Apprehensive to purchase a CPO 135i

[docdish]

Hope you can help with my decision. I will soon be unloading my 2009 Mini Cooper S Cab. It is approaching the end of it's warranty and has had too many engine problems to list. I love the idea of a small, powerful, four seat cabriolet and am looking for something reliable. I was very excited by the idea of a pre-owned 1-series but have honestly been quite shaken by all of the (recurrent) fuel pump problems on the 135. This may explain the excess of 2008 135's on the market and the small price differential between the two engine choices.
My main question is whether the latest generation replacement HPFP has addressed the recurrent failure issue. Does anyone have experience with a late model, i.e. 6/2011 or onward, replacement pump failing?Is there any evidence that the fuel pump failure can cause excess engine stress and or failure?
Sorry this is wordy, thanks for any help,
Michael

[Mark16q]

my '10 cpo had the fuel pump replaced within a month of delivery to the first owner back in December '09, per the service records. 2 years and 20k miles later, working great so far. I realize this is before 6/11 per your post, but thinking they can't have gotten worse. hundreds of posts about this here, and with the extended warranty decided to not let it influence my decision. The car will be sold long before the warranty on the hpfp goes away.

Having a ball with this 'vert, and sure you will too.

mg

[audimotion]

I didn't and if i were you, wouldn't let the HPFP stop me from purchasing and enjoying such a great car. BMW has extended the HPFP warranty till 120K or 10 yrs.
Anyway, MANY direct injected vehicles on the market are suffering from HPFP issues. My 2012 Power Stroke Super Duty is a model that has HPFP issues as well (mine has not yet though). Again, didn't stop me from buying it.
I have not read many threads of people having the latest HPFP replaced or gone bad.
Lastly, CPO is the way to go...gives peace of mind.

[wolfe]

I'd suggest having the dealer pull up the maintenance history. Given the long oil change interval you want to be sure it's at least had them on schedule.

[Xtian]

What's wrong with the Mini?

[KingOfJericho]

You're seeing a large number of 2008s on the market because those are all rolling off their 3yr leases. It's completely normal. The HPFP issue was resolved with the recall. My pump failed at 6k miles and has been completely fine for the subsequent 20k. It's an extremely rewarding car to own and that issue should not stop you from purchasing.

[docdish]

Originally Posted by Xtian

What's wrong with the Mini?

The Mini has had a recall on the convertible top.
All new Cooper S's have a recall on the auxilliary water pump.
My major issue was near block melt-down which was precipitated by oil leak which was somehow related to a timing belt tensioner. No one from the service department or Mini forums has been able to explain that chain of events to me. In any case I have a complete lack of confidence in the long term reliability of my Cooper, but I sure will miss it. Great car when it works.

[docdish]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. It seems like occasional pump failure may be the cost for ownership in the 135i club! I am willing to deal with annual breakdown and replacement of the fuel pump as long as the pump failures are not doing significant damage to the engine ( see my Mini horror story above ). Anyone want to buy a gently used (frequently serviced) 2009 Chili Red Cooper S Cab?
In searching the forums here I haven't come across any stories of premature engine failure related to the fuel pump issue. Does anyone have any conflicting experience?

[fun2drv]

Don't worry about the pump issue too much. The latest generation pump seems to be working fine. I've had that one in my '10 for over six months now with NO issues. The 135i is an AWESOME car!!!

[livin_it]

Get extended warrenty when you buy the 135....problem solved for a few years at least. However I have a 2008 135 and have not had a single pump issue

[J0E]

Agree with everyone else. Nothing to worry about with a 2008 CPO as you are covered until 2014 under the warranty and 2020 on the HPFP. Also same with the number of vehicles on the market. My dealer said that 80% of their business is new car leases. That leaves potential for 80% of cars purchased in 2008 to be coming off lease last year (of course that number will be lower but you get my drift).

Have at it!

[KingOfJericho]

Yeah we're going to see a massive influx of CPO buyers in the coming months.

[doublevanosrc]

I got my fuel pump replaced in Jan 2012 and i drive a 2011 N55. The car still drove but with less power. I guess if you really like the car you just gotta acceptable that the fuel pump can go bad at any moment.