Thinking about buying a BMW

[Sgt Beavis]

well, thats part of the thing. There is one CPO 335i that i'm liking, but at the jeep dealership near the house they have an 09 335i with less miles and about 3 grand cheaper, with a "lifetime powertrain warranty" thrown in. Now what that actually means coming from a jeep dealership on a BMW, i dont know. I asked the guy at the BMW dealership about it and he didnt have any idea whether that'd be anything worthwhile or not either. I havent seen any 2011 335i's available for lease, and i'm not sure that i'd be that big of a fan of a lease anyway. i've never done one.

If that warranty isn't a BMW warranty (and I'm betting it isn't) then it isn't worth the paper it is written on. 3rd party warranty companies come and go almost as much as the sun sets.

Go do a little homework on leasing. It can be a fantastic deal. Just make sure the one you get has enough miles on it for you. Mine has 12K miles per year, but I over bought my miles. I've only driven 4K miles since buying it over 7 months ago. I could have gotten a 10K mile lease and had an even lower payment.

[GE]

I have an '11 335i coupe. It's been a blast so far, but the payments aren't cheap. A lot of people will do the 3 year lease and just keep rotating the cars every few years so they can avoid any sort of maintenance costs.

Once the turbo spools up, it'll get up and go. Granted, it's not a 600hp Mustang, but it's definitely pretty fun to drive. I just got tired of driving around in a cat-back/off-road h-pipe car as a daily driver, too damn loud!

If you're ever up in the area, you're welcome to take it for a spin.

[SSMAN]

I have a 2005 Mercedes C55 AMG with 69k miles that i'm thinking about selling. 4 door, sporty, 380HP at the motor, 0-60 in 4.6 or 4.8 (can't remember). It sleeps in the garage and is in really nice shape.

Fucking nice! only think I hear about German cars is the drive line is great, but the electrical is shit. Never owned one, so I could not say either way myself.

[War Machine]

out of all the high mileage piece of shits I see day to day if I was going to own a luxury car it would be either a BMW, Lexus or Acura.

[EW]

Here you go Eric. These things were around $100K. Now mid 20's.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-CL-Class-CL55-2dr-Cpe-2005-MERCEDES-BENZ-CL55-AMG-NAVI-XENONS-AC-SEATS-WHITE-493HP-516-/310394136186?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4844eea67a

[slow99]

out of all the high mileage piece of shits I see day to day if I was going to own a luxury car it would be either a BMW, Lexus or Acura.

I've been scared off from German cars due to the repair bills once they fall out of warranty. I must say that I've loved every BMW I've ever ridden in or driven. I too am a huge fan of Acura - I think it's all my wife will ever own.

[black2002ls]

I didn't see that anyone else has mentioned it, but have you looked into the Infiniti G series?

[Big A]

I love my E90 328i, my only regret is not picking up the 335i when I got it, which I will be rectifying soon. It's quicker than my '98GT was stock, which isn't saying much, but not bad for an N/A inline 6 4-door. The 335i will push 400hp with an intake and a tune.

The fit and finish in the interior is nice, as are the other little bells and whistles that you wonder why you've gone without.

I second the CPO and warrantee, oil chages alone are $100 a pop every 3k miles, and parts aren't by any means cheap. For me it's nice to know that, out here without any buddies to offer a tow, that I've got roadside assistance, and won't spend a dime on anything other than tires, gas, and the monthy payment, as long as I have it. The warrantee has already paid for itself when I got a lifter tick taken care of, and I drove a brand new loaner while the BMW dealship had my car.

[War Machine]

Infinit and Audi are a joke. Just buy a Nissan or a VW and save a shit load.

[Skidmark]

Fucking nice! only think I hear about German cars is the drive line is great, but the electrical is shit. Never owned one, so I could not say either way myself.

I've never had electrical issues. This is my first MB and I've had a few BMWs, no issues.

I had to have the hydraulic lodgers replaced on the AMG though, it's common for them to start tinking. It sounded like a diesel. After replacing all of them, all is well, except my wallet.

[goofygrin]

We had an 07 335i (CPO, full maintenance package, etc.) for about... 7 months. Was my wife's car (coupe, stick, hard loaded). It got 18-19 mpg around town, 27-30 on the highway. Was fast as hell and a very tight car.

It was at the dealer, I shit you not for the first month we owned it. It was back eery couple months, for at least a week at a time. Everything from minor electrical (radio) to major electrical (headlights, tail lights) to complete turbo and wastegate replacement. Thank goodness for the CPO (although it cost $50 a pop). Also had quite a few interior plastics changed under the bumper to bumper warranty before it expired (peeling mostly).

The dealers were really nice, and we got loaners, but damn, we wanted our car, not theirs. Got rid of it, ironically, for a '12 JKU Rubicon.

Now... I drive an 02 M5 with 126k miles (I've put 23k of those on in 17 months). Reasonably easy to work on, parts aren't terribly expensive, and it's been ultra-reliable (knock on wood). Shittastic mpg (16 around town, 24 max on the highway). Although that's far better than the 09+ CTS-V that I'm looking at when I replace it.

One of my business partners had an '09 328i vert that they european deliveried. They had no issues other than she got hit and the top was basically impossible to realign and they had to send a jig and tech from Germany to reset it (insurance was *thrilled*). Honestly for around town, the 328i had a perfect amount of power without the 335i's penchance for "holy shit" type speeds (seriously quick).

[Big A]

We had an 07 335i (CPO, full maintenance package, etc.) for about... 7 months. Was my wife's car (coupe, stick, hard loaded). It got 18-19 mpg around town, 27-30 on the highway. Was fast as hell and a very tight car.

It was at the dealer, I shit you not for the first month we owned it. It was back eery couple months, for at least a week at a time. Everything from minor electrical (radio) to major electrical (headlights, tail lights) to complete turbo and wastegate replacement. Thank goodness for the CPO (although it cost $50 a pop). Also had quite a few interior plastics changed under the bumper to bumper warranty before it expired (peeling mostly).

The dealers were really nice, and we got loaners, but damn, we wanted our car, not theirs. Got rid of it, ironically, for a '12 JKU Rubicon.

Now... I drive an 02 M5 with 126k miles (I've put 23k of those on in 17 months). Reasonably easy to work on, parts aren't terribly expensive, and it's been ultra-reliable (knock on wood). Shittastic mpg (16 around town, 24 max on the highway). Although that's far better than the 09+ CTS-V that I'm looking at when I replace it.

One of my business partners had an '09 328i vert that they european deliveried. They had no issues other than she got hit and the top was basically impossible to realign and they had to send a jig and tech from Germany to reset it (insurance was *thrilled*). Honestly for around town, the 328i had a perfect amount of power without the 335i's penchance for "holy shit" type speeds (seriously quick).

All manufacturers have had cars like yours, sorry to hear it, but not the typical owner experience. Yes, the 328i has "plenty" of power for daily duty, but anyone that has a lead foot will quickly wish they had sprang for the 335i.

This of course is coming from someone that got bored with my low 11 second R6 within 6 months, and wished I'd gotten an R1. Anyone that doesn't drive spirited at all though, would be smart to save the money on the turbo motor and sport suspension package.

[tribaltalon]

not to mention, wasnt the 07 335i kind of problematic anyway? From what I've read, BMW didnt really figure out all the glitches until 2009-10. I like the LCI bodystyle better too. Hell, I dont know. I'm getting ready to go back offshore for 3 weeks, and i'd like to get something different when i get back home. 27-30 mpg would be pretty sweet I must say compared to the 17-18 mpg we currently get with the Rubi, even with paying for premium gas on the beemer. I'm kind of stuck on a standard, is this a good idea? In my experience with german cars (which isnt much), the electronics can make your head full of fuck when it decides to go into limp mode and not shift out of 1st gear. is this an issue with the 335? I figured in the long run if we keep the car long term it'll be cheaper to maintain the 6mt then it would be to maintain the AT

[tribaltalon]

something like this is what i'd like to end up with.. nice stance, some HRE's, tasteful mods and quick to boot.

[goofygrin]

All manufacturers have had cars like yours, sorry to hear it, but not the typical owner experience. Yes, the 328i has "plenty" of power for daily duty, but anyone that has a lead foot will quickly wish they had sprang for the 335i.

This of course is coming from someone that got bored with my low 11 second R6 within 6 months, and wished I'd gotten an R1. Anyone that doesn't drive spirited at all though, would be smart to save the money on the turbo motor and sport suspension package.

Yep, there are lemons out there. I was just giving two data points (new BMW buggy, old BMW not buggy [cept the E39 M5's are known to have some minor issues like rod bearing failures lol]).

not to mention, wasnt the 07 335i kind of problematic anyway? From what I've read, BMW didnt really figure out all the glitches until 2009-10. I like the LCI bodystyle better too. Hell, I dont know. I'm getting ready to go back offshore for 3 weeks, and i'd like to get something different when i get back home. 27-30 mpg would be pretty sweet I must say compared to the 17-18 mpg we currently get with the Rubi, even with paying for premium gas on the beemer. I'm kind of stuck on a standard, is this a good idea? In my experience with german cars (which isnt much), the electronics can make your head full of fuck when it decides to go into limp mode and not shift out of 1st gear. is this an issue with the 335? I figured in the long run if we keep the car long term it'll be cheaper to maintain the 6mt then it would be to maintain the AT

The 07/08 is twin turbo N54 motor. 09+ is twin scroll single turbo N55 motor. There's + and - to both. I like the newer body style too and the nav and other interior bits are better. When you're in limp mode in the 335i you basically need to pull over and call a tow truck. The car is busted and impossible to drive. The 335i auto is actually pretty good IMO, but the stick makes the car a lot more fun. The 328i auto isn't as good and with a stick the car is way, way more fun (even "down" on power).

We get 12-13 around town in our rubi, 16-17 on the highway (lifted, 35's, 4.10's, etc. makes it a brick, even with the new motor/transmission).