[pjr710]

I keep seeing a lot of horror stories about transfer cases, sunroof leaks, other leaks, etc about this car.

I need a winter beater and there are a lot of them nearby for cheap with higher mileage .. even cooler is some models come with a 6spd!

I'd love to pull the trigger but hearing about these things and also the "quality" of materials .. it seems like they are getting a bad wrap.

Advice?

I have a 07 335i right now that I do regular maintenance on.

[TURBO8]

I bought my 2004 E83 3.0 auto a few years ago with 105,000 miles on it.

I replaced the following when I got it:
transfercase gear $20
2 window regulators from amazon for like $30 each
Had to chase down a vacuum leak, from my experience with an e46, I pulled the entire intake manifold off and changed every gasket, vacuum line, ccv system, and intake boot. $200 or so from Pelican parts
windshield cowel and upper strip I think this was about $130 from ECS tuning

I hadn't done anything else to it until recently when I started to modify it. and do some stuff while I was in there.

R1 concepts drilled and slotted rotors, kinda surprised at the quality of these, paid ~$200 for front and rear rotors and brake pads. Newegg.com has them with free shipping and 25% off coupon.
Bfg sport comp as tires $600 discount tire
Koni special active shocks\struts, mounts and bumps ~$500 from bavauto.com
Front CVs $45 each from rock auto no core
I have parts to rebuild the rear drive shaft\guibo ~$130 from bavauto.com
transfercase oil
transmission oil and filter

The brakes, tires and suspension still had life in them, but I decided to replace them for some better parts.

So not counting those parts I've put in about $800 in the last 3 years, it has 121k miles on it now
If you can do your own maintenance, go for it!

The seats feel cheap though, I remember reading that E46 sport seats will bolt in though!

[pjr710]

Originally Posted by TURBO8

I bought my 2004 E83 3.0 auto a few years ago with 105,000 miles on it.

I replaced the following when I got it:
transfercase gear $20
2 window regulators from amazon for like $30 each
Had to chase down a vacuum leak, from my experience with an e46, I pulled the entire intake manifold off and changed every gasket, vacuum line, ccv system, and intake boot. $200 or so from Pelican parts
windshield cowel and upper strip I think this was about $130 from ECS tuning

I hadn't done anything else to it until recently when I started to modify it. and do some stuff while I was in there.

R1 concepts drilled and slotted rotors, kinda surprised at the quality of these, paid ~$200 for front and rear rotors and brake pads. Newegg.com has them with free shipping and 25% off coupon.
Bfg sport comp as tires $600 discount tire
Koni special active shocks\struts, mounts and bumps ~$500 from bavauto.com
Front CVs $45 each from rock auto no core
I have parts to rebuild the rear drive shaft\guibo ~$130 from bavauto.com
transfercase oil
transmission oil and filter

The brakes, tires and suspension still had life in them, but I decided to replace them for some better parts.

So not counting those parts I've put in about $800 in the last 3 years, it has 121k miles on it now
If you can do your own maintenance, go for it!

The seats feel cheap though, I remember reading that E46 sport seats will bolt in though!

How hard is replacing the transfer case gear? I just did a huge job on my 335 with valve cover replacement, boost solenoid, low pressure fuel line, plugs & coils, OFHG, OCHG, serpentine belt & pulleys - took me the whole weekend including friday night!

your story is encouraging. you also have a very early model .. i wonder if the later e83s are any better?

[TURBO8]

Changing the gear was fairly straight forward, I watched a youtube video and then did it in and hour or 2.

You should be good to go, the m54 engines in these are a lot simpler than the N54 in your 335i.

You can look for a 2006+ E83 which came with the N52 engine, which will bump the power up some.

[Rodentmaster]

Keep fresh oil in the transfer case and diff.

I would suggest any car with over 100,000 on the dial will be in need work.

...it's a "meh" car....

[Sea-Tac]

Ask yourself why they are cheap.

[CanadaeastKTM]

I’ve been reading all over about these cars trying to decide if I buy a used one. Always getting both opinions these cars are good or these cars are bad. I’m leaning more towards the good. Definitely good to know of the common failures like with many types of cars (valve cover leak, oil filter housing leak, transfer case actuator gear failures, possible oil shortage on the cams). Otherwise for a BMW these are fairly analog comparatively which should make for simpler debugging you would expect.
I’m looking at a couple of models 06 and 07 manual 3.0i with just under 200,000 kolimmetes and strongly considering getting one for the right price.

[pjr710]

Originally Posted by CanadaeastKTM

I’ve been reading all over about these cars trying to decide if I buy a used one. Always getting both opinions these cars are good or these cars are bad. I’m leaning more towards the good. Definitely good to know of the common failures like with many types of cars (valve cover leak, oil filter housing leak, transfer case actuator gear failures, possible oil shortage on the cams). Otherwise for a BMW these are fairly analog comparatively which should make for simpler debugging you would expect.
I’m looking at a couple of models 06 and 07 manual 3.0i with just under 200,000 kolimmetes and strongly considering getting one for the right price.

yea i'm in the same boat .. i actually see a good amount of them on the road as well. and i honestly like how they look.

i think the biggest things that turn me off that i read are the cheap feeling interior and the water leaking.