[Telly Addict]

I hadn't resolved in my head that I definitely wanted a '3' and not a '5' so when an opportunity arose to have a good look at a 535d yesterday just outside Coventry, I took it.

It was a 2009 M Sport in metallic grey with 32k and up for a snip under £18k...quite cheap I thought. For a reason it seemed - it was really tatty, to the point I'd question the mileage as genuine - it was more like a 100k+ car! Little dings and marks all over and the steering wheel seemed quite worn. Certainly not 'mint' as the garage owner tried to claim. Oh and the front discs were very worn as well with one of them massively scored, evidence of a hard life...?

Anyway, I got a chance to test drive it. Now I get it. Instant response and a bucket load of torque, but I don't think I'd be happy with the big '5'...I need something a bit sportier - although it handled ok (I didn't get a chance to really throw it around) I'd prefer a slightly more focused experience, which I think the 335 will deliver. Now I just need to test drive a 335 i back-to-back with a d...

Edit - I should say, I only want to test drive the i so I can scratch the itch - I really want a 335d

[AlwynMike]

Just why I migrated from a 5 to a 3 - a sportier drive.
I don't miss the 5er seats, the 3 is better. The 3 is a harsher ride, but not as bad a previous E46.

Don't discount the 330d - I find the 335d only really becomes an animal well into 3 figures, when it is amazing, otherwise too quiet and too smooth for my taste.

Mike

[Sir_Pigley]

Very interesting what you said about this car as I also spotted that car for sale. I noted how cheap it was.

I called the seller and got the reg number: YC09AUU

However if you put the Reg Number into the BMW Insured Warranty quoatation system it flashes up a warning - "This value is not greater than our previous record of 74319 miles."

I called the trader and he seemed genuine in his concern about this and suggested if true he would return the car to whoever he actually sourced the car from.

I then phoned BMW Insured Warranty Services directly and they said that the 74319 was strange and the mileage that the guy could see on his system was 28,xxx in June last year. He suggested it may have been an anomaly.

However, given what you say about the condition of the car, it would seem to me that something very fishy is going on here and I reckon this should be reported to trading standards for further investigation.

[Telly Addict]

Originally Posted by Sir_Pigley

Very interesting what you said about this car as I also spotted that car for sale. I noted how cheap it was.

I called the seller and got the reg number: YC09AUU

However if you put the Reg Number into the BMW Insured Warranty quoatation system it flashes up a warning - "This value is not greater than our previous record of 74319 miles."

I called the trader and he seemed genuine in his concern about this and suggested if true he would return the car to whoever he actually sourced the car from.

I then phoned BMW Insured Warranty Services directly and they said that the 74319 was strange and the mileage that the guy could see on his system was 28,xxx in June last year. He suggested it may have been an anomaly.

However, given what you say about the condition of the car, it would seem to me that something very fishy is going on here and I reckon this should be reported to trading standards for further investigation.

It is strange, but I'm not surprised after what I saw. I have to say, I wasn't really seriously considering the car as a purchase - I just got a bad feeling about it. Valid point about trading standards, could be worth giving them a heads-up...

[Telly Addict]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

Just why I migrated from a 5 to a 3 - a sportier drive.
I don't miss the 5er seats, the 3 is better. The 3 is a harsher ride, but not as bad a previous E46.

Don't discount the 330d - I find the 335d only really becomes an animal well into 3 figures, when it is amazing, otherwise too quiet and too smooth for my taste.

Mike

Yeah I'm used to a harsh ride atm, but would hope for some thing a bit more refined - as I understand it the 19s don't help in this respect and 18s transform the cars...

I don't mind the quiet and the smoothness, plus you can always do stuff to it to change that...

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by Sir_Pigley

Very interesting what you said about this car as I also spotted that car for sale. I noted how cheap it was.

I called the seller and got the reg number: YC09AUU

However if you put the Reg Number into the BMW Insured Warranty quoatation system it flashes up a warning - "This value is not greater than our previous record of 74319 miles."

I called the trader and he seemed genuine in his concern about this and suggested if true he would return the car to whoever he actually sourced the car from.

I then phoned BMW Insured Warranty Services directly and they said that the 74319 was strange and the mileage that the guy could see on his system was 28,xxx in June last year. He suggested it may have been an anomaly.

However, given what you say about the condition of the car, it would seem to me that something very fishy is going on here and I reckon this should be reported to trading standards for further investigation.

I had this before on a car sat in a BMW garage. The insured warranty mileage was way higher than the one on the car. The car was a bit of a deal too :|