[barton2002]

Hi everyone:

Im going to trade in my 520d for a 330i at the end of this year! i cant wait!!! but i need to ask you guys something.

What sort of price should i be looking at?

Any people down south near Bath knows where to get a 330i?

Is 330i better than 330d, the main reason i dont wanna get diesel is because I CANT STAND with diesel engine's noise ever again. lol. but overall, with 3000cc, petrol would be better?

how much slower is 330 than 335?

What sort of things that i should be looking out if im buying a 2nd hand car?

Lastly, does 330i has dual pipe? or just one-sided pipe? If i want to get it changed to dual pipe, whats u guys recommendation? mstyle?

Thanks very much for helping,

Barton

[zltm089]

if ur gettin a 330 please don't change the pipes to get a dual pipe "a la 335"....

I believe it will be one sided but twin exhaust...

are you bothered about leather and sat nav extras etc?

if not, then i would recommend you go for the 335i....make sure u buy it from a good dealer with excellent customer aftersales service....


2nd hand car.....obviously, try a bmw dealership...(price might be £2-3k on top extra) but you get a 1 year warranty... Coopers Cobham and BMW Battersea are good dealerships....


when buying the car, physically check the brake pads and tyres ...and check the on board computer for next service etc,...oil change etc....air filter etc....

and GET THE SALESMAN TO CONFIRM THAT THESE ARE CORRECT!....

I made the mistake of "believing" the salesman when buying my one....he said , "yeah, next service another 15k miles ....got a long way to go" .......after 3-4k miles, I had to change front and reak brake discs and pads....I do appreciate that the onboard computer is not that accurate and that it depends on your driving style etc etc....BUT.....It shouldn't say 19000 miles "left" when in fact you have to change it after 5000 miles!

and do the other usual checks ...scratches, kerbs, stone chips, windsreens etc....

and service history!!!!!!!!....check when it was last done.....what were the intervals etc...

[zltm089]

335 are going for like £20k....with no extras!...these are performance cars!....not bothered about leather or satnav!....just get a 335 if u want the performance!...

[Swiller]

Originally Posted by barton2002

Hi everyone:

Im going to trade in my 520d for a 330i at the end of this year! i cant wait!!! but i need to ask you guys something.

What sort of price should i be looking at?

Any people down south near Bath knows where to get a 330i?

Is 330i better than 330d, the main reason i dont wanna get diesel is because I CANT STAND with diesel engine's noise ever again. lol. but overall, with 3000cc, petrol would be better?

how much slower is 330 than 335?

What sort of things that i should be looking out if im buying a 2nd hand car?

Lastly, does 330i has dual pipe? or just one-sided pipe? If i want to get it changed to dual pipe, whats u guys recommendation? mstyle?

Thanks very much for helping,

Barton

1) Depends what year and how old the car is. its about 30k. Mines up on a 55 plate for 13k, with 50k miles
2) best bet i think is a dealer if you want high spec models. Lower spec i would try a car supermarket.
3) I wouldnt say that a 330d is better or worse than a 330d. both are great cars and do things differently. If you are like me and you like the sound of petrols, go for it. Economy wise 330d are more expensive to buy outright, but run less gas. Do the maths. I think on a 4 year old car you could be quids in running a 330i vs 330d over 1-2 years ownership.
4) It is about two tenths of a second to 60 according to the official stats. There is a thread on this exact subject on here somewhere, where an otter is deemed to be the best out of the three.
5) Second hand you should be looking at whether it has a FSH, whether there is a free service pack on it, tyres, kit, warranty, and next service and depreciation values and prioce of course. Body work, stone chips etc. Warranty will have run out if its over 3 years old.
6) Twin exhaust one side. You would be better going 335i if the exhaust is that important.

They are quite hard to find a 330i e90 with decent spec.

Good luck

[dxb335d]

Both great cars. He 330i will never be a quick as 335i. A mapped 330d however will
be ad quick as a standard
335i.

Yes petrol sounds better, diesel easier to make rapido progress.

[beemerbird]

Think Swiller summed it up well in his post above.

Depends what year of manufacture you're looking at and are you looking for the m sport variant?

Only reason I ask is because I had a 2006 E90 330i M sport and overall a good car but the suspension was hard (I believe BMW may have softened it slightly on the newer models due to complaints) on our lovely smooth roads The car could feel like it was skipping a bit but never lost grip and was something you got used to. I've heard others complaining of tramlining on this model and year of 330i M sports, but I had the 18" wheels and never had any tramlining problems.

You may not find the suspension set up too hard, we're all different. Just something to look out for if it's that model and age you're looking for.

Lovely sounding engine that straight six and no slouch but you've got to work it to get the most out of it.

[matt@stratford]

Are you after an e92 or e90? I have an e90 330i which is a lovely motor (good spec for an se). If you don't do many miles I would say that is what to goes for - sounds lovely. I am thinking about a change due to my miles but if i did less miles would keep without a doubt.