[nick01234]

Sold my 2009 328i a few years ago to buy a Jeep for school. recently sold the jeep as I am always on the highway. Looking to buy a e92 for under 10k. Is there a big mechanical upkeep cost after 100k between the 335 and 328? I remember the 335 was fully of issues back when I was on this forum but they all seem occurred before 100k. Just looking for opinions on reliability past 100k

[lab_rat]

Originally Posted by nick01234

Sold my 2009 328i a few years ago to buy a Jeep for school. recently sold the jeep as I am always on the highway. Looking to buy a e92 for under 10k. Is there a big mechanical upkeep cost after 100k between the 335 and 328? I remember the 335 was fully of issues back when I was on this forum but they all seem occurred before 100k. Just looking for opinions on reliability past 100k

Both the 328i or 335i overall are fairly reliable. I would say the most important thing past 100,000 miles will be history/maintenance records and level of care under prior ownership. But if I had to pick one, my biased answer is N/A (specifically the 330i).

Be prepared though - the "328i vs 335i" debate may get heated lol

[CTinline-six]

A 335i has more complexity (direct injection, turbos) so it has more things that can break.

With that said, you have to decide if the power increase is worth the increase in maintenance. To many people it is. Like stated above, maintenance by previous owners is a huge factor in reliability.

I daily drove a Jeep for 8 years (still own it) and my N52 naturally aspirated car is plenty of fun for daily driving and highway cruising.

[Blueeyesredpanda]

Reliability wise

1. N52 vs N54 vs N55
N52 wins

2. N54 vs N55 ?

N54 HPFP, turbos failure, fuel injectors leaks,

N55 rod bearing failure

FYI not saying n54 n55 suck....

[jeddo45]

Originally Posted by nick01234

Sold my 2009 328i a few years ago to buy a Jeep for school. recently sold the jeep as I am always on the highway. Looking to buy a e92 for under 10k. Is there a big mechanical upkeep cost after 100k between the 335 and 328? I remember the 335 was fully of issues back when I was on this forum but they all seem occurred before 100k. Just looking for opinions on reliability past 100k

I'd recommend just researching past forums because these typically turn into big arguments. All I'm going to suggest is this:

Good maintenance>Lower mileage

Whether it's a 328i or 335i get something with maintenance records and you'll be fine.

[siphor1989]

From my personal experience in owning my n54 335i for about 3 years now. 90% of the components that failed are not specific to the 335i. i.e: rear struts, front sway bar bushings, radiator, water pump, dmtl pump, vcg, ofhg, evap purge solenoid.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by siphor1989

From my personal experience in owning my n54 335i for about 3 years now. 90% of the components that failed are not specific to the 335i. i.e: rear struts, front sway bar bushings, radiator, water pump, dmtl pump, vcg, ofhg, evap purge solenoid.

That shit still costs lots of money.

[siphor1989]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

That shit still costs lots of money.

Not if you have the mechanical knowledge to DIY everything.

[e90yyc]

If it would be of interest, I can send you all of the service history for my car, which might help give you an idea of what you're in for.

Let me know if you're interested. 2007 328xi. ~170k miles.

[6ixSpd]

In probably 99% of cases, the N52 will be easily less expensive to maintain than a 335i. No doubt about that, the N54/55 simply have more parts that break down or fixes/parts that just cost more to do on the 335i (ie. water pumps break more frequently, cost more per unit, brakes cost more, a OFHG job costs more, etc etc). There's no getting around that fact for the vast majority of cases involving these engines.

[tlow98]

Are you DIY’ing?
- y, get either
- n, stick with your Jeep

Do you LOVE DIY’ing?
- y, get 335i
- n, get 328i

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by siphor1989

Not if you have the mechanical knowledge to DIY everything.

No amount of DIY fixes the fact that a rear view mirror costs 188 dollars for some reason.

[TemjinX2]

drive both and see if the power is worth it to you. both will require maintenance

[Needbmwpartzz]

What's your budget,do you like to fix cars yourself or pay someone else.
Do you want the ability to modify?
Is reliability a concern.
N52 is a fairly reliable car,and the N54/55 are a tad more complex and such less reliable.
But both are excellent cars....just buying anything used is a concern because of the maintenance history is usually a mystery....so either way do your homework and have the vehicles looked at before buying....it will save you some headache and heartache.
GL OP

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by siphor1989

From my personal experience in owning my n54 335i for about 3 years now. 90% of the components that failed are not specific to the 335i. i.e: rear struts, front sway bar bushings, radiator, water pump, dmtl pump, vcg, ofhg, evap purge solenoid.

actually, a lot of that stuff is 335i specific. Yes, the N52 water pumps can fail, but they don't fail at nearly the same rate because they aren't made of plastic. I've never heard of a radiator failure on an N52 either..

[siphor1989]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

actually, a lot of that stuff is 335i specific. Yes, the N52 water pumps can fail, but they don't fail at nearly the same rate because they aren't made of plastic. I've never heard of a radiator failure on an N52 either..

Search around and you'll see N52 pumps fail just as often maybe not to the extent of 335i's but they are still no where near as reliable as the mechanical ones found in early bmws. And radiator failure is not common on 335i either. I'm just sharing what my experience has been like.

[hassmaschine]

They usually last 100k miles or more (mine went to ~130k, wife's went to 90k). You had to replace the entire cooling system on an M54 at that point, so I'm not sure how that's less reliable. Older BMW 6's had 50k mile waterpump intervals.

Some of the 335's are on their 2nd or 3rd pump by 75k. The electric pumps are fine, but the stupid plastic housing is just cheap.

[TheWatchGuy]

335

I hadnt driven mine in a long time and took it for a spin this weekend

man i forgot how fun they are.

65k miles, no major issues outside the normal items

[desertman123]

Ah yes the '335 vs 328' thread. Surprised the forum hasn't caught fire yet.

Basically do you want to spend all your money doing rolling burnouts, or do you want the ultimate comfortable yet sporty daily?

The two are not mutually exclusive, however

[6ixSpd]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

They usually last 100k miles or more (mine went to ~130k, wife's went to 90k). You had to replace the entire cooling system on an M54 at that point, so I'm not sure how that's less reliable. Older BMW 6's had 50k mile waterpump intervals.

Some of the 335's are on their 2nd or 3rd pump by 75k. The electric pumps are fine, but the stupid plastic housing is just cheap.

This. The N52 cooling system shits all over any E46 generation setup. It's not even close... And ditto on the N54 pumps having at best half the longevity of N52 ones. Anecdotally, I know of 2 N52s running on original pump/t-stats at over 120k miles. My old 335's crapped out at 50k, then was leaking at 110k. My GF's 335 needed a replacement at 60k and 110k, and my old man's 335 needed one at 50k too. My 328's original pump is going strong at 150k miles and counting. Take from that what you will.

[siphor1989]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

They usually last 100k miles or more (mine went to ~130k, wife's went to 90k). You had to replace the entire cooling system on an M54 at that point, so I'm not sure how that's less reliable. Older BMW 6's had 50k mile waterpump intervals.

Some of the 335's are on their 2nd or 3rd pump by 75k. The electric pumps are fine, but the stupid plastic housing is just cheap.

I replaced mine right around 90k and it was the original pump.

My last e46 325ci had close to 200k before I sold it and was still on the original pump. You're right about that the rest of the cooling system was the weak link in that engine though.

[Thorin]

335d