[WilliamLAdams]

I have a 2007 e92 335i that I bought 5 years ago. When I first bought it, it had a little under 70k and now has 127k on it. I've kept it maintained and of course it's had a few hiccups that cost a little more money but I've been pretty lucky...until about a couple of months ago.

At that time, I had to replace the oil filter housing gasket and oil cooler gasket as well as the belt, tensioner, and pulleys. A short while after that, I had to replace the water pump. These are expected things but they all hit at once and I've been having random issues on and off since but all have resolved. I'm also getting the fender repaired (and bumper re-sprayed next week while it's there bc it needs it) due to a pothole incident a few months back.

I love this car and have looked at various cars but they just don't cut it. I'm a medical student about to graduate and enter into general surgery residency so my budget is going to shrink and time away from the hospital is going to become zero. That scares me bc if a serious issue occurs I'll be screwed.

So my main question here is how long can I expect this car to last? What other major issues can/should I expect to go wrong (heaven forbid the turbos kicking the bucket)? It's not worth much anymore and if I'm going to sell/trade now's the time to do it. I've been looking at 370Z's but they honestly just don't thrill me...but they're the best car I've looked at that's a viable option. And the thought of less expensive maintenance is very enticing.

Sorry for the long confusing rant but I'd like to hear some thoughts from members of this forum who know the N54 motor. Thanks in advance.

[C.Pop]

Anything can happen man. Depends on luck, mods, fuel, your driving... I love these cars but if you want reliable get something soulless like a Camry or an Accord. You could pick one up reliable and cheap as a second car...

[bloppitybloop]

I would keep it. I assume you have it paid off. Paying whatever repairs/maintenance that might come along is going to be cheaper than buying something new. And if you still enjoy driving it and haven't found something that you like more, then there's no point in getting rid of it.

[Jnat]

Originally Posted by C.Pop

Anything can happen man. Depends on luck, mods, fuel, your driving... I love these cars but if you want reliable get something soulless like a Camry or an Accord. You could pick one up reliable and cheap as a second car...

I think that's a wrap! Well said, couldn't agree more.

[N55guy]

Originally Posted by reckedhim

I would keep it. I assume you have it paid off. Paying whatever repairs/maintenance that might come along is going to be cheaper than buying something new. And if you still enjoy driving it and haven't found something that you like more, then there's no point in getting rid of it.

I 100% agree with this.

To OP I was feeling ready for a new car last month... Went on test drives and decided to keep my n54. Power of other cars within what I wanted to spend (under $40k) just weren't impressive enough to ditch my tuned n54.

Keep in mind I do live in WI and whatever I got would be my daily. If we didn't get as much snow I'd be all over a corvette.

[bloppitybloop]

Originally Posted by 335sRus

I 100% agree with this.

To OP I was feeling ready for a new car last month... Went on test drives and decided to keep my n54. Power of other cars within what I wanted to spend (under $40k) just weren't impressive enough to ditch my tuned n54.

Keep in mind I do live in WI and whatever I got would be my daily. If we didn't get as much snow I'd be all over a corvette.

I hear ya. Living in Wisconsin limits what your DD can be.

[WilliamLAdams]

Thanks for the help guys. I have been leaning towards keeping it since nothing on the market appeals to me (and my budget is considerably less...in the $22-24k range). And yes any car I got would be my daily driver. I'll just hope this thing lasts another 5-7 years to get me through residency +/- a fellowship.

[Grand_hustle17]

I would say keep it... For the price i do believe it is best in class.. I rarely drive mime. It sits and i daily drive a civic but i guess based on where u live dictates what u can get as stated. Car doesnt seem to be a reliable platform, if you could afford a second car i would say get a 04-08 6mt acura TL.. Those things seem to take all kinds of abuse, i owned one, i could flat shift every single shift and the car is fine.

[stanlalee]

The case will let you know when it's time and you've had enough. I'm at 130k. Mechanically fine (of course there are things that need to be done as is always the case with these cars with mileage). It just so happened I have a Honda accord just in case lol (no bullshit. Picked it up about 6 months after getting the 335). I should point out I drive for a living and have averaged 30k miles a year. From 2007-2013 the car only had 69k miles. In two years nearly doubled that.

[1BADM3]

Keep it, just replace all the coolant lines and oil stuff.

[OzCoE92]

Definitely keep it! There is no reason to get rid of it especially since most of the newer cars can't match the power of a 335i stock, much less tuned. I agree with the last post, replace some of the worn out components and enjoy it. The only thing I would ditch my 335i for would be a P-Car, and that won't be anytime soon!

[TT3 iN NyC]

I was in the same boat as you OP. Got the front and rear ends re-done. I'm in love all over again.

[sk55]

depends on your mods... are FBO boost at 18 psi beating the crap out it?

is this your daily? 6MT?

2007 seems to be the more problematic since thats the release date...


n54 engine is solid... i think were at 860 whp on a stock block now?
the only worry would be the tranny if your auto...


but if its been pretty reliable... and you don't put like more than 15k miles a year on it.. you don't beat the crap out of it... it should go at least 250k miles...

i don't know about the n54...since my miles are low but turbo on other cars should last 200k miles if u take are of them...

other problems your fuel injectors... seem to be an issue on the n54...

precat o2 sensor are expensive at the dealer it think was like $320.00... ur suppose to change those like at 100k... and u got 2 of them..

if u diy and u drive low miles... it should be cheaper to keep...

personally i go with the 335i + beater car combo.. a good beater car can be had for $1500-$3000.00

Originally Posted by WilliamLAdams

I have a 2007 e92 335i that I bought 5 years ago. When I first bought it, it had a little under 70k and now has 127k on it. I've kept it maintained and of course it's had a few hiccups that cost a little more money but I've been pretty lucky...until about a couple of months ago.

At that time, I had to replace the oil filter housing gasket and oil cooler gasket as well as the belt, tensioner, and pulleys. A short while after that, I had to replace the water pump. These are expected things but they all hit at once and I've been having random issues on and off since but all have resolved. I'm also getting the fender repaired (and bumper re-sprayed next week while it's there bc it needs it) due to a pothole incident a few months back.

I love this car and have looked at various cars but they just don't cut it. I'm a medical student about to graduate and enter into general surgery residency so my budget is going to shrink and time away from the hospital is going to become zero. That scares me bc if a serious issue occurs I'll be screwed.

So my main question here is how long can I expect this car to last? What other major issues can/should I expect to go wrong (heaven forbid the turbos kicking the bucket)? It's not worth much anymore and if I'm going to sell/trade now's the time to do it. I've been looking at 370Z's but they honestly just don't thrill me...but they're the best car I've looked at that's a viable option. And the thought of less expensive maintenance is very enticing.

Sorry for the long confusing rant but I'd like to hear some thoughts from members of this forum who know the N54 motor. Thanks in advance.

[WilliamLAdams]

Again thanks for the help guys.

sk55:
It's a 6MT. I've done a few engine mods: JB+ (at 40 or 50%..I'd have to check), CP & BOV, DCI. Nothing crazy and most of the time I drive it fairly gently but let it loose from time to time. Definitely don't put 15k miles per year on it (~60k miles over the past 5 years) and my mileage will probably go down further once in residency. The o2 sensor fault code was being thrown a few weeks back but it hasn't come back on since and my mechanic said to just keep watching it. Fuel injectors have never been replaced but the fuel injector sensor was at roughly 90k miles.

I'm leaning towards getting a beater car. Seems to be the best solution since nothing on the market is ever going to compare to this car imo.

[sk55]

Originally Posted by WilliamLAdams

Again thanks for the help guys.

sk55:
It's a 6MT. I've done a few engine mods: JB+ (at 40 or 50%..I'd have to check), CP & BOV, DCI. Nothing crazy and most of the time I drive it fairly gently but let it loose from time to time. Definitely don't put 15k miles per year on it (~60k miles over the past 5 years) and my mileage will probably go down further once in residency. The o2 sensor fault code was being thrown a few weeks back but it hasn't come back on since and my mechanic said to just keep watching it. Fuel injectors have never been replaced but the fuel injector sensor was at roughly 90k miles.

I'm leaning towards getting a beater car. Seems to be the best solution since nothing on the market is ever going to compare to this car imo.

I am telling you. The bmw plus beater combo can't be beat. I live in Nyc
With a beater you can park where u want.
Rocks can hit it.

I am with you I love my e92. Finest bimmer ever.

Look in to 96 to 2000 Volvo s70.
Super cheap. Super cheap to fix.
Great ride. Mine 265 hp. Lol.
Previous owner tweaked the boost to 12 psi
Stock is 8 psi.

[Jklad]

I would keep it! Sure the dme may fry at any moment and take out all the injectors coils and plugs with it, or the belt may snap bc the subframe hit the ps pulley and get sucked into the engine and blow it up, or a myriad of other stuff, but there's really nothing else that even compares for the money! Just get a nice Acura or Honda beater if your worried about it lol

[WilliamLAdams]

Just a quick update. Got the fender repaired and the bumper redone. You're right, I'm in love again.

[WilliamLAdams]

Well took my car to the tint shop to get the reflective pieces blacked out with vinyl. The heat gun took some paint right off. Never thought it would do that but lesson learned the hard way. Mainly my fault but should I address the issue with the tint shop owners? Maybe at least I can get them to warn other customers and prevent the same thing from happening.

$160 later and you can't even tell it happened. Plus I had the body shop paint the reflective pieces as well. Looks incredible.

Before & after:

[Seanpatio]

I would sell your 130k mile car and buy another e92 with less miles. Take your mods off and put em in the new car. Waahhllaaaa ... Low miles, less worries

[M.Power]

Originally Posted by Seanpatio

I would sell your 130k mile car and buy another e92 with less miles. Take your mods off and put em in the new car. Waahhllaaaa ... Low miles, less worries

He already said he's keeping it.. Lol..

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by Seanpatio

I would sell your 130k mile car and buy another e92 with less miles. Take your mods off and put em in the new car. Waahhllaaaa ... Low miles, less worries

If only lower miles meant less worries on this car, we'd all live trouble free for quite some time.. I've had more then three friends all have major issues under 50k miles.. One even had to get turbos replaced at 14k miles..! But then you see people with 200k miles driving around and barely experiencing any issues..

[N54Society]

Originally Posted by WilliamLAdams

I have a 2007 e92 335i that I bought 5 years ago. When I first bought it, it had a little under 70k and now has 127k on it. I've kept it maintained and of course it's had a few hiccups that cost a little more money but I've been pretty lucky...until about a couple of months ago.

At that time, I had to replace the oil filter housing gasket and oil cooler gasket as well as the belt, tensioner, and pulleys. A short while after that, I had to replace the water pump. These are expected things but they all hit at once and I've been having random issues on and off since but all have resolved. I'm also getting the fender repaired (and bumper re-sprayed next week while it's there bc it needs it) due to a pothole incident a few months back.

I love this car and have looked at various cars but they just don't cut it. I'm a medical student about to graduate and enter into general surgery residency so my budget is going to shrink and time away from the hospital is going to become zero. That scares me bc if a serious issue occurs I'll be screwed.

So my main question here is how long can I expect this car to last? What other major issues can/should I expect to go wrong (heaven forbid the turbos kicking the bucket)? It's not worth much anymore and if I'm going to sell/trade now's the time to do it. I've been looking at 370Z's but they honestly just don't thrill me...but they're the best car I've looked at that's a viable option. And the thought of less expensive maintenance is very enticing.

Sorry for the long confusing rant but I'd like to hear some thoughts from members of this forum who know the N54 motor. Thanks in advance.

As a former 370z owner, I have some advice on the car. A little context first. I bought the first model year 370z and I had nothing but issues. Some of these issues were corrected in later models but others are still outstanding. Master and slave cylinder both went out...twice. Every 30k miles on the dot almost. This was not my first manual transmission car and even 2015 cars are reporting issues on the forums. Some with as little as 2k miles. It's hit or miss on this one.

The power in that car is underwhelming in my opinion. No amount of mods, short of going turbo (which costs $7k+), will give you the type of power your car delivers. I had a lot of fun in that car but I knew it wasn't as fast as it looked and that always bothered me.

Parts replaced by the dealership:
ECM (high frequency hissing sound from the capacitors)
Master and Slave cylinders (twice)
Steering lock failure (recall because it left drivers stranded on the side of the road)
Passenger seat clicked when you would brake or accelerate (common but fixed)
Trunk shocks (no biggie - replaced but didn't fix the issue)
Passenger side cat went out along with an O2 sensor

Think of how many trips to the dealership and how many shitty rentals that translates to. No more first year model cars for me. To be fair, Nissan did take care of me, even good willing the second master and slave cylinder replacement although I was out of warranty by a lot. BTW, I recently sold my Z to get into this 2008 E92 335i 6MT which had 110k miles when I bought it. I've replaced things like the OFHG, oil cooler gasket, and valve cover + gasket and threw a bunch of mods on it.

Tell us about your car. What was replaced on it other than the things you've mentioned already? Turbos? Injectors?


EDIT: I guess you're keeping it? Good decision, imo.