[Chrisdc144]

Hey all

In a bit of a dilemma at the moment, was hoping you petrol heads could give me some useful info on any of these cars, 330 and 335, I or D. I have a everyday car which will be my 523i and am now looking to get something that will make me smile. In fact, I wish I had bought it instead of the 5er, damn wife for being practical! Have maximum of £15000 and undecided on the above cars. I am however, leaning over to the petrol variant as I will not be using it everyday, work (which is only 15mls there and back) and on the odd weekends. Over to you guys/girls!!!

[Chrisdc144]

Sorry for the repeated posts, was using my phone which is crap!! Mods if you could delete the other 2 that would be great.

[M335Xi]

Twin Turbo or nothing at all.

[AlanYoro35i]

335i manual if you're a purist, add a remap on for 500 quid you get near 370 bhp and a LSD = REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY Fun!!

[mob17]

335i would make the most sense as you say you wont be using it as a DD. Will also sound great!

[Chrisdc144]

335i, now thats what I was already thinking! looking on autotrader can see a few of them, anything to look for or are they genuinely bullet proof? Seems a 2007 build is within my budget.

chris

[Chrisdc144]

Forgot to ask, was xenon a standard feature on the 335i or an optional extra? Seen some ads which doesn't state xenon headlights but read somewhere that xenon was standard on all 335i.

Chris

Chris

[Tyso335]

Originally Posted by Chrisdc144

Forgot to ask, was xenon a standard feature on the 335i or an optional extra? Seen some ads which doesn't state xenon headlights but read somewhere that xenon was standard on all 335i.

Chris

Chris

on the 335i these should come standard as its one of the top models u can tell buy looking at headlights in the pic mate

[Chrisdc144]

cheers for all your inputs lads. Hoping to view a few over the next few days. Wil keep you updated.

chris

[texasjohn]

AFAIK:

E90/91 335s don't come with xenons as standard. All 335s had sports suspension though, regardless of whether SE or M Sport IIRC.

All six cyl cars have chrome kidney grilles, cruise control and auto headlights as standard; the 330 and 335 have headlamp wash and no cost metallic paint also.

I'm less sure about the E92 coupes but believe all have xenons regardless of engine size and the six cyl cars got electric seats. Later cars got leather as standard too.

If you're after a saloon... There is a white LCI E90 335i for sale at the moment on a 59 plate for 16450 I think it's on auto trader. May get it for just under 16 with a haggle. It's done 89k though.


As for are they bulletproof: Get a BMW warranty for 400ish a year...

[DanTheManc]

How about this?

Seems like a bargain to me.

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by DanTheManc

How about this?

Seems like a bargain to me.

+1

[BanziBarn]

Chrisdc144, how bothered are you about performance, or feeling large amounts of shove?

I say that, because out of the 4 cars you mention, I'd say that all apart from the 330i would give you this. I'm not saying the 330i is slow, but it'll be linear and probably not 'feel' that quick.

The turbo cars with their extra torque will provide you more usable shove.

330d - single turbo, more lag but more thump when it comes in. Very economical, low tax.
335d - twin turbo, more linear power delivery so less kick in the back feeling but quicker overall so will still feel fast - fairly economical, quite low tax.
335i - even more linear - but still with good low down shove and the advantage of a wide rev band for that proper petrol head feeling. Obviously not as economical as the diesels and higher on the tax.

When choosing mine I discounted the 330i for the reasons I mentioned. I discounted the 335d because it's not that much quicker below 80mph than a 330d yet more expensive to buy and run.

I discounted the 335i because when I drove it back to back with the 330d it didn't 'feel' quicker than the diesel and I knew that I'd be driving mainly in urban areas where reving to 7k wasn't important. Plus the 335i was more expensive.

So, my advice would be try the 330d and the 335i and choose the one you like most from those two.

[verysideways]

You see if i'm looking for a car to put a smile on my face which i won't be driving every day i wouldn't be looking at a diesel (sorry to all the diesel fanboys).

The 330i engine is much more eager and sonorous than the 335i engine (earlier or later) but it's smooth and linear, so whilst it sounds good it doesn't feel particularly fast.
The 335i is fast. Plain and simple. Buckets of torque and it pulls hard, and with a remap pulls even harder.

Go drive both and i think you'll very quickly know if you prefer 7k rpm sweet six noise or the overwhelming torque of two turbos...

[djgandy]

330i's are pretty rare so you are much more likely to find a 335 in the spec you like. There are plenty of 330d and 335d's too.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by DanTheManc

How about this?

Seems like a bargain to me.

This one has some very good modifications so you can actually use all that power and therefore have fun! Excellent example.

[E92Dan]

I would look for a manual car if you want the most amount of fun. The autos are very good as daily drivers, but you can't beat swapping cogs yourself

[markymark34]

No question a petrol if your wanting fun and the 335is are mega cheap at the min thanks to te tax and fuel costs. Easy choice!
SE or M sport for a 335i have sports seats and suspension anyway.

[Mike in Hampshire]

*cough* 335 petrol all the way *cough* look on this forum classifieds *cough*..........

Mike.

[BanziBarn]

I will agree - on balance, a 335i is probably the way to go!

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by BanziBarn

Chrisdc144, how bothered are you about performance, or feeling large amounts of shove?

I say that, because out of the 4 cars you mention, I'd say that all apart from the 330i would give you this. I'm not saying the 330i is slow, but it'll be linear and probably not 'feel' that quick.

The turbo cars with their extra torque will provide you more usable shove.

330d - single turbo, more lag but more thump when it comes in. Very economical, low tax.
335d - twin turbo, more linear power delivery so less kick in the back feeling but quicker overall so will still feel fast - fairly economical, quite low tax.
335i - even more linear - but still with good low down shove and the advantage of a wide rev band for that proper petrol head feeling. Obviously not as economical as the diesels and higher on the tax.

When choosing mine I discounted the 330i for the reasons I mentioned. I discounted the 335d because it's not that much quicker below 80mph than a 330d yet more expensive to buy and run.

I discounted the 335i because when I drove it back to back with the 330d it didn't 'feel' quicker than the diesel and I knew that I'd be driving mainly in urban areas where reving to 7k wasn't important. Plus the 335i was more expensive.

So, my advice would be try the 330d and the 335i and choose the one you like most from those two.

+1. Excellent post.

I would also suggest a 335i or 330d (N57).

[dxb335d]

Do your home work. The N54 ain't the most reliable lump.