2008 BMW 135i: 20,000 Miles and Running Stronger Than Ever

yeah, i'd get one. its a fun car that goes like stink with a few mods. its engine note is good and gets better with an exhaust. its not really attractive, so if it gets a scratch or a dent you really wouldn't care. heck it already looks like it got rear ended, so you could probably wreck it and it'll look equally pleasing to the eyes.

actually, the BMW stereotype is, "Its reliable until its out of warranty."

Mercedes Benz stereotype is, "Goes to the dealer weekly until warranty is up and then its reliable."

This is pretty true from what I've seen, but you can avoid problems with many cars, including German, by buying late in the model's life.. like a current E-class, since next years is all new.

before you kick this car out of the line-up you guy should DEFINITELY do the under-warranty N54 upgrade BMW is going to offer soon, and let us know if it's worth it in terms of price to power! please?

It's more hit or miss with these cars - I know a few people who have had no problems. Mine's been in the shop 5 times in 10 months... Two HPFP replacements already and I don't have 6000 miles yet.

@huyracing "This is pretty true from what I've seen, but you can avoid problems with many cars, including German, by buying late in the model's life.. like a current E-class, since next years is all new."

friend just bought (2009) a 335i coupe, fuel pump gone @ 5k.

I have to say, I am now on my third BMW, 2008 328i sedan, 2005 330Ci convert., 2002 330i sedan, all of them driven to at least 33,000 miles, no problems with any of them at all, just brought in for the regular maintenance when the computer tells me, and it's paid for! Great vehicles

pengwin:

sucks but it happens. a fuel pump isn't a big deal. its covered under warranty unless your friend ran out and modded his car right away.

i own a 2008 SLK280, 2009 ML350, and 2009 GTI... none have had any problems. regardless, i never go in expecting it to be perfect.

@huyracing:

That's nearly a $100k fleet of new cars. They goddamn well BETTER be perfect. I expect even a new $15k Kia or Hyundai to work as it was designed to work.

I can't afford for a car not to work perfectly--don't have the time to fool with it if it won't. My life is too hectic for that.

So far I've had nothing beyond routine maintenance on both the '99 Civic (142k) and '02 Accord (85k). I'd love to have more entertaining machines, but I cannot afford to give up this kind of reliability.

"Even with its light colored interior, the 135i is wearing well. The seats look good, the dash isn't scratched or fading and the carpet looks respectable. Sure, it was not a cheap car to begin with, but it's not giving us any reason to believe that it's not worth the price."

What car has a fading interior, ragged carpet and dogged seats at 20k miles? I have 20k miles on my $22k car and it still looks brand new- big deal.

Chavis - I agree with you about 20k miles not being impressive for reliability, but interior materials is probably worth mentioning on the equivalent of a used rental car.

You've seen past edmunds cars....they take a beating. A good carpet, unscratched materials, and clean-looking tan vinyl seat is pretty good for 20k.

As far as reliability though? C'mon.

I'm at 62.5k on my 2006 Civic SI and can't think of anything happening that affected my driving off the top of my head. Not a headlight bulb, a wheel bearing, a brake light, a seat adjustment....well, you get the point.

It's only a tad over 3 years old, but I consider this "solid" reliability. I just want it to continue for about year or two.

On the flipside, I have numerous creaks and rattles, build quality is so-so, my shift boot tore at it's shifter-lever attachment point around 22k miles (due to improper factory attachment I think).

Oh, I just remembered one: My driver's side sun visor "failed" at 48k miles. It literally came apart at the seam. Now that was crappy :)

Just for comparison, my wife's 2003 Saturn Ion by 58k miles/4.5 years had had an ignition switch fail causing a no-start condition, a brake light fail, and front sway bar bushings wear out. I consider all of those to effect driving. Big deal? Nope. But not confidence inducing either.

Joe

"You've seen past edmunds cars....they take a beating. A good carpet, unscratched materials, and clean-looking tan vinyl seat is pretty good for 20k."

Since the cars are subject to the EXACT same treatment comparisons are pointless. They are driven by so many people under so many different circumstances that its impossible to say each car faces the same amount of abuse. For example, the GTR is going to suffer less abuse than the Caravan over 20k miles just because the GTR is a 2 seat sports car that cant hold kids or be used for family trips.

As for the Ion, I know someone who has one with 50k+ miles on it and to my knowledge the only issue was a failed CD player. I would never consider a burnt out brake light to be a major reliability issue.

I imagine the front carpeting, seats, dash and door materials receive similar experiences across their cars. How many Edmunds car's with tan interiors have we seen look like crap after 15k? I can think of 2 off the top of my head.

On the Saturn Ion - Wow. What can I say? I've been rebutted!

Pfft. You missed what I was saying in your need to defend against a perceived slight.

I'm still waiting for the new voting feature on here. Joe gets a thumbs up.

I'm bummed to hear those HPFPs are still failing. Does religiously sticking to the break-in cycle seem to have any effect? I'm guessing the answer is no.

I am in the market for a new car. I've driven a lot of cars recently looking for a Driver's car. The car is replacing a Ducati 1198; new baby at home, and wife insists 4 wheels are 'safer' than two. Bottom line, the car has to give me close to the same enjoyment the Ducati does. I've driven the Lexus IS250/350, Benz C350 Sport, BMW 335i and M3 Sedan, VW GTI and 2008 R32 (used, low mileage on dealer lot), 370Z, Audi A3, Acura TSX/TL, and a few others. What I've found is that all of the German cars offer a superior Driver's environment. I've never owned a German car, and the only hesitation I have is the 'reliability' issue. I have owned high mileage Honda's and Toyota's with almost zero problems; 2001 Toyota Prerunner Quadcab had 185,000 miles, but was starting to have transmission issues, and 2006 Civic with 85,000 miles and no problems. BMW's 4yr/50,000 mile free maintenance, great lease deals, and fantastic driver's environment keeps bringing me back to BMW. I think I need to drive the 135!!

Regardless whether or not the HPFP is covered under warranty (and there are reports that BMW has extended the warranty on the HPFP to 10 years/120k miles), it's a major pain in the rear to take it to the dealer AGAIN for another replacement. The constant fear of it dying again is absolutely unacceptable, regardless how much or how little you pay for a car. It sucks, because the 335i is a phenomenal car.

"Pfft. You missed what I was saying in your need to defend against a perceived slight."

That's cruel Joe; you know he just can't help himself...

Good luck usma90, I mean it. I've only been in the auto industry for five years and certainly have not driven every car, especially exotics. However, I can still say with certainty that NO car will ever replace a 1198.

usma90- I looked at a similar group of cars in 2007(fortunately SWMBO lets me keep a Speed Triple 900 in the RB Garage). Here's my take:

Of the cars you named, I'd go with either the M3 sedan or the 370Z. I liked the GTI, but it didn't give me that "gotta have it" feeling. Ditto for the A3. The R32 is nice enough, but I don't think you get a lot of bang for your buck. Acura and Lexus build nice cars, but they simply don't excite me, with the notable exception of the NSX. The last Mercedes I truly lusted after was the 500E, and I still might buy one someday.
A couple of cars you might want to consider are the STi and the Evo. They are pretty uncompromising from a comfort vs. performance standpoint.
If you do go with the M3, join the BMW Car Club ASAP. You'll get a great monthly magazine, access to great HPDEs, technical support, and lots of discounts on parts and accessories.

Thanks Ivranger, I could not agree more. It is a painful swap, but I just want to get as close as possible. I really want to test the 135i now, but the 370Z and R32 were a lot of fun to drive.

"However, I can still say with certainty that NO car will ever replace a 1198."

No kidding!

Thanks roadburner, I always loved the Speed Triples. I appreciate your input, too. Being a racing fan, I've always liked the WRC heritage of the STi, but I have never cared for Mitsubishi products. I definitely love the M3. When you sit in it, you know you are in a VERY serious automobile. And I love the V8 warble at idle, and the howl at even bit of a killjoy, though). The M3 is what I keep coming back to, but there is a bang for buck value that has to be right. I'm just not sure the M3 is worth $25,000 more than a well prepared 370Z. Decisions, decisions. At least it's fun driving them until I decide.

"I'm just not sure the M3 is worth $25,000 more than a well prepared 370Z."

The 370Z is a LOT of car for the money. If I didn't need a back seat I'd be looking at one.

"Decisions, decisions. At least it's fun driving them until I decide."

My sentiments exactly!

There are ALOT of twin turbo engines on the road with no fuel pressure failures and now coming across 30,000-40,000 miles. This engine is now almost 3 years old.

It still has bugs to be worked out, without a doubt, and I'd hesitate to keep one beyond 100k with a 6 year, 100k warranty, but I wouldn't worry too much besides that. Just my take.

Joe

30k on my 2007 335i - it's running fine. Only issue with the car so far (that I know of) - the rubbery wheel trim started to flake. BMW replaced it.

My 2006 330i - broken HVAC from the factory, weird brake grinding.

2007 Cooper S - nothing beyond the ECU needed a reflash.

2003 330i ZHP - broken ebrake from the factory, ECU weirdness that could never be fixed, odd electrical problems. Tons of time in the shop.

My sister's 2007 328 wagon - car's computer went nuts. In the shop for two weeks.

Good or bad, that's what we've encountered. I still feel silly for returning my 2003 330i ZHP every time I see a ZHP on the road. Less reliable than all the other cars on the list and twice as fun as all of them too.

blueguydotcom- I'm checking out a few uber-serious Bimmers- everything from a 2001 Dinan M5 to a ZHP to a couple of E46 M3s. I've heard that the ZHPs have a rough idle/stumble problem. Was that the "weirdness" you were referring to? Turner Motorsport is now selling a Conforti Shark Injector for the ZHP. I wonder if that would correct the problem?

Nope, my ZHP had one big engine problem: at WOT the car would stutter at around 4000 RPM. Most people couldn't tell it happened. BMW couldn't fix the issue or my problem. I never had rough idle issues. As I hit 4000 RPM at WOT many times per drive I found the problem annoying.