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.

[anonymous-user]

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

[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.

[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

[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?

[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?

[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.