[Raja Ventureshield]

i am most probably getting the 528i after going through everything from S550, to E350, te Panamera to now new F10. I think i have finally found something I am going to like for a while. The car obviously comes in 3 engine variation. Just seeing how many of my friends have had fuel pumps fail for them in their 335i(s), it worries me to poney up 5-6k more for a car that will not be as stable/reliable in the long run. The same thing goes for the 550i with 15k premium. The price isn't the biggest thing for me cuz if i can pony up 55k for 528i, i surely can pony up 70k. The question boils down to reliablity. Now, with my line of work, i just do not have so much time to go to dealer to sort out the problem. I would rather have something that is solid out of the box. Saying that, anybody else considering 528i(s) over 535i(s) and 550i(s)?

[raleedy]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

i am most probably getting the 528i after going through everything from S550, to E350, te Panamera to now new F10. I think i have finally found something I am going to like for a while. The car obviously comes in 3 engine variation. Just seeing how many of my friends have had fuel pumps fail for them in their 335i(s), it worries me to poney up 5-6k more for a car that will not be as stable/reliable in the long run. The same thing goes for the 550i with 15k premium. The price isn't the biggest thing for me cuz if i can pony up 55k for 528i, i surely can pony up 70k. The question boils down to reliablity. Now, with my line of work, i just do not have so much time to go to dealer to sort out the problem. I would rather have something that is solid out of the box. Saying that, anybody else considering 528i(s) over 535i(s) and 550i(s)?

Totally. I'd rather have a normally aspirated engine. I expect the US-model 528 will put up sensational numbers for EPA fuel consumption. There's a little concern about power/weight — without looking it up, I'm guessing that the 528i is about as heavy as a 328i convertible, where the extra weight does diminish performance and the feel of adequate power reserves. But the 8-speed auto will be a good match, and if the car's too sluggish, then I'll probably wait for a new 3 series in 2012.

UPDATE: Taking a quick look at BMWUSA's on-line specs, it looks as if the 528i will be almost identical in weight to the 328i convertible (taking the weight of the 535i and subtracting the 109 lb difference between the 335i and the 328i), which is about 500 lb more than the 328i sedan. That's a much bigger weight difference than has existed in previous models between the 5er and the comparably engined 3 series. I think that's a concern.

[Robin_NL]

I first had a 330i E90 back in 2005, great car. After that one a E90 335i 6MT(sept 2006 one of the first) .Now I have a M3. And I'm going 'back' to a 535i F10. And you can guess the reason why.

Never had any problems with the three cars driving them(very) fast. But the 335i in terms of $/pace/quality was the best daily drive I ever had. No contest.And a much much faster car than a 330i, and in daily circumstances 'faster' than the M3....
The 335i 6MT also was equipped with a oil cooler. The Autoboxes didn't have that thing back then.
.35i reliability now is a non issue. Unless you're going to do some trackdays with it
The new (N54 Biturbo old engine) Alpina B3S has 400BHP and 540NM torque based on the 335i. Great car.

Just my 2 cents

Cheers
Robin

[ibimmer954]

I had my 335i for 3 years and never had an issue with the engine. BMW has recently release more software fixes for the HPFP. And they extended the warranty on the early 335i HPFPs to 10 years/100K miles. I think BMW has proven they will do the right thing if it's an issue. I had no fears getting my 535i. And after driving it, I wouldn't want a 528i. I don't think it will be enough power. The 535i is as low in power I would want to go.

I will also point out that that this N55 engine really feels and sounds much more like an NA engine than the N54 engine did. I had a 328i loaner once when getting my scheduled maintenance done and noticed how different that engine sounded from my 335i engine. The 535i engine sounds much more like the 328i I drove. If I didn't know it was a turbo, I would swear by the sound and the way it drives that the 535i was NA. It's really that good. Make sure to try it out.

[bm323]

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

But the 335i in terms of $/pace/quality was the best daily drive I ever had. No contest.And a much much faster car than a 330i, and in daily circumstances 'faster' than the M3....

Cheers
Robin

hi, why is the 335i "faster" than a M3?

[soledoc]

I too would rather have the 528 as opposed to the 535...but unfortunately I want a manual transmission. It looks like I'll be out of luck and have to go with the turbo engine in the 535 which I really don't want. I like the n/a straight inline (proven) engine in my current 328 and am very happy with that.
The turbo engines I've had have been in saabs and volvos.

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by bm323

hi, why is the 335i "faster" than a M3?

335i can be faster than m3 on straight line if the engine is tuned. Also it will feel faster as it has the torque kick in 1500 rpm vs. the m3 has linear torque curve.

hmmm. i will drive the 535i and 550i later today.

Raja

[soledoc]

let me know what kind of 535 you drive...ie. all the specs.

[MBrown1003]

Originally Posted by bm323

hi, why is the 335i "faster" than a M3?

The engine in the M3 is fairly high-strung. Redline is 8400 RPMs; max torque is relatively low (295 lb-ft) and fairly high up in the rev band (3900 RPMs). Max power (414 HP) is at 8300 RPMs.

Down low, there's much less torque than the N54 3-liter turbo. From a standing start and at most around-town speeds, the M3 doesn't get to the rev range where you get max power and torque unless you really push it. Which is a lot of fun but you do need to put your foot into it to access the fun.

[Whteverjklasdf]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

i am most probably getting the 528i after going through everything from S550, to E350, te Panamera to now new F10. I think i have finally found something I am going to like for a while. The car obviously comes in 3 engine variation. Just seeing how many of my friends have had fuel pumps fail for them in their 335i(s), it worries me to poney up 5-6k more for a car that will not be as stable/reliable in the long run. The same thing goes for the 550i with 15k premium. The price isn't the biggest thing for me cuz if i can pony up 55k for 528i, i surely can pony up 70k. The question boils down to reliablity. Now, with my line of work, i just do not have so much time to go to dealer to sort out the problem. I would rather have something that is solid out of the box. Saying that, anybody else considering 528i(s) over 535i(s) and 550i(s)?

why don't you get a japanese car? say... a lexus? i mean, if reliability is more important than anything else to you.

[raleedy]

Originally Posted by Sealobo

why don't you get a japanese car? say... a lexus? i mean, if reliability is more important than anything else to you.

Is that supposed to be some sort of put-down? Who wants a car that can't be depended on?

[Raja Ventureshield]

I do have 2 japanese cars, but i don't want a car that will spend too much time in the shop. I have owned 8 bmw(s) in the past and most of them have been really no issues at all. I would hate having a Fuel Pump problem while driving down the road. When one buys a product, they are looking for certain level of utility out of it. I don't need something bullet proof necessarily, but you get my point. Once in six months to shop is fine. Once a month is not gonna work.

looking at 535i for now.

[delvek]

Loved my 08 535 and it was very reliable. Had the issue with hpfp and they replaced it in 2 days and was back on the road, come to think about it, I have had more problems with my jap cars driven regularly at half the speed then I have with my 535.

[SkipSauls]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

I do have 2 japanese cars, but i don't want a car that will spend too much time in the shop. I have owned 8 bmw(s) in the past and most of them have been really no issues at all. I would hate having a Fuel Pump problem while driving down the road. When one buys a product, they are looking for certain level of utility out of it. I don't need something bullet proof necessarily, but you get my point. Once in six months to shop is fine. Once a month is not gonna work.

looking at 535i for now.

The N55 engine in the f10 535i is mostly/completely unrelated to the N54 in the e60, etc. The experiences of the N54 owners with HPFP failures aren't really relevant, although that doesn't mean that the N55 is guaranteed to be bulletproof. I do believe that BMW learned a lot from the N54 and applied it to the N55, improving efficiency and reliability. I don't know as much about the V8 twin-turbo, but expect that they applied the same to it.

I've owned a 335i e92 since October 2006 and my car does not have the extra oil cooler, nor was on ever retrofitted. It's bone stock, with the only "mods" being tinted windows and snow tires during the winter months. I've driven the car daily on a mixed traffic commute and driven it hard on back roads, mountain twisties, and the track. Temperatures have ranged from a low of -17 to over 100 F, and not once have I "babied" the car when it comes to slowly warming it up, letting it cool down, etc. I just "drove it" like the BMW it is, and not once has it stranded me, inconvenienced me, or otherwise let me down.

My only experience that appeared to be related to the HPFP was experiencing a "long crank" on some mornings. I asked the CA to look into the HPFP issues that some were having and they replaced it under the recall, but that didn't seem to fix the issue completely. Ultimately it turned out that the issue was with a fuel line that was partially blocked or pinched, and once that was replaced it worked well. My car now has a replacement HPFP (which is very likely refurbished) but I suspect it might be doing just fine on the original had the real issue been more easily diagnosed.

This is a long-winded way of saying that you shouldn't let the problems experienced by a few N54 owners worry you. I've never seen any sort of statistics, but I suspect that the actual number of N54 owners experiencing HPFP failures is quite small. Internet forums and other social media are great outlets for venting, the result being that sometimes things look and sound a lot worse than they really are.

Finally, if there is an issue with the N55, BMW will fix it. They're not a perfect company, but they do care about their cars, customers, and most importantly, their reputation. We pay a premium for these cars, but for the most part it is because we get what we pay for.

[ddd269]

Hi...

New to this forum and liking what I see here. It seems more mature than the other BMW forums... Then again, we're talking about the 5 series.

Cars are expensive here compared to U.S... I just moved here from the L.A. area just about a month ago and everybody new here tend to go in to a sticker shock when car shopping. Everything is about 30% more than U.S. Then again, this is not bad compared to some Asian countries where they pay almost double. btw, financing is not an option in Chile... lowest interest rate is about 1.5% a month.

I got my F10 528iA exactly a week ago and I'm pretty happy with the experience. Not a 100% satisfied, but pretty close. Then again, non of my previous cars have given me 100% satisfaction. Maybe I'm picky... Having said that, this has got to be one of my top 3 car experiences regardless of price.

Getting a 528 instead of the 535 (no 550 yet, in Chile) was purely a financial decision. If I had to pay the difference in cost once, then I would have chosen the 535, no question. Let me explain a bit why...

I imagine most countries outside of the U.S. are in a similar situation as in Chile... The annual registration fee gets prohibitive after a certain price of a car (528iA=US$70000, 535iA=US$81000). The 528iA was just under the "big hike" tax bracket. I'm currently paying $1.2 million pesos for annual registration, which is about US$2200 (just paid the prorated amount this year because it was bought after the annual registration deadline but that's what I'll be paying next year.) Anything beyond that, it would have been about 50% more. I don't mind paying once for the difference, which would have been about US$11000 but to pay an additional $1200 more per year on top of what I'm paying now was not a smart decision. This is what my close friends, that have lived here a long time, have told me.

I really can't say the 528 lacks power... The 523 did lack power and felt sluggish. Maybe the difference between the 528 and 535 is like the 523 to a 528 in a crazier way. Having said that... I haven't driven the 535, but if I had, I would have "felt" the difference and probably wish I bought the bigger engine, but I'll never know because I'll run the other way if anybody with a 535 comes near me.

Side note: I went on a 100km trip to my beach condo Saturday and Sunday and was a very satisfying drive. The 8 speed tranny really does a remarkable job, considering the power of the 528. I didn't feel the need for more power even once during the drive. The route is a mix of hilly, curvy and straightaways and I must say that it did all of it in a composed and confidence inspiring manner. Brake was superb as well... had to do a couple of emergency brake maneuvers that my wife didn't approve of and did it with flying colors. On one occasion, when I came to a full stop, the hazards came on by themselves. I don't remember reading this in the manual, but it's a good idea, I think. Has it been implemented before on the BMWs?

Regardless of the engine choice, I recommend this car to anybody that's considering buying a midsize sedan/coupe. I just sold my CLS500 in the U.S. and the 5 handles and responds waaay better. Not a shocker, but had to comment. Then again the CLS is due for a 2nd gen this year.

Enjoy your 5s...

Big thumbs up from Chile.

Sorry for the long post!