[chi123]

Okay, so a few months ago, I got my first car. I was initially going to get an '07 328i but instead went to the '07 Lexus IS350 and never regretted that decision. It cost more than the 328i but the extra was well worth the 306 HP engine and 5.1 0-60 time.

Now I'm going off to college in the fall and since school is pretty cheap at $3,000/year, I figured I can save up enough for a second car in about 2 years. What I'm wanting is an all-wheel drive sedan or coupe. My RWD IS350 gets stuck in 2 inches of snow with winter tires going up to my garage and it annoys me. My options are narrowed down to the MB C300 or BMW 335xi. I won't be buying for sure until two years later but when that time comes, both cars will probably be selling under $20,000. I know that's looking far ahead but I want to learn about the car I'll be getting. So I have a few questions for any 335 owners here:

1. What is your MPG? I drive half city/highway roughly and get 17 MPG when the sticker on my car says 21/28.

2. For those with an XI, how well does it perform in snow?

3. I've heard lots of complaints of the fuel pump issue. In general, how reliable has the car been to you?

4. Lastly, for those with the JB4 chip, what kinds of performance gains do you get and does it mess up the car in any way?

I understand these questions can be searched up for answers but I would really like updated and personal answers. Thanks!

[Kolyan2k]

1. 22/23 mixed, 28/29 hway
2. Dont have one, but I can assure you its good in snow. but it does not come this sport suspension
3. Not reliable
4. Says ads 80+ hp and tq on their website. I had JB+ with ads about 40hp and tq at 50-60% setting

[BobKingerman]

1. I drive city most of the time and get about 14mpg because I always drive in Sport mode. Long cruises on the highway I get 28-29

2. Don't have an xi but my i performed awesome in the snow with a set of blizzaks I was really surprised.

3. Had the car for 10k miles and only had to have some vanos solenoid fixed when i first got it.

4. Got a JB4 a few months ago and it totally changes the car. It's a lot of fun and definitely worth it. No problems with it.

[jayely1]

^ and you get 14 mpg because your JB4..14 isn't normal.
Im averaging 22.6 city/highway mix

[mofbb]

IS350 does 0-60 in 5.1sec ? Is that true ??

[BobKingerman]

Originally Posted by jayely1

^ and you get 14 mpg because your JB4..14 isn't normal.
Im averaging 22.6 city/highway mix

I was getting that before the JB4. I drive in DS all the time and there are lights every 100ft rarely get above 35mph. Highway mileage is fine

[jayely1]

Originally Posted by mofbb

IS350 does 0-60 in 5.1sec ? Is that true ??

Some have gotten 0-60 even faster then that. 5.1 sounds about right.

[Toker335i]

Originally Posted by mofbb

IS350 does 0-60 in 5.1sec ? Is that true ??

as a former IS350 owner myself before getting the 335i

this is definitely true

IS350's first gear is really aggressive and launches really well, reliable quick car..

to the OP i would recommend a 335xi, with a simple JB4 you'll put car lengths on the 350

[RaZCaL]

1) I get about 16-17 mpg mixed, I drive mostly city and some highway

2) Driving in snow is decent with just the stock RFT. Decent, not great. You won't be getting stuck in 2" of snow.

3) After doing the HPFP recall in January, I had to replace it again last month.

I still love my car though.

[Legion5]

Originally Posted by chi123

Okay, so a few months ago, I got my first car. I was initially going to get an '07 328i but instead went to the '07 Lexus IS350 and never regretted that decision. It cost more than the 328i but the extra was well worth the 306 HP engine and 5.1 0-60 time.

Now I'm going off to college in the fall and since school is pretty cheap at $3,000/year, I figured I can save up enough for a second car in about 2 years. What I'm wanting is an all-wheel drive sedan or coupe. My RWD IS350 gets stuck in 2 inches of snow with winter tires going up to my garage and it annoys me. My options are narrowed down to the MB C300 or BMW 335xi. I won't be buying for sure until two years later but when that time comes, both cars will probably be selling under $20,000. I know that's looking far ahead but I want to learn about the car I'll be getting. So I have a few questions for any 335 owners here:

1. What is your MPG? I drive half city/highway roughly and get 17 MPG when the sticker on my car says 21/28.

24 daily driving 32 on the highway, these cars are efficient as anything.

2. For those with an XI, how well does it perform in snow?

Very well, with snow tires, I had one as a loaner.

3. I've heard lots of complaints of the fuel pump issue. In general, how reliable has the car been to you?

The fuel pump is covered for 10 years or 120k miles, there's no reason to worry about it.

If I were you I'd get a CPO 2009-2010 335i sedan the warranty is more than worth it. Try to buy it as the third owner and not from the dealer as that will save you money because buying CPO from a dealer is expensive. Definitly get a warranty even my service manager says he wouldn't own a 3 series without one, and he gets steep discounts, German cars are very expensive to do warranty work on and even a $2800 BMW extended warranty is worth it. I've had $5000 of warranty work done alone without anything major failing. The parts for these cars are astronomicaly expensive.

4. Lastly, for those with the JB4 chip, what kinds of performance gains do you get and does it mess up the car in any way?

I would recomend getting the proceed chip. While the XI is slower all 335x's can get in the mid 400 hp range, and because these cars all put the power down very efficiently, have aggressive gear ratios and a fast transmission, these cars are faster than even 4XX hp would suggest. Only 5 production cars can out accelerate a lightly modded 335i, the cheapest of which costs half a million dollars. These chips don't mess up the car in any way whatsoever. You can even remove them and clear any codes on the side of the road with a BT tool and a small tool kit meaning your warranty will be unaffected. Furthermore Dinan and BMW push these engines to the same degree as Proceed or JB4 and will warranty the upgrade so take that as an example of how reliable these chips are.

I understand these questions can be searched up for answers but I would really like updated and personal answers. Thanks!

[M340i Pride]

1. i get 21 mpg mixed. i went on a road trip and went steady 70 mph, got 30.5 mpg. (almost 500miles before refuel)

2. dont have xi and no snow in so cal so dont know...

3. personally never had any problem with hpfp. mandatory update and replacement done though. dont mean much because of 120k / 10yr warranty.

4. dont have one, but heard great storys of high gains without much problem. however, ive heard that if you overly push the car too much too often transmission and turbos will go first... but its hearsay. dont know the exact % of people with problems...

[chi123]

Originally Posted by Legion5

24 daily driving 32 on the highway, these cars are efficient as anything.



Very well, with snow tires, I had one as a loaner.



The fuel pump is covered for 10 years or 120k miles, there's no reason to worry about it.

If I were you I'd get a CPO 2009-2010 335i sedan the warranty is more than worth it. Try to buy it as the third owner and not from the dealer as that will save you money because buying CPO from a dealer is expensive. Definitly get a warranty even my service manager says he wouldn't own a 3 series without one, and he gets steep discounts, German cars are very expensive to do warranty work on and even a $2800 BMW extended warranty is worth it. I've had $5000 of warranty work done alone without anything major failing. The parts for these cars are astronomicaly expensive.


I would recomend getting the proceed chip. While the XI is slower all 335x's can get in the mid 400 hp range, and because these cars all put the power down very efficiently, have aggressive gear ratios and a fast transmission, these cars are faster than even 4XX hp would suggest. Only 5 production cars can out accelerate a lightly modded 335i, the cheapest of which costs half a million dollars. These chips don't mess up the car in any way whatsoever. You can even remove them and clear any codes on the side of the road with a BT tool and a small tool kit meaning your warranty will be unaffected. Furthermore Dinan and BMW push these engines to the same degree as Proceed or JB4 and will warranty the upgrade so take that as an example of how reliable these chips are.

Thanks for your post! You answered lots of stuff I didn't ask for but greatly helpful to know. Is the fuel pump warranty for all 335's? And about the extended warranty, what work exactly did you get done for $5k? I turned down the $1800 cost for my Lexus and haven't had any issues but I know with BMW's, it's a different story.

[FVM3]

ask this question 2 years later because you may give up c300/328xi and have other target

[Nine]

Originally Posted by Legion5

24 daily driving 32 on the highway, these cars are efficient as anything..

Yup.

[LAE92]

1. I actually get 24-25 MPG mixed
2. I don't know
3. I have had to replace my HPFP twice and the water pump once, that's it!
4. I have the COBB AP and love it, I am sure the JB4 is awesome too, lots of great reviews and Terry's customer support is really second to none, great guy!

[username604]

well the way of calculated mpg's was changed in 08, and the 07 and 08 is350 are the same so you're real epa mpg's are
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/25096.shtml
18/20/25
the 335i is
17/20/26
so your mpg's should stay about the same since both have similar combined mpg's.
however the 335i has a better torque curve so maybe you won't have to push it so hard to get going, then again, it's a new car to you and i'm sure you're gonna be pushing it all the time.
good luck

[Legion5]

The fuel pump warranty I know is universal for all the years you'd be considering.

Warranty wise the 3 series can be very reliable, the 325/328/330 is one of the most reliable cars you can buy, in certain more credible and significant metrics it's actually the most reliable car sold in the US. The 335i engine was new and barely or not at all charted tech for BMW though and that alone makes the 335i one of least reliable cars sold in the US. My point is that the platform and equipment is inherently reliable. Despite this I've had 3 trim prices and one battery cable replaced $5000. My firends who have Civics have had a similar number of problems and I actually had a friend who also had 3 trim issues and an electrical problem but their problems cost $1000. So the argument for the extended warranty is not primarily about the reliability but the cost of parts. Luckily BMW's parts costs are below wholesale so their warranties are both cheap and stay profitable assuming you get the extended warranty at dealer invoice or otherwise discounted like the third owner of a cpo