M235i (F22) - what’s the catch?

[tallpaul26]

Idly browsing used cars for sale and I noticed that nice examples of early M235i are sitting at around £14k with sensible mileage, spec, FBMWSH and a choice of manual or automatic.

To my eye they look lovely and £14k screams bargain for the package. What’s the catch? Do they suffer from the same chassis shortcomings as F20 M135i? Sure, there will be the usual maintenance costs of a 10 year old car but is there more sinister issues looming with the N55 or F2X series in general?

[CG2020UK]

Think your biggest issue is M2s are starting to drop big time to low £20k mark which is just a better car.

This is putting pressure on dealers to drop M240i and thus M235i prices as you wouldn’t buy one at the same price as an M2 or M4.

They are good cars they just aren’t out and out drivers car. They get out of shape on certain roads, struggle with no LSD and aren’t engaging in the way nearly all hot hatches are. Though are still a decent steer just not really a fun steer or a car that encourages you to drive hard.

Pros are pretty reliable, comfortable to daily, quick and apart from insurance aren’t actually that bad to run. Think of it as a mini GT or muscle car and you’d be spot and not disappointed.

At £14K they are now good value for money and certainly worth considering.

[clockworks]

Potential engine problems - prone to bearing failure from what I've read - and expensive to insure now?

[tallpaul26]

clockworks said:

Potential engine problems - prone to bearing failure from what I've read - and expensive to insure now?

Insurance is just plain expensive now, but my age and insurance history somewhat offsets that at least!

Re bearing failure, is that just a symptom of infrequent oil changes and hard use or an inherent issue? Do these effectively have a 2 year/20K oil service schedule or is it more frequent ( I appreciate it will be CBS in idrive but wondering how that nets out in ‘normal use’)?

[Hippea]

I’m not sure I would say they are a bargain, at the end of the day they are 10 years old now.

Like previous comments will be interesting to see the pricing of these plus m240i now that M2’s are dropping to similar prices

[Anastie]

I had an M235i Grand Coupe. Same engine I believe. I really enjoyed the car. It was fast enough and gave good economy on the motorway. I only sold it as I needed a much bigger boot.

[ScoobyChris]

tallpaul26 said:

To my eye they look lovely and £14k screams bargain for the package. What’s the catch? Do they suffer from the same chassis shortcomings as F20 M135i? Sure, there will be the usual maintenance costs of a 10 year old car but is there more sinister issues looming with the N55 or F2X series in general?

The chassis shortcomings are majorly overplayed (largely by people who have never driven them!) and imho they are quick, anonymous and fun to drive. My M140i has been my daily for the last 7 years and hasn't missed a beat and has cost buttons to run considering the performance available. The N55 engine is considered pretty reliable and providing the car has been serviced on time, I wouldn't be unduly concerned - there is always the option to buy the aftermarket warranty if mileage is under 100k. I have a set of winter tyres that I use which aids traction in the colder months.

As a comparison, my neighbour has an M2 Comp which is a nice car and a bit quicker, but feels more raw, stiffer and compromised, and is less practical - I'd not want it as a daily. He is also paranoid about it getting stolen and blocks it in with other cars, uses steering lock, etc.

Chris

[MitchT]

Anastie said:

I had an M235i Grand Coupe. Same engine I believe.

As I understand it the M235i Coupé (F22) has an inline six (N55) while the M235i Gran Coupé (F44) has a four-pot (B48).

[ingenieur]

As been said on here before, with reports of reliability issues you have to do a bit of logical deduction. i.e. if you're looking at one of the most popular cars and one of the most popular engines the chances are far greater that you will see reports of reliability issues. I've had 6 Mercedes over the last 10 years and people say they're troublesome and expensive to own... but in reality it hasn't been that bad. Out of the 6 I have had one real snotter which has been a pain from day one, overall the experience has been enjoyable.

If the BMW M235i was a really bad car you would've seen reports about it in the newspapers. If it hasn't got as far as that then it's no more of a risk than average with the usual level of failures you see from any car.

[ChrisH72]

I don't see any catch in particular.

£14k is still a lot of money in my eyes and a 10 year old high performance BMW out of warranty should be expected to throw some fair sized bills.

[clockworks]

tallpaul26 said:

clockworks said:

Potential engine problems - prone to bearing failure from what I've read - and expensive to insure now?

Insurance is just plain expensive now, but my age and insurance history somewhat offsets that at least!

Re bearing failure, is that just a symptom of infrequent oil changes and hard use or an inherent issue? Do these effectively have a 2 year/20K oil service schedule or is it more frequent ( I appreciate it will be CBS in idrive but wondering how that nets out in ‘normal use’)?

I did a bit of research when I was looking for a fast 1, 2 or 3 series. Plenty of stories about big end (or was it crank) bearings picking up and spinning in the housing. Seemed to be caused by poor oil pickup from the sump during spirited driving. Probably not an issue for normal road use, but you don't know if the previous owner thrashed the car.

The B58 engine seems to be a better bet, so I went for an M140i.

I sold it just as insurance prices started to go up massively. At 66, with a clean record and living in a safe postcode, I wasn't prepared to pay £500+