[veloearl]

I moved to the mountains of CO, got married, had a kid, and traded my RWD e92 for a 4Runner. I miss the car. It was a joy to drive. I liked the manual transmission, I liked the sound the engine made, and I liked how it handled.

Lately I've been thinking an e91 xdrive would restore most of the enjoyment I had with the e92, and also be a practical fit for family life and our long snowy winters.

That, of course, assumes I could find one...

Talk me out of it?

[csquared013]

Well... I have a E90 xi and couldn't find it in my heart to trade it in when I also bought a 4Runner haha. They're a lot cheaper than they used to be but you should probably be ready to replace a bunch of stuff to make it as fun as it once was to drive. I say do it if you have the money to burn up on it!!

Since I'm out here in NM being dumb trying to rebuild mine that's been off the road for 4 years and dumping money into it daily, it would be hypocritical of me to say "don't buy one" and deprive you of what you already mentioned of how positive of an experience it is to drive one.

Realistically though, if you aren't performing labor yourself, you'd really have to get a SUPER clean specimen for a super good price. If not, I'd say save the money until the need for a family car dies down and you can buy another, newer, less needy toy lol.

[Vulcan50]

I'd say you would be better off having both. Just get an e92 (rwd) and keep the Toyota. Aren't 328i e92s in the $4k region?

I have 4 kids and a shit job, so it was a long time before I got back into something fun. I know it sucks not having that toy, but if you can't afford both I'd say wait on the toy.

[tcphoto]

A 328 Touring with 6MT is a great option but imagine if BMW shipped their 335 version to the US...

[ppointer]

I own an e91 and love it. I really wanted a MT, but they are rare and quite a bit more expensive. Some argue a MT is a $5k premium for an e91 if you can find one.

My e91 is RWD, and I cannot comment on its capabilities in snowy weather as I now live in South FL. However, I purchased an '02 325ix for my daughter back in 2014, which she kept for several years and claimed it was amazing in the snow. She lives in NE Ohio.

The plan I have for my e91 is to convert to MT when the AT dies. Estimates I have for this conversion are around $3k, perhaps a little less.

[caldep]

I have a 2006 e91 with the manual. I love it. I think it would do well for you but get two sets of wheels being in the mountains.

The manual does add a premium to the purchase price but on the 'X' e91's the price difference is not that steep. It is more a challenge to find one in good shape or at least good enough shape.

[tlow98]

I don't see how this could possibly be a bad idea unless you buy a dumpster fire.

[Tunafish]

Yep

[Lucky1]

Get an E9x M3 6MT.

/thread

[E92William]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Get an E9x M3 6MT.

/thread

More than double the price of this car lol

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Get an E9x M3 6MT.

/thread

You know for less than the price of S65 rod bearings job he can just replace his entire engine when it dies... sometime after 1,000,000 miles lol

Oh, and the M3 doesn’t come wagon or Xdrive, so there’s that also

[E92William]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

You know for less than the price of S65 rod bearings job he can just replace his entire engine when it dies... sometime after 1,000,000 miles lol

Oh, and the M3 doesn't come wagon or Xdrive, so there's that also

You can buy a whole non sport pre lci e90 for the price of a rod bearing job if you shop around

[3PRF]

I have a 328xiT for sale. On Windy City Classifieds on Facebook and the BMWCCA website. I've owned BMWs for 30 years and will be honest about what's been done to the car and some suggestions for improvements and modifications.

It's an '07, 89,000 miles, non-sports package

https://www.bmwcca.org/ads/245486

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by E92William

You can buy a whole non sport pre lci e90 for the price of a rod bearing job if you shop around

Where are these cheap E90's?

[E92William]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Where are these cheap E90's?

Everywhere

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by E92William

Everywhere

Geeze just what they are worth or are they a dumpster fire in needed maintenance?

[Smgs1992]

That e90 for $1800 is gonna need probably $6000 in maintenance ��

[tcphoto]

I think the seller of that $1800 325i is trying to distract potential buyers with those slanted pictures. The black rims are the first sign that the car has probably been drifted like those Furious movies.

[nsjames]

The AWD does indeed work well in the snow. Too well actually. You can't have any fun or the dsc intervenes, even when it's "off"
I run winter tires on mine.

that said, you will spend money on the AWD system, it probably needs a front driveshaft, and it makes everything up front more difficult to work on.

I would attempt to find a RWD one, and just run winter tires.

Good luck. A MT E91 commands a premium these days.
I bought an auto because it was a good deal.
It helped that it was a sport package car with SAT, so at least I got paddles.

[sprp85]

Had a LCI E90 xdrive for a couple of years along with a 128i 6MT.

Got rid of both cars sequentially.

Now I am back in a 328iT RWD as my DD, and in my opinion, xDrive does not belong on a 3 series, especially on this platform & for a low powered 328i. Try to find a RWD example & just get another set of wheels for winter if you are expecting to drive it through snow.

xDrive with DWS did not perform any better than my old 128i with snow tires. It possibly performed worse. Also, the transfer case, weird ride height, front axles, etc... are not worth the hassle to deal with. Simpler the better IMO.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by sprp85

Had a LCI E90 xdrive for a couple of years along with a 128i 6MT.

Got rid of both cars sequentially.

Now I am back in a 328iT RWD as my DD, and in my opinion, xDrive does not belong on a 3 series, especially on this platform & for a low powered 328i. Try to find a RWD example & just get another set of wheels for winter if you are expecting to drive it through snow.

xDrive with DWS did not perform any better than my old 128i with snow tires. It possibly performed worse. Also, the transfer case, weird ride height, front axles, etc... are not worth the hassle to deal with. Simpler the better IMO.

I don't disagree with anything regarding the mechanical disadvantages, but if you didn't run the xdrive with winter tires as well it's not really a fair comparison.

xdrive and winter tires is a whole nother ballgame in winter grip.
I also had DWS tires on mine, and they are not good winter tires, despite what continental will tell you with marketing.

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

A 328 Touring with 6MT is a great option but imagine if BMW shipped their 335 version to the US...

Or a 335d which would be great for the torque and mpg in the mountains.