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brantb

brantb

1003
Joined
May 21, 2020
Member Number
1003
Messages
168
Loc
combat city, CO
Have been looking for a fun DD car that handles the shit highways here in CO. Love my F250, but want something a little smoother if im not pulling. Have been searching for a while and did a search for a 335d. Low and behold there is an 11 with 67k miles close by. Figure it can get it for around 11k.

I know there are a couple people on here that swear by them. What are things i should be looking for? Has a clean carfax, and looks like previous owners brought it in every 10kish miles for service.

I have money to put into it to make it more fun, but dont want to have to spend that money fixing shit that i missed. CO requires emissions testing, so later this fall it will be registered under my WI address.
 
same as any diesel.
delete the emissions shit and the swirl flaps.
tune it.
enjoy all the torques.

is it an x drive?
and you'll need a kdcan adapter and the bmw standard tools on a laptop.

trust me.

transmission service is a small fortune, cause the filter and pan are integrated, and the ZF fluid is unicorn piss that's over priced.
I'm not sure if there's an XHP for the diesel, but it's new transmission software that really livens up the ZF box. you do it with your phone and the kdcan adapter.

bimmergeeks.net
 
87manche said:
same as any diesel.
delete the emissions shit and the swirl flaps.
tune it.
enjoy all the torques.

is it an x drive?
and you'll need a kdcan adapter and the bmw standard tools on a laptop.

trust me.

transmission service is a small fortune, cause the filter and pan are integrated, and the ZF fluid is unicorn piss that's over priced.
I'm not sure if there's an XHP for the diesel, but it's new transmission software that really livens up the ZF box. you do it with your phone and the kdcan adapter.

bimmergeeks.net
Click to expand...

The 335 D wasn't available with X drive
 
Commit to maintaining it like it deserves to be maintained and enjoy years of fun. Any dealer/indy shop will do a pre purchase inspection for around 100 - 150. Imho its worth it, they can pull a lot of data from them.
 
I bought one with 77k this spring for my wife to drive to work. She has a 40 mile drive. With that said I’m always cruising around in it. It’s super fun to drive.

I have not deleted it yet. It will be getting the swirl flap delete, a new down pipe, egr delete and tune. Should be good for 110hp and 175 pounds of torque. I cannot wait it will make this thing a beast. My wife drives it like she sold it and it still pulls a 32+ mpg. Looking at 2400 or so for the complete delete and tune.

We got about 8k miles on it so far and only had to do the brakes. Other than that no issues. We will park it over winter so I will not have to worry about cold no starts.

I should have gotten a 535d for a little more room but we are getting used to it.

Fwiw I would never thought in a million years I would own a kraut car. I’m a Carbureted 350 Chevy type guy. All my buddies have been giving me shit but I’ll give them a schooling once she gets the tune.
 
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ThePanzerFuhrer what did you pay for yours? Year and anything special? I know WI and CO are well separated markets, but it should at least give me an idea. Took it for a test drive and it seems fine and was clean inside and out. If you weren't holding the wheel and hit the brakes slightly it did pull left. Talked to the BMW dealer down the road and they said alignment or sticking caliper. Doesn't seem like a sticking caliper so i would guess alignment. The dealer selling it did put new tires on it, but didn't align it.

This highlights of this one:
Convenience Package
TPMS
power front seats
rain sensor and auto headlight
adaptive light control
dynamic Cruise
premium package
steptronic auto
moonroof
xenon headlights
auto climate control
 
brantb said:
ThePanzerFuhrer what did you pay for yours? Year and anything special? I know WI and CO are well separated markets, but it should at least give me an idea. Took it for a test drive and it seems fine and was clean inside and out. If you weren't holding the wheel and hit the brakes slightly it did pull left. Talked to the BMW dealer down the road and they said alignment or sticking caliper. Doesn't seem like a sticking caliper so i would guess alignment. The dealer selling it did put new tires on it, but didn't align it.

This highlights of this one:
Convenience Package
TPMS
power front seats
rain sensor and auto headlight
adaptive light control
dynamic Cruise
premium package
steptronic auto
moonroof
xenon headlights
auto climate control
Click to expand...

I paid 10,000 for mine. I have a identical option package as the one your looking at. Mine had a slight pull also that was until I changed the pads and rotors. Much better now. When you took it for a drive did you get on the highway and put it to the wood?
 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
I paid 10,000 for mine. I have a identical option package as the one your looking at. Mine had a slight pull also that was until I changed the pads and rotors. Much better now. When you took it for a drive did you get on the highway and put it to the wood?
Click to expand...

First thing i did. It pulled about as good as my wifes 3.0SC A6. Had better pull low, but was lacking higher in the rpms, but that is turbo diesel vs SC gas. I think i will offer them 10k and see what they say. They had a sticker for 15k, lowered to 13k on their website, and it was a trade so im assuming they gave someone 7.5-9k for it.
 
the only thing that you'd really miss there is the sport package.
but if you're going to do coilovers or something that's not a big deal.
Find some sport package seats though, they're miles better than the base model seats.

no idrive, which is a plus in my opinion.
make sure it has both key fobs.

they tend to pull under braking if the front bushings are wasted.
but those parts are cheap.
 
All in all good cars. Carbon cleaning until it is deleted. I did my tune and deletes for like $1,500. Mine has 162 k on it I bought it at like 30K. Tuned and deleted it pulls like a train and gets 30 mpg running it hard.

Tires will be your biggest expense!
 
Our customers seem to like them. They can get up and go and are capable of pretty good fuel economy. There are a few parts that became repeat issues but bmw extended warranties on some of those parts.

But let me tell you that goddamn scr system is a pain in the ass. The engineers made the test plan as a self test which takes 45 mins to 1 hr to run each time, and it only tells you 1 problem at a time. So you run the test, it says replace nox sensors, so you replace and retest. Then it says replace thermostat, so you replace tstat and retest then it tells you to replace scr cat, so you replace scr cat. Then retest and it says there is an egr fault so you pull the manifold, replace the vacuum lines and retest.

We have had so many customers lose their shit over this and I completely understand. We have to call them back 4 or 5 times with revised estimates that get up into thousands of dollars.
 
monday I will give them a call and offer 10k and go from there. All the interior stuff worked and it looked like the previous owners maintained it well. I plan on driving it for a while then over the winter tearing into it and removing abc stuff.

After driving a diesel truck i love the toque and instant response to i think i will enjoy it if it works out.
 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
I paid 10,000 for mine. I have a identical option package as the one your looking at. Mine had a slight pull also that was until I changed the pads and rotors. Much better now. When you took it for a drive did you get on the highway and put it to the wood?
Click to expand...

Is there a reason you went with the 335d vs 535d? It doesnt look like the price is that different from my quick search. I would like the size of the 5, but maybe the 3 drives better?

87manche said:
the only thing that you'd really miss there is the sport package.
but if you're going to do coilovers or something that's not a big deal.
Find some sport package seats though, they're miles better than the base model seats.

no idrive, which is a plus in my opinion.
make sure it has both key fobs.

they tend to pull under braking if the front bushings are wasted.
but those parts are cheap.
Click to expand...

Manche - Do you have the wagon, or a 335d? For some reason i thought it was the wagon


You guys always make these things sound awesome. I am solidly in the wagon camp (535d estate would be a dream) but maybe a sedan is more reasonable due to ridiculous premiums on used wagons. These look like more fun than a volvo wagon.

I have an RX8 right now as my 2nd car for just me and its a great car thats a blast to drive in the twisties, but i rarely take it out to just drive on the regular. So low, cramped, small trunk. Every bit of its grin inducing outstanding handling in the mountains turns to disappointment with lackluster power driving between stop signs for day to day use. Every time you guys bring this subject up, i think of getting rid of it and getting something like a 335d that should be decent enough when driving through the mtns to my parents hous but actually is pleasant/useful to drive around town on a daily basis.
 
Clemson13 said:
Is there a reason you went with the 335d vs 535d? It doesnt look like the price is that different from my quick search. I would like the size of the 5, but maybe the 3 drives better?



Manche - Do you have the wagon, or a 335d? For some reason i thought it was the wagon


You guys always make these things sound awesome. I am solidly in the wagon camp (535d estate would be a dream) but maybe a sedan is more reasonable due to ridiculous premiums on used wagons. These look like more fun than a volvo wagon.

I have an RX8 right now as my 2nd car for just me and its a great car thats a blast to drive in the twisties, but i rarely take it out to just drive on the regular. So low, cramped, small trunk. Every bit of its grin inducing outstanding handling in the mountains turns to disappointment with lackluster power driving between stop signs for day to day use. Every time you guys bring this subject up, i think of getting rid of it and getting something like a 335d that should be decent enough when driving through the mtns to my parents hous but actually is pleasant/useful to drive around town on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

gunracer1 said:
are there any years that are better than others? an x5 diesel would be cool.
Click to expand...

I think a 535 would be a little bit better as it has more room. I got the 335 do to availability and the aftermarket parts and tunes for it. I’m sure the 535 is the same shit but I’m no tune wizard and will be using a plug and system. I really enjoy bombing around it it. My performance bar is pretty low as 50% of the shit I drive is 80’s and older.

in the 335 the 11 is the most sought after as it was the last one imported. The x5 and 535 you can get newer models of it.
 
gunracer1 said:
are there any years that are better than others? an x5 diesel would be cool.
Click to expand...

Vetteboy79 has one - he seems to like it.

2011 has the most options , 10 was the first year for blue tooth, if you want the rear seats to fold you need the cold weather pck.

Mine has 163,000 miles on it, I bought it with 30,000 in 2013
 
Clemson13 said:
Is there a reason you went with the 335d vs 535d? It doesnt look like the price is that different from my quick search. I would like the size of the 5, but maybe the 3 drives better?



Manche - Do you have the wagon, or a 335d? For some reason i thought it was the wagon


You guys always make these things sound awesome. I am solidly in the wagon camp (535d estate would be a dream) but maybe a sedan is more reasonable due to ridiculous premiums on used wagons. These look like more fun than a volvo wagon.

I have an RX8 right now as my 2nd car for just me and its a great car thats a blast to drive in the twisties, but i rarely take it out to just drive on the regular. So low, cramped, small trunk. Every bit of its grin inducing outstanding handling in the mountains turns to disappointment with lackluster power driving between stop signs for day to day use. Every time you guys bring this subject up, i think of getting rid of it and getting something like a 335d that should be decent enough when driving through the mtns to my parents hous but actually is pleasant/useful to drive around town on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

I have an e91. Which is the wagon version of the e90. underneath they're the same shit.
Mine is an n52, which is hammer reliable and still uses port injection, so no valve cleaning bullshit and a minimum of emissions shit. you'll find them in 328s, but then you get a x3 or x5 DISA manifold and flash it with the 330 software and it becomes what it should have been.
N54/N55 shit is fun, but can get pricey. Direct Gasoline injection and turbochargers. lots of power, but kind of like a modern diesel. If you're not trying to make huge power the n55 is not a bad option, as they pretty much had the injection shit dialed by then. N54s are a fucking great time, but them shits like to eat money. Especially if neglected. been there. did HPFP/injector things.
I'm not too much into the diesel things, but the rest of the car/drivetrain is the same. Even the trans.

Don't sleep on a turbo i5 volvo. My wifes might be faster than my "330" wagon. A tune that doubles the boost is $500, i've been running it for two years and it's fine. P2 cars are dirt cheap and aside from a few PCV gotchas, pretty well built and reliable. Oh, and fucking window clips. I've done them twice in 5 years.

Fun fact.
BMW traction control/DSC will never fully allow you to huck it sideways in the snow at 40 MPH. Volvo gives no fucks and will happily spin all four at 70-80 mph while you powerslide.

Her car rides better and is a couch compared to my e91, but the e91 obviously is far more capable.

but honestly I'm pretty far removed from stock anymore. BMW that the aftermarket is there. There's like one company that makes charge pipes for volvos.

I'm over here making terrible financial decisions with cars, and honestly it's not been that terrible. This N52 powered e9x has been one of the most reliable cars i've ever owned, but it does take maintenance dollars.

Don't hate, but a 328 E92 coupe might be the most perfect blend of economy and fun under ten grand right now. Unlock the power with a manifold that costs you $300 on ebay and drive the piss out of it.
Make sure it's post LCI and at least has the CIC idrive if it has idrive. CCC Idrive is fucking trash, and that's where mine went.


edit:
e61s are one of the best/fastest wagons ever, but if you do that, be prepared.
also been there.
 
87manche said:
I have an e91. Which is the wagon version of the e90. underneath they're the same shit.
Mine is an n52, which is hammer reliable and still uses port injection, so no valve cleaning bullshit and a minimum of emissions shit. you'll find them in 328s, but then you get a x3 or x5 DISA manifold and flash it with the 330 software and it becomes what it should have been.
N54/N55 shit is fun, but can get pricey. Direct Gasoline injection and turbochargers. lots of power, but kind of like a modern diesel. If you're not trying to make huge power the n55 is not a bad option, as they pretty much had the injection shit dialed by then. N54s are a fucking great time, but them shits like to eat money. Especially if neglected. been there. did HPFP/injector things.
I'm not too much into the diesel things, but the rest of the car/drivetrain is the same. Even the trans.

Don't sleep on a turbo i5 volvo. My wifes might be faster than my "330" wagon. A tune that doubles the boost is $500, i've been running it for two years and it's fine. P2 cars are dirt cheap and aside from a few PCV gotchas, pretty well built and reliable. Oh, and fucking window clips. I've done them twice in 5 years.

Fun fact.
BMW traction control/DSC will never fully allow you to huck it sideways in the snow at 40 MPH. Volvo gives no fucks and will happily spin all four at 70-80 mph while you powerslide.

Her car rides better and is a couch compared to my e91, but the e91 obviously is far more capable.

but honestly I'm pretty far removed from stock anymore. BMW that the aftermarket is there. There's like one company that makes charge pipes for volvos.

I'm over here making terrible financial decisions with cars, and honestly it's not been that terrible. This N52 powered e9x has been one of the most reliable cars i've ever owned, but it does take maintenance dollars.

Don't hate, but a 328 E92 coupe might be the most perfect blend of economy and fun under ten grand right now. Unlock the power with a manifold that costs you $300 on ebay and drive the piss out of it.
Make sure it's post LCI and at least has the CIC idrive if it has idrive. CCC Idrive is fucking trash, and that's where mine went.


edit:
e61s are one of the best/fastest wagons ever, but if you do that, be prepared.
also been there.
Click to expand...

What does one need to be prepared for on the e61s?

I am in the boat that whatever i buy should replace the mazda as my fun driving car while being way better around town, knocking down road trips etc. The 335d did sound pretty balling at that.
 
n54 things
they leak water like sieves in the back and kill control modules.
air ride compressors and bags and level sensors.


but you may find one that needs all those things cheap, and you can remedy them. We reprogrammed a junkyard air ride module for my brothers. The software and coding is pretty much open source at this point.

this is a decent deal on a lower mileage one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2010-BMW-5-...%7C1000%7C2500

Spend $400 on upgrading the idrive. I'll code it for you.
Then you're gonna end up doing injectors if they've not been upgraded. guaranteed. it's another $1500.
also requires coding them in, as they have energy markings on them do the DME knows how much juice to give them.

but you put some catless down pipes and a big intercooler on the front and suddenly it's a 400WHP station wagon with the MHD that you loaded on it from your phone.

If you get into the game, you need a laptop and a good cable and you have to be willing to learn the software at least minimally so you can prperly diagnose shit.
They have a terrible reputation as being dumb expensive, but that's because the average person just shotguns parts at it without understanding it, or the diagnostic software.

Owning one of these things requires you to be a computer nerd nearly as much as beig a mechanic. The fucking car will tell you what's wrong. ISTA has guided troubleshooting in the software.
But they do not suffer inattentive owners or idiots with wrenches.
 
After deleted and tuned the 335d is a great all around vehicle. There are a few different tuners with off-the-shelf tunes that will work once deleted. It will surprise a lot of people with how quick it is. On the highway you can still get up to 40 mpg if you stay out of it. It eats highway miles comfortably. The passing power is wonderful (my other vehicle is a V10 Excursion). Get the carbon cleaned out if it is still stock before you start modifying.

Only other items that you need to worry about are harmonic balancer (get a Fluidampr and be done with it) and vacuum lines. Motor mounts are vacuum actuated and can go bad. Thermostats can go bad and make it run too cool which kills mpg, but they are cheap and easy to replace. The valve cover gasket is the only other problem item.

Took me a while to find a lower mileage Sport with decent options and I bought it site unseen and flew to pick it up and drive 8 hours home.

I now want to get an E70 diesel X5 as well.

Good luck.
 
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I got on the highway behind a GT3 this evening, he nailed it (awesome sound) and def pulled on me but not by much. We did a few other spirited moves and I could see him looking back like WTF how is this car here. Pulled up next to him, he nodded and we went our ways.

Passing power is insane, you have all the powers at any speed. Car just pulls like a freight train. I have had mine to 145, and it was still pulling strong
 
DozerDan82 said:
I got on the highway behind a GT3 this evening, he nailed it (awesome sound) and def pulled on me but not by much. We did a few other spirited moves and I could see him looking back like WTF how is this car here. Pulled up next to him, he nodded and we went our ways.

Passing power is insane, you have all the powers at any speed. Car just pulls like a freight train. I have had mine to 145, and it was still pulling strong
Click to expand...

I need to get my delete done!!! Just too fucking busy right now to fuck with it ;(. I may have asked before but who did you get your tune from and what one was it?
 
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