335i or 370z or...?

[Brengolfer]

Hey everyone, I hope all is well. So, a little about myself. I'm graduating college in a few weeks, and will start working. Based on what I've seen so far, I can feel comfortable financing a used car for around 25k. My first thought was a 335i coupe. I've also thought about an E46 M3, but I figured the maintenance costs could be astronomical and I probably won't have that much money to be putting into the car that I buy. Then I thought of another option, the Nissan 370z. I like the look of it, and think the reliability is quite good. Ideally, I would like to get a 335i coupe and drive it for a few weeks, then put in a JB4 and exhaust or something along those lines. But could the maintenance on a 335 have me regretting my decision and depleting my bank account? Are there any other options you'd consider as a newly graduated young businessman? I know this is a BMW forum, and I'll probably get biased answers. Perhaps it is that my subconscious wants me to buy a 335. But you also know BMW's best, and I would like some honest answers about how much a 335 would really cost me, and if I should consider something else such as a 370z instead, or if I'm just being paranoid and should pull the trigger. Thanks for any help, and in light of recent tragedy, I hope you and your families find yourselves safe and at peace.

Best,
Brennan

[KenU8187]

I bribe both and went with the 335i personal choice. The 370 is a great car(I actually was driving the g37 but they are pretty similar) I like the easy tunability of the 335. Now I'm at 400 horses and 420tq for about 2grand out of pocket.

There is no question the 370/g37 is a more reliable car there is simply no denying it. It's still worth it to me to drive what I like driving.

I would recommend you look at the service record of the car and look to see if the water pump and injectors have been replaced already. They are common probs among 335s and if alrdy replaced with likely reduce your chance at having to deal with them.

GL. Just my opinion and by no means expert opinion.

[Amtrak98]

You stated you considered an M3 E46 but ruled it out because of maintenance. Now I'm not an expert on the E46 M3 or the 335i but from what I've gathered reading here on the forum, the M3 is a lot to maintain and so is the 335i. You also stated that you don't want to be shelling out large amounts of money on the car. Well, you have to do that with any BMW. Im 17 and bought an E90 328i in December and so far I've already put $3K in to maintenance (thank goodness I make good money at my age so it's not currently a problem for me). Now keep in mind half of that was just routine servicing that needed to be done (got a great deal on the car) but the other half was straight up repairs and I only have a 328i, so I can't imagine what that wouldve been on the 335. And I have a manual so it would've been even more if it was an auto, so I'm hoping you're looking at manuals. So, if you don't want to spend large amounts of money maintaining the car I wouldn't get the BMW. 335s aren't cheap.

[Brengolfer]

OK, thanks for the input guys. It seems that the 370 would be more reliable, but it would cost me at least 22k, most like about 24k, while I could get a decent 335 for around 20k. So, with this difference of a couple/few grand in mind, the maintenance would probably take a while to bridge the gap. Also, the 335 has four seats, is more luxurious, and easier to modify for neck breaking speed.... I'm really having trouble talking myself out of a 335. I will definitely drive both before I buy anything, but is the 335 maintenance really that bad? or the 370 that good? I'm really leaning towards a well maintained 335 and making some tasteful modifications. Then I'll have all the acceleration I could want with the prestige, handling, and all else a BMW carries...

[Amtrak98]

I can't speak for the 370, but from what I read, 335's can be either complete headaches or run as they performed (even though maintenance is still more). But the way I look at it is, owning a BMW in the first place as a base model is already incredibly expensive. There's a reason we aren't all driving around in 328i's, so you look at that and realize that there is a whole other level that the 335i stoops on that costs even more. There's more you have to maintain and unfortunately, we don't know how long they're going to last in terms of long term ownership. I've heard promising things about the E90's being another generation of long living BMW's, but when I hear people talk about the 335's I get completely different results based on the turbos. Maintenance records can be helpful but I've seen people with clean slate maintenance records that end up having hellish problems. That being said, I've also met, know, and seen people who have BMW's with no problems. So they aren't always accurate. When you buy a BMW you go in expecting to spend money on it to keep it running as a BMW rather than buying one that will save you the most. That's simply not how we can own these cars IMO. But you can't have your heart set on a high end 335i without having your brain set on cost of ownership. Even if things don't go wrong with it, it's still going to require more to maintain than a 328i which is already quite expensive. Buying a 335i comes with a high price tag. Rather than thinking about buying it and not spending money on repairs, you need to think about buying it and setting aside money for repairs. And not even repairs, just scheduled maintenance is going to be expensive. If you have a local indy, I would go in one day and see what they would recommend based on what they repair. They're the ones who fix them, so let them make honest suggestions. If you have your heart set on it, buy it. But things will go wrong with it and that's just something we accept as Bimmer owners. Just my 2¢.

[ndog14]

Subaru BRZ