[timtech]

I came from a MB 4matic so I got used to having 4 wheel drive. It personally like being able to launch without roasting my tires but it's all a preferance thing. I got my 335xi from MotorWerks and they have been great. My last two MB's came from them and they have always taken great care of me.

[Kennygoodboy]

Tim - was your MB a c-class? How do the two cars compare?

[jrbmw]

I have a e46 325xi and I was huge proponent of awd in Chicago until I got my 335i with snow tires. Unless you try driving through a blowing blizzard or deep snow, it is hard to get stuck with the snow tires on. They were surpringly effective. Also, since you live in the city, they do a half way decent job of keeping the streets clear, thus I say go for the 335i.

As for Perillo, I had the dreaded check engine light go on a couple of weeks ago. I drive there and they tell me that they couldnt look at the car for 2 weeks. They told me to drive to Schaumburg. Idiots...I called BMW assist and had the car flatbed to Motorwerks in Barrington. The car was ready to pickup by the next day.

+1 for Irv.

[///M3NACE]

Laurel sucks...portillo is alright...Patrick is awesome...MW is the best

[ex-poster]

Ummmmm.....

Y'all do know that "pressing the button" actually turns traction control OFF?

[chitownbimmer]

first of all, don't go to perillo. I hate them. Bought a 335i in may, and they f*cked up my ride twice, plus somebody there drove my car 100 miles while they were fixing a rear bumper paint chip.
In regards to the i vs. xi, I have a 335i, my brother just bought the 335xi. Both are very quick on dry land, 335i a little faster in my opinion. Haven't driven in snow, but i know both of us have to buy winter tires cuz' we both have the 18in sport package wheels. So, in my mind, if you have to buy winter wheels anywayz, why are you gonna pay $3500 more for AWD, unless you like to drive aggressive in bad weather, which i hope you wouldn't do in your new bimmer, right? My friend has a '06 M3 convert, which has incredible torque from my understanding and he does just fine in winter wheels in the city. So if he can do it, so can we!

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by smithrh

Ummmmm.....

Y'all do know that "pressing the button" actually turns traction control OFF?

Maybe this was changed for the E90 cars - consult your owner's manual - but on the E46 pressing the button once turns off Dynamic Stability Control and turns on Dynamic Traction Control. Pressing and holding the button for about 5 seconds disables both.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by epbrown

Maybe this was changed for the E90 cars - consult your owner's manual - but on the E46 pressing the button once turns off Dynamic Stability Control and turns on Dynamic Traction Control. Pressing and holding the button for about 5 seconds disables both.

Yes, that's how my previous 330Ci worked. Its the same for my e92.

[timtech]

Originally Posted by Kennygoodboy

Tim - was your MB a c-class? How do the two cars compare?

They were the C Class. The comparison is night and day. I used to have a second car for sporty fun times and the C class to go to work, etc. Now the 335xi fills the void for both cars.

The C was heavily underpowered (c240) which had like a 169hp, then going through four wheel, it lost even more... but I was ok with that since it wasn't meant to be sporty or quick. It did have good low end torque for that amount of power.

The last one I traded in had 16,000 miles on it and the transmission would shake the car at low speeds. I put up with that for a couple thousand miles... but when I took it in for service at MotorWerks, they reset the learning logic of the trans and it went away.

The only thing I like over the 335 was the onboard computer, they did that right.


On the 335xi I have the sport package with the upgraded wheels, but I know that I will need all seasons to make it to the train station (and back out). I'm hoping to burn through the run flats and see what's available by December.

[Kennygoodboy]

This is very helpful, thank you. I think I am going to go to Motor Werks (I bought my Porsche in Michigan but they were VERY helpful and let me test drive 3 Porsche's even though they knew I was buying from someone else).

Re: cost differential, its only $1,900 though I still dont want to spend it if I dont have too. Since I am buying in spring, I will ping you after a winter to see if your opinion has changed on the xi!

Originally Posted by chitownbimmer

first of all, don't go to perillo. I hate them. Bought a 335i in may, and they f*cked up my ride twice, plus somebody there drove my car 100 miles while they were fixing a rear bumper paint chip.
In regards to the i vs. xi, I have a 335i, my brother just bought the 335xi. Both are very quick on dry land, 335i a little faster in my opinion. Haven't driven in snow, but i know both of us have to buy winter tires cuz' we both have the 18in sport package wheels. So, in my mind, if you have to buy winter wheels anywayz, why are you gonna pay $3500 more for AWD, unless you like to drive aggressive in bad weather, which i hope you wouldn't do in your new bimmer, right? My friend has a '06 M3 convert, which has incredible torque from my understanding and he does just fine in winter wheels in the city. So if he can do it, so can we!

[Kennygoodboy]

Thanks. The new C Class has 230hp for the 300 and 268hp for the 350...better but still not in BMW's league. I LOVE the new styling but was turned off when the slower 300 comes in a manual but not the more powerful 350! Idiots. Mistake for MB is gain for BMW I guess...

Originally Posted by timtech

They were the C Class. The comparison is night and day. I used to have a second car for sporty fun times and the C class to go to work, etc. Now the 335xi fills the void for both cars.

The C was heavily underpowered (c240) which had like a 169hp, then going through four wheel, it lost even more... but I was ok with that since it wasn't meant to be sporty or quick. It did have good low end torque for that amount of power.

The last one I traded in had 16,000 miles on it and the transmission would shake the car at low speeds. I put up with that for a couple thousand miles... but when I took it in for service at MotorWerks, they reset the learning logic of the trans and it went away.

The only thing I like over the 335 was the onboard computer, they did that right.


On the 335xi I have the sport package with the upgraded wheels, but I know that I will need all seasons to make it to the train station (and back out). I'm hoping to burn through the run flats and see what's available by December.

[Kruz]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Of course, an xI with proper snow tires could probably climb trees, but why would you need that in Chicago?

The same reason folks choose a 335i over a 328. Increased performance in snow and rain. I like being able to stay ahead of trouble in the snow.

[///M3NACE]

buy a 335xi over a 335i. if you have the budget for it. more reliable

[///M3NACE]

unless you want to do some sick donuts get a 335i. lol

[Gort]

Originally Posted by ihsanshaik

Laurel sucks...portillo is alright...Patrick is awesome...MW is the best

I thought Portillo's sold....

[saosinned]

Originally Posted by Gort

I thought Portillo's sold....

great now i have to go to portillos. thanks a lot

[kimi_fan]

I think all the chatter about which dealer/service/sales man sucks and why is funny....guess what...they all suck! This is going to be a long post.

I bought my fist BMW 16 years ago and have been to pretty much every dealer and service dept. in the Chicago area. Here is my story about why they all suck at one time or another...

Bought the first one from Jacobs in Naperville. Great sales experience, but hey, they were making 12% on cars back then. Service was great...at first. It seems the service manager, whom I had come to know over the years, had left and the replacement sucked. Service went straight downhill.

So I followed the service manager to Laurel in Westmont. Continued to get good service...there was a SA by the name of Scott H. who was awesome. Always helpful, remembered me and the car everytime I called to make an appt. Then Laurel was purchased by AutoNation or maybe AutoZone j/k, the service manager left. Service got a little worse, but as long as Scott was there I kept going. He eventually left as well.

Went to Land Rovers for a time, and when I purchased my next BMW I went to both Perillo and Patrick...and Fields (since that is where I got the Rovers) but they couldn't match the price so they were out. Perillo had a car that I wanted (was looking for a late model 330ci at the end of the year) and I needed a car as my Land Rover lease was up. I had a good sales experience at both dealers, but in the end Patrick had a better price for the car I really wanted...

But, when I showed up at the dealer to pick the car up and sign the papers the dealers said "oh, we made a mistake and the car we quoted you on was not the one you are picking up". Then he proceeded to tell me how much more $$$ I was going to have to pay a month. Well, it turns out the Perillo deal was better. Called Perillo and the other 330ci I wanted that they had was gone...stuck with the Patrick deal. I made them come down and match (or get close) the original deal. In the end after 3 hours they finally agreed. Never once took the car to Patrick for service.

Since I had a decent experience at Perillo I went back to buy an X5 4.4 about a year later. John Conway (now the sales manager) was very helpful, got me a great deal on the car. So much so that we purchased another X5 4.4 when my parents needed a new car. He took the time to explain all the features to my parents (not an easy task).

So when the 330ci was hit I bought a 335i coupe from Perillo. Again, worked with John and had no issues. However, I had a Mini CooperS at the same time as the 330ci and was looking to trade the Mini towards the 335i. I would agree if anyone out there says the other sales people at Perillo (ones that have been there for a while) are total beat offs. So I worked with the used car manager on a decent trade price for the Mini (and tax credit) for the 335i. He offered me $1000 under what I owed. BTW, this Mini S was loaded, perfect, and had 12k miles after 3 years. I had a dealer friend of mine check auction values at Manheim, seems the used car manager was giving me $3000 under current auction value. Sold the car to CarMax (great experience btw) and made $1900 on the sale.

So I bought the 335i anyway. Now the fuel pump goes out at 7300 miles and I've just had the WORST service experience of my life at Perillo. Not to get into it but I'm thinking of driving out the Fields from now on. And funny, my parents just told me how great Jacobs was when they took the X5 in for service last week.

So we've come full circle and think I've made my point that they all suck at one time or another. Now, I'm in the market for an X3 or 5...where should I go? Guess it doesn't matter.

[sblument]

I live downtown but use Fields--am happy with them. No experience with Perillo.

[Kruz]

Originally Posted by ihsanshaik

unless you want to do some sick donuts get a 335i. lol

True true....I do miss causing a ruckus but I dont miss replacing expensive rear rubber after 5k.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by kimi_fan

I think all the chatter about which dealer/service/sales man sucks and why is funny....guess what...they all suck!

Interesting, you never went to Motor Werks! Read post #5 in this thread...

[hotsand5]

I used to work a few blocks from Perillo. when I went to buy my 330 there, and nobody even looked at me, even though I was there for almost 20 minutes. Finally I had to ask somebody to help me out, and once I said I wanted to do ED, he said, I can't help you with that...go to another dealer!!

I went to BMW Orland Park, and they were awsome there with service and sales.

[Chi-town330]

Perillo has a good service department, we have used them for years and never had one problem.

As far as purchasing: I suggest you do all negotiating with Saleem, the manager. He is nice, straightforward, and very professional. A genuine good person, in my opinion. The only thing I did with the SA was go for a test drive. Then we went directly to Saleem for all financial discussions. Then dealt with the SA on the paperwork. A few of the SA's there are cheeseballs, some are nice, but seriously, just work with Saleem.

Every time I have been in there, Saleem continues to impress me, even offering free detail jobs (which I haven't used). My fiance had a few issues on her 02 that he got fixed for almost nothing, and she didn't even buy her car there. I think he is into creating relationships, and he has cultivated one with us. We live only a few blocks away, and stop in often just to chat with him.