omgitsroy

iTrader: (1)

bmw + turbo may equal problems the first year... = )

http://forums.audiworld.com/lrqc/msgs/84866.phtml

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

My E36 when it was in my hands (I bought it used from my sister) never left me stranded. It had the usual quirky electrical glitches and window regulator problems though. That said, I can from owning Acura cars which basically needed gas and go. My 3 Legends were rock solid, so the E36 IMHO was not up to my reliability standards at that time. Since then, I've had many co workers and friends that still own BMW's. A few still have their E36's, most have the E46 (Including M3's) and a few have E39's. I'm not saying they don't have problems, but only 1 had to have her car towed when the plastic radiator fan broke and came apart. All in all, maybe the reliability isn't that much better, but from my perspective after being away from BMW and owning 3 different Lexus cars is that the reliability wasn't really that bad on the BMW and I'd take the risk for that drive again. My goal for my next car is a really tough one since it will have to replace our reliable Lexus as well as my fun NSX since I'm selling both. That is a lot to ask from any regular car, but I think the 335i Coupe and even the IS350 might be able to satisfy that goal somewhat at an affordable price. Priced out the IS350 would cost me about $41K, and the 335i Coupe would be about $46K at MRSP prices.

As a side note, my E36 had about 90K milkes when I traded it in for the Lexus. A lot of my friens BMW's are also near that mileage or even well into the 100K range already. They really aren't as unreliable as people make them out to be.

FrankyJ

i wouldnt have taken the 335i since im guessing u mean the coupe, but i definitely would take the 335i coupe if it was out when i bought my IS... sorry lol

socalJD

CK6speed, must be the nice hawaiian weather, my E36 was a PITA. Some of my maint 'hi-lights': blown head gasket, water pump, sunroof motor (twice), generator, rear end, and finally 2nd gear assembly, all after 50k abut before 90k. I drove spirited back then, but in no way beat on the car, and it was bone stock. It got to the point where it was more expensive to keep it running than buy a new toyota (Celica GTS), which I kept for 9 yrs & 130k miles and never replaced a thing (yup, original clutch & brake pads).

Oops, sorry for the hi-jack . . .

newr

Not that I take my cars to them for service regularly since I do most of the work myself. But when I do, they always have an equivalent loaner for me especially the MB dealer. BMW dealer however has not been that consistent. When I turn in the 7 for service they give a 3 for loaner which is not a big deal to me either.

I am leaned toward the performance side more than the luxury side. I don't find the IS, 3 or G35 that luxurious anyway. If I wanted luxury, I would look at their bigger brothers.

These are my deciding factors for not considering the IS350.
1. No Manual Tranny for the IS350. Lexus hit it right with the IS350 interm of power and having the VDIM on/off button now for the 07 model is a plus but it's still lacking the MT which is a huge turn off for me.

2. No Rev-Match downshift for their AT. Infiniti has had this with their AT for a while and now BMW and Acura AT can also rev-match.

I can live with the not so responsive and direct steering since this is not going to replace my track car but at least give me the option 1 or 2 for me to play with.

OutlawsX

I would still get the IS350... comparing a car that cost 10k+ more is somewhat misleading. I guess I would get the 335i, sell it, and use the money to get the IS350 + have extra cash leftover.

daveortega

I have had an IS350 since January. I'd get the 335i sedan in a heartbeat.

So, why do I think the 335i is a better buy?

- I loved the E90 330i but it couldn't match the IS350's power. The 335i should cure that, and then some. BMW's excellent road manners + best-in-class power make this the ultimate sport sedan.

- Having spent a few months with the IS, I can definitely say it is missing "something" in the road manners department. It feels disconnected.

- A manual transmission! It's a sport sedan, Lexus.

- No VDIM. Not only is the BMW stability program less intrusive in semi-spirited driving, I love the fact that they can be disabled. The '07 IS only partially addresses this.

- The BMW has a 4 year free maintenance program. That's about as long as I'd have the car and would make it significantly cheaper to operate than the Lexus.

- To be honest, guys, the 335i won't be cheap, but the IS350 isn't exactly a bargain when it comes to pricing

- My last car was an E46 and was absolutely top-notch quality. Comparisons to Audi quality is ridiculous; these days, BMW fares among the best in the durability studies, close to Toyota and Honda (and Audi doesn't).

Back then, I picked the IS350 over the 330i due to the IS' better power and interior. Today, I can deal with the BMW's boring interior in lieu of a much more exciting driving experience.

335i, please.

cliverman

"And last I checked I could lease a 335i for 24 months for $529/month w/ about zero down." Where??

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

too expensive for me IS350 is good enough for me

arent BMWs maintainence intervals 15k miles so you get to use it 3-4 times in the warranty period

cliverman

I totally agree. The 330i was/is under powered. I went from a '01 330i to a '03 G35 to a '02 C32 to my current IS350. The IS was the best out there until the 335. I drove one on Saturday and it's a bullet! It does have a boring interior but I didn't look at it much. I was too interested in the way it drove.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, I think it is a hit or miss. Kind of a quality control issue. I hear a lot of horror stories about BMW, yet mine wasn't too bad when I look at it, and I know a lot of others as well that had very little trouble that is in line with Toyota/Honda. I think with BMW you are gambling somewhat. You either will get a good car or a troubled car The problem is trying to figure out what the odds are After that figuring out if it is worth it. With the old 330i E90 while I like the car it may not have been worth it when there is an equally good IS350 to choose from. The 335i especially in coupe form for me really does change that a lot though.

TorontoIS

Well I'm currently in the market and thinking about what my options are. If I don't worry about AWD then I think I'm down to either the IS 350 the 3 or the G35. I guess I'm getting older but the interior is extremely important to me as is the service department. Quality is also a huge factor. When I consider those criteria first then I come up with the IS as the winner on paper. Next I need to decide how much performance vs. luxury I want. Again getting older I think that the equation will end up being that the IS 350 will have more than enough performance and luxury for me.

OutlawsX

Basically if you have the money, go for the more expensive one... because comparing the two will give people the impression that the two are the same price, which they are not. When the IS500 comes out, people will say, how about the 335i vs. IS500... which wouldn't be a fair comparison.

If you got the cash, go for it. If you like BMW, go for it. Personally, the owners of my company had a loaded BMW M3 and he said it was terrible.. and then go himself a SL55. So it would be an unfair comparison to say,... M3 or SL55 AMG. :P

bulwinkl24

LOL. if you bought the 335 just to sell it right after driving off of the lot, you'd lose whatever money you thought you would have left over after buying the lexus. car de-value as soon as you drive it off the lot. so instead of buying a lexus to begin with and only being screwed once, you wouldve gotten screwed twice with your original plan. LOL.

GreyHound

iTrader: (1)

Here you go BigBoy --->www.vw.com

I had a possessed Passat and a feaky audi. But I was naive in the 90's