded (yet) car

It will just start rough.
You could go one step colder then just increase the gap a little unless you tune or go higher boost.

Regarding Drews comment, it's because the VC is plastic and after a while it becomes more brittle and should just be replaced. ($400)

 

[Subwoofer]

It will just start rough.
You could go one step colder then just increase the gap a little unless you tune or go higher boost.

Regarding Drews comment, it's because the VC is plastic and after a while it becomes more brittle and should just be replaced. ($400)

yeah I know what you mean, Im thinking of cranking, not a smooth start that Im used to. I get that.

And okay, another thing. Im also going to look to find the UK components for Walnut blasting!

 

[Silent11]

am i the only one who is still running index 1s ?? 02/07 335i 125.000 miles on it , 30.000 miles tuned on emaps

 

[Milan]

Having owned an 07, 08, and 09 car I would never start with an 07/08 if I had to do it again.

I also agree with what Convert said. I’m too far down the rabbit hole to go back but I would probably spend the money on a CTSV now that the gen 2 is reasonable.

Also if a single turbo isn’t in your immediate future I would just pass.

 

[tisdrew]

Haha, What would you say better platforms are?

The 335i doesn't quite excel at any one area. It's not a drag car (horrid 1st/2nd gear traction) nor is it a roll 1/2 mile car as the platform is mostly stuck under 800whp (with some exceptions). It's not a circuit nor drift car (over heating, non-M susp, open diff, on the heavier side). It's not a reliable or cheap-to-maintain daily driver. Luxurious from a 12 year old car 3 series? Ha. It's pretty good at being good/ok at all of these for a cheap entry price point but it more than makes up for that in maintenance costs But it does all of these pretty well.

To build a 335i for basically any of the above, there are definitely other better platforms:
c6 corvette, e46 m3, mk6 gti, coyote mustang, evo X, f10 m5, m240i

 

[The Convert]

Likely maintenance items would be:
Plugs
Coils
Valve cover kit
Pcv valve
Walnut blast
Motor mounts
O2 sensors
Oil pan gasket
Water pump
Hpfp
Injectors
Serpentine belt
Belt tensioner
Belt pulleys
Radiator when it splits
Radiator overflow canister when it splits
Charge pipe when it splits

and then you want to start modding?
Limited slip
Axles
Single turbo kit/upgraded twins
Exhaust
Tires
More O2 sensors
LPFP
Downpipes
Turbo outlets
Turbo inlets
Intercooler
Suspension
Camber plates
Piggyback/flash tune
More O2 sensors
Port fuel injectors/meth injection

the list just keeps on going and going and going and then the car still looks the same as the day it was made, except 13 years older and more beat up. Just save the money you’ll spend along the way and put it down upfront to buy something else. If it’s just a daily, but an NA car and forget about all the turbo headaches.

 

[Milan]

Don’t forget water pump, injectors, o2 sensors, plugs, and coils that could fail at any point in time.

Misfires, sometimes real sometimes fake. Post shift timing drops

 

[typedRew]

Hey! Any particular reason over doing the whole thing and not just the gasket ?

the covers are prone to cracking with age, all these cars are old enough to crack from age alone

the process of removing and installing the old cover is possible to make it crack just from that, so you could get done with the gasket and then have a leak from a cracked cover

that said, the pcv ports are also inside and will be fairly clogged, having the pcv system flow as well as possible is a benefit

 

[BigTony517]

Be ready to drop 5k in parts within the first 6 months. I just bought a 105k mile 135i 6MT (got it for cheap), and it needed headlights (internal wire sheathing was completely crack/gone), turbos and all new coolant lines (split rear turbo return line). Also did waterpump/mounts/downpipes while in there, because fuck it. Do it while the subframe is out.
And that's not even touching the ignition/fueling/gaskets.
Parts are spendy, but when these things work there is nothing on the road as close to a supercar for the money.
Now would I buy a DCT and dump this kind of money into it? Absolutely not. Just go n55 or b58 at that point.

 

[Cornfed54]

If it sounds like people are shooting down your dream, its only because they have experienced it first hand and want to help you avoid potential nightmares. I agree with basically every warning, and maintenance / performance item listed above. I have a 2007 335 coupe, bought about 6 years ago with 110k and in need of most of the maintenance items @The Convert has listed. It makes my head spin when realizing It has had between $25-30k dumped into it since, and today has 144k miles. You would not think much of the car by exterior or interior other than its really clean... Majority of that money went into performance/drivetrain including 2 different clutches, two different fuel pump setups, 2 different intercoolers, 2 different rear diff setups, hybrid turbos with new hardware/lines, PI, and on and on. Some of this was from going a little cheap on accessories( i.e intercooler), which I quickly learned was a terrible idea on this platform especially. I since have learned I have to buy once cry once. Basically every single suspension component inc. bushings, mounts, solid subframe bushing, etc..( a must if making decent power or if you care about handling imo). Headlight wiring crumbed causing shorts and faults, options are $900 per headlight for OE or take your chances with aftermarket projectors that never seem as good as OEM. FRM/ Junction box had some random fault that locked up the whole car, took me 4 weeks of trying different modules/ recoding/ tracing wires, having bmw tech come look at it, total nightmare. Im only scraping the surface or I would need to write a novel, you get the idea.

It is a blast to drive, handles amazing, has an impressive powerband that smokes many cars costing 2x, great braking, and I am a fan of E92 styling in general. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY CAR when its working lol, but its been a journey, and if I went back in time, I would have held out for a new Supra, or ponied up for a newer F8X M car. It would not suffer from the age related failures so quickly, and would already have a lot of the performance portion addressed, (i.e suspension, trans, fueling, etc). Im in a position to where sooner or later, Im going to need a motor, stock ain't going to take this punishment forever. I have started piecing together parts to build one, but lately, I'm pondering if thats a foolish waste of money on this platform. I'm looking at somewhere around another 10K invested into a car that Blue Books @ $7,500 lol, or put another stock motor in and take my chances, ( still tons of work), or part it out when it blows and lose 70% of my investment, none sound good to me haha.

I have had to pull turbos not once, but THREE TIMES since owning hybrids that were touted as being " more robust than oem", which is a very sucky job on jack stands. I had to replace a Spec 3+ clutch with only 10K miles on it because I wanted to save money vs a double disk clutch and I was "happy with 570hp and would never turn it up". Guess what it got replaced with shortly after I turned it up...., XClutch twin disk, making the Spec a wasted $1K and a precious Saturday in the garage. I had my top-hat on the fuel pump melt from high amperage shortly after upgrading my EKPM, could have caused an in-cabin fire/ explosion honestly, scary stuff!

Just some real world feedback for you from an 07' owner who has dealt with plenty of headaches, as well as had a lot of fun miles, and wants to help inform potential owners on what they might run into on their journey. while on paper, yea you can go buy an n54 car, do fbo and have a 500whp street beast for $10k or less even, reality is way different. More like $10-15K minimum to get a decent car, and do the maintenance required to get to fairly reliable stock form, then add mod $ from there. Best of luck with whatever you choose! If you have the money and time, and don't need super reliable transportation, these are bad ass, but better cars can be had for sure.