BUSTN

How are the 335i coupes holding up out there?Are there any issues with these cars? The price seems right as does the performance of the car.Whats the scoop on the 335i?

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Great car! If you were to order one now, be prepared to wait for months as they are on back order. Dealerships are not willing to swap stock with one another either. Suprise pics coming ahh... this weekend

Threxx

I've heard fuel pumps tend to go out and there's an overheating issue on certain configurations of cars that has been partially fixed but may still exist on other configurations.

BMWs are not practical cars to buy in terms of reliability. They aren't the biggest POSes out there, but they're nowhere near lexus reliability either. The thing that makes it worse is that BMW parts and service are VERY expensive once you are outside of the 4yr/50k mile free maintenance and warranty period.

My personal rec is get a BMW only if you plan to sell it before the warranty is out or you don't mind paying high dollar bills to the dealer to keep it running right.

OC 335d

Extend warranty to 7 yr/100k and enjoy it.

If you search my posts, I have A LOT of posts on the 335i.

cal_alum98

There have been reports of overheating. The 335i Coupes with the sport package, I believe, come with oil coolers to help alleviate this issue. My gf has a 335i and it seems to run hot, as I've gotten it up to about 250-260. Even though the temp guage goes up to 300, the service advisor told her "oh, anywhere on that guage is fine." Ummmm... okay...

Fuel pumps are definitely an issue. First time she brought the car in, they said a software update took care of it. Right... Took it in a second time since the problem did not go away and the car was at the dealer for several weeks while a replacement fuel pump was on order. We'll see if this new pump is any better.

iDrive... I'm not a fan of it to begin with, but at one point, it stopped responding to all input for what seemed to be the first 10 minutes after startup. Software updated.

That's what I've seen thus far. Fun car to drive (when it's not at the dealer), but I'm glad I'm not paying for it.

OC 335d

Overheating really isn't an issue anymore. All come with Oil Coolers now. You can get an oil cooler retrofit from BMWNA.

Fuel pumps are an issue. Supposedly, they have new/diff. fuel pumps in there now.

I prefer I-Drive over Lexus' crippled Nav/MP3 playlists/etc.. The interface of the Lexus Touchscreen is better, it is more intuitive, but I personally prefer the features that the I-Drive gives you. Mainly, ability to use your navigation/playlists/etc. whenever you want, Real Time Traffic, and the nicer wider screen.

geko29

Doesn't have to be expensive if you do most of the work yourself. I recently did my Inspection II (60k service) at 67k as indicated by the OBC, including a LOT of things not included on the official list. I changed:
all filters (air, cabin air, oil, fuel)
all fluids (oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, clutch fluid, diff fluid, Power Steering fluid)

Of that list, only the air filter, cabin air filter, oil filter, oil and brake fluid are indicated at 60k. All the other fluids are claimed to be "lifetime".

All that work cost me a grand total of $400, including the Bentley service manual ($90) and a special oil filter wrench ($18), which I'll never have to buy again. Aside from that, the car's cost me $60 for a battery, $70 for a final stage resistor, and $500 for tires in the seven years I've owned it. That's not too bad in my book.

BUSTN

Which ever car I end up choosing, it will be a 2-3 year lease. Are the 335i's bringing msrp or more?Is there any haggling on the price, since they are so in demand?

OC 335d

In the SoCal market, you can pay MSRP or slightly below at most dealers for the 335i Coupe. There is not much room to haggle since the cars are typically on a 2-3 month waiting list. Not too sure about your market.

sdbrandon

335 is an awesome car. As others have said their was a fuel pump issue. Some defective pumps from a vendor much like the crap Toyota gets.

Also, the engine may overheat, so they added an oil cooler. These are not converted Camrys. They are high performance cars, so they take a little more work to get things right.

NOTE: BMW got both the fuel pump and oil cooler issue resolved in about 3-4 months. Last I checked, the ES350 still had tranny issues for over a year now, and the GS still rattles to hell. I do not know about you folks, but reliability is one thing, coping with poor drivetrain issues is another. I would rather have a car that breaks every year or two and drives incredibly well, then one that runs like crap all the time but never breaks.

From my experience they cost just as much to maintain as a Lexus out of warranty. Luxury cars are expensive to maintain period.

I have always liked BMW. They are like no other. The interior choices, options paint, euro delivery, and of course, drivetrains that cannot be beat.

OC 335d

$1299. Extended maintenance to 7 yrs/100k.

Brake job is at least $900, Inspections can be pricey as well. This saves you big time money. If you have a stick, the clutch will be pricey w/o the plan as well. Very good deal.

AzNMpower

I don't understand why there's a misconception that BMW parts cost more than anything else. It's a luxury car, you need to get used to it. Infiniti parts aren't cheap. Acura parts aren't cheap. Lexus parts aren't cheap either. MB parts are also expensive. With a luxury car, comes the luxury car price of maintenance. If you want, you can look at the latest IIHS luxury car bumper tests. The 3-series was not even close to the most expensive to repair.

The 335i had very early overheating issues if you didn't order it with the right equipment and drove it hard. I believe if you get the sport package, you will get the oil cooler which prevents the overheating issues. There is also a lot of performance potential with aftermarket upgrades, if that appeals to you. Either transmission is great; of course I always recommend the manual, but the automatic is simply superb and unlike anything else the competition offers.

The prices tend to be firm as demand tends to be high at this point. There is probably a waiting list in your area. However, there are plenty of nice options and color combos to choose from, and the coupe does look nice. Performance is excellent, as is fuel economy (provided you don't cane it). The option of European Delivery makes the wait time shorter since ED orders do not come out of the dealer's allocation spots, and you save a bundle of cash along with the Lufthansa 2-for-1 airfare. That, along with free scheduled maintenance, makes the 335i a terrific buy.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I've found Lexus parts prices to be rather high. Much higher than my Acura parts and about the same as my BMW parts. When it comes to the higher end cars, I think they all cost about the same for parts and maintenance.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Lexus vehicles tend to have small issues that might be very annoying but the car keeps running.

BMW vehicles tend to have possibly fewer but much bigger issues that often mean the car won't or shouldn't be run.

It's like owning a plough horse or a race horse.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

i saw a 335i convertible the other day with red interior, man that was nice