Please help me decide and some advice - [2007] 335i or 330i

[pistontail]

Hey guys! how y'all doing? I just signed up because want to ask for some help.

I have owned (still owns) E46 2004 318ci m sport for about 4 years now and have a very strong itch to replace it.

I always wanted a big engined fast car so I would like a V6 (or V8 even) so I started looking for 645 but then it took me 2 days to convince myself not to go for it as the mpg will be very low and because it is heavier than 3 series, 333bhp probably wont be as fast.

Anyway, cut to short, I decided to go for 335i but been reading forums across the globe and seems like most people are saying 330i is better overall.

Now I would like to have some advice please. I am posting two links (hopefully autotrader links are allowed). Please tell me if i were to choose between those two, which one i should. Something that wont break down often and have me spending thousands straight away. My e46 318ci is bloody expensive because everytime i get is serviced or MOT i have to spend 1000s.

330i SE 2dr 2007 FSH+1 owner - http://goo.gl/WnTVoI

335i M Sport 2dr FBSH+1 owner - http://goo.gl/EubHFQ

I know the 330i is standard and not M, but I can look for M. This is just to show what I am interested in right now.

I want auto (personal choice) because i drive a lot and i am in London. What attracts me of 335 is dual exhaust and its 306bhp. 330i is very close 272bhp but single exhaust (i know it is just aesthetics but dual looks more meaner)

Please help before I make a wrong decision.

thanks

[waterwonder]

If you're worried about ongoing maintenance then the 330 is probably better.

[pistontail]

Not to much on going maintenance per se. it's more things going wrong more often than usual or lets say there are more known problems than the other etc.

[SBN]

Had a 330i for a year or so and loved it but always wanted a 335i because.... It was faster lol

Bought a 335i, great car but missed the na engine of my old 330i, wished I never sold the 330i. After 3 months of 335i ownership I sold it and got an m3

Not keen on turbos it all seems a little like false/effortless performance

[pistontail]

Thanks SBN, that's the kind of experience i would like to hear

M3 is out of my budget purely because i drive my car daily. Maybe one day when I have 2 cars.. then one can be economical and other fun!

So the points are for 330i so far.

I have noticed there are very few to none M sports 330. What features aren't available in SE that are in M sport?

[Smiley198700]

I think an m sport on 19s would probably snap your spine, I'd go for the SE personally

I don't have any experience of the 335i but the n52 is a lovely engine, loves to be revved but still torquey enough low down IMO plus it sounds glorious

[boolay]

Had my 330i for a year now and certainly don't have a hankering for a 335. I find it more than quick enough and love the n/a engine. M sport is very stiff on run flats and have heard an SE is a far more compliant ride, although I much prefer the M Sport looks

[pistontail]

Awesome guys! thanks a bunch for the responses. I think I'm gonna look for 330i. Will try M sport because I like the look of it and my current car is M and i don't mind the stiff ride. Although it's e46 so it might be different.

[gangzoom]

pistontail said:

Anyway, cut to short, I decided to go for 335i but been reading forums across the globe and seems like most people are saying 330i is better overall.

Apart from better reliability I'm not sure why you would pick a 330i over the 335i. Infact the web is full of people trying to compare modified 335i to E9X M3s.

http://www.birdsauto.com/editorial/editorial-total...

I've had my modified E90 335i now for 3.5 years, and short for spending £50K on the new M3 theres nothing else on the market that offers the same combination of luxury, fun, practicality, and reasonable running costs. So despite the various reliability issues i've had, I cannot see my self parting with my 335i for a good few years yet.

If you have the money to maintain a 335i and modify it (LSD and Better dampers/spring are a must), you will not be disappointed by it

[Smuler]

My love of the n/a 3litre (albeit in the E46 generation) was how it worked so well with a manual gearbox. See if the opinions in favour had the same combination, as I've read a good few posts here which were not so complimentary about 330i with auto, your preferred option, with a nunber wishing they had chosen manual. 335i with auto, from what I've read is a popular option.

[pistontail]

gangzoom said:

Apart from better reliability I'm not sure why you would pick a 330i over the 335i. Infact the web is full of people trying to compare modified 335i to E9X M3s.

http://www.birdsauto.com/editorial/editorial-total...

I've had my modified E90 335i now for 3.5 years, and short for spending £50K on the new M3 theres nothing else on the market that offers the same combination of luxury, fun, practicality, and reasonable running costs. So despite the various reliability issues i've had, I cannot see my self parting with my 335i for a good few years yet.

If you have the money to maintain a 335i and modify it (LSD and Better dampers/spring are a must), you will not be disappointed by it

The only reason is that i googled 330i vs 335i last night and from the posts from various forums, it seems like turbos are common problem with 335i which are quite expensive plus the drive is much better on 330.

I have not driven either yet and I know I should before deciding, which I will, but just wanted to ask personally if you guys were to choose from those posted cars, which one would you go for.

I have budget. i am 32 so insurance is not a problem plus general maintenance and looking after is not a problem either, but I also drive within London daily. I would say I do about 100-120 miles a week which are city miles. So if you were to buy having these things in mind, which one would you?

[b14]

If you want to know about 335 problems, search my previous posts in this forum. Generally they are overhyped. Having driven both I preferred the extra power - it totally depends on your preference. The 335i is significantly faster than the 330i but if you like to rev it, the 330i is probably better for you. I loved the brawny feel of the 335 down low - on the motorway its acceleration was pretty impressive, with no need to drop out of 6th gear to drop nearly every other car on the motorway.

MPG is pretty much the same across both cars. On balance 330 is probably less likely to break, but 335i isn't a ticking time bomb in all cases, as the forums might have you believe. Drive both and see what works for you.

[Smuler]

Why would the drive be much better on 330i? Could you get a warranty from BMW to ease any repair of turbo worries? Also bear in mind on 335i the SE cars get sport seats and suspension. Seat support and ride could be a bigger issue for you than performance if the lions share of your driving is city of London.

[gangzoom]

pistontail said:

The only reason is that i googled 330i vs 335i last night and from the posts from various forums, it seems like turbos are common problem with 335i which are quite expensive plus the drive is much better on 330.

I have not driven either yet and I know I should before deciding, which I will, but just wanted to ask personally if you guys were to choose from those posted cars, which one would you go for.

I have budget. i am 32 so insurance is not a problem plus general maintenance and looking after is not a problem either, but I also drive within London daily. I would say I do about 100-120 miles a week which are city miles. So if you were to buy having these things in mind, which one would you?

I think you need to test drive both. The 330i and 335i share the same chassis, suspension, brakes, only different been the engine, so I'm not sure why people think the 330i is better to drive? The engine in the 335i is pretty much lag free, i've only owned NA cars before the 335i and to be quite honest if you didn't tell me the 335i was turboed I would have thought it was another NA car.

My 335i is used for nearly all city driving, and I find it perfectly fine for that job, mine is also an auto so perfect for city driving. At the same time when I took mine on a 2300 mile road trip around Europe that included 6 Alpine passes and 140mph blasts on the autobahn, what ever the situation the 335i performed beautifully.....As you can tell I'm a big fan of the car.

I'm sure the 330i is also a fab car, but a simple remap on a stock 335i will hit 350-360bhp and 380-400bhp with a few simple bolt on mods...now tell me those power figures aren't tempting

Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 14th October 22:43

[Smuler]

My understanding is that 335i (and 335d) have hydraulic steering, so different to the other E92s. It's heavier and has more feel.

[boolay]

gangzoom said:

Apart from better reliability I'm not sure why you would pick a 330i over the 335i. Infact the web is full of people trying to compare modified 335i to E9X M3s.

http://www.birdsauto.com/editorial/editorial-total...

I've had my modified E90 335i now for 3.5 years, and short for spending £50K on the new M3 theres nothing else on the market that offers the same combination of luxury, fun, practicality, and reasonable running costs. So despite the various reliability issues i've had, I cannot see my self parting with my 335i for a good few years yet.

If you have the money to maintain a 335i and modify it (LSD and Better dampers/spring are a must), you will not be disappointed by it

Sorry to thread hijack, where did you get your rear clusters if you don't mind me asking?

[pistontail]

gangzoom said:

I think you need to test drive both. The 330i and 335i share the same chassis, suspension, brakes, only different been the engine, so I'm not sure why people think the 330i is better to drive? The engine in the 335i is pretty much lag free, i've only owned NA cars before the 335i and to be quite honest if you didn't tell me the 335i was turboed I would have thought it was another NA car.

My 335i is used for nearly all city driving, and I find it perfectly fine for that job, mine is also an auto so perfect for city driving. At the same time when I took mine on a 2300 mile road trip around Europe that included 6 Alpine passes and 140mph blasts on the autobahn, what ever the situation the 335i performed beautifully.....As you can tell I'm a big fan of the car.

I'm sure the 330i is also a fab car, but a simple remap on a stock 335i will hit 350-360bhp and 380-400bhp with a few simple bolt on mods...now tell me those power figures aren't tempting

Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 14th October 22:43

I see. Yea I can tell you are a big car fan and love your 335. I will test drive it today or hopefully tomorrow. It was my first choice (after 645) so let's see.

Basically the reason I am scared is because when I bought my e46 2004 (n42) I didn't look for "common problems with n42" and straight after buying it, on my first service, i spent £1k. Then I thought ok thats fine now its done i will have a worry free drive but no.. every 4-5 months i was spending 200-500. even my last service i spent £1500.

I just don't wanna keep doing that. and enjoy the ride.

[hornetrider]

The difference in fuel consumption between a 330i and 645i will be negligible.

[pistontail]

hornetrider said:

The difference in fuel consumption between a 330i and 645i will be negligible.

really? I'm sure real world consumption of a 4.5 litre v8 would be far higher than the 330? I'm talking city drive.

[hornetrider]

I think you might be surprised.