Pre-Purchase Used 135i Research

[Seifz]

Hey everyone!

I'm brand new to the forum but have done a quick search of the threads to try and find some answers. Looks like it is quite an active community on here

I'm looking to pick up a used 135i in Perth. My budget atm is around $50,000 which i know will make it a bit more difficult so i know i may have to wait for prices to come down a bit more.

I havent had the experience of purchasing a used vehicle so i want to make sure ive got all the right information before i make a $50,000 investment.

I've got a heap of questions and would really appreciate some input from everyone who are 135i owners and have been through a similar process. So a few to start with:

1) Ive been looking on carsales.com.au and there arent many in Perth. Should I be looking anywhere else? I note that a member here is selling one for $49,999, I'd probably snap it up if only it was alpine white.

2) Can i expect to get at least 5 years of problem free ownership from a 08 135i? I know its probably not the easiest question to answer but if problems do arise, i would assume that it would cost an arm and a leg to fix.

On a similar note:

2a) Is it worth $3500 for an extended 3 year warranty from BMW (i got the $3500 from a post by a member here)? If a used 135i is out of warranty already, would BMW still allow such an extension?

2b) Aside from the HPFP and optical/steering angle sensor i've seen mentioned on here, are there other known problems that i should look out from when shopping for a 135i that may be out of warranty?

3) Are there any must have options (eg. iDrive) that i should look for?

4) How are the servicing costs/intervals? Can anyone give some insight into how often they have had to service their 135i and the costs?

5) How are the real world running costs, namely fuel and tyres?

Thanks guys! Apologies if the answers to any of my questions are already in other threads...i'll keep looking! Look forward to joining the 135i owners club

[RaihaX]

Let me answer a few of your questions

1) Ive been looking on carsales.com.au and there arent many in Perth. Should I be looking anywhere else? I note that a member here is selling one for $49,999, I'd probably snap it up if only it was alpine white.

Honny's car is definitely good buy - if you are not too concern about colour

2) Can i expect to get at least 5 years of problem free ownership from a 08 135i? I know its probably not the easiest question to answer but if problems do arise, i would assume that it would cost an arm and a leg to fix.

You will most likely not have a problem free ownership I can tell you that much.

On a similar note:

2a) Is it worth $3500 for an extended 3 year warranty from BMW (i got the $3500 from a post by a member here)? If a used 135i is out of warranty already, would BMW still allow such an extension?

I got an extended warranty and that covered my HPFP so I thought it was pretty good - not sure how well my warranty will work as I am pretty modded now

2b) Aside from the HPFP and optical/steering angle sensor i've seen mentioned on here, are there other known problems that i should look out from when shopping for a 135i that may be out of warranty?

Can't think of anything beside for wastegate rattle maybe. Check the engine bay for wear and tear on the screws of the microfilter to see if the previous owner has had it modded.

3) Are there any must have options (eg. iDrive) that i should look for?

If you want iDrive you definitely want one that is 09 or newer

4) How are the servicing costs/intervals? Can anyone give some insight into how often they have had to service their 135i and the costs?

You should change your oil between 5000-10000km if you don't do it yourself it will probably be like $150-$200 for that.

I guess service in general will start from $300 and above depend on which service.

5) How are the real world running costs, namely fuel and tyres?

I get about 400-450km a tank and tyres get it from tirerack $1200ish shipped for a set of 4 Michellin PSS

Can't wait for another Perthie to have another 135i

[MrBlonde]

Originally Posted by Seifz

2a) Is it worth $3500 for an extended 3 year warranty from BMW (i got the $3500 from a post by a member here)? If a used 135i is out of warranty already, would BMW still allow such an extension?

Not worth it.

2b) Aside from the HPFP and optical/steering angle sensor i've seen mentioned on here, are there other known problems that i should look out from when shopping for a 135i that may be out of warranty?

HPFP issue is overstated, it's nothing to worry about and not expensive to fix.
Steering angle sensor? Never heard of that issue. Don't worry about it.

3) Are there any must have options (eg. iDrive) that i should look for?

No.

[MikeVictor]

^ what Kenny said.

[Honny]

Honny's car is definitely good buy - if you are not too concern about colour

Rey... red cars are awesome because they are faster and chicks totally dig them.

And Welcome fellow Perth member!

[MrBlonde]

Dude .. you're in Perth ... if you don't at least check out Honny's car you are nuts!

[Honny]

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

Dude .. you're in Perth ... if you don't at least check out Honny's car you are nuts!

He better be quick! Im leaving Perth soon.... I want the car sold beforehand. If its still not sold before the 6th then I'll jack up the price when I get back.

[sparoz]

Welcome to the forum, but I have a different take to some members, as I think you need to know what is the potential problem, even it may be uncommon. However, I am in the medical field and 5% is considered common:

Originally Posted by Seifz

Hey everyone!

I'm brand new to the forum but have done a quick search of the threads to try and find some answers. Looks like it is quite an active community on here

2) Can i expect to get at least 5 years of problem free ownership from a 08 135i? I know its probably not the easiest question to answer but if problems do arise, i would assume that it would cost an arm and a leg to fix.

On a similar note:

2a) Is it worth $3500 for an extended 3 year warranty from BMW (i got the $3500 from a post by a member here)? If a used 135i is out of warranty already, would BMW still allow such an extension?

2b) Aside from the HPFP and optical/steering angle sensor i've seen mentioned on here, are there other known problems that i should look out from when shopping for a 135i that may be out of warranty?

3) Are there any must have options (eg. iDrive) that i should look for?

4) How are the servicing costs/intervals? Can anyone give some insight into how often they have had to service their 135i and the costs?

5) How are the real world running costs, namely fuel and tyres?

Thanks guys! Apologies if the answers to any of my questions are already in other threads...i'll keep looking! Look forward to joining the 135i owners club

2) Most BMWs aren't problem free - you would likely to have some problems for a 5yr ownership.

2a) If it is $3500 like the other said it is probably not worthwhile. There are other Perth options to service your car that was discussed by the members where most things could be fixed cheaply.

2b) As mentioned above. HPFP problem is overstated but it would be good to know if the previous owner had it replaced. If it hasn't, then it is probably going to fail some point in time. The later HPFP seems to hold much better - even bangle is stuck on his 4th pumpie thingy (mangly speak).

You want to make sure the LED has already been replaced under the campaign - of course there is an option of upgrading to the latest LCI graphics if it fails.

The steering optical sensor would be the most expensive part that could fail. It is common enough across the BMW range. My wife's 120d had the problem, X5mad's X5 had the problem. It would be just luck of the draw. One option is to obtain the part overseas when that happens, but that means your car would be in TIM YOYO mode until the part arrives.

Earlier E82/E87s (along with E46s) have issues with the transistor in the air conditioning. It is only a $80 part, so if your air con goes on/off or behave erratically - make sure that's looked at before you do anything else.

Squeaky brakes are common - but it is not a failing part as such. My 135i didn't have it. The 120d didn't have it. The 318i, 125i and the 1M has it. Just ignore it and don't let the dealer change the rotor - it doesn't solve the problem. There are threads here for possible solutions such as different pads.

Turbos on earlier E82s are starting to fail on cars that has been modified due to the higher boost. So, you might want to check the history of the car (although I am not sure how). Might be an opportunity to change it to something better.

Electric windows and sunroofs are known to fail in older BMWs. It is hard to say if e82s have the same problem, but it has been talked about in the forum.

Comfort access in earlier cars doesn't work very well. If you are looking at a 08 or 09, it may or may not work when you want it to.

That's all I could think of now, but common enough that I recall.

3. +1 on 09 for iDrive. All other options are personal preferences really. I would say Xenon with Adaptive headlight is a must have, but that's just me. Prof Nav is nice, and comfort access on earlier models is a bit of hit and miss. You might want to let us know what options you are thinking and we can tell you if it's worth it or not.

4. Servicing is generally every 15000km. However, dealers are getting smart in not resetting the oil service interval or not doing it at the same time and let it trigger off in say 7000km. Personally, I changed my oil every 7000km on my 135i anyway, and it is only $100-$200 depending on where. Servicing even at the dealers was cheaper than my Honda CRV.

5. My 135i was running at 9.9L/100km. I wasn't WOT as much as I should, and it was stock. I made my tyres lasted 30000km, but I have it checked every 5000km and was aligned for optimal wear. I have also ditched my RFT after 1000km so that might have contribute a bit to fuel economy. Premium non-RFT is roughly $250 from tyre rack a corner + shipping. Some tyre shops will be able to get close to those price for the same tyres. If you want to stay with RFT, the 3rd gen RFT tyre noise, and ride is almost as good as non-RFT bar the weight differences. There are cheaper tyres also available if you so choose.

Hope this helps.

[david.orr]

Originally Posted by Seifz

1) Ive been looking on carsales.com.au and there arent many in Perth. Should I be looking anywhere else? I note that a member here is selling one for $49,999, I'd probably snap it up if only it was alpine white.......

Stating the obvious, buying a car used or otherwise is more than just a desktop exercise and now that you have received varying responses from experienced 135i owners, you should just go and drive a few cars including Honny's. Your take on what's important and what's not may well change after such drives. Good luck with your purchase!!

[banglemangle]

Originally Posted by sparoz

2b) As mentioned above. HPFP problem is overstated but it would be good to know if the previous owner had it replaced. If it hasn't, then it is probably going to fail some point in time. The later HPFP seems to hold much better - even bangle is stuck on his 4th pumpie thingy (mangly speak).

True. Still on thingy 4.

Once we get proper hot weather in Sydney, will be interesting to see if rough idle / stalling continues.

[Seifz]

Thanks heaps for all the input!! Really appreciate it. I will definitely need to go and inspect and test drive a few in the flesh soon. So based on whats been said so far:

- With regards to the 5 yr problem free ownership of a used 135i, i probably should of framed the question a bit differently given that cars will always have issues in that kind of a timeframe...i guess i'm looking for confirmation more than anything that the 135i and BMW's in general (given we cant predict the future with the 135i) arent inherently unreliable and are likely to last 10 years without some catastrophic failure or needing huge $$$ fixing one thing after another during that time. In other words, are any 135i owners thinking "i better sell up after 5 years because the cars likely to start playing up/costing huge $$$"

- In relation to purchasing a warranty extention, the consensus seems to be its not worth it. My rationale behind looking into this is because BMW parts seem to cost big dollars, so even if 1 or 2 things fail during those few years, you'll get your money back (plus the peace of mind). Can someone please point out the flaws in my thoughts, is it that easy to get hold of cheaper parts from o/s, and are servicing costs at independent mechanics for BMWs actually reasonable that the $3000 is simply not worth it?

- I'm not familiar with the BMW service schedules which seem to be a bit different to the Japanese cars which generally have 'set' 6month/10,000km services. I'm of the understanding that theres some sort of alert that lets you know when your vehicle needs to be serviced and there are oil services and inspection types 1 and 2. When are the 'major services' due (eg. 60,000km?) for a 135i and any estimates on the costs of these? I'm not having much luck working out how much i might be looking at in terms of service costs based on 15,000km a year and when i might need to fork out extra for a major service. Any guidance in this regard would be appreciated =)

- Are there any differences between the 08 and 09 models apart from the iDrive system mentioned? Also wanted to confirm that there arent different models of the 135i with different configurations/specs right (eg. there was no M Sport package on the 08/09's)? Its just simple manual/auto +/- options.

Appreciate the help guys, i know i am asking a lot haha

[Honny]

Thanks heaps for all the input!! Really appreciate it. I will definitely need to go and inspect and test drive a few in the flesh soon.

You should, test drive one and you'll be amazed what a fantastic little car it is. Theres 3 or 4 used 135i's in Perth for sale now including mine. (But they are out of $50k budget unless your including mine)

i guess i'm looking for confirmation more than anything that the 135i and BMW's in general (given we cant predict the future with the 135i) arent inherently unreliable and are likely to last 10 years without some catastrophic failure or needing huge $$$ fixing one thing after another during that time. In other words, are any 135i owners thinking "i better sell up after 5 years because the cars likely to start playing up/costing huge $$$"

BMW aren't the most reliable of cars, but then most german manufacturers aren't aswell sorted as you think imaged. I believe when you jump on the bandwagon for "Performance BMW's", most of the owners/enthusiasts are prepared to splash some cash to ensure the car gets the best treatment during its ownership for the short or long-term. When a car delivers such substantial performance, in reality you can't expect the running cost to be the same as a Toyota Corolla. I believe most owners are just "moving" on rather than selling up because they are scared of the running costs (For my case atleast!). Also you should consider the previous owners care which factors a huge part on a vehicles condition.

-My rationale behind looking into this is because BMW parts seem to cost big dollars, so even if 1 or 2 things fail during those few years, you'll get your money back (plus the peace of mind). Can someone please point out the flaws in my thoughts, is it that easy to get hold of cheaper parts from o/s, and are servicing costs at independent mechanics for BMWs actually reasonable that the $3000 is simply not worth it?

Buy parts online from Tischers, or Dan@BMWUnited. Go to a respectable BMW mechanic in Perth (theres some people who knows there BMW's here) and do the job there. Most common issues like HPFP aren't rocket science so it shouldn't take a genius to fix.

- I'm not familiar with the BMW service schedules which seem to be a bit different to the Japanese cars which generally have 'set' 6month/10,000km services. I'm of the understanding that theres some sort of alert that lets you know when your vehicle needs to be serviced and there are oil services and inspection types 1 and 2.

European cars are serviced each year or 10,000km. Its best way to tackle servicing is to go back to the dealership for each scheduled service. Also many members are changing oils themselves at roughly 5000km intervals which is proven to be essential care for turbo engines. My servicing at AC is roughly $500, but then that figure will fluctuate between cars and what service is required. The next service for my car is when it reaches 50,000km and from what I know it should be the regular oil, filters check-up along with some new brake-pads. Most members cars are around 30,000-40,000kms so in reality no-ones really ever done a "major service" before.

- Are there any differences between the 08 and 09 models apart from the iDrive system mentioned? Also wanted to confirm that there arent different models of the 135i with different configurations/specs right (eg. there was no M Sport package on the 08/09's)? Its just simple manual/auto +/- options.

There are two iDrives BMW offers... the business(basic) or the Professional(full). During 2009 BMW changed the iDrive system to a full HD format with hard-drive. Without doubt the new ones better, with technology its all like that but an iDrive is not a necessity... I only use mine to show off and impress chicks. Still dont know all the functions in mine. All 135i are equipped with M-Sport package. The newer N55 DCT cars have the "Proper Paddleshifts" where-as the N54 autos use the "Push In/Out" method.