I guess you could call the bmw dealer and ask. I'm still thinking that a rattle will sound the same if it's from the same unit and I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. It's not my money though, so you need to be happy with it.
From Z4MC to 335i
- Thread starter inkey$
- Start date
Why not send them a mail asking them to confirm that it's not a turbo failure and just the parts they're replacing and that they know of no other information that would materially effect the value of the car...
By the seaside...
From what I remember of this issue when it started to affect 335s, the replacement of the actuator arms was the first thing that was tried but some owners reported that this only appeared to be a short-term fix and BMW ended up replacing the turbos - the only problem with t'interweb is that you never know how many of the owners found the replacement actuator arms fixed the problem permanently
If the car was under an AUC warranty, I don't think you'd have any worries but it's not...
If there's any doubt about a car, then there's no doubt you should walk away - there are always more cars out there and, if you really want a 335, find one that's under AUC warranty or has already had the turbos replaced
If the car was under an AUC warranty, I don't think you'd have any worries but it's not...
If there's any doubt about a car, then there's no doubt you should walk away - there are always more cars out there and, if you really want a 335, find one that's under AUC warranty or has already had the turbos replaced
Okay, much as I'd love to give the benefit of the doubt this would niggle me constantly. Am sure they'll try and get out of paying me back my deposit so looks like I'll be £250 down but I'd feel worse buying a car I don't have confidence in. So, I've sent them this email...
'Many thanks for the update, I really do appreciate it; however I'm slightly worried for obvious reasons. Firstly that BMW wont be contributing or doing the work. Did they provide you with a written report? From the extensive research I've seen and sent to you this problem starts and is usually address first of all with a software update that as a by product dramatically increases turbo lag (probably because it keeps open slightly all of the time to stop the rattle. Not good!). Then people replace the actuator arms which go on for a while before failing again due to the same problems, before finally ending up with total 2 x turbo replacement (which I cant imagine is cost effective for you).
Am sure you can appreciate how worrying it is for me that we're a week past the date I viewed the car and picked up on the noise and another week for work to be done. Since researching it found out it's pretty serious and while I really do appreciate you attempting to fix the issue I worry that it's going to be short term and would worry that it could fail again at any time since it's an inherent design fault for that engine build.
This is a family car for me after selling my pride and joy two weeks ago. I really don't want to be backwards and forwards to a garage during and after any warranty runs out and since the car isn't fixed and cant guarantee a permanent fix to the turbo design fault perhaps it's best if I didn't proceed with purchasing the vehicle.
How do we proceed from here?'
'Many thanks for the update, I really do appreciate it; however I'm slightly worried for obvious reasons. Firstly that BMW wont be contributing or doing the work. Did they provide you with a written report? From the extensive research I've seen and sent to you this problem starts and is usually address first of all with a software update that as a by product dramatically increases turbo lag (probably because it keeps open slightly all of the time to stop the rattle. Not good!). Then people replace the actuator arms which go on for a while before failing again due to the same problems, before finally ending up with total 2 x turbo replacement (which I cant imagine is cost effective for you).
Am sure you can appreciate how worrying it is for me that we're a week past the date I viewed the car and picked up on the noise and another week for work to be done. Since researching it found out it's pretty serious and while I really do appreciate you attempting to fix the issue I worry that it's going to be short term and would worry that it could fail again at any time since it's an inherent design fault for that engine build.
This is a family car for me after selling my pride and joy two weeks ago. I really don't want to be backwards and forwards to a garage during and after any warranty runs out and since the car isn't fixed and cant guarantee a permanent fix to the turbo design fault perhaps it's best if I didn't proceed with purchasing the vehicle.
How do we proceed from here?'
How to proceed ? Think your answer was in the first paragraph above 
& it would also be mine
Next step is to take out a well proven set up :wink: a 330D , then see how you feel , afterwards if your heart is in a 335i then go look for another that won't eat away at you ,
best of luck
& it would also be mine Next step is to take out a well proven set up :wink: a 330D , then see how you feel , afterwards if your heart is in a 335i then go look for another that won't eat away at you ,
best of luck
You can find another 335i, no idea if it's had problem turbos or not, and if you buy it, it may or may not develop the fault. With this one the dealer appears to be doing what they can to put it right and you were thinking of buying a warranty anyway. You're covered by the sale of goods act, the dealer's 3 month warranty and then potentially a BMW or WD warranty. If you take one out a month before the dealer one expires you'll have continuous cover.
If you buy privately you're totally exposed should it go pop a mile down the road.
If you buy privately you're totally exposed should it go pop a mile down the road.
Just target a 330i the difference in performance isn't huge and no turbo worries
You won't have any known faults, the dealer rectified it before selling it to you. The BMW warranty has a 30 day "no cover" period to stop people claiming for pre-existing faults, hence take it out 30 days before the dealers one expires and you're good to go. Sale of goods act will protect you should it go bang within the first few weeks or months. I don't know the exact period but it's been discussed on the forum before and there are a few lawyers on here that will no doubt give you the right info for a small consideration 
Don't think it matters if you could get a BMW warranty or not, you said yourself that you'd always have doubts about the car and it's really no fun running a car if you're constantly on edge waiting for something to go wrong
There are lots more 335s around or, as suggested, you may find that a 330 gives you all the performance that you're likely to need in a family car with an NA engine and no turbo worries
There are lots more 335s around or, as suggested, you may find that a 330 gives you all the performance that you're likely to need in a family car with an NA engine and no turbo worries
Perry, that's kind of my point. Buy another one and unless they've been done you'll never know what you've got. At least with this one it's been looked at and you have a dealer to go back to.
I understand Stu but, with the early 335's history of eating turbos, I'd only buy one that had documented evidence of them having been replaced, or one that was an AUC from the off so there could never be a situation where BMW decide that work had been done by a 3rd party and it wasn't to OEM standard and refuse a warranty claim - call me cynical if you like but I've been bitten too often to take things at face value
There are some cars that I'd take a chance on and some that I wouldn't - and a model with known turbo issues that cost an arm and a leg to fix is one that I wouldn't.
At the end of the day it's not my money but I'd hate to be sitting here in a few months time reading a turbo replacement thread - even if it was covered by a warranty
There are some cars that I'd take a chance on and some that I wouldn't - and a model with known turbo issues that cost an arm and a leg to fix is one that I wouldn't.
At the end of the day it's not my money but I'd hate to be sitting here in a few months time reading a turbo replacement thread - even if it was covered by a warranty
Fair comments, and I agree it's not our money. I said as much on an earlier post.
PerryGunn said:
Take this advice.
I had an e90 (with a small oil burning engine) a few years ago and still spend a lot of time on e90post. Turbo failures on these cars will put a serious dent in your pocket and for that matter I'd err on the side of caution with such a car and wouldn't touch one that wasn't an AUC with full warranty and bomb proof history.
I would go for a pre lci 330i or lci 330d with ed. The lci 330d would be my first choice as it's absolutely bomb proof. The suspension was also much improved on the lci cars.
In terms of getting your deposit back. Did you pay over the phone? If so you are covered by distance selling regs. If not the standard cooling off period applies and you are entitled to cancel the purchase with a full refund. Just make sure you notify them in writing by some recorded method within the allowed time. I did this last summer when I spotted an issue with a car I was purchasing on the day I was supposed to collect it. They may turn out to be good guys and just give you the money back but I'd be extremely surprised if that happened without any kind of fight.
Mowflow said:
Whats lci? And you're saying its better to go pre-lci for petrol and lci for diesel?
EDIT - think I just found out. Life Cycle Impulse. What a silly acronym! AKA the point at which a car has a facelift. So basically you're recommending pre-facelift petrol 330i or a facelift 330d.
Saloon (E90): December 2004 – September 2008
Saloon Refresh (E90 LCI): September 2008 – October 2011
Touring (E91): September 2005 – September 2008
Touring Refresh (E91 LCI): from September 2008
Coupé (E92): September 2006 – March 2010
Coupé Refresh (E92 LCI): from March 2010
Convertible (E93): March 2007 – March 2010
Convertible Refresh (E93 LCI):from March 2010