My brave pill: E92 BMW 335i with the infamous N54 engine
Discussion
M3 problems are mainly internet hype in my experience. I did the rod bearings on mine soon after I bought it. That was at > 140k miles. They're not that fragile. Just service them properly and let the oil get above 50 degrees before giving it beans, which only takes a few minutes of driving.
JakeT said:
At least it’s in for work now. Hopefully if they find the inlet at fault and cover it, you can pay for repairs to the exhaust while they’re in there and everyone (just about) comes away happy.
I’d be very happy with an E90 M3 or IS-F. The IS-F, now it’s depreciated doesn’t really matter on the interior too. After the first owner there’s different priorities.
I thought the interior was fine to be fair. Some of the switches were a bit fisher price from a design point of view, but it all worked and didn’t suffer from peeling finishes like many BMW’s etc. The leather is night and day better than a lot of BMW’s, the paddles were lovely and had a really solid action.I’d be very happy with an E90 M3 or IS-F. The IS-F, now it’s depreciated doesn’t really matter on the interior too. After the first owner there’s different priorities.
The steering was a bit overly light for my liking although not as bad the 320 I’ve been given for now.
It’s swings and roundabouts really.
MDifficult said:
I know the E9x M3 seems like a risky prospect because of all the potential issues, there's a benefit to that too. So much knowledge, so much self-fix-ability (especially for a guy like you who's so capable with the spanners), not to mention so much experience out there in suppliers, independents, people who race them etc. Even the YouTube contingent.
My fear with the Lexus is that if there IS an issue.. you're in a bit of a dead zone to try to diagnose and resolve it. For a man who likes to tinker - what options are there?
If you can find a mechanically sound but potentially spec/trim 'challenged' E9x M3 I think you'll be in a happy place.
Mechanically the S65 doesn’t concern me too much especially if I buy one with the bearings and actuators done. After that, they see, pretty solid and it’s the usual stuff like oil leaks (what BMW doesn’t leak?) and wear and tear. My fear with the Lexus is that if there IS an issue.. you're in a bit of a dead zone to try to diagnose and resolve it. For a man who likes to tinker - what options are there?
If you can find a mechanically sound but potentially spec/trim 'challenged' E9x M3 I think you'll be in a happy place.
It would definitely be in my comfort zone mechanically. I’m more concerned with buying one that isn’t a dog and that feels riskier at the bottom of the market (where my budget is at the moment).
The IS-F would be a massive unknown which does worry me slightly. There seems to be quite a few US how to’s though where they have a bigger following.
It’s all just wishful thinking at the moment until my car is sorted and I know who is paying!
Gallons Per Mile said:
M3 problems are mainly internet hype in my experience. I did the rod bearings on mine soon after I bought it. That was at > 140k miles. They're not that fragile. Just service them properly and let the oil get above 50 degrees before giving it beans, which only takes a few minutes of driving.
I agree, the car I looked at last year was on 93k and the bearings had just been done and they looked fine if I’m honest. Although a high mileage car, it was only two owners and the second owner had hung unto it for ages and clearly driven it sympathetically.The other car I looked at though was a total dog; I knew it was a bad ‘un within about 5 seconds.
That seems like good advice.
I bought my Z4MC on 76K miles with 7 previous keepers and the first one was probably BMW as BMW UK did the 1,000 mile service - so as a company car I doubt he would have cared!
So I had the shells (and engine mounts) changed for peace of mind, knowing they'll never need replacing again in my ownership.
I bought my Z4MC on 76K miles with 7 previous keepers and the first one was probably BMW as BMW UK did the 1,000 mile service - so as a company car I doubt he would have cared!
So I had the shells (and engine mounts) changed for peace of mind, knowing they'll never need replacing again in my ownership.
So, the saga with my cam ledges continues…..
I dropped the car off on Monday morning as discussed with Sytner. I had a call that afternoon regarding the service history. Without thinking last summer, I’d written in the service book that I’d given the car an interim oil change. I then had to dig out recipes for the OE filter, sump plug and gasket and the one for the oil confirming that I’d used BMW spec LL-04. All good.
Next up was an email regarding modifications; I was asked to provide a comprehensive list of mods / none OE stuff installed on the car. This was when I started to get a bit nervous, so I called the dealer who said that they have to send a load of pictures and a health check style video to the warranty team. Stuff like the CSL wheels are obvious, but the tech had picked up on the M3 arms etc. I sent over the list of bits which is mostly cosmetic and stressed that the engine and gearbox were stock.
The email also asked me to confirm what I’d to the VANOS solenoids and it was this that turned out to be my undoing….
When I booked the car in for a service / investigation into the car going into limp mode, I explained to the service advisor (different chap to who I’ve been dealing with) what has happen and when. I also (stupidly said) that I’d swapped the VANOS solenoids over to see if the error codes moved from the intake to the exhaust side. This was noted on the booking, which it looks like was bounced onto the insured warranty team. Via Sytner, they asked what had been done to which I responded.
I had the call I’d been dreading this afternoon; whilst the warranty team noted that my car has some modifications, none of them have any impact upon the engine however on the basis that I’d swapped the solenoids over myself, they would not be able to honour the warranty claim; I’d tampered with the engine in their eyes. The real kicker though, despite the modifications, had I not swapped the solenoids myself to see if there was a cheap and easy fix, then they’d have paid for it!
I was told that they’d have expected the car to be booked in immediately, which is a bit unfair when the fault initially only presented itself in certain situations and more so because Sytner were busy when I made the booking; after Christmas was the first available slot and since they diagnosed the problem truth to get it back to them was virtually impossible. They diagnosed the cam ledges on 6th Jan yet didn’t get the car back in until 23rd Jan.
It’s certainly been an expensive lesson in honesty! I suppose I was trying to head them off from just changing the solenoids which would have cost me the diagnostic fee and then the excess (for nothing).
It’s still not been serviced either; Sytner are recommending not to due to the extent of the strip. It’s absolutely desperate for a service too; when I dropped it off there were 270miles to go.
I’m now trying to decide what to do. My options are;
Buying the tools myself is my least preferred option. My garage is a bit tight to get that stuck in plus it’s a bit cold at the mo!
The timing tools are quite reasonable, but the clamps for the two halves of the cam ledges are expensive.
I’ve booked it in with the indy, but not until 16th Feb which is their next available day. That’s probably the route I’ll go down. At least that gives me a bit more breathing space to think about stuff.
The idiot in me needs to nit what to cut my nose of to spite my face and ditch it via WBAC. If the valuation was higher, I’d be more tempted.
If I try and take the emotion out of it, a bill for £1,864 is much more palatable. I opted out my company car scheme in 2019 and got rid of her old MINI at the same time. In that time, I’ve not really had to spend much on the 116i, 125i, M140i or 130i. Aside from mods, the spend has mostly been routine stuff. That’s what I need to keep telling myself!
Apologies for the essay!
I dropped the car off on Monday morning as discussed with Sytner. I had a call that afternoon regarding the service history. Without thinking last summer, I’d written in the service book that I’d given the car an interim oil change. I then had to dig out recipes for the OE filter, sump plug and gasket and the one for the oil confirming that I’d used BMW spec LL-04. All good.
Next up was an email regarding modifications; I was asked to provide a comprehensive list of mods / none OE stuff installed on the car. This was when I started to get a bit nervous, so I called the dealer who said that they have to send a load of pictures and a health check style video to the warranty team. Stuff like the CSL wheels are obvious, but the tech had picked up on the M3 arms etc. I sent over the list of bits which is mostly cosmetic and stressed that the engine and gearbox were stock.
The email also asked me to confirm what I’d to the VANOS solenoids and it was this that turned out to be my undoing….
When I booked the car in for a service / investigation into the car going into limp mode, I explained to the service advisor (different chap to who I’ve been dealing with) what has happen and when. I also (stupidly said) that I’d swapped the VANOS solenoids over to see if the error codes moved from the intake to the exhaust side. This was noted on the booking, which it looks like was bounced onto the insured warranty team. Via Sytner, they asked what had been done to which I responded.
I had the call I’d been dreading this afternoon; whilst the warranty team noted that my car has some modifications, none of them have any impact upon the engine however on the basis that I’d swapped the solenoids over myself, they would not be able to honour the warranty claim; I’d tampered with the engine in their eyes. The real kicker though, despite the modifications, had I not swapped the solenoids myself to see if there was a cheap and easy fix, then they’d have paid for it!
I was told that they’d have expected the car to be booked in immediately, which is a bit unfair when the fault initially only presented itself in certain situations and more so because Sytner were busy when I made the booking; after Christmas was the first available slot and since they diagnosed the problem truth to get it back to them was virtually impossible. They diagnosed the cam ledges on 6th Jan yet didn’t get the car back in until 23rd Jan.
It’s certainly been an expensive lesson in honesty! I suppose I was trying to head them off from just changing the solenoids which would have cost me the diagnostic fee and then the excess (for nothing).
It’s still not been serviced either; Sytner are recommending not to due to the extent of the strip. It’s absolutely desperate for a service too; when I dropped it off there were 270miles to go.
I’m now trying to decide what to do. My options are;
- Let Sytner fix it at a cost of £3,600 (they’ll let me hang onto the 320i’)
- Get it sorted with the local BMW indy for £1,864
- Buy the tools myself and get stuck in one weekend
- Go nuclear and just say fk it, take a hit and take it to WBAC
Buying the tools myself is my least preferred option. My garage is a bit tight to get that stuck in plus it’s a bit cold at the mo!
The timing tools are quite reasonable, but the clamps for the two halves of the cam ledges are expensive.I’ve booked it in with the indy, but not until 16th Feb which is their next available day. That’s probably the route I’ll go down. At least that gives me a bit more breathing space to think about stuff.
The idiot in me needs to nit what to cut my nose of to spite my face and ditch it via WBAC. If the valuation was higher, I’d be more tempted.
If I try and take the emotion out of it, a bill for £1,864 is much more palatable. I opted out my company car scheme in 2019 and got rid of her old MINI at the same time. In that time, I’ve not really had to spend much on the 116i, 125i, M140i or 130i. Aside from mods, the spend has mostly been routine stuff. That’s what I need to keep telling myself!
Apologies for the essay!
Ah mate, that’s a bitter pill. Sadly, that IS pretty par for the course. When you’ve got a warranty it’s all about being dumb. Take the car to the dealer, drop the key, say ‘it’s not working’ and walk away.
You live and learn.
In your shoes now, if you bought the warranty yourself then I’d see if I could get a refund on the remainder of the warranty period (as it’s effectively redundant now) and head straight to the Indy.
Once the work’s done, commit to driving for a month and only decide whether to sell after that. By then, you’ll know how you feel.
Good luck!
You live and learn.
In your shoes now, if you bought the warranty yourself then I’d see if I could get a refund on the remainder of the warranty period (as it’s effectively redundant now) and head straight to the Indy.
Once the work’s done, commit to driving for a month and only decide whether to sell after that. By then, you’ll know how you feel.
Good luck!
Sorry to hear this. So sounds like the remainder of the warranty you have is now completely void? I think if I was in your position I'd be taking it to the bmw indy to get the work done but only if I were confident there were no other signs of impending big ticket items on the horizon. If frustrations from the issue lie with the dealer than the car then it's easier to stick with the car, if they lie with the car, maybe time to take a hit and move on.
MDifficult said:
Ah mate, that’s a bitter pill. Sadly, that IS pretty par for the course. When you’ve got a warranty it’s all about being dumb. Take the car to the dealer, drop the key, say ‘it’s not working’ and walk away.
You live and learn.
In your shoes now, if you bought the warranty yourself then I’d see if I could get a refund on the remainder of the warranty period (as it’s effectively redundant now) and head straight to the Indy.
Once the work’s done, commit to driving for a month and only decide whether to sell after that. By then, you’ll know how you feel.
Good luck!
Yup, I rolled the dice trying to save the pain of an initial disband lost.You live and learn.
In your shoes now, if you bought the warranty yourself then I’d see if I could get a refund on the remainder of the warranty period (as it’s effectively redundant now) and head straight to the Indy.
Once the work’s done, commit to driving for a month and only decide whether to sell after that. By then, you’ll know how you feel.
Good luck!
It’s a bit of a s
tter, but hey ho.I’m going to cancel the warranty and take the refund. The insured warranty is very different to the manufacturer backed warranty and I (naively though it’d be more like the former).
Proper wk, that. I do feel for you. Personally, since I’d buy the timing tools and fix it myself, to save the hassle. I’d have BMW leave it apart, and deliver it to my house. Then I’d repair it knowing I’d done it myself and correctly. Hopefully it would save back some if the costs too.
I’m also sorry that the warranty did what they all do. Wriggle out of a claim for little/no reason. I get that the sole purpose is to make money, but Christ. As the consumer you feel punched in the guts.
Hope you can come to a good solution soon. I’d probably sell the thing after fixing it, as I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at it.
k, that. I do feel for you. Personally, since I’d buy the timing tools and fix it myself, to save the hassle. I’d have BMW leave it apart, and deliver it to my house. Then I’d repair it knowing I’d done it myself and correctly. Hopefully it would save back some if the costs too.I’m also sorry that the warranty did what they all do. Wriggle out of a claim for little/no reason. I get that the sole purpose is to make money, but Christ. As the consumer you feel punched in the guts.
Hope you can come to a good solution soon. I’d probably sell the thing after fixing it, as I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at it.
bmwmike said:
Sorry to hear this
Have you actually spoken to the warranty company and argued your side? I would.
I’m going to give them a call this morning and speak to them directly. Any wear had happened over years, not the time in which I swapped the solenoids over!Have you actually spoken to the warranty company and argued your side? I would.
If not, I’m just going to get it sorted elsewhere and move on.
JakeT said:
Proper wk, that. I do feel for you. Personally, since I’d buy the timing tools and fix it myself, to save the hassle. I’d have BMW leave it apart, and deliver it to my house. Then I’d repair it knowing I’d done it myself and correctly. Hopefully it would save back some if the costs too.
I’m also sorry that the warranty did what they all do. Wriggle out of a claim for little/no reason. I get that the sole purpose is to make money, but Christ. As the consumer you feel punched in the guts.
Hope you can come to a good solution soon. I’d probably sell the thing after fixing it, as I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at it.
BMW haven’t even stripped it yet! I still don’t know if it’s both sides or just the intake. The last flour days have literally been answering questions from the warranty team as they appear to look for ways to get out of covering it.k, that. I do feel for you. Personally, since I’d buy the timing tools and fix it myself, to save the hassle. I’d have BMW leave it apart, and deliver it to my house. Then I’d repair it knowing I’d done it myself and correctly. Hopefully it would save back some if the costs too.I’m also sorry that the warranty did what they all do. Wriggle out of a claim for little/no reason. I get that the sole purpose is to make money, but Christ. As the consumer you feel punched in the guts.
Hope you can come to a good solution soon. I’d probably sell the thing after fixing it, as I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at it.
If my garage was bigger, I’d be more willing to get stuck in. The hardest part really looks like getting the engine locking pin in. Stripping the cams looks pretty straight forward.
The dealer / warranty has made it all a bit of a miserable experience to be honest. If I’d taken it to the local BMW specialist, it’d getting fixed on Monday for half what BMW want to charge.
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