What should I know before I buy?

[Marlbombs]

Hey everyone, this is my first post. I am currently pretty close to buying a CPO 2011 135i (6spd, M sport, Nav, Premium, CW). I have been lurking on this forum extensively for the past couple of months, but thought it would be worth asking you what you think I should look for/know before I buy. Any information you give may be something I've already discovered on here but I am just trying to be thorough before I make the purchase.

Thanks!

[Marlbombs]

No one has anything to say? Lol I'm just looking for problems, quirks, expensive maintainance stuff that I might not be aware of from hunting around on this forum.

[Gray_Panther]

128i owner here.
Is there a warranty and how much are you willing to budget a year for maintenance and repairs?

[thehalcyon]

Originally Posted by Marlbombs

Hey everyone, this is my first post. I am currently pretty close to buying a CPO 2011 135i (6spd, M sport, Nav, Premium, CW). I have been lurking on this forum extensively for the past couple of months, but thought it would be worth asking you what you think I should look for/know before I buy. Any information you give may be something I've already discovered on here but I am just trying to be thorough before I make the purchase.

Thanks!

First, id say... nice choice (6spd, msport,nav,premium) Its a wonderful car but its not perfect and will need maintenance and repairs like any other. It would also help to know the milage that way people can help you better. That said the most common mechanical things I hear are the HPFP issues and maybe wastegate rattles? I'm sure someone could answer in better detail. As far as I know the HPFP issue is covered for 7 years in the States.

Good luck, Personally I think the good from this car outweighs any of the quirks or gremlins. Mine has a few rattles here and there and I think it would largely depend on the road conditions you intend to drive it on. Ottawa roads are pretty F-ing bad with all the bumps and potholes.

Best of luck

[PA135i]

Get the water pump replaced. It will fail. Find a good indy shop unless it is a warranty item. Be aware that if you mod the gaskets, plugs .. etc. will need to be replaced sooner. It's a blast to drive just plan on budgeting for repairs, maintenance.

[Pig Farmer]

You signature indicates that you live in Florida so I'll point out a couple things that struck me as "unusual" compared to my last few cars. As you know, BMW packed a 3 liter turbo charged engine into a tiny package. As a result the engine produces a lot of heat. This doesn't mean that the car is unhappy (on public roads), but you can definitely feel the heat coming through the fire wall in the summer time. This is coupled by the fact that a significant amount of the cabin area is comprised of windows. While this is great for visibility, it does create a bit of a greenhouse effect. Tinted windows help, but it does take a bit of time for the A/C to cool things down.

All of this is going to put added stress on the electric water pump and A/C evaporator. The water pump isn't cheap, but replacing it is a fairly simple DIY. The bigger concern is that the water pumps can fail without providing any indication that it's about to die. If you get a red engine warning light, nine time out of ten it's the water pump. You need to shut the car down immediately or risk warping the head. For these reasons, I would consider replacing the water pump every 40-50k miles to avoid being stranded on the side of the road or worse.

The evaporator is a different story. You won't be stranded if it fails, but it's not a simple DIY. Replacing the evaporator requires removal of the dashboard and will cost around $3 grand at the dealership. This shouldn't be a concern during the CPO warranty period, but just something to consider if you plan on keeping the car past the warranty.

[NorthernDancer]

It would be useful to get the maintenance history of the car to see what "repair" work has been done b/c it should have a 2 year warranty.
Now is a good time to buy a 2nd set of wheels with good quality snow tires.
Assuming with CPO you have road side assistance; when it expires, consider triple A.
If possible, learn to do your own oil changes.
Read your owners manual.
Join BMWCCA and take a BMW HPDE or at least go out to the track and watch one of the schools. In most cases, the car is much more capable than the driver.
Buy Weathertech floor mats for winter.
Sign up for free catalogues & newsletters from Bav Auto.
Find a good BMW indy close to where you live.

[Marlbombs]

Hey guys, thank you for the replies. The car has about ~42k miles on it. I verified the service history with a BMW dealership (using the VIN). The owner appears to have been vigilant with standard maintenance, taking it in for routine service about 2 times a year, even though they don't drive it a lot. All of the recalls/service bulletins have been addressed, including the VANOS bolts. The reverse synchro went out on the car so BMW replaced the entire transmission about a year ago.

I have read about the HPFP and I thought it was isolated to the N54? No? The water pump issue is new to me, and combined with the Florida heat might be an area of concern. The evaporator sounds even worse. Is this a common problem? Having over a year of warranty left makes me feel a bit more comfortable though.

[thehalcyon]

Originally Posted by Marlbombs

Hey guys, thank you for the replies. The car has about ~42k miles on it. I verified the service history with a BMW dealership (using the VIN). The owner appears to have been vigilant with standard maintenance, taking it in for routine service about 2 times a year, even though they don't drive it a lot. All of the recalls/service bulletins have been addressed, including the VANOS bolts. The reverse synchro went out on the car so BMW replaced the entire transmission about a year ago.

I have read about the HPFP and I thought it was isolated to the N54? No? The water pump issue is new to me, and combined with the Florida heat might be an area of concern. The evaporator sounds even worse. Is this a common problem? Having over a year of warranty left makes me feel a bit more comfortable though.

I still think I've seen some N55's owners post about haveing to replace the HPFP, but not as common as the n54. The water pump / evaporator issue is news to me but It does make sense if the car is in a super hot environment and under constant strain. It does sound like an expensive fix I wonder if an Indy shop might be a better choice, having to take off the whole dash doesn't sound good.

Also its good that your car has a new transmission as that surely wouldn't be a cheap fix. It might need a walnut blasting at I forget how many miles, and new plugs perhaps at 45-50?

[Marlbombs]

Originally Posted by thehalcyon

I still think I've seen some N55's owners post about haveing to replace the HPFP, but not as common as the n54. The water pump / evaporator issue is news to me but It does make sense if the car is in a super hot environment and under constant strain. It does sound like an expensive fix I wonder if an Indy shop might be a better choice, having to take off the whole dash doesn't sound good.

Also its good that your car has a new transmission as that surely wouldn't be a cheap fix. It might need a walnut blasting at I forget how many miles, and new plugs perhaps at 45-50?

Apparently the HPFP us warrantied up to 100k miles. Waterpump isn't a huge deal. What is the deal with this walnut blasting?

[PA135i]

HPFP is warranted for 10 years 120,000 miles by BMW.

[thehalcyon]

Originally Posted by Marlbombs

Apparently the HPFP us warrantied up to 100k miles. Waterpump isn't a huge deal. What is the deal with this walnut blasting?

Seems to be a common service that owners do after a certain mileage as it seems to get really gunked up. I think its more of a preventative thing and to get some power/smoothness back.

[Hops128i]

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

The evaporator is a different story. You won't be stranded if it fails, but it's not a simple DIY. Replacing the evaporator requires removal of the dashboard and will cost around $3 grand at the dealership. This shouldn't be a concern during the CPO warranty period, but just something to consider if you plan on keeping the car past the warranty.

It did a little searching on replacing the evaporator.... wow, it really looks involved. I really hope i don't have to deal with this any time soon.

I don't see a lot of people on here complaining about having to replace it, but i do wonder when it will likely be problem as these car age.