[PBureno]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking of getting either one of these cars(used), a 2006 E90 BMW 330(low mileage) vs a 2007 E90 BMW 335i(used).

I had my hearts set out on a BMW 330i for awhile now and when I was browsing through 330 than I found a 335i that was only $31000(Fully loaded or almost, since it had navi but not i-drive).

So I was wondering, is this deal too good to be true? It had 5000 miles on the car and it's black on black. Do you think theres something really wrong with this car or are 335i's selling around that price? How come they're selling at such a low cost? I'm still seeing 2006 BMW 330's around the price of $32000+

What are the pros and cons of either of these two cars?

Are the 2007 BMW 335's still having major problems(engine overheating and oil coolers and limp mode) or has the problem been fixed? I haven't been up to date with the 335i news.

Would you think the 335i would be fine to keep for years to come, especially after the warranty expires? It's a first year model as well, but I'm not sure if the recent changes made the 335i more reliable then when it first came out.

The most important thing is basically reliability, the 300 hp is nice and especially when it's the top of the line 3-series. But I basically have to keep this car throughout university and I don't want to fork over a arm and a leg to keep this car running after warranty.

The 330 however, doesn't seem to have any problems at all(maybe a rare occasion of the clicking noise) but it seems fairly reliable and I can definitely live with what the 330 comes with and the 250hp. The problem with this is finding one with low mileage.

Thanks a lot E90!

[darkphantom]

the limp modes have mostly come to a close, but the HPFP issues still pop up now and then.

With an '07 335i...you have +1 year of warranty...not to mention more power than the 330i....both very good cars, you'll have to test drive each...

have any links to these cars?

[exo-ak-dk]

its pretty though to pick between those two cars

[AJerman]

If it has nav, it has iDrive. They are the same feature.

[simp0man]

Don't settle.

[JedN]

I faced this same decision. Started out looking for a 330i and occasionally found 335is that were selling only at a moderate premium. I found, BTW, that it's very important to normalize for feature content. When I did that, 335i's were selling for $4K or so more (meaning you should be getting an equivalent 330i for about $26K-$28K). That amount was important, but it wasn't the deciding factor for me, however. There were two:

1. Fuel economy in the 330i is significantly better. I was (and am) kind of nervous about the price of oil. My dad, and a few others, pointed out that this difference in MPG is minimal when you stay off the boost in the 335i. To that I said, "Have you met me? That's the least realistic thing I've ever heard." Honestly I think that's true for most people too.
2. My wife said "What the hell do you need 300 horsepower for? You're going to kill yourself and your kid will grow up without a father." I decided that this particular argument wasn't worth winning.

[StoneCold]

[*]My wife said "What the hell do you need 300 horsepower for? You're going to kill yourself and your kid will grow up without a father." I decided that this particular argument wasn't worth winning.[/LIST][/QUOTE]


LOL...... and well said.

and the turbo needs to be replaced app 4 to 5 year as well or maybe sooner.

[K330i]

probably every day you will notice the fuel economy of the car you buy

maybe once a month you will ask yourself why you settled for 255hp instead of 300hp

in the end you have to live with it.....

[AdamJ]

Originally Posted by StoneCold

and the turbo needs to be replaced app 4 to 5 year as well or maybe sooner.

Do you have any evidence to back this up besides false facts? I've never seen a factory turbo that had to be replaced after 4-5 years.

[i2iSTUDIOS]

335i, no question about it! I had a 330Ci prior and the power with the 335i is what I longed for. Passing power in any gear, absolutely fantastic.

[zackday30]

Originally Posted by AdamJ

Do you have any evidence to back this up besides false facts? I've never seen a factory turbo that had to be replaced after 4-5 years.

+1, Back up that data for me....No way your turbo should give after 4-5 years...unless you drive the crap out of it and have 90k miles

[munu]

Fully loaded 335i with 5K miles for 31K is I think too good to be true. If you check in KBB similar car should be selling for over 35K when you look at PP. So I would say it is a very good price if you have premium/sports and navi.

Make sure the carfax is clean.

Regarding which one to pick. Go with 335i without any doubts. Post the links if you saw these cars online.

As far as mpg if you look at the sticker, I think both 330i and 335i (2007) are 20/29. I am getting around 23 mpg on 335i with 40% city driving.

[hotrod2448]

Originally Posted by JedN

I faced this same decision. Started out looking for a 330i and occasionally found 335is that were selling only at a moderate premium. I found, BTW, that it's very important to normalize for feature content. When I did that, 335i's were selling for $4K or so more (meaning you should be getting an equivalent 330i for about $26K-$28K). That amount was important, but it wasn't the deciding factor for me, however. There were two:

1. Fuel economy in the 330i is significantly better. I was (and am) kind of nervous about the price of oil. My dad, and a few others, pointed out that this difference in MPG is minimal when you stay off the boost in the 335i. To that I said, "Have you met me? That's the least realistic thing I've ever heard." Honestly I think that's true for most people too.
2. My wife said "What the hell do you need 300 horsepower for? You're going to kill yourself and your kid will grow up without a father." I decided that this particular argument wasn't worth winning.

You fuel mileage argument is invalid. If you are heavy on the pedal either one will not get good mileage. If you can manage to get good mileage in a 330 you can in a 335.

I'm actually getting worse mileage in a 328 loaner than I do in my 335 because I have to use more throttle to get close to the performance I'm used to just driving my car normally.

OP: It comes down to the cars and your preference more than anything else. Go look at both of them and decide which you prefer.

[hotrod2448]

Originally Posted by Mystic_blue

I like the feel of both cars....but they are very different animals...the 330 is a highway monster.....the 335 is a streetfighter. I love my 330 and so does my driving record. Nuff said. I think it versatile. I reminded my wife that I could tow a boat. Today. Actually.

What?

[SPACEMANRICK]

I traded in my 2006 330i for my 2008 335xi (both were 6 speeds) and the gas mileage is almost identical if not better in my 335xi (even with the all wheel drive). My 330i got about 12L per 100km and my 335xi is getting about 11.7L per 100km. I expected a penalty of 1L per 100km because of the bigger 335i engine and because of the all wheel drive but have been pleasantly surprised

The 335xi has lots of torque so for city driving I shift from 1st to 2nd straight into 5th gear. I could not do that in my 330i because there was not enough torque.

[Gripster]

Get the 335i. As long as it's CPO, you will have a warranty to cover your reliability concerns while at Uni.

If you get the 330, you will always wonder about the 335.

[335DOG]

Just test drive the 330 and the 335 and see the difference yourself, thats what I did. The difference in power between the two are night and day. Remember the 300 hp of 335i is under rated.

[DC516]

Originally Posted by Mystic_blue

I like the feel of both cars....but they are very different animals...the 330 is a highway monster.....the 335 is a streetfighter. I love my 330 and so does my driving record. Nuff said. I think it versatile. I reminded my wife that I could tow a boat. Today. Actually.

haha I was just telling my friend that, I think edmunds says 1083lb tow cap. I agree, I have noticed that the 330i just eats up the highway.

After a long debate of 335i vs 330i, I ended up with a late build CPO 2006 330i/6mt. I did drive both and ridden in my friend's 335i dinan test car (its a beast). Either either, its a correct choice since you arent buying another brand car, ha.

[OO---OO]

I sold my E90 330 for a 335i Coupe mainly because i like the Coupes better. The 330i is an amazing car without problems and gets good ratings too! if you dont care too much about power, racing and all the bells and whistles, go for the 330i. Youre looking at both E90s too so theres really no visual differences other that the dual exhaust.
I say if you can save a buck, go for the 330 and if the price is around the same, go for the 335. i mean, yeah, you might not NEED the 300 hp but if you ever do, its there!!
also, gas miliage depends on how YOU drive, man. Im pretty sure that most of us "335" drivers on this forum dont drive them too conservative though, lol. its addictive, trust me!

** yes, i realize that my post is contradictive, lol
your situation is a win/win situation though!

[Chuckles]

I went through the same thought process. With the 0.9% and the steptronic credit I ended up going new. This, like so many things in life, ends up in the "if I spend only X more I get Y."

One thing to be careful about with the 2006 330i, since it was actually released sometime in mid-2005, there are actually quite a few CPO'd cars that were in-service well before 2006. That eats even more time off of the warranty.

Best bet is to buy a carfax subscription and start looking for the date of the title/etc. It's not fool-proof but it will help you identify cars that are definitely older.

Once you've narrowed down your search, be sure to contact the dealer for a service history and warranty in-service date.

Nick

[nicknaz]

I recently spent time with a coworker's E90 330i. It feels very similar power-wise to my E90 328i. You might want to consider a new 328 since the financing is great right now.

That said, the motor in the 335 is awesome as long are you aren't using it for extended track sessions

[John 070]

Originally Posted by AdamJ

Do you have any evidence to back this up besides false facts? I've never seen a factory turbo that had to be replaced after 4-5 years.

Agree with you. That poster just attempted to spread misinformation, it's one of the cons of the web and forums. This isn't 1988 when most of us were born and where turbos were rare and needed serious maintenance. Turbos are commonplace now.