135i repair cost on motorplan, is this normal?

[allandaviesza]

Hi Guys

First poster here, I've had an E87 120i for 3 years, been wanting a 135i more and more.

I was recently at a BMW dealership looking at a 135i. According to the motorplan (which will end in a few hundered km's, already extended), the transmission was just replaced, at a cost of R170k. Looking at the rest of the work done during the vehicles life I'd added up another R120k (excluding brakes, oil, plugs and filters).

So according to the motorplan report, R290k has been spent on this car, and it is only 5 years old. Is this normal for these cars? Or is this car an exception to the norm?

More specifically are parts available for these cars? I am now terrified of the DCT box, it seems like they just replace the whole box if something goes wrong...or am I just being silly?

If at all possible, some real life accounts from people who have owned these vehicles out of warranty for several years would be amazing.

Sorry if this is just another of those, hey are these cars reliable posts? I've read quite a few posts on this subject, but I still wanted to reach out.

 

[Shev33]

Is it N54 or N55? I'm guessing N55, in general the N55 is more reliable. I havnt heard of the DCT gearbox giving issues but depending on how it was driven any car can give problems. If they replaced so much under motorplan then maybe there isn't so much to worry about. You can also take out and extension on the plan if you have concerns.

 

[allandaviesza]

Is it N54 or N55? I'm guessing N55, in general the N55 is more reliable. I havnt heard of the DCT gearbox giving issues but depending on how it was driven any car can give problems. If they replaced so much under motorplan then maybe there isn't so much to worry about. You can also take out and extension on the plan if you have concerns.

It's a 2012 model, N55, I read on a forum that these DCT boxes are similar to those in the M3 of a similar year, and parts are not readily available, even oil to do a fluid change... Is that out of date information?

I've never driven a car with DCT, I think it would be a treat!

 

[Shev33]

I have the Auto box but I can tell you the DCT is much more fun and crisp especially on the downshifts from the V8 M3 I drove, i believe the Ferarri 458 actually has the DCT. If you going to spend the money maybe find out from BMW first why it was changed and If the box was a warrantee.

 

[KrS24]

Did you check if the car has any Comments of the motorplan?

Generally the gearbox sump is replaced when you do an oil change. You can get the oil from Bmw or use the LM dct oil. The box is Very strong compare to the DSG boxes. But they do have their limits. Guys who run bigger turbo setups and or do multiple standstill launches will shorten the life of the box. If you out of motorplan chances are you can repair instead of replacing. Clutches/megatronics/oil/filter/heat exchanger can all be changed.

You can get Gert from OBDWORX to give the car a Full health inspection to give you piece of mind.


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[allandaviesza]

Did you check if the car has any Comments of the motorplan?

Generally the gearbox sump is replaced when you do an oil change. You can get the oil from Bmw or use the LM dct oil. The box is Very strong compare to the DSG boxes. But they do have their limits. Guys who run bigger turbo setups and or do multiple standstill launches will shorten the life of the box. If you out of motorplan chances are you can repair instead of replacing. Clutches/megatronics/oil/filter/heat exchanger can all be changed.

You can get Gert from OBDWORX to give the car a Full health inspection to give you piece of mind.


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Excuse my ignorance, but are comments something different compared to the list of all of the things that were repaired? I got that from the sales dude.

 

[KrS24]

Yes. They note anything substantial that was repaired or replaced. It's also note accidents.


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[allandaviesza]

Do you guys know if there are any threads where people list things they have fixed with the costs on older 135i's? There was a great one of those on an American forum.
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