Is a 325 enough?

Author
Discussion

vtecyo

Original Poster:

2,122 posts

128 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
quotequote all
I'm 99% settled on a 3 series convertible for my next car (8-11k). Stories of 335s melting has put me right off them, and it seems as though hardly anybody bought a 330 new... I guess why would you when the 335 is available?

325s seem slightly more available, but I can't help but think I'd be frustrated with it all the time as it's 50bhp (ish) down on the 330. Coming from a Chavcic Type R which is quite nippy I wonder if it'll become dull. I'm not expecting it to drive like a hot hatch, but I drove a GT86 a little while ago and the feeling of constant "hurry up" when you applied some fun pedal was so irritating.

Admittedly, the instances where this would actually happen in the real world are very very minimal, but then why not have a 320? Hopefully you can understand the scenario here..

TL;DR: Should I buy a 325, or hold out and find a 330. Anyone with first hand experience?

ETA: petrol. In case there was any doubt.

Edited by vtecyo on Tuesday 28th June 15:25

Blanchimont

4,076 posts

121 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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The 335i's tend to be a little bit more fragile, but they are massively tuneable, and can take massive power without flinching. They seem to suffer from fragile turbos and high pressure fuel pump issues, which I believe BMW did a recall on the HPFP.

Hold out for the 330i.

AMGJocky

1,407 posts

115 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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A friend of mine runs a 335i and has done for the last 18 months with no issues. Not that fast, but not slow either. No reliability issues as far as I'm aware. I can't imagine a 330 would be much slower though.

BuzzBravado

2,944 posts

170 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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AMGJocky said:
A friend of mine runs a 335i and has done for the last 18 months with no issues. Not that fast, but not slow either. No reliability issues as far as I'm aware. I can't imagine a 330 would be much slower though.
NA vs FI for the period that i *think* the user is talking about. Two different beasts at that time.

abarber

1,686 posts

240 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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Those E93s are really heavy. Something with a turbo isn't a bad idea.

I ran an E90 330i Manual for a few years, great car. It did need to be worked hard, but what an engine!

Liquid Tuna

1,398 posts

155 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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No one's really answered the OP's question though, about the 325. I guess it's subjective anyway and the only way you'll know is to test drive one?

Dannbodge

2,160 posts

120 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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The 335i is a fast car. Plenty fast enough for the UK's roads, especially when mapped.

The 325i, 330i sound incredible with a decent exhaust on though. Don't forget they are essentially the same engine, so with some 330i bits and a map, you will have a 330i with a 325i badge: http://mosselmanturbo.co.uk/remapping-carstyling-c...

I've got a 335i and love it, yes it may have "reliability" issues (you only ever hear bad stories, not good ones) but it's a cracking car none the less. if you do re-consider a 335i, then factor in £50 for BMW warranty each month.

Edited by Dannbodge on Tuesday 28th June 15:46

rsbmw

3,464 posts

104 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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Granted it's not the textbook PH answer, but the 330d would be worth a look, the e90 can remap to 300bhp fairly easily and the torque makes it a lot of fun.

toon10

6,140 posts

156 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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I ran a Le Man blue E90 325i mSport for 4 years. My intention was to get a 330 (the 335's were just out of budget at the time.) After a lot of searching, not much came up in my area. I tested a bog standard poverty spec 330 which was quick in a straight line but didn't do anything for me. I also looked at a 325 SE which was lovely but the salesman couldn't be bothered so I walked out. In the end, I tried the 325 mSport. It was the colour and spec I wanted but just not the 330 I had my heart set on. It handled so much better than the SE so I decided I'd been looking long enough and bought it.

I loved the car and never felt bad when I saw a 330 out and about as I thought I might. I can understand that it's a comprimise and as such, some might regret that it's not the 330. It wasn't slow but wasn't a rocket ship either. Performance wise, it certainly kept up with the CTR's, Focus ST's, etc. but obviously they are not hot hatches and feel different to drive.

In the end I did crave a bit more performance so went for an M135i but the 325 certainly wasn't a bad choice. In some ways, I enjoyed driving it more than my current car. The manual gearbox and NA straight 6 delivery made it a bit more fun than my automatic any gear hit the loud pedal turbo delivery of the 1 series.

vtecyo

Original Poster:

2,122 posts

128 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
quotequote all
Realistically I very rarely drive my EP3 in anger - living in Bristol there's never the chance to. The only longer drives I do are to Dorset, Cornwall, and very very rarely some work mileage to and from a hotel.

In all honesty I'm swaying towards an auto as well... at 26. PH card on the way out?

TrevorH

1,359 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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I sold my E93 330i earlier this year. (Manual MSport btw)
As has been said, it's a lovely engine but there is a lot of mass in the E93 and it shows; the car is a cruiser more than anything.
As per the comment above, you really need to drive a 325 and a 330 to see how they feel.

vtecyo

Original Poster:

2,122 posts

128 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
quotequote all
toon10 said:
I ran a Le Man blue E90 325i mSport for 4 years. My intention was to get a 330 (the 335's were just out of budget at the time.) After a lot of searching, not much came up in my area. I tested a bog standard poverty spec 330 which was quick in a straight line but didn't do anything for me. I also looked at a 325 SE which was lovely but the salesman couldn't be bothered so I walked out. In the end, I tried the 325 mSport. It was the colour and spec I wanted but just not the 330 I had my heart set on. It handled so much better than the SE so I decided I'd been looking long enough and bought it.

I loved the car and never felt bad when I saw a 330 out and about as I thought I might. I can understand that it's a comprimise and as such, some might regret that it's not the 330. It wasn't slow but wasn't a rocket ship either. Performance wise, it certainly kept up with the CTR's, Focus ST's, etc. but obviously they are not hot hatches and feel different to drive.

In the end I did crave a bit more performance so went for an M135i but the 325 certainly wasn't a bad choice. In some ways, I enjoyed driving it more than my current car. The manual gearbox and NA straight 6 delivery made it a bit more fun than my automatic any gear hit the loud pedal turbo delivery of the 1 series.
Good post, thanks.

Shakermaker

11,317 posts

99 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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Its good enough, yes. Definitely good enough not to be yet another 320d or 318i trundling along with delusions of grandeur whilst blocking the outside lane at 65mph because they heard it was "the BMW lane" from a 1980s comedian...

AMGJocky

1,407 posts

115 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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vtecyo said:
Realistically I very rarely drive my EP3 in anger - living in Bristol there's never the chance to.
Oh I feel your pain.

vtecyo said:
In all honesty I'm swaying towards an auto as well... at 26. PH card on the way out?
Woah, I drive an auto, shh.

vtecyo

Original Poster:

2,122 posts

128 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
quotequote all
AMGJocky said:
Woah, I drive an auto, shh.
It's allowed on 8 cylinders +

andy118run

866 posts

205 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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I have a 325 - the Readers Car thread is here - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=148... , with plenty of comments and info from fellow 325 owners.

I have also owned a 2002 registered Civic Type R a few years back.

Is the 325 enough? In terms of acceleration it is not much slower than the civic though the later is without doubt more fun. If outright pace is the most important factor then the 325 may disappoint a little. For me, the overall package - decent pace, comfort, reliability - makes it worthwhile. But when the time comes to change it, I can't imagine getting another as it just feels like a box I have ticked, and it really isn't exciting enough to exchange like for like.

Blackbird425

1,884 posts

104 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
quotequote all
vtecyo said:
Realistically I very rarely drive my EP3 in anger - living in Bristol there's never the chance to. The only longer drives I do are to Dorset, Cornwall, and very very rarely some work mileage to and from a hotel.

In all honesty I'm swaying towards an auto as well... at 26. PH card on the way out?
Auto is the way with these. They are not sports cars by any stretch. Dont underestimate the effect of all that extra weight

rallycross

12,747 posts

236 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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325i is nice and smooth but feels gutless in these E90" shape cars.
330i is a much better car decent performance and will return same economy as the 325.
335i is very different from the 330 giving loads of power from 2,500 revs and happily revs all the way to 7.000 rpm.
335i used is great value for £££ buy carefully and you have a superb car.
( I've owned most versions of these cars including 325,325d,330,330d and 335i).

JamesRF

1,050 posts

97 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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I've got a 125 convertible which I've had remapped taking it to 260bhp (basically 130i power) and I couldn't be happier with it.

Previously owned a 330 convertible as well which I loved, but driven the 325 before and thought it was more than enough to be honest.

tgclowes

198 posts

115 months

Tuesday 28th June 2016
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With that shape 3 series I'd go for an auto whatever engine you choose. Not sure if I'm in the minority but I always found the manuals to be very unpleasant.