335i keeps encountering problems... found out it was tuned

austinla335d · 10-19-2010, 06:10 PM

My car was purchased nearly a year ago and the night I bought it it shuddered under full throttle, then it sort of jolted a few times and that was that. no check engine light.
Over time it has had a hard time maintaining speed and the idle is sometimes shaky.

The dealership I bought it from took a look at it right after and couldn't find a problem. I don't know how, but they said they couldn't replicate. So for several months I just ignored and figured I'd get used to sometimes surging throttle when trying to maintain my speed. Lately, it actually started misfiring (I think) and then the spark plugs needed replaced. I took it in to get the spark plugs replaced and told my service advisor (at a new dealership) to take a look. Well, they had the car for about a month. First it was injectors, then a valve cover, then a fuel pump, then some wiring.

It was finally ready to pickup, but the battery was dead. So I had to pick it up the next day. When I read the 9th thing they did on the car, it says "vehicle probably had aftermarket tune. alerted foreman shawn and rte. advised to fix connectors and pins and wiring. goodwill parts."

What it seems to me is that my car is basically a mess, and it was sold to me like this. I did find out that my car sat on the lot for well over 60 days when I bought it, and I got a killer deal on it, so it's all starting to make sense to me now.

What would you do in my shoes? My car has had issues since day 1 and I dont have an aftermarket tune on the car but they found one, or at least found evidence of one. From my minimal research, it looks like if you are caught with an aftermarket tune, you can lose your warranty. Why did they keep it so quiet and hardly drop the info to me...?? Trying to hide that it was tuned in it's past life? By the way, the car was purchased with about 32k, so probably was a leased vehicle.

The HACK · 10-19-2010, 06:16 PM

CPO'ed? If so then the dealership that sold the car to you, or the dealership that did the lease end inspection f**ked up. They're not suppose to CPO cars that had tunes on them.

bsamoul · 10-19-2010, 06:18 PM

did you buy it CPO?

austinla335d · 10-19-2010, 06:44 PM

yes, it's a certified pre owned car. I'm wondering if they knew it had a tune or if they just didn't know but realized it had issues and sold it anyway.

The new dealership took a month to figure out it had been tuned. The tuner plugs in to the computer, and there are pins that were broken is what the report says. So i bought the car with these pins that were broken. But my service advisor said it was that, but also the fuel pump and a vaccuum leak that were to blame. A lot going on and I am in touch with BMW about doing a buy back. don't know what my chances are, but some day the warranty will be gone and I'll be left with a questionable car in terms of reliability and long-term effects.

cotmfk · 10-19-2010, 07:33 PM

Or maybe you should just go ahead and tune it. The car probably ran better then... I know mine does!

Bavarian E92 · 10-19-2010, 07:37 PM

I would try and give it back or somehow get into another car. 335i's are a big pain when it comes to engine related issues.

UltraRacer13 · 10-19-2010, 07:41 PM

If the pins were broken- would the car even start?

TheStigsTwin · 10-19-2010, 08:08 PM

How does it drive since you picked it up? If they worked out all the kinks and it's cpo, why not just keep it and enjoy it?

austinla335d · 10-20-2010, 01:46 AM

well it ran fine on Saturday when I picked it up. I didn't drive it at all until yesterday, when the battery died and had to call in bmw assist. Today I had to jump it to take it to the dealer, and they gave me yet another loaner.

I feel like I would be happiest with getting my money back. The people on the forums say a lot of different things than the people at the dealership, but the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that a 335 with consistent engine problems is going to be a pain.

And as far as the CPO thing goes, it doesn't really matter to me. In two years the warranty will be up and I wanted to keep the car for like, five years, maybe more. I'm going to try and get out of the car and get my money back. If anyone is curious I'll let you know how it goes. I do have a lawyer, but it's generic (prepaid legal) and I've never tried using them. However, when I called BMW NA the lady basically asked me what I wanted, and said she'd call back in 3-5 days. That was disheartening.

I think another 335, or possibly just getting my money back and shopping the field would make me a happy ex-bmw owner. keeping it with no retribution will really bother me since my car has had something worthy of voiding the warranty done to it, and now they're acting like it never happened.

Arnold_Powers · 10-20-2010, 01:54 AM

sounds like you took your car to pacific bmw. if the foremans name was shawn. goodluck to you, that dealer is full of morons. i had crashed my car, and they forgot to tighten down my suspension after they stripped the car, and i had to go back several times back and forth with shawn. allmost any lease return is raped. i was told to drive it like a stole it. its going back anyways

Arnold_Powers · 10-20-2010, 01:55 AM

and they acted like non of that happened. when clearly it did. HATE THEM!

driverman · 10-20-2010, 05:34 AM

It seems to me that you have 2 choices:

- Meet with the dealer you bought the car from and push hard for them to take back the car because it was modified and you were not told about that when you bought it.

- Meet with the dealer you bought the car from and ask them to go through the entire to look for mods and things wrong with the car. Ask them to promise you in the work order that they will give you a full assessment of the car and "make everything right".

Php · 10-20-2010, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by driverman

It seems to me that you have 2 choices:

- Meet with the dealer you bought the car from and push hard for them to take back the car because it was modified and you were not told about that when you bought it.

- Meet with the dealer you bought the car from and ask them to go through the entire to look for mods and things wrong with the car. Ask them to promise you in the work order that they will give you a full assessment of the car and "make everything right".

Agreed

austinla335d · 10-20-2010, 06:01 PM

slick silver- yes, pacific bmw. i didn't want to bash the dealership because (in my experience) they haven't been to blame for anything other than taking a long time. It's Rusnak in Woodland Hills area where my car was purchased, which is a really long drive for me.

Driverman- definitely want to go back to the original dealer, but since it's been nearly a year I thought I should get some facts together. Beyond that, BMW NA is supposed to contact me today (they're almost out of time!) to let me know what options I have. I want to hear back from BMW NA first. I can imagine going to Rusnak and them saying "how do we know that you didn't tune it?"

I actually would understand Rusnak's logic of saying that they didn't know it was tuned- how would they know unless they open up the DME box cover and investigate the pins (I'm a noobie, but that makes sense to me). If everything checked out on the car and it only started having issues later on, they will blame me for sure. The only case I have is that the night I bought the car it was backfiring and spuddering and I told them of this a few days later.

We'll see. Like I said, I'll keep updating with what the dealer and BMW NA says for those interested.

Potty_Pants · 10-21-2010, 05:31 AM

just .02

after market tune with somebody screweing with high boost 14-15-16-17... oops 20

Like a hooker and a football team... she just aint never gonna be the same again.

so yeah prob wise to work your way out if you can, no idea what was done to your car prior to ownership.

As far as bmw and the 3-5 days... (i assume) you told them you want them to buy the car back since its not truely a certified CPO car. They will require time to pull the history and talk to management about how to deal with this...

Please keep us posted !

ppp

Drivaar · 10-21-2010, 05:37 AM

BMW of North America may be able to help... I suggest calling them too.

F32Fleet · 10-21-2010, 07:26 AM

UGH..I knew, and had stated many times over the years, this was eventually going to happen to someone.

I would try to get a new car and have them check the wiring on that one as well. Especially since you live in SoCal. BMW should've been the wiser by inspecting the wiring in their end of lease inspection and then stick the original owners which a big bill for wear and tear if the wiring was tampered with.

That'd put an end to that BS real quick.

Kolyan2k · 10-21-2010, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drivaar

BMW of North America may be able to help... I suggest calling them too.

BMW of America helped me less then the dealership when i had issue with purchasing dealer.

and frankly speaking, after a year no body really gives a shit about you. i am sure they stopped giving shit the minute you drove of the lot.

Trojan4evr · 10-21-2010, 10:23 AM

Call Crevier and trade in your car for a CPO'ed Z4 M they have on the lot. 19k miles, 07, $31k.

autoart · 10-21-2010, 01:07 PM

I thought cpo adds 2years and 50k miles to warranty? So that would be 6yrs and 100k miles total. Have them fix it, if they can.My 2cents

atlharry · 10-21-2010, 02:07 PM

Mental note... never buy a used 335 or 135...

Disciple7 · 10-21-2010, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atlharry

Mental note... never buy a used 335 or 135...

usually a good practice with any turbocharged car, imo.

10-19-2010, 06:10 PM	#1
austinla335d Captain 53 Rep 686 Posts Drives: 2011 335d Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (1)	335i keeps encountering problems... found out it was tuned My car was purchased nearly a year ago and the night I bought it it shuddered under full throttle, then it sort of jolted a few times and that was that. no check engine light. Over time it has had a hard time maintaining speed and the idle is sometimes shaky. The dealership I bought it from took a look at it right after and couldn't find a problem. I don't know how, but they said they couldn't replicate. So for several months I just ignored and figured I'd get used to sometimes surging throttle when trying to maintain my speed. Lately, it actually started misfiring (I think) and then the spark plugs needed replaced. I took it in to get the spark plugs replaced and told my service advisor (at a new dealership) to take a look. Well, they had the car for about a month. First it was injectors, then a valve cover, then a fuel pump, then some wiring. It was finally ready to pickup, but the battery was dead. So I had to pick it up the next day. When I read the 9th thing they did on the car, it says "vehicle probably had aftermarket tune. alerted foreman shawn and rte. advised to fix connectors and pins and wiring. goodwill parts." What it seems to me is that my car is basically a mess, and it was sold to me like this. I did find out that my car sat on the lot for well over 60 days when I bought it, and I got a killer deal on it, so it's all starting to make sense to me now. What would you do in my shoes? My car has had issues since day 1 and I dont have an aftermarket tune on the car but they found one, or at least found evidence of one. From my minimal research, it looks like if you are caught with an aftermarket tune, you can lose your warranty. Why did they keep it so quiet and hardly drop the info to me...?? Trying to hide that it was tuned in it's past life? By the way, the car was purchased with about 32k, so probably was a leased vehicle.
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

10-19-2010, 06:16 PM	#2
The HACK Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class 1821 Rep 5,337 Posts Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day iTrader: (1)	CPO'ed? If so then the dealership that sold the car to you, or the dealership that did the lease end inspection f**ked up. They're not suppose to CPO cars that had tunes on them. __________________ Sitting on a beat-up office chair in front of a 5 year old computer in a basement floor, sipping on stale coffee watching a bunch of meaningless numbers scrolling aimlessly on a dimly lit 19” monitor.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-19-2010, 06:18 PM	#3
bsamoul Major General 165 Rep 7,433 Posts Drives: E90 325i Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Walnut Creek, California iTrader: (2)	did you buy it CPO? __________________ -Brian 2X 2006 BMW 325i [Electric Red & Mystic Blue] \| ZPP \| V1 \| Rear Fogs \| M3 Lip Spoiler \| EAS RemoteKey \| BMS Powerbox \| Projector90 Headlights w/ LED AE \| LED plate lights \| OEM Blacklines http://www.tech-shine.com
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-19-2010, 06:44 PM	#4
austinla335d Captain 53 Rep 686 Posts Drives: 2011 335d Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (1)	yes, it's a certified pre owned car. I'm wondering if they knew it had a tune or if they just didn't know but realized it had issues and sold it anyway. The new dealership took a month to figure out it had been tuned. The tuner plugs in to the computer, and there are pins that were broken is what the report says. So i bought the car with these pins that were broken. But my service advisor said it was that, but also the fuel pump and a vaccuum leak that were to blame. A lot going on and I am in touch with BMW about doing a buy back. don't know what my chances are, but some day the warranty will be gone and I'll be left with a questionable car in terms of reliability and long-term effects.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-19-2010, 07:33 PM	#5
cotmfk Major General 2050 Rep 6,110 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Somewhere between DC and FL iTrader: (12)	Or maybe you should just go ahead and tune it. The car probably ran better then... I know mine does! __________________ When you say impact instead of affect/effect, you are communicating that you don't understand the difference between the two words, and are too lazy to learn.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-19-2010, 07:37 PM	#6
Bavarian E92 First Lieutenant 9 Rep 312 Posts Drives: 2010 E90 335 Montego Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	I would try and give it back or somehow get into another car. 335i's are a big pain when it comes to engine related issues. __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-19-2010, 07:41 PM	#7
UltraRacer13 Wannabe Track Rat 68 Rep 930 Posts Drives: 17 OG M2 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Texas iTrader: (1)	If the pins were broken- would the car even start? __________________ 2017 OG M2
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-19-2010, 08:08 PM	#8
TheStigsTwin Captain 11 Rep 964 Posts Drives: 2011 335xi Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Arizona iTrader: (0)	How does it drive since you picked it up? If they worked out all the kinks and it's cpo, why not just keep it and enjoy it?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-20-2010, 01:46 AM	#9
austinla335d Captain 53 Rep 686 Posts Drives: 2011 335d Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (1)	well it ran fine on Saturday when I picked it up. I didn't drive it at all until yesterday, when the battery died and had to call in bmw assist. Today I had to jump it to take it to the dealer, and they gave me yet another loaner. I feel like I would be happiest with getting my money back. The people on the forums say a lot of different things than the people at the dealership, but the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that a 335 with consistent engine problems is going to be a pain. And as far as the CPO thing goes, it doesn't really matter to me. In two years the warranty will be up and I wanted to keep the car for like, five years, maybe more. I'm going to try and get out of the car and get my money back. If anyone is curious I'll let you know how it goes. I do have a lawyer, but it's generic (prepaid legal) and I've never tried using them. However, when I called BMW NA the lady basically asked me what I wanted, and said she'd call back in 3-5 days. That was disheartening. I think another 335, or possibly just getting my money back and shopping the field would make me a happy ex-bmw owner. keeping it with no retribution will really bother me since my car has had something worthy of voiding the warranty done to it, and now they're acting like it never happened.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-20-2010, 01:54 AM	#10
Arnold_Powers that M guy 137 Rep 1,134 Posts Drives: F82 M4 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (6)	sounds like you took your car to pacific bmw. if the foremans name was shawn. goodluck to you, that dealer is full of morons. i had crashed my car, and they forgot to tighten down my suspension after they stripped the car, and i had to go back several times back and forth with shawn. allmost any lease return is raped. i was told to drive it like a stole it. its going back anyways
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-20-2010, 01:55 AM	#11
Arnold_Powers that M guy 137 Rep 1,134 Posts Drives: F82 M4 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (6)	and they acted like non of that happened. when clearly it did. HATE THEM!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-20-2010, 05:34 AM	#12
driverman Captain 38 Rep 715 Posts Drives: 2008 328i 6MT - SOLD Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: El Dorado Hills, CA iTrader: (0)	It seems to me that you have 2 choices: - Meet with the dealer you bought the car from and push hard for them to take back the car because it was modified and you were not told about that when you bought it. - Meet with the dealer you bought the car from and ask them to go through the entire to look for mods and things wrong with the car. Ask them to promise you in the work order that they will give you a full assessment of the car and "make everything right".
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-20-2010, 06:01 PM	#14
austinla335d Captain 53 Rep 686 Posts Drives: 2011 335d Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (1)	slick silver- yes, pacific bmw. i didn't want to bash the dealership because (in my experience) they haven't been to blame for anything other than taking a long time. It's Rusnak in Woodland Hills area where my car was purchased, which is a really long drive for me. Driverman- definitely want to go back to the original dealer, but since it's been nearly a year I thought I should get some facts together. Beyond that, BMW NA is supposed to contact me today (they're almost out of time!) to let me know what options I have. I want to hear back from BMW NA first. I can imagine going to Rusnak and them saying "how do we know that you didn't tune it?" I actually would understand Rusnak's logic of saying that they didn't know it was tuned- how would they know unless they open up the DME box cover and investigate the pins (I'm a noobie, but that makes sense to me). If everything checked out on the car and it only started having issues later on, they will blame me for sure. The only case I have is that the night I bought the car it was backfiring and spuddering and I told them of this a few days later. We'll see. Like I said, I'll keep updating with what the dealer and BMW NA says for those interested.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-21-2010, 05:31 AM	#15
Potty_Pants Colonel 66 Rep 2,189 Posts Drives: 2012 Genesis Sedan Rspec Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southern NJ iTrader: (0)	just .02 after market tune with somebody screweing with high boost 14-15-16-17... oops 20 Like a hooker and a football team... she just aint never gonna be the same again. so yeah prob wise to work your way out if you can, no idea what was done to your car prior to ownership. As far as bmw and the 3-5 days... (i assume) you told them you want them to buy the car back since its not truely a certified CPO car. They will require time to pull the history and talk to management about how to deal with this... Please keep us posted ! ppp __________________ Olds Starfire > Chevy Malibu > Isuzu I-mark RS & Honda Magna 500 > Grand Am GT & YSR50 > Nissan Maxima & Ninja 750 > X-Wife > Hyundai Excel > Honda Prelude > Honda Accord > Honda Prelude & Ninja 250> Infiniti G35 > E90 335i > Hyundai Genesis Rspec, Hyunadai Sonata > Kia Sorento > Honda CRV-EX
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-21-2010, 05:37 AM	#16
Drivaar Lieutenant 73 Rep 463 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Earth iTrader: (0)	BMW of North America may be able to help... I suggest calling them too.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-21-2010, 07:26 AM	#17
F32Fleet Lieutenant General 3572 Rep 10,352 Posts Drives: 2015 435i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Southeastern US iTrader: (0)	UGH..I knew, and had stated many times over the years, this was eventually going to happen to someone. I would try to get a new car and have them check the wiring on that one as well. Especially since you live in SoCal. BMW should've been the wiser by inspecting the wiring in their end of lease inspection and then stick the original owners which a big bill for wear and tear if the wiring was tampered with. That'd put an end to that BS real quick.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-21-2010, 10:23 AM	#19
Trojan4evr Lieutenant Colonel 494 Rep 1,922 Posts Drives: 2021 G80 M3 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Socal iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW/ E82 135i [1.00] 2007 BMW/ E90 335i [5.50]	Call Crevier and trade in your car for a CPO'ed Z4 M they have on the lot. 19k miles, 07, $31k.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-21-2010, 01:07 PM	#20
autoart Colonel 347 Rep 2,281 Posts Drives: 2009 335i e90 M/ 22 X3 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: socal iTrader: (8)	I thought cpo adds 2years and 50k miles to warranty? So that would be 6yrs and 100k miles total. Have them fix it, if they can.My 2cents
	Appreciate 0 Quote

10-21-2010, 02:07 PM	#21
atlharry Second Lieutenant 2 Rep 251 Posts Drives: 2011 335i Coupe Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: somewhere in the US... iTrader: (0)	Mental note... never buy a used 335 or 135...
	Appreciate 0 Quote