E82 Owners . . . Do I want one?

My V1 CTS-V is becoming long in the tooth. The LS6 power is good as always, but the chassis is honestly meh due to the weight, the clunky shifting T-56, and the glass diff sucks away some of the fun.

I'm quite fond of the E36 and E46, but I would prefer something a bit newer. Enter the E82. I haven't been in one since 2007ish, but my recollection of it is favorable.

Have they aged pretty well? Is the 135 still to be avoided?

What say ye?

Unfortunately my trusted local BMW indy says don't own a BMW newer than E39/E46 unless you have a long term warranty.  The newer cars don't "go the distance".

i am disappointed with that advice, wanting a E91 with 3 pedals...

I drive a 2009 128i, and I heartily recommend these. They're wonderful driving cars. That said, I also worked hard to find one with service records. Without those, you are open to playing catch-up with the deferred maintenance, which can be frustrating and expensive. If you're willing to DIY, the N51/N52 motors are pretty easy to work on for the most part, and the brakes and suspension are straightforward. FWIW, the E9x M3 control arms bolt right in, and in combination with stiffening up the rear subframe mounts make for a very nimble platform (my car has this plus Eibachs and Bilsteins).

I can't say much about the turbo motors, though I've heard the N55 is preferable to the N54. These do add considerably to the time necessary for many engine-related jobs due to the tighter packaging.

If you can find a car with the sport or M-sport package I recommend it - the suspension will likely be worn out by this point, but the seats alone are worth the effort and possible additional expense.

Any more questions, just ask.

bludroptop said:

Unfortunately my trusted local BMW indy says don't own a BMW newer than E39/E46 unless you have a long term warranty.  The newer cars don't "go the distance".

 

Likewise, one of my good friends, who is a BMW master tech and has owned a good number of them, says she will never buy one newer than an e46, after working on more recent models. 

bludroptop said:

The newer cars don't "go the distance".

The E90 330i my friend owns has:

 It's not awful to work on in my experience.

Yes, you do. I have a '13 135i. White over Coral Red leather, Harmon Kardon stereo, DCT, all options except NOT being a 135is (different wheels and the BMW PP adding a radiator and another 25-30hp with a tune). 

Did you say torque? All day? 300hp and 300tq from 1400-5200, downpipe and tune is easily 380/410+

It's quiet comfortable, fast and looks good. Rear subframe bushings are a bit soft and you can't fit a ton more extra wheel/tire under the stock fenders. 

Just have to keep an eye on the oil filter housing gasket for leaks. 

bludroptop said:

Unfortunately my trusted local BMW indy says don't own a BMW newer than E39/E46 unless you have a long term warranty.  The newer cars don't "go the distance".

 

i am disappointed with that advice, wanting a E91 with 3 pedals...

My trusted local indy guy would wholeheartedly disagree. 

You have to maintain BMWs, just the way it. People buy them and expect to treat them like Honda's and the deferred maintenance kills the car.

So I apparently have dyslexia and read this as "E28". In middle school, there was a teacher that had an E28. You'd definitely want her. No clue on the car though, and as that was 17 years ago, I'm not sure how she's held  up either.

I'm one year in on my 128i.  I love this car.  No real issues so far in about 20k miles, but like was stated earlier, I paid a premium for one with records.  I've owned a lot of cars, and this one so far is among my favorites.

I'm with all the other owners. I have an '09 128i and really enjoy it. Couple things to keep in mind that haven't been mentioned here, unless its been done already you're almost guaranteed to have to replace the valve cover/gasket, oil filter housing gasket, and maybe oil pan gasket. It's just how these engines are. Valve cover gasket on every other car i've ever had was maybe a couple hours at the most, with beer breaks. For an E82, budget about 6. Just a ton of stuff to move out of the way and the valve cover is super fiddly to get off and back on.

Also, if you're going to track/autocross it, you'll probably have to get some camber plates. The factory struts are pinned at 0° camber. You can pull the pin and get close to 1°, but more than that pretty much requires plates or tower mods.

Wheels are hard to find since the offsets needed are somewhat weird.

With all that said, I don't regret buying mine at all. It's a great driving little car and really reminds me of my old E46. I'll be taking it to it's first autocross this weekend, so I might have more to say on Sunday.

bludroptop said:

Unfortunately my trusted local BMW indy says don't own a BMW newer than E39/E46 unless you have a long term warranty.  The newer cars don't "go the distance".

 

i am disappointed with that advice, wanting a E91 with 3 pedals...

I think a lot of Indy's are scarred by the 335i with the N54 motor.  The N52 is a pretty solid motor, though they tend to leak oil just like the previous generations did.  The interiors on the E9x cars tend to hold up BETTER than the E46 era cars, and the subframe mounts don't peel off either, so I'm not sure why the Indy would say the new cars don't last other than the N54 motor.  

With that said, I really like the idea of a DCT N55.  After 2011, all "automatic" 1-series cars were equipped with the DCT instead of the regular auto and the N55 instead of the N54.  I've not owned an N55 though and I'm a bit scared, so I've never made the leap, but they're supposed to be pretty decent and much better than the N54.  The DCT box is supposed to be solid though, the main fault is (you guessed it) leaking from the pan gaskets.  

Thanks for all of the feedback thus far! Please keep them coming.

All of the potential ones I'm looking at are 50-100k mi examples. Normal plan of PPI and extended warranty (if possible) are in the cards.

I'm not looking to Auto-X or track for this. I just want a small and lighter DD that's a bit more up-to-date. Something I don't have to continually wrench on to keep alive. I have no problems farming it out to the dealership or two trusted indy mechanics for maintenance.

Aftermarket warranties are INSANELY expensive for these cars. 

I got mine used, from a dealership. The finance guy told me straight up he didn't bother trying to sell me a warranty because he knew I wouldn't buy one because of the price. When I picked up my car last year, it had just over 26k miles. A 5/6 year powertrain warranty was like $3800, bumper-to-bumpber was like $6300. 

I haven't bothered shopping for other warranties. I'll probably trade mine in on a Miata sometime this year, just because I miss having a convertible. 

skylarhagler said:

Also, if you're going to track/autocross it, you'll probably have to get some camber plates. The factory struts are pinned at 0° camber. You can pull the pin and get close to 1°, but more than that pretty much requires plates or tower mods.

The E9x M3 control arms add -0.75deg of camber at the front, as well as replacing the LCA bushings with ball joints. Highly recommended.

I adored mine and sold it for my first tow pig, which was a mistake in some ways. Black 2009 128i/6MT on Coral Red leather. Sport/premium/cold weather packages. It was just a killer daily driver, with great seats and the very good Logic7 audio system. I even liked the iDrive (don't get a 2008, 09+ have "CIC" iDrive which is great vs the early DVD-based system). 

It reminded me of an E36, but with an interior that didn't fall apart. Power to weight on the 128i is similar to that of the E36 M3, so they aren't slow. 

Guy I sold mine to made it a track car for about 3 years and moved on to a Mk7 GTI as he downsized to one "do it all" car and wanted a hatchback.

Holy crap!! Talk and ridden hard and put away wet. Nearly every car I've looked at was pure sketch. They either drove really well and had questionable bodywork (but clear carfax/autochex) or immaculate body and questionable mechanical condition. I've also forgotten about how dealers tack on some of the most outlandish "doc prep and closing cost" fees.

Have you tried the BMW CCA listings? There's one 128i hardtop on there right now: https://www.bmwcca.org/ads/209656

I had a 2011 135i and it was the best and worst car I've ever owned. My friend's dad was the original owner so I knew its history, and he had all the records. However, under my ownership and with LESS THAN 35K miles, it needed an oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket - not fun. Oh, and the windshield washer pump died - that sucked since it is hidden in the fender.

But what really did it was the day it left my wife stranded with a no-start. It is a very long story with the car being in 2 different shops for about a month before they found out the DME shat itself, along with a bad eccentric shaft/valvetronic unit. That was the largest single repair bill I've ever had on a car. My wife was not very impressed either so...yada,yada,yada....we now have a CX-5.

Despite my problems, it was an awesome car to drive. It was a perfect size, with great steering, and great visibility. The power was really addictive but almost too fast for the street. If I had to do it again, I would go with a 128i with the M-sport package. I had an '06 325i before the 135i and the N52 was a better match for spirited daily driving and it required less upkeep.

In reply to kilgoretrout :

Had a 135 tow-in that turned out to be the exact same problem.  The guy had it towed to the BMW dealership for a second opinion  and they agreed, and the repair cost was a bit north of $8k.

Color me one of the people who would never own a BMW newer than E46, both for mechanical/electronic reasons, and the newer ones drive like poo.  They make E46s feel like E30s.

I think they drive very well for a daily duties. I will admit, they are gadget heavy. I did run across a few stripper models.

Remember we used to complain about oil pump nut on M/S50s, timing chain guides on M62B44s, VANOS issues on both, DME flooding in E36s, and coolant pipe on M42s?

I got fooled. Bought a 2010 E90 335xi. Since it was a post-facelift car, I assumed it would have the N55 engine. But it turns out 2010 was a transition year with the old N54 engine in the new body.

I’ve had all the crazy problems: bad coils, leaking injectors, carbon deposits, “footwell module” failure, and cracked valve cover. Ownership has been a non-stop parade of check engine lights and limp-home modes starting at about 35k miles. This is a 100% stock, 100% street-driven, and carefully maintained car that’s owned/driven by me ... a middle-aged, nerdy doctor.

So, I would definitely steer clear of a 1-series unless it’s normally aspirated or has the later N55 engine. The N54 seems to be a failed experiment. 

Yes you want one!  I bought a 2010 128i two years ago for $6500 with 120k miles on it.  6 speed manual, few options, no turbo.

I love it.  Now have 150k on it, put tires and struts on it, changed all fluids, not much else.  It makes me smile every day I drive.

Yes I hear there can be (pretty rare) expensive electronic issues, but is this car really worse than any other modern car in that regard?  And I can't speak to the 135i, I hear they need more frequent maintenance and are more fragile but I have no personal experience.

128's are so reasonable on the used market.  Find a nice clean one from a good owner and go for it. 

In reply to Knurled. :

Luckily I found an indy shop that did it all for a very reasonable $6K . The BMW quote was more than the value of my 2 other cars combined.

The temptation of the turbo power is strong, but for regular use the NA N51/52 is the way to go. Not as simple as the previous generation, but if you find one without iDrive and a minimum of other gadgets it's not too bad - not really any worse than my E39 was. Sure, you need a BMW-specific scanner or laptop software package, but that's true for the previous gen cars as well. Yes, there were some significant issues with specific years, but I think almost all of them were recalled.

And I have to say that IMO the E82 does not suffer from the handling degradation (mostly due to weight) of most modern BMWs. With new components they're fairly nimble; the only thing that really needs addressing is the squishy rear subframe bushings. With typical shocks & springs upgrades and the 1M/M3 control arms, they're very good-handling cars. Would they be better if they lost 300-400 pounds? Sure. But they aren't the bloated yet harsh cruisers that the current cars have become. Stick with 17" wheels and you'll be happier, especially if you upgrade the suspension.