[jonas]

Little back story, I owned a 335i a while back, and had a blast with it. It was full bolt on, and acquired me numerous speeding tickets and smiles. I ended up selling it as life changed, and needed a truck. Money is now a little more loose and I'm looking into getting back into the N54 game (meaning I'm not dead set on a 3 series, but HAVE to have an N54.)

I see things have come a long way since I've been gone, and 700 HP doesn't seem like such a drastic goal as it did almost 3 years ago when I owned mine. But unfortunately the miles of the average 335i have gone way up. So my question is, should I be worried about miles if I plan to tear the engine apart, do the normal seals and walnut blasting? Meaning should I shoot for a car with 100k+ miles that I can scoop up for under $10k, or should I wait for something under 80K miles, that might be more pricey. Most of builds I'm reading about on here and the other N54 forum don't list much for mileage. So I'm at a crossroads right now on a very crucial decision. I know the N54 is a stout little motor, but I'm not looking for a project that I could have avoided..

[Northwest335i]

with any purchase there is a risk, and just because its low mileage doesn't mean anything to me. its all about the up keep. I would look on the forums and buy from someone who seems legit and has proof of everything that has been done to the car. I bought mine with 90k miles 2 years ago and just as expected the usual stuff goes.... oil pan gasket, valve cover, turbos, injectors replaced with index 12 etc. so the key is to find someone leaving the scene who has a clean car even with high mileage but one that is well sorted and has had all of this maintenance done.

[FIFTW]

Originally Posted by Northwest335i

with any purchase there is a risk, and just because its low mileage doesn't mean anything to me. its all about the up keep. I would look on the forums and buy from someone who seems legit and has proof of everything that has been done to the car. I bought mine with 90k miles 2 years ago and just as expected the usual stuff goes.... oil pan gasket, valve cover, turbos, injectors replaced with index 12 etc. so the key is to find someone leaving the scene who has a clean car even with high mileage but one that is well sorted and has had all of this maintenance done.

This. I bought mine 2 years ago from a stealership who was 1 day away from sending it back to auction. I took a leap on it because everything looked good and I got a PPI from my favorite indy shop (always get a PPI on a BMW you're looking to buy before you buy it..and a carfax). The car was sound at just under 100k, so I went for it.

Northwest335i has the right mindset. See if you can find someone who is an enthusiast or someone who has record of all cars maintenance and upgrades..or, make the leap getting it without any records and rely on the carfax and the owner's word. It's totally worth paying for a Carfax and PPI, it pays off in the end.

[Northwest335i]

[sirdaft1]

Originally Posted by Northwest335i

with any purchase there is a risk, and just because its low mileage doesn't mean anything to me. its all about the up keep. I would look on the forums and buy from someone who seems legit and has proof of everything that has been done to the car. I bought mine with 90k miles 2 years ago and just as expected the usual stuff goes.... oil pan gasket, valve cover, turbos, injectors replaced with index 12 etc. so the key is to find someone leaving the scene who has a clean car even with high mileage but one that is well sorted and has had all of this maintenance done.

This would be strategy #1. Strategy #2 would be to roll the dice on a dealer/non-enthusiast private party purchase. With strategy #2, if there is no service history, plan on setting aside AT LEAST $2K to address the usual suspects on this car.

[idratherbesurfing]

If I had to do this all over again. I would buy a car with a blown motor or at least one that is about to blow so you can get the car super cheap. Install a built motor and turbo ect..

I bought my car with 40000 miles on it and it's a 2009. I paid more than the average person would because of the low miles and how to clean the car was. That was okay to me at the time because I wanted a reliable daily driver

[idratherbesurfing]

A friend of mine had 150,000 miles on his car with a motiv turbo kit pushing almost 800 horse. Finally the motor went with a hole in the side of the block lol.

Another friend of mine has almost 120,000 miles on his car he has had upgraded RB turbos for at least 20,000 miles. Car has been fbo way longer then that and the car drives like a dream with Zero issues.

[YoungBlood]

Buy a cheap one, and do coils, walnut blast, and plugs, and all the other little stuff right off the bat, and have $ set aside for turbos, and injectors. Then beat on it

[jonas]

The thing about this purchase is it will be a DD once it's good to go, but I have a very reliable F350 that I can drive if I need to, so parking the car to do any maintenance/upgrades isn't a huge ordeal for me. My original 335i I bought from the original owner, and had every service record. I should have never gotten rid of it, but we can't live in the past. My goal is to build the car into a 700HP daily. I understand this means a lot more problems, but again, I have the truck, so I'm not worried. I want a fun commuter while I can build it at the same time. I plan to literally buy it, tear it apart, fix anything that needs addressing, then go straight into FBO, and I'm already eyeing the MMP S3 turbos. Thanks for the advice though guys! If anyone is selling anything in the Las Vegas area, let me know!

[rosullivan04]

Just be aware of what you're getting into for a 700HP DD. You can do a budget build and keep it under $10k, but IMO if you want a reputable kit with a fully built fueling system and solid ancillary pieces budget $20k for most of the things. Even with that, it's going to be a brutal DD... the clutch will be grabby, fuel mileage will be poor, and you'll still need to give it more care and feeding. A lot of the blown motors I see happening are people that tried to skirt by on a tight budget and cut a lot of corners. Even when you have a more liberal budget you still have surprises pop up.