Potential purchase

Looks like a clean original 35i non MSport with quite a few of the optional goodies..

Condition is everything on these which you can’t really ascertain without viewing it.

These toys often have multiple owners ..it’s never much if reflection of anything apart from the risk that servicing may have been neglected.

Getting the vin number and reg will help a lot to determine further ..service records would be good

Price is a bit toppy but if condition is good then..

Just be aware that these 35i can be problematic …obviously 10 openers dodged most bullets by never driving the car.
 
B21 said:
Looks like a clean original 35i non MSport with quite a few of the optional goodies..

Condition is everything on these which you can’t really ascertain without viewing it.

These toys often have multiple owners ..it’s never much if reflection of anything apart from the risk that servicing may have been neglected.

Getting the vin number and reg will help a lot to determine further ..service records would be good

Price is a bit toppy but if condition is good then..

Just be aware that these 35i can be problematic …obviously 10 openers dodged most bullets by never driving the car.
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What sort of problems should I be looking for?
 
bluespit said:
What sort of problems should I be looking for?
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Oh dear…

So in terms of what could go wrong / will go wrong on a 35i..one of that age..ranked in terms of probability over time..

Wheels cracking
Turbo waste gate rattle
Injectors leaking / failing
Coils failing
Plugs worn
Cam box leaking
Oil filter house ing gasket leaking
Gearbox sump leaking
Gearbox sides / top leaking
Suspension struts leaking
Roof failures of various types, sensors, wiring , hoses
Turbo failures of various types
Vacuum pipes failing
PCV valve failing
Boost solenoids failing
Brakes overall more wear n tear
Suspension overall more wear n tear
Water pump failure
HPFP failure


These are all pretty common ..but ..they will all fail ..but when…mostly in the 60k-100k area..but..they all can fail earlier

Other failures on cars of that age..non 35i specfic

Electrical steering rack
Electronic parking brake
Other failures associated with poor battery health

Enjoy!
 
B21 said:
Oh dear…

So in terms of what could go wrong / will go wrong on a 35i..one of that age..ranked in terms of probability over time..

Wheels cracking
Turbo waste gate rattle
Injectors leaking / failing
Coils failing
Plugs worn
Cam box leaking
Oil filter house ing gasket leaking
Gearbox sump leaking
Gearbox sides / top leaking
Suspension struts leaking
Roof failures of various types, sensors, wiring , hoses
Turbo failures of various types
Vacuum pipes failing
PCV valve failing
Boost solenoids failing
Brakes overall more wear n tear
Suspension overall more wear n tear
Water pump failure
HPFP failure


These are all pretty common ..but ..they will all fail ..but when…mostly in the 60k-100k area..but..they all can fail earlier

Other failures on cars of that age..non 35i specfic

Electrical steering rack
Electronic parking brake
Other failures associated with poor battery health

Enjoy!
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Bet you wished you never asked.
I have a 2.3 and wouldn't have bought it if I did loads of research....I'm glad I did buy it
 
bluespit said:
Yikes! Maybe an MGB then!
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Several points..

If you are tech savvy, have a great garage full of decent metric tools and skill, time and aptitude then many of these issues can be managed by combinations of good sourcing of parts, database of specialist refurbishers, planned maintenance etc

If you’re going to rely on decent Indy garages and cross bridges as they happen it can be very expensive

If you go to BMW then prices are extortionate

Like all failure modes when , where they fail , how they fail is in a broad range ..

There are guys here that have run £10k-£15k bills up thankfully paid on extended warranties..

Several people have a charmed life ..but most in fact hardly drive the cars…so they say..had it 5 years no problems…but maybe did 5k miles in that time..

Several issues such as oil leaks are common to other E89s..but other E89s have less parts, less complicated so less leaks..

Roof issues are now very very common and apply equally to all E89s..

A ‘sensible’ E89 purchase is either the earlier 30i or the later 18i/20i/28i post 2015..imho

My 2011 35is had injectors, dampers, gearbox leaks, worn suspension, water pump failure, coil failure at 50k-60k miles, worn discs pads , tyres , CIC failure etc

My 2012 20i had no issues…

They are great rocket ships and if you have a need for a Saturn V type shove then there is no equal apart from a latter G29 M40i

They just can be problematic …I refused to buy one till I had sufficient liquid cash to ride out any storms..

If you’re reference point is a MGB then I’d suggest something less sophisticated / less powerful etc etc
 
I've dumped upwards of $5k into my 35i since acquiring it 3 years ago... Pennies compared to what Peter has in his Yellow Peril. I have zero regrets. Every time the top goes down, the sound of the engine, and the android auto hitting my favorite tunes - awesome.
 
I know one end of a spanner from the other but don’t fancy spending my weekends under the car. I’ve enough to keep me occupied with two classic cars. I’ve had the 2.0 and 2.8 previously but fancied something with more go. Also had a 3.0 e86 which was great bang for buck but I don’t fancy another canvas roof.

Rethink time perhaps.
 
bluespit said:
I know one end of a spanner from the other but don’t fancy spending my weekends under the car. I’ve enough to keep me occupied with two classic cars. I’ve had the 2.0 and 2.8 previously but fancied something with more go. Also had a 3.0 e86 which was great bang for buck but I don’t fancy another canvas roof.

Rethink time perhaps.
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I wouldn't be too afraid of the 35i, I purchased mine for my daily on 97k, and i've done 3k miles in 3 months. This includes taking it to stage 1+ with MHD and regularly letting it breathe on the back roads on the way home from work. No problems over here, it's not even using any oil!

As Christopher said, when the top's down and you are driving hard, it's awesome. With what B21 has listed for the problems and when they happen, buying a low-mileage N54 in 2025 just seems like shooting yourself in the foot...
 
Would there be any value in using a code reader on the obd? Would it reveal any impending failures of the above?
 
bluespit said:
Would there be any value in using a code reader on the obd? Would it reveal any impending failures of the above?
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A code reader might reveal some codes that haven't triggered a check engine light, but if the seller has had a check engine light in the past which they've then cleared using an OBD reader, the codes will have been wiped. That's why I quite like MHD, it keeps a record of cleared codes.
 
bluespit said:
Would there be any value in using a code reader on the obd? Would it reveal any impending failures of the above?
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A decent BMW specific code reader helps but you need to know how to use it and analyse it..plus in some cases you need trend analysis.. in general its major use is once a fault develops ..most of the faults listed have their origins in hardware failure that is not directly data logged..the causes of those failures are...
 
My budget is topping at 12k, so are we suggesting that a 2.8 or 3.0 should be what I’m aiming for? I’d like auto, nav and a light interior too and anything other than the plain dash. Picky? Not too picky I hope.
 
Have another read of B21s post at 5.11pm yesterday.

They never made a 2.8 E89, it was a 28i which was actually a 4 cylinder with a turbo the same as the 18i and 20i. They're all the same, just have different mapping so can all be made to produce similar power.

If you want an N/A straight 6 engine it's either a 23i or 30i which will be earlier models as they got replaced by the 4 cylinder turbo models.
 
Mr Tidy said:
Have another read of B21s post at 5.11pm yesterday.

They never made a 2.8 E89, it was a 28i which was actually a 4 cylinder with a turbo the same as the 18i and 20i. They're all the same, just have different mapping so can all be made to produce similar power.

If you want an N/A straight 6 engine it's either a 23i or 30i which will be earlier models as they got replaced by the 4 cylinder turbo models.
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My sloppy nomenclature.

Years ago I had a 20i, then a 28i, both felt a little underwhelming compared to my previous Porsche. More recently I had a much earlier e86 3.0 sport (correct name?) and I feel I’d like to experience the straight 6 in the e89 shell. However if the right car with the right spec came along with one of the 2.0l engines I could be tempted.

Cheers
 
No problem as you knew anyway, but in case you didn't I wanted to avoid any disappointment!

I was so impressed with the N52 engine in my E86s I'm on my 2nd in a 3 Series as my daily.
 
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