BMW 135i redpilling

hey Veeky Forums, I am looking for a thorough red pilling on the BMW 135i. Let me give you some context. I currently own a 2017 GTI and absolutely fucking love the car. But I have some spare cash on hand now and really want to pick up my other dream car which is ideally a m235i but I don't think the value proposition is there so I am settling for the next best thing which is the 135i.

i want the newest one possible so I am considering a 2013 with the DCT. I am going to be tuning it.

What am I in for? Is the N55 reliable enough to not blow up after a year or two of ownership? I can wrench on most things by myself so little maintenance things here and there I am not worried about. I am probably going to spend around $20k-$25k for one with 20k miles on it. A lot of BMW autists are saying that the 135i isn't worth it and in fact the 128 is a better value which just has the NA straight 6 (would rather have the turbo tbqhfamiliosa).

thoughts? i fucking love how tight and refined the 2 series is but i am not going to spend $40k on a pre-owned lease that got shat on for the last 30k miles. the 135i is a little uglier in styling but it retains p. much every other positive

Have you considered a Bedford Rascal instead?

Your dream car is the slightly less poverty-tier poverty BMW?

>it's almost like dream cars are subjective.

Uh huh right but not even like the M car? Aiming a but low there it would seem.

m8, it's all about the value proposition. The M2 is a great car but it's not worth $50k-$60k to me. if i can get the bulk of the experience for half that, then i will gladly do so

theres not much positive on the 1 series in the first place other than the fact that some come with a big engine, its a little car made ridiculously heavy, but its still a little car in every aspect. have you test driven it? personally id go for a 335 because of the cheap-everything on the 1 series. either that or wait a few years for your dream car which is the 2 series

From what I hear, its a stupid fun car, but it will break. The tarbos on that engine will die eventually. If you get rid of it before it gets to like 70k miles, you'll probably be fine.

Pay off the gti and keep it. Do something responsible with your money like buy a house or some shit

a stripped 128i is better imo


a 135i is better than the m2 in like every way. i'd get the n55 but the n54 tunes better, so literally either is fine

>a 135i is better than the m2 in like every way.
Is this what poorfags tell themselves to cope? Jesus, it's objectively false

I prefer NA inline 6's, they just sound much better and tend to be invincible. However the N55 is a decent engine, definitely more reliable than the N54. They say it has less potential than the N54 but if this is going to be your daily then I wouldn't go anywhere near an N54 car, the owners themselves will tell you what outrageous amounts of time and money they poured in to keep it running. It is a very unreliable engine but bmw has improved on the turbo I6 in many ways through the N55.

Everything about the 135i is great...other than that it came with a POS open diff

It has hydraulic steering. that is reason alone why it's the better car

>open diff
>shit interior compared to the M2
>shit suspension and brake system compared to the M2
>weaker engine
>engine isn't built by M with forged internals
I'm sure there's more but yeah, your meme steering doesn't make up for it being objectively worse

Don't buy a BMW

The 335 is too big. I’ve never driven a 135 but I drove the m235i and the dimensions are very similar so I imagine the feel is the same

I paid cash when I got it...lol

for 5 thousand dollars you can make it all better. for 30 thousand dollars more you can get an m2.


??????????????????

>DCT
fag


You know the base price is just the absolute bare minimum. Expect to drop another 8-10k for simple shit like heated seats, or you know, nice things a BMW normally has

do
not
buy
a
bmw

I've daily-driven a 2011 for about 2 and a half years now, and it's been a fun little car (that still somehow weighs in at 3400lbs). Got it with 27k miles on it and am now at 65k with no major issues.

Also, do it properly and get a manual. I've heard the 2013 has a great DCT, but it's just boring.

Well it is subjective. In the end he seems to actually not be buying a bmw to be a badge whore like other people here. He likes the car, has his budget, limits, etc. hes not saying its a great luxury car and amazing performance that rivals any M class. There is literally another thread right now where some dude thinks his 1997 entry level 3 series bmw was worth 100k and keeps defending it, that smells like badge whoring go bother him. this guy just wants best bang for his buck.

For 5 thousand you're going to put an lsd in there, a new suspension and brake package, new interior and rebuild the engine with forged internals and tune it? Lmfao, you're funny

>m8, it's all about the value proposition
No it isn't. If it was value proposition you would be looking for a 996 turbo or early viper gts.
You want a BMW m but can't afford one, that is why you are looking at the 135, which is a good car. If you want tuning then go with the turbo car, the n54 will be better than the n55.

Yeah, that is what I keep hearing from a lot of people. I would be open to the idea of a manual but it's hard to deny the racerboi appeal of a slick DCT and some paddles.

The DCT in my GTI is nice but it's not very responsive. It's like there is a second delay where it does a calculation or some shit. If the BMW's DCT is the same way then I'll probably pass on it.

I have an 09 N54 135i.

First the interior is really nice. Euros get a economy version of the interior but the US version has the standard BMW interior that you are probably used to.

The N54 can tune to 370 hp aka as powerful as the M2 for just about $500.

That said the engine has problems. I’ve spent about $3k on repairs since on the engine past $60k as all the usually stuff has broken, Thermo, and water pump and a very rare wiring short.

The ZF6 auto box in mine is actually really good but slower than the ZF8 and slower than the DCT. All are better options and worth paying extra for assuming you plan on tracking.

The 6 has problems shifting you won’t care about unless it’s a track.

The I think the 1 series m is one of the best BMWs you can buy and you can pretty easily upgrade a 135i to that power level.

The 2 series is 2 inches bigger btw.

I recommend 100% ive been happy with mine. Just be prepared to fix the problems that basically everyone expects to happen w these engines and dont get BMW taxed too hard.

Thx man, that’s the info I was looking for. Yeah water pump thermostat belts etc that’s all usual shit I can just do myself. I’ll prob get the 135 then

You will never stop being called a badge whore after buying a BMW, there's no getting around it.

I have an e92 with the N55, bought new. No issues at all with drive train at 46k miles. BMW underrates the power figures on the N55 by about 20 hp, it’s pretty potent and even sounds pretty good when you get past 3k rpm. It’s a good engine.

Get ready to replace turbos, fuel pumps and other shit too, N54's aren't like usual bmw engines

He's getting an n55 retard

bro stop trying to turn this into some meme pissing fest. BMW makes some nice cars. yeah a lot of them are objectively wastes of money due to reliability issues and other things but some of their cars (like the 135) do manage to offer the perfect blend of luxury and performance and styling without breaking the bank. that is probably why they don't make it anymore. you can't even get the dct in the non-m 2 series anymore lol. you have to get the m2.

>that is probably why they don't make it anymore
they do, it's just rebadged as the 240i

For 5 grand he can probably get a LSD and hit 400hp easy,

Its not as if he's trying to make a foxbody handle, most everything needed for decent handling is there, just get better tires.

135 is very, very good, can confirm
but man that styling is ugly duckling as fuk