BMW Virgin - 3 series E9x Coupe help

[anonymous-user]

Hi all,

Never owned a BMW and I think it's time to put that right. Love the look of the E9x Coupe... sorry don't know the correct E number for it as they seem to get different numbers posted by different people.

Anyway I am thinking of a 2008 - 2011 car with reasonable mileage and it must be auto and petrol (I don't do diesels and yes I know they are great, but a sporty car should not be a diesel... just my opinion... no offence intended). Plus I have two other cars both petrol and I would end up putting the wrong fuel in at some point.

Anyway I was thinking of a 330 or 335. Car will do about 15K a year and I will probably keep it 3 years.

Are there any issues I need to look for? Corrosion issues? I know it's a young car, but I come from thew world of Mercs where 2009 E class doors can rot for fun.

Is the 335 substantially better than the 330?

Any must have extras? What does M Sport mean?

See I told you I was a BMW virgin

Any info would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[helix402]

No corrosion probs. Maybe the odd injector or coil failure, occasional water pump and high pressure fuel pump. Main thing is buy a 6 cylinder as you suggest, much more reliable.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the advice and yes I have read that the 6 cylinder engines are the ones to have.

[Monty Python]

M Sport has some different interior trim and different front/rear bumpers and side sills. It also has M Sport suspension. Don't ignore the SE - most are specced up to M Sport. I'm on my second and don't miss the M Sport "trim" a bit.

[anonymous-user]

Monty Python said:

M Sport has some different interior trim and different front/rear bumpers and side sills. It also has M Sport suspension. Don't ignore the SE - most are specced up to M Sport. I'm on my second and don't miss the M Sport "trim" a bit.

Thanks, that's good to know.

[DivideBYZero]

The "Belt Butler" seat belt extension devices can be a problem, but in 5 years mine have just occasionally stopped short, but then continued to work. The early N54 335i HPFP is dodgy and by now I would suggest they should all have been replaced. The N55 is solid as far as I know. The fuel cap spring is a common fail and £9 to replace with an original part. The later CIC HDD based iDrive is better than the CCC DVD based one, identify the change by the shortcut keys surrounding the iDrive knob. The old one has the big silver knob with one button only.

[Smuler]

cb1965 said:

Hi all,

Never owned a BMW and I think it's time to put that right. Love the look of the E9x Coupe... sorry don't know the correct E number for it as they seem to get different numbers posted by different people.

Anyway I am thinking of a 2008 - 2011 car with reasonable mileage and it must be auto and petrol (I don't do diesels and yes I know they are great, but a sporty car should not be a diesel... just my opinion... no offence intended). Plus I have two other cars both petrol and I would end up putting the wrong fuel in at some point.

Anyway I was thinking of a 330 or 335. Car will do about 15K a year and I will probably keep it 3 years.

Are there any issues I need to look for? Corrosion issues? I know it's a young car, but I come from thew world of Mercs where 2009 E class doors can rot for fun.

Is the 335 substantially better than the 330?

Any must have extras? What does M Sport mean?

See I told you I was a BMW virgin

Any info would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Good luck with losing your virginity

Better to lose it in a 335i, as it's significantly faster and if you go model year 2009 onwards you can have a DCT (double clutch transmission) which is much better than an ordinary auto; faster and feels more like a racing driver is doing the shifts for you. I have one.

With 335s, the SE's did come as standard with the sports suspension and sports seats, I do not believe that is the case with the 330s.

It is definitely good advice whoever said the newer I drive is better, again you'll have to go 2009 onwards for that.

Have attached a picture of mine which shows DCT shifter and the newer (CIC) I drive controller, to help with identification.

I have a N54 (they changed with the facelift around April 2010) but mine now at 84k miles has been very reliable with only the injectors replaced at around 73k miles. My research showed that the N54 seemed to be more reliable in 2009, so as you can tell in my opinion that's the year to start looking from.

[ladderino]

As for 330 vs 335 - there's a subjective difference as well as an objective one.

The 335 is faster, and given the turbos has a lot of low end torque and suits an auto box. The 330 on the other hand needs to be revved harder to get the power and therefore more rewarding if working the way through the gears in a manual is your kind of thing.

I've got a 335 (albeit in touring form) - absolutely love it, and still have no plans to change (had it for 5 years, never kept a car before for more than 2 years).

Get a warranty.

[cerb4.5lee]

ladderino said:

As for 330 vs 335 - there's a subjective difference as well as an objective one.

The 335 is faster, and given the turbos has a lot of low end torque and suits an auto box. The 330 on the other hand needs to be revved harder to get the power and therefore more rewarding if working the way through the gears in a manual is your kind of thing.

I have a 330i auto and it's a lovely engine but it doesn't suit that gearbox and would be far more enjoyable with a manual I agree, with hindsight I wished I'd gone with the 335i but I thought it would pretty thirsty if driven hard but from what the owners say both the 330i and 335i are very similar on fuel.

So it has to be the 335i I think because it's quicker and sounds more fruity and it has lots of tuning potential as well, the 330i also doesn't offer that much shove nowadays either when compared to other blown engine alternatives.

Even the current 4 pot turbo 330i is quicker and far better on fuel than the old 6 cylinder 3 litre 330i so I can see why it got consigned to history whereas they still make the 6 cylinder 3 litre turbo engines.

[Crackie]

335i all day long.......try to find one that has had the water pump and brake hydro unit repaired. Water pump will go at some point; usually in the 65-80k mile region. They go without any warning beforehand and car usually has to be recovered to a garage for repair. Brake hydro unit is an issue too; approx. £2100 to fix at main stealer, £1800-£1900 at good indies. The unit can be repaired / refurbished by companies such as ecutesting for approx. £250 + removal & re-fitting. Was about £450, inc lifetime warranty, on mine about 3 years ago.

These problems aren't 335i specific and apply to any E9x series.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the replies. It's looking like a post 2009 335 then.

I do have to say that I wonder why no manufacturer seems able to make a car that doesn't need thousands of pounds of additional maintenance outside of normal wear and tear due to some overly complex system. It seems no matter what brand I look at there is always something ... mind you with a Merc R230 in the garage anything else will seem cheap to run in comparison

[Mr Tidy]

I've never had one, but I do have a Z4 Coupe with the N52 engine that early E92s had.

It is fantastic with a manual box for chasing the red-line, but with an auto. a 335i is probably a better option than a 330i!

Hope you find one you like! (Soon)!

[Monty Python]

cb1965 said:

Thanks for the replies. It's looking like a post 2009 335 then.

I do have to say that I wonder why no manufacturer seems able to make a car that doesn't need thousands of pounds of additional maintenance outside of normal wear and tear due to some overly complex system. It seems no matter what brand I look at there is always something ... mind you with a Merc R230 in the garage anything else will seem cheap to run in comparison

They don't - like every car on the road there are always a few that have problems. I've had BMW 335d for the past 7 years and apart from routine servicing the only problem was a broken seat belt widget that was fixed under warranty.

[SoupAnxiety]

I have a 2009/59 330i 272ps manual and love it but I wanted an NA manual over a turbo auto / manual. I suspect the 335i suits the auto box better than the 330i would. I've driven a 335i manual and been out in an auto as a passenger. The 335i is quicker but the 330i is no slouch nor is it disgraced by a 335i and puts up a good fight. In real world use they are both plenty quick enough for the roads, to me it wasn't all about speed and my worry would be a 335i auto may get a little dull after a while (fully expect the 335i folk to disagree and say otherwise). My advice would be do not rule either out and pick which suits you best - they are both brilliant but more different than the numbers suggest.

[anonymous-user]

Been wondering about whether to consider a touring/estate istead of a coupe.

Do the 335s have the same DCT box as the coupes? How do I know hen looking at one whether it has the DCT, will it look like the shifter above as several touring models have a different shifter even 2009/2010 cars?

[Smuler]

That's my shifter I posted. Sadly tourers and saloons did not get DCT.

All E90 series 2005 -2012 touring had the same steptronic auto.

Are you looking at F30 tourings they have the ZF shifter 8 speed which looks more like the DCT I posted.

[anonymous-user]

Smuler said:

That's my shifter I posted. Sadly tourers and saloons did not get DCT.

All E90 series 2005 -2012 touring had the same steptronic auto.

Are you looking at F30 tourings they have the ZF shifter 8 speed which looks more like the DCT I posted.

Thanks for that, I did wonder if that was the case.

I am a bit torn. I love the look of the coupe, but I do wonder about the practicality every now and then hence why I was wondering about the tourer.

How bad is the steptronic?

[Smuler]

I came from a manual of previous generation and I don't like autos. Step just felt like an ordinary auto, DCT feels sharper more like a racing driver is sat beside you doing shifts and manual mode, feels more like a manual than just going through the motions. If you are happy with auto then I can't say step will be that bad; but if you are a keen manual driver, then I feel step will frustrate you, DCT is best of both worlds.

[anonymous-user]

Smuler said:

I came from a manual of previous generation and I don't like autos. Step just felt like an ordinary auto, DCT feels sharper more like a racing driver is sat beside you doing shifts and manual mode, feels more like a manual than just going through the motions. If you are happy with auto then I can't say step will be that bad; but if you are a keen manual driver, then I feel step will frustrate you, DCT is best of both worlds.

Thanks for that. I have an SL55 which is my weekend car and the sounds very like the steptronic. It gets away with it due to the massive power and torque, but it isn't the best I must be honest in paddle mode.

Think I need a DCT for the daily driving so the coupe it is!

Thanks again for your help.