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      11-05-2016, 11:54 PM   #1
135orG37
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Stop me but...

Hello guys and gals of 1addicts.com. There's a 135i in my area. An 09 with 67,000 miles on it. Felt great on the test drive and the interior and exterior are in pristine condition. With that being said, I was wary of the parity of owners on here who have either had completely shit luck with their 135 or had next to no issues. I believe the car fax is clean, no accidents and the car was maintained but I'm still afraid to fully committing to the car.

So my questions are:

Is there car to dicey to make a daily driver? (25,000 miles a year or so)
How bad can maintenance get?
Is an extended warranty advised?
What's life like with this car for those of you who have it as a daily driver?
What's a rough estimate/worst case scenario of a fund I should set up jut in case the car goes under?

But man... that was the most exhilarating drive I have ever had. There has been no car as fun as the 135i and I've owned a clubman S and driven an AMG.
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      11-06-2016, 05:52 AM   #2
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I have been on this forum for five years. Here are my observations based on what I have read here.

Owners who keep their 135 close to stock and drive briskly seem to have very few issues with reliability.

Owners who bolt on lots of performance enhancing hardware and/or drive the absolute piss out of their 135 seem to have more problems with reliability.

So, I would say that generally, the reliability of your car is up to you and how you drive. Is this surprising to you?
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      11-06-2016, 07:02 AM   #3
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Gotta echo mackeroni's comment about stock vs breathed on. Kept stock the reliability should be OK. I had almost 80k miles on my '08 and I kept after the little things, oil changes, air filters, regular brake fluid changes (2 year intervals).

At 67k miles check to see if the brakes front & rear have had rotors and pads replaced. That'll be a $1500+ chunk if they haven't and they will need to be replaced soon if they haven't.

Try to get a BMW dealer to run the VIN for a maintenance history and find out if the high pressure fuel pump has been replaced (which it should be - I think for an '09) and if any of the direct fuel injectors have also been replaced. On the N54 engines the fuel injectors are PRICEY items.

The '08 135i I had was more reliable than the Miata it replaced (believe it or not) it just cost significantly more to maintain. Remember BMW stands for 'Break My Wallet'.
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      11-06-2016, 10:09 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mackeroni View Post
I have been on this forum for five years. Here are my observations based on what I have read here.

Owners who keep their 135 close to stock and drive briskly seem to have very few issues with reliability.

Owners who bolt on lots of performance enhancing hardware and/or drive the absolute piss out of their 135 seem to have more problems with reliability.

So, I would say that generally, the reliability of your car is up to you and how you drive. Is this surprising to you?
Makes sense. The car I test drove was in pristine condition inside and out. I'm going to take it to my favorite mechanic if the dealer allows.
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      11-06-2016, 12:30 PM   #5
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Get an extended warranty, no question.
Mine has paid for itself in the first year. FRM, front Tension struts, Waterpump and a few other odds. Total of over $3,000 parts and labor. I paid $130. There's no question that I'm happy with my warranty.
I had my local BWM dealer do the work and they provide me with a loaner. So I'm never down a vehicle, just time. No big deal to me.


Far as ownership goes. Maintenance costs are no more than anything else really, performance wise. It's just shop wisely and plan accordingly.
Oil changes will run around $50+ no matter how you do them. You could save here if you're willing to do UOI's and extended drain intervals.
Fuel, you'll eat lots of it. Pump gas, plan on 22mpg average. Ethanol, plan on 16mpg average. You do the cost per mile figures, don't fixate on the MPG number, cost per mile is all that matters!
Tires, you don't have to spend a fortune on them. Again shop smart and buy according to your needs. PSS isn't the tire everyone NEEDS.

If done correctly the car is not break the bank expensive to own/maintain. Use your head.

And TBH, a tuned 135i is a VERY fun car. And now that both the N54 and N55 can use MHD, I'd recommend you look into a tune if you buy one. It'll really bring a smile to your face.
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      11-07-2016, 09:43 AM   #6
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At that mileage I would check to make sure the water pump has been done as well as the oil filter housing gaskets.

I just had the latter done at 42k and its like a $1k job at the dealer.
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      11-07-2016, 09:51 AM   #7
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  • Is there car to dicey to make a daily driver? (25,000 miles a year or so)
    Not at all, I DD mine in DC traffic.
  • How bad can maintenance get?
    Can be pricey, brakes are uber expensive.
  • Is an extended warranty advised?
    Mine just saved my ass, read about it here
  • What's life like with this car for those of you who have it as a daily driver?
    LOVE IT. It's my crack. Seriously the best part of my work days is getting up in the morning to drive to work, and then driving home. My fiance laughs at me but she drove it and gets it. It's a smile machine!
  • What's a rough estimate/worst case scenario of a fund I should set up jut in case the car goes under?
    That's a pretty round question... I just had my trans replaced for $5,000 out the door, $600 out of pocket after my 3rd party warranty paid the bill. My last car was hydrolocked in a flood and the engine, turbo, and clutch was all fried costing about $28,000 in damage. Luckily my insurance covered this as an environmental disaster, the car was totaled since the value was around $21k.
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      11-07-2016, 10:04 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ejm3 View Post
At that mileage I would check to make sure the water pump has been done as well as the oil filter housing gaskets.

I just had the latter done at 42k and its like a $1k job at the dealer.
Damn....$1k for oil filter housing gaskets? My indy shop charged me $450.00 and I bought the two gaskets for $10 each.
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      11-07-2016, 10:49 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BimmerE82 View Post
Damn....$1k for oil filter housing gaskets? My indy shop charged me $450.00 and I bought the two gaskets for $10 each.
Yeah $1k is pretty common from the stealerships, local shops tend to be around the $450-550 mark. I had mine done for $450 as well at a local shop.
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      11-07-2016, 07:26 PM   #10
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Drive the car. If you like it and have a spare 3k or so in the bank just in case, buy it.

Can't recommend a service insurance plan. That's a huge gamble.
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      11-07-2016, 07:31 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iminhell1 View Post
Get an extended warranty, no question.
Mine has paid for itself in the first year. FRM, front Tension struts, Waterpump and a few other odds. Total of over $3,000 parts and labor. I paid $130. There's no question that I'm happy with my warranty.
I had my local BWM dealer do the work and they provide me with a loaner. So I'm never down a vehicle, just time. No big deal to me.


Far as ownership goes. Maintenance costs are no more than anything else really, performance wise. It's just shop wisely and plan accordingly.
Oil changes will run around $50+ no matter how you do them. You could save here if you're willing to do UOI's and extended drain intervals.
Fuel, you'll eat lots of it. Pump gas, plan on 22mpg average. Ethanol, plan on 16mpg average. You do the cost per mile figures, don't fixate on the MPG number, cost per mile is all that matters!
Tires, you don't have to spend a fortune on them. Again shop smart and buy according to your needs. PSS isn't the tire everyone NEEDS.

If done correctly the car is not break the bank expensive to own/maintain. Use your head.

And TBH, a tuned 135i is a VERY fun car. And now that both the N54 and N55 can use MHD, I'd recommend you look into a tune if you buy one. It'll really bring a smile to your face.
What he said......plus, I would certainly take the 135 over the G37. I owned a G35, Bimmer is tons more fun to drive. Just be aware that the maintenence will run somewhat more, and most extended warranties only go to 100k. I also own a 135 (dct) and drive around 20k/year.
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      11-08-2016, 03:16 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matticus91 View Post
Yeah $1k is pretty common from the stealerships, local shops tend to be around the $450-550 mark. I had mine done for $450 as well at a local shop.
Yeah when my normal dealer found slight dampness around the gasket they quoted me $1100 and I had heart failure.

Then I had an indie shop put on some new tires and I asked him to take a look. He confirmed the slight leak and said he could do it for about $550, or half the dealer price.

So then I called the dealer closer to my job and over the phone they quoted me $590 which I thought was a good deal.

Then when I picked up the car they said they misquoted. They quoted 2.9 hours and it should have been 5.5 hours. The gaskets themselves were like $75 so with the extra labor it would have been about $1k.

Lucky for me they made good on the cheaper quote so I am happy.

Though I'm unhappy I had this problem at only 42k miles.

Otherwise car has been good though I can sense brakes will be needed soon...
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      11-08-2016, 03:36 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 135orG37 View Post
1 Is there car to dicey to make a daily driver? (25,000 miles a year or so)
2 How bad can maintenance get?
3 Is an extended warranty advised?
4 What's life like with this car for those of you who have it as a daily driver?
5 What's a rough estimate/worst case scenario of a fund I should set up jut in case the car goes under?
1. Not if you have other cars and don't mind spending a lot of money in maintenance to ensure reliability
2. Really bad
3. Probably
4. Love / hate
5. Probably like $10K if you blow a motor, but on a 2009 you'll probably need at least a few grand in parts alone to get it in tip top shape and good reliability.
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      11-08-2016, 03:38 PM   #14
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Granted I have a 2012 N55 (different motor) with 63k miles. I've had the car for a year and I've put 13k miles on it since it's my DD.

In that time, I've had to replace:

Water pump and themorstat ($500 for all the parts and coolant, DIY fix)
Expansion Tank ($200 with labor)
PVC Valve Cover ($750 with labor)
Starter ($550 with labor)
Oil sensor harness ($105 with labor)

This is excluding a new set of spark plugs and 2 oil changes.

Owning this car can be confusing. I'm constantly going back and forth of hating and loving it. Always thinking of selling it, but honestly, I'd be losing a lot of money if I did, plus I really do love the car. Funny enough, all my problems started after I installed a JB4. Car ran perfectly fine without it.

Seriously considering just taking that out and doing cosmetic mods. Car is plenty fun when it's stock.
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      11-08-2016, 03:42 PM   #15
The Wind Breezes
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And there you go. Don't run a JB4 when both N54 and now N55 have good, inexpensive flash tunes available. Any of these flash tunes will have dozens of modified maps for controlling engine parameters. JB4 modifies a couple sensors, spams the CAN bus and calls it a day. No VANOS, no precision fueling, and poor consistency and drivability.
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      11-09-2016, 03:53 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes View Post
And there you go. Don't run a JB4 when both N54 and now N55 have good, inexpensive flash tunes available. Any of these flash tunes will have dozens of modified maps for controlling engine parameters. JB4 modifies a couple sensors, spams the CAN bus and calls it a day. No VANOS, no precision fueling, and poor consistency and drivability.
Any particular reason you seem to post this in every thread that pops up? Sounding a bit like a broken record at this point TBH. It's misinformation as well, which I always appreciate.
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      11-09-2016, 04:00 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShocknAwe View Post
Any particular reason you seem to post this in every thread that pops up? Sounding a bit like a broken record at this point TBH. It's misinformation as well, which I always appreciate.
Well, you could start by telling everyone why you think it's bad advice.
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      11-23-2016, 12:10 PM   #18
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Hey OP did you ever get the car?

I had an e92 with n54 engine and kept it until it had 80k miles. Traded it in cause I needed 4 doors. Still miss that car.
Problems I encountered:
1. hpfp replaced at 15k and 60k - both under warranty
2. needed walnut blasting at 50k - developed misfires and walnut blast cured it - covered under cpo at the time

That's about it. No water pump or oil filter housing gasket issues for me but these are definitely issues for most bmw's. I just did the recommended maintenance for oil, filter, brake fluid, plugs, etc.

Check the ofhg for leaking and the brakes. Brakes are expensive on these cars. Find out if the car has had walnut blasting. If it hasn't, plan on doing it - knock another $400 off the price.

The hpfp is covered on the n54 for 10yrs or 120k miles

I believe the 09 had the better waste gates so turbos shouldn't be an issue

Just set aside about $2-3k for unexpected stuff and have fun.

I have been daily driving (about 15k per year) a 135 for past 3 yrs and love it. No extended warranty for me.
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      11-23-2016, 03:12 PM   #19
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I'd echo for staying close to stock. The vast majority of my issues started after I tracked it. But until then (100k) it was pretty darn good. After that it was turbos, OFHG, oil pan gasket, and transmission seals. Some would have happened anyway, but beating it on the track didn't help. But note that all of the above held up through 100k for me.

A quick note on brakes, shop around. They can be done inexpensively. First there are plenty of aftermarket pads and rotors that won't brake the bank. And the labor is stupid simple. Find a good independent shop to do it. I did all my pads (street pads) and rotors for something just over $400 in parts (I did the labor myself). Sure the shop will add labor, but it's probably only about 3 hours or so.
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