Discussion
my friend has just put me onto this forum for the first time,
i have owned my bmw 135i for 3 years now and have absoulatly loved it, i am considering selling it at the moment as i have moved to birmingham city centre and i rarely get to use it any more as i commute to work on a bike now. i have previously owned the 120d and then upgraded to a 135i and my god what a difference, very enjoyable on the a roads, only downside is it can be a real pain in the snow (but i think thats the same for most BMW's) any questions please feel free to ask
Chris
i have owned my bmw 135i for 3 years now and have absoulatly loved it, i am considering selling it at the moment as i have moved to birmingham city centre and i rarely get to use it any more as i commute to work on a bike now. i have previously owned the 120d and then upgraded to a 135i and my god what a difference, very enjoyable on the a roads, only downside is it can be a real pain in the snow (but i think thats the same for most BMW's) any questions please feel free to ask
Chris
philmots said:
Try get one with a BMW warranty or be BMW warrantable would be my advice.
any specific reason for recommending a warranty?I only ask, as when I had a 996, there was a number of known 'issues' around the motor that led to a internet fear campaign.
"get a warranty - else you'll have to pay 10k on a new engine" type thing - I loved it as I'm pretty sure it had a negative impact on prices and helped me drive a lovely 911 that would otherwise have been unaffordable at the time.
take it its the same lump as the 335i?
BERGS2 said:
any specific reason for recommending a warranty?
I only ask, as when I had a 996, there was a number of known 'issues' around the motor that led to a internet fear campaign.
"get a warranty - else you'll have to pay 10k on a new engine" type thing - I loved it as I'm pretty sure it had a negative impact on prices and helped me drive a lovely 911 that would otherwise have been unaffordable at the time.
take it its the same lump as the 335i?
It's the 335i twin turbo lump the age you're looking at.I only ask, as when I had a 996, there was a number of known 'issues' around the motor that led to a internet fear campaign.
"get a warranty - else you'll have to pay 10k on a new engine" type thing - I loved it as I'm pretty sure it had a negative impact on prices and helped me drive a lovely 911 that would otherwise have been unaffordable at the time.
take it its the same lump as the 335i?
Injectors, HPFP, turbos and rattly waste gates are all weak points.
On a car under 60k the warranty is actually a very reasonable price (I'd guess at around £50 a month on a 135i) which is nothing in the great scheme of car ownership.
For me its a no brainer. But everyone's different.
If you're after remapping etc then there's no point as you'll void it straight away.
philmots said:
On a car under 60k the warranty is actually a very reasonable price (I'd guess at around £50 a month on a 135i) which is nothing in the great scheme of car ownership.
For me its a no brainer. But everyone's different.
Jeeps. If the car has issues that make a £50 a month warranty a sensible investment, I think I'd rather just steer clear, personally.For me its a no brainer. But everyone's different.
I wouldn't have thought the BMW warranty was quite that much, my 123d with the full protection is £25 a month with the higher £250 excess, or I think about £38 if I wanted to drop the excess. You could get named component or driveline cover for less if it's just the mechanical bits you're worried about.
The engine changed from the N54 to the N55 in 2010, the newer engine is more economical and seems to have less issues with HPFPs and turbos than the N54 so worth seeking out, but it isn't as tunable if that's your bag, and there's a dodgy engine map "update" that BMW released to look out for which makes throttle response a lot slower evidently. Most cars of 2010 vintage shouldn't have it unless they've been back to BMW for coding, but if it's on there it's evidently not easily reversed so worth doing some research.
You can tell the N55 engine on the BMW website as the car will be 33mpg rather than 30mpg, there's also slight differences if you can see a photo of the engine bay.
The engine changed from the N54 to the N55 in 2010, the newer engine is more economical and seems to have less issues with HPFPs and turbos than the N54 so worth seeking out, but it isn't as tunable if that's your bag, and there's a dodgy engine map "update" that BMW released to look out for which makes throttle response a lot slower evidently. Most cars of 2010 vintage shouldn't have it unless they've been back to BMW for coding, but if it's on there it's evidently not easily reversed so worth doing some research.
You can tell the N55 engine on the BMW website as the car will be 33mpg rather than 30mpg, there's also slight differences if you can see a photo of the engine bay.
Edited by LocoBlade on Tuesday 14th May 21:23
Get one! Fun little cars!! I have AUC warranty, cost me £470, covers everything except trim and items that wear. It has no excess. I just had both turbos replace under the warranty. Would have cost £3500 normally. Rattly wastegates!! Mine is quite heavily modified and is great, and very very fast! Eats most M3's 
> Thinking about a 135i coupe as it looks like it has a nice combination of speed, subtlety and relative economy.
That does sum up the BMW 135i well in my opinion. I have owned a 2009 BMW 135i since last July and after years of searching for a suitable all round performance replacement for my Impreza, I am still very happy.
To date, no problems with any of the N54 issues well documented. I certainly wouldn't let these put you off what is a great car.
Fuel economy isn't great, but in reality ~26 mpg average / 30+ mpg motorway isn't bad for a 3 litre 300 bhp+ motor? The N55 does seem fair bit more economical.
Just a stage 1 remap will take the power to ~370bhp giving you an idea how capable they are. Swapping out the runflats really helps the ride quality and the brakes are super too in my opinion.
Finding one is probably one of the main problems.
That does sum up the BMW 135i well in my opinion. I have owned a 2009 BMW 135i since last July and after years of searching for a suitable all round performance replacement for my Impreza, I am still very happy.
To date, no problems with any of the N54 issues well documented. I certainly wouldn't let these put you off what is a great car.
Fuel economy isn't great, but in reality ~26 mpg average / 30+ mpg motorway isn't bad for a 3 litre 300 bhp+ motor? The N55 does seem fair bit more economical.
Just a stage 1 remap will take the power to ~370bhp giving you an idea how capable they are. Swapping out the runflats really helps the ride quality and the brakes are super too in my opinion.
Finding one is probably one of the main problems.
I have decided that i am going to sell my 135i and it will be advertised from this weekend, i thought i might give you guys first shout. its on a '60' plate. it is in good condition witha few minor scratches. in black. im not sure what engine it is, old or new but i guess you guys may be able to know that. i have owned it from new and it only has 20k miles on the clock. i bought the car with a 5 year serviceing and warranty package ( of which it has only had 1 service) and i beleive this package is transferrable to new owner. I am currently in the birmingham area and im looking for £20,500. any questions please feel free to ask.
Another thumbs up for the 1 series coupe - just sold my 123D, brilliant all rounder, seated 4, boot bigger than the hatchback's, very grippy, great shape, brilliant seats, spot on driving position, lovely ergonomics and a strong feel good factor.
Even cynical Clarkson raved about them "The 135i is the best car BMW currently makes".
Good luck
Even cynical Clarkson raved about them "The 135i is the best car BMW currently makes".
Good luck
Some people seem to think every N54 engined car will fall apart the minute the warranty runs out. It's certainly very annoying there are these known problems with the engine but actually most of the problems are easily fixed, and at worst it gives you a reason to uprate the turbos
For what it's worth my 335i is coming up to been 5 years old, no issues at all so far, that's with it running 330bhp for the last 18months or so. Money saved by not paying for a warranty have gone into suspension mods.
For what it's worth my 335i is coming up to been 5 years old, no issues at all so far, that's with it running 330bhp for the last 18months or so. Money saved by not paying for a warranty have gone into suspension mods.
Rich196 said:
Get one! Fun little cars!! I have AUC warranty, cost me £470, covers everything except trim and items that wear. It has no excess. I just had both turbos replace under the warranty. Would have cost £3500 normally. Rattly wastegates!! Mine is quite heavily modified and is great, and very very fast! Eats most M3's
You got warranty work done on a heavily modified car? Good work.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff