seeking advice about 2009 328i v. 335i (new to forum) & avoiding HPFP issues

[northern ca tad]

hi!

first post from a long lurker.

ready to buy my second bmw, and i'm looking for some advice from members of this (seasoned) group.

i'm considering the purchase of one of two CPOs - a 2009 328i xdrive (with 48K or 27K miles), or a 2009 335i xdrive (with $27K miles).

having read plenty about the HPFP failures here and around, here's my question:

i really (really!) want the increased HP and torque from the 335i. the carfax shows that the fuel pump was replaced at 4K miles within months of the in-service date, and there is no indication of additional issues (e.g. fuel injectors). i can't swing the $ of a 2012 at this time.

while there are no guarantees - is the 335i too risky, or should i stick with the 328i? once the fuel pump is replaced, i can't seem to learn whether they continue to fail, or if there are other things i need to ask about (software updates, fuel injectors, etc.). if things have gone well for 24K miles on the 335i, would i be home free?

thanks in advance for any advice.

[northern ca tad]

hi!

first post from a long lurker.

ready to buy my second bmw, and looking for some advice from this (seasoned) group.

i'm considering one of two CPOs - a 2009 328i xdrive (with 48K or 27K miles), or a 2009 335i xdrive (with $27K miles).

having read plenty about the HPFP failures/recall and resulting issues here and around the web, here's my question:

i really (really!) want the increased HP and torque from the 335i. the carfax shows that the fuel pump was replaced at 4K miles within months of the in-service date, and there is no indication of additional issues (e.g. fuel injectors). i can't swing the $ of a 2012 at this time.

while there are no guarantees - is the 335i too risky, or should i stick with the 328i? once the fuel pump is replaced, i can't seem to learn whether they continue to fail.

what other things do i need to make sure have been trouble-free (software updates, fuel injectors, etc.).

if things have gone well for 24K miles on the 335i, would i be home free?

thanks in advance for any advice.

signed,
a newbie who's glad to be here
:)

(and really wants an M coupe '98-00)

[radicaldavid]

without a doubt get the 335i. it's a lot faster than the 328i.

[floydr]

...once the fuel pump is replaced, i can't seem to learn whether they continue to fail

I don't know why you can't learn that. Many postings have text similar to: "the latest updates, two years ago, seem to have fixed the problem..." Here's one from just a couple days ago: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1878620

There are no guarantees in buying used cars. Even doing a PPI is no guarantee.

[fun2drive]

This is a forum where most post issues with their cars and few post my car is just fine.
BMW had a service bulletin that requested owners to come in and get reprogrammed and the current HPFP replaced with the most current model ending in -446.
I have 54K miles on my car and have had zero issues besides a glove box solenoid that failed and was replaced under warranty. Remember the fuel pump and other related components like turbos are covered. HPFP is good for 10 years 120K miles.

Would I have bought the 335 had I known that the HPFP was going to fail on some cars? Yes the power over the 328 works well for me.

BMW tends to correct issues with their cars on issues like this. The E46 M3 had some engine issues as well which you don't hear of since they corrected those engines...

[ACEE]

I would say go with the 335i. B/c of BMW warranty with the fuel pump, as mention before, they will replace it. I think about it this way...with the way things going now with the 335 for $2500 or less you can run close to 400 whp (if not more) and over 400 wtq. I'm just saying....you get the 328 you will eventually trade it in for the 335i lol

[northern ca tad]

thanks, all! good advice and insight. agreed. no guarantees, and the cpo and warranty buys some piece of mind.

learned today that the pump on this particular vehicle was replaced in 2009 (at 4K miles) and again a few months back (at 30K miles).

second time's a charm?

glad i'm doing the homework now. once i actually test drive it tomorrow, i won't be able to say no to the hp and tq!

thanks again,
tracey

[fun2drive]

SB was to have been done in 2010 so that makes sense that BMW would pull the pump and replace it with a Bosch pump that has had a lot more reliability than the Seimans pump which was the OEM for this car.