I thought I'd add an update to a review I provided below. The car now has 193,000 km on it and still runs like a train, highly reliable with low maintenance costs. At around 175,000 km we had to replace the rear wiring harness as the loom wires had fatigued where the wiring goes from the body to the hatch. We bought the part from the VW dealership and did the job myself which wasn't very difficult. The car is very smooth and comfortable and feels like a much bigger car from inside. My comments about its speed, engine noise levels when revved and fuel economy were from the perspective of someone who's other car is a BMW335d with a Stage 2 Tune. I would have no hesitation about recommending the Rabbit/Golfs with the 2.5 litre 5 cylinder engine. While the engine may not be as refined as a BMW engine but its very strong and the car in general is extremely reliable (no unusual or expensive breakdowns/fixes to date). Over the 7 years we have owned this car the maintenance costs have been orders of magnitude lower than on my BMW.

This is a follow up on an extended review I wrote below.
At 93,000 km the car needed two new fuel injectors and mass air flow sensor. I had the work done at Budd's Oakville and incl. the decarbonization the bill was only $2800 with some goodwill which was appreciated. The only problem is when it was all put back together the engine light was still lit. The issue is OBD Code 2008 which has to do with the motor that actuates the swirl port flaps in the intake manifold which had either failed or jammed after re-assembly following the decarbonization. The car runs fine but the check engine light is lit all the time. I intend to remove the intake manifold myself and install swirl port blanking plates to see if that will rectify the problem otherwise it will need a need manifold – a part which costs about USD900.

The car has run flawlessly since the new fuel injectors were installed. On a recent 2500 km road trip the car averaged an incredible 48.7 mpg. Now with 118,000 km on the odometer the car runs incredibly smoothly and does not burn any oil. It may help that I change the oil every 10,000 km - twice as often as BMW recommend and I now only fill it with Shell V-Power diesel.

I have just replaced the stock suspension with a Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit and rear sub-frame & front control arm bushings with Powerflex bushings. The handling improvement is dramatic. If you're used to driving domestic cars will think a BMW is a big step up but honestly the rear still hops over bumps when pushed hard. These mods solve the problem. Autoworks in Oakville that did this for me for a very reasonable price.

335d’s are now 5-7 years old with 90 – 150 K on them. If you can find a well maintained one that has been decarbonized for $18-25K then by spending a bit more money on a few choice upgrades you will have and amazing vehicle but keep some $ in hand in case the injectors fail.

We bought ours in 2010 with 44,000 km from Oakville VW. It now has 169,000 km on it and has been very little trouble. The five cylinder engine is not that powerful or fuel efficient and can be noisy when revved above 4000 rpm but most of the time the engine is running at less than 2000 rpm where it is smooth and quiet. This car feels very long legged when cruising on the highway where the engine is only turning at around 1700 rpm. The car is spacious inside and feels like a much lager car. With 169,000 km on the engine it gets through 1 litre of oil every 10,000 km but we change the oil every 10,000 km which is less than the VW recommended interval. Spend a bit extra on routine maintenance to save on major repairs. Services are alternated between Jiffy Lube for just oil and the dealership for other stuff. We've debated selling it but it runs so well its simply not worth it at this stage. I would say to anyone don't fear about buying one with 150,000 km or more on it. Provided it has been well maintained an can see this engine easily lasting 300,000 km or more.

see my initial review above . . . . here are the rest of my words of wisdom.

I think by now you will be getting the picture. I would not buy a used 335d without an extended warranty that specifically covers the fuel injectors and DDE and I would also ensure the car is running the latest software and that the engine intake manifold and ports have been decarbonized recently OR you set aside $2000-$4000 to address these potential issues yourself.

Now assuming you have a car in reasonable shape there are things you can do to mitigate these issues in the future specifically an EGR delete and even DFP removal (although strictly speaking these are for track use only . . . however . . .) The BMW dealerships won't do this for you - you need to find an Indie specialist that knows how to do the work - and they do exist in the GTA area.

I bought the car anticipating it would run trouble free for at least 200,000 - 300,000 km like my old E36 325iS. I don;t doubt the engine will last that long or longer - its just a question of how much it will cost to maintain in de-carbonizing and new fuel injectors to get it there.

I bought my car new in Apr-2010 and it is now just over 5 years old with 92,000 km. The torque from this engine has to be experienced to be believed and it cruises at 120 km/h with only 1800 rpm on the tach and gives great fuel economy. It is an absolutely fantastic car and up to about 6 weeks ago I would have highly recommended it to anyone HOWEVER at 92,000 km I am now starting to experience some significant issues with the car so if you are thinking of buying used thoroughly familiarize yourself with the issues that this car can have. You can do this by Googling "BMW 335d" and add "Fuel Injector Issues" and "Decarbonizing" and "DDE issues".

As I am having these issues I want to make others aware of them as there is a lot of information about them on forums such as the BMW E90 forum or Bimmerfest but you won't find much about them at car dealerships.

Due to the design these engines can experience significant carbon built up in the intake manifolds and ports at 80,000-100,000 km. This can be removed but it costs about $1500 at the dealership. This work should ideally be done every 50,000-60,000 km. The car will be off the road for 2 days while the work is done. Cars that are driven a lot on the highway for long distances don't suffer the build up as much put if you putt around at low speed and drive short distances then it will be more of an issue.

The engine software is periodically updated and depending on the age of the vehicle it may not have the latest software. You would expect this type of thing to be covered under a recall but it's not and it costs $450 to have the work done.

Next - fuel injectors. At 90,000 km I am getting OBD codes that the fuel injectors on cylinders 2 & 4 are at their maximum learning limits. I may need some new fuel injectors. The Bosch Fuel Injectors for this car run about CAD600-650 each + labour so replacing them is very expensive.