What am I walking into?

[nickmick]

Time for a new car, currently have a beater Jetta. I used to have a '96 328i about 10 years ago. It was a pretty good car for me, I only remember doing the radiator, clutch, and ball joints, and I bought it with 88k miles.

I've been looking at 2010-2012 335 and 535 xDrives. I really liked that inline 6. I'm seeing them in the $13k-$15k range with 40k-66k miles

I'm a DIY guy, I do 90% of my own work. But it seems these new cars are really hard for DIY guys to work on. So what can I be walking into? Can I work on these myself or do I have to take it in every time something happens?

Seems like at ~70k people are really recommending tranny flush and xdrive diff flush which i'm seeing is like $1500 - $2k. Is this right?

I suppose I don't need the inline 6, but I don't know anything about that turbo 4. Is it any good?

What about this SULEV? I'm really afraid of it because it's new and scary and I'm old and don't understand it. Is it just more shit to break? I'm in Wisconsin so it's not mandated.

[White94RX]

$1500-$2k is absurd for that service. Shouldn't even be half of that. I wouldn't get the turbo 4. They can be good engines, but a lot of them are having timing chain issues and grenading themselves. It seems regular oil changes will help prevent that, but you never know. The 6 cylinders are a step up in reliability. The v8 is a money pit far deeper than the 4 cylinder.

Don't worry about SULEV. I don't think any of the 6 cylinders you will be looking at will be SULEV. But it's nothing to be afraid of anyway, they just added a few more parts to reduce emissions. A special radiator, secondary air pump, sealed fuel tank, etc.

[nickmick]

Thanks for the info White94RX. Really helpful.

I thought it was high too but a local reputable inde shop quoted $1k for just the tranny flush, said he couldn't give me a quote on the diff flush because it depends on what specific model it is and it's either a 1-hour job or a 5-hour job. I haven't talked to any local dealers.

[White94RX]

One thing I didn't take into account is that not all the diffs have drain plugs. Only a fill plug, and the rear cover has to come off to drain the fluid. But a simple fluid suction pump would solve that issue...

BTW, here at the dealership, we only charge half an hour for a diff fluid service on an M car since it has both plugs. See, not all dealerships are evil. And just as a friendly reminder, don't ever use the term stealership here. Lots of dealer employees on this board that take pretty high offense to being called a thief

The tranny fluid is expensive, but I can't see a drain and fill being more than $6 or $700

[nickmick]

Appreciate the info again. Anything else to watch out for pre- and post- buy?

I'm not necessarily anti-dealer, I just hadn't talked to one yet. My wife has her Kia Sedona serviced at the dealer.

[Stück]

8HP drain and refill isn't a "transmission service"

Servicing the transmission also involves replacing the mechatronics sealing sleeve w/ orings, and the transmission oil pan with its integrated oil filter.

Average cost on 8HP service at the shop I run in Houston is $1200-1350 depending on which pan it uses, how much fluid is needed, and what chassis its in.

ZF Recommends servicing of their 8HP transmissions every 60,000 miles, or 8 years, and abbreviating that service interval on tuned vehicles exceeding the engineered torque holding capability of the unit.

Some of the differentials and transfer cases do not have drain plugs, only fill, and some of them are a MF'er to get to. Cost varies depending on what variant of unicorn tear special fluid is needed. Most BMW open diffs can use commonly available Redline 75w90 or 75w140, transfer cases mostly need BMW Power Divider oil, locking differentials needs BMW's SAF-XJ fluid (unicorn tears) and if you have a QMVH you need SAF-XO (unicorn tears) and SAF-Carbon (unicorn tears)

Drivetrain fluid services (diffs and transfer case) should be done at the 80-100k mark, except for M cars which should be serviced every 3rd engine oil service.

[nickmick]

Is there a big difference between the 2011 and 2012 535i xDrives? Prices are very different with similar miles and options.

[White94RX]

Nothing that I can think of really. 2011 was the first year of the F10 body style, so maybe people don't want the first year of a new model. Which I wholly agree with, but in the used market, and after all the bugs have been repaired, there shouldn't be much difference.

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[nickmick]

I got the attached service history on the thing. Anything real concerning?

The "Cylinder head cover gasket leaking", "driving at constant speed when engine is cold shaking", and "shift quality start off judder" items aren't really confidence building.

Sorry it's not in mileage-order, just what i got.

history.png

[White94RX]

Nothing in there to worry about. All pretty standard. What you're really looking for is several repeat visits in a short time period that would indicate an ongoing problem that may or may not have been resolved.

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[f10_M550i]

I got the attached service history on the thing. Anything real concerning?

The "Cylinder head cover gasket leaking", "driving at constant speed when engine is cold shaking", and "shift quality start off judder" items aren't really confidence building.

Sorry it's not in mileage-order, just what i got.

history.png

When they replaced the VANOS Gear Bolts in 12/2014 did they have to remove the Cylinder Head? and that results in the gasket leaking 5 months later?

[Stück]

The valve cover is removed to replace the VANOS units / defective bolts. I'm quite sure the dealer tech reinstalled with a new gasket as warranty is paying for it....

[White94RX]

He should have replaced the gasket but maybe he reused it. Or maybe he messed it up, or pinched it. Anyway, that's why the mileage shows 2k or whatever. They charged BMW warranty, and the 2k miles is how many miles were on that part when they submitted the spare parts warranty claim.

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[nickmick]

Going to check this one out.

https://www.grahamsautosalesandservice.com/inventory/view/12494335/2014-BMW-5-Series-4dr-Sdn-535i-xDrive-AWD/

Was repo'd in Florida....then found its way to Poynette, WI. I'm from Wisconsin, and that is the middle of nowhere.

Anyway I'm totally suspicious but willing to check it out.