[blindrooster]

Just curious. I love my N52 and want to hear what others have to say.

[AWSAWS]

cost will be the most likely reason I suspect...

N52, last of the port injected engines. We had the N53 over here (Europe) for 330i and the like.

[supergoat]

The cost difference is minimal on the used market for the two so that wasn't a factor for me.

I bought my BMW as a daily driver and I wanted reliability as a main factor. Yes the 335 is plenty reliable overall but the 328 is moreso. I have a Miata in the garage for my toy/project. Plus the 328 is still plenty quick, and with a few modifications it's a blast to drive a rarely ever leaves me wishing I had the 335. My job allows me to drive a lot of different cars every day and every time I drive a 335, it's fun but it never makes me wish I had it. I'm happy with my choice.

I wanted what I called an "enthusiast" edition. 6 speed manual, rear wheel drive, non-turbo, base options for less weight. All my car has for extra options is sunroof and real leather. That's it and I love it. Car feels very light, tossable and quick.

Every now and then I price a 335, which then has me looking at 09-11 E90 M3's. But I can't pull the trigger just yet. My next car will most likely be a base e90 M3 or a 645, but probably the M3.

[ZeroSum]

Ignorance. Now I don't mean that as a slight towards the 328. It was ignorance on my part. I didnt know any better at the time and I was wanting to get out of the issue ridden truck I had. I found my 328i with relatively low miles 59k for a decent price. I found that once I drove it all about the 335 and while the extra power would be great I think the only thing I regret is having an auto. So far other than standard maintenance (Water Pump, Thermo, VCG, VC, Plugs, and wires) its been fine. The hardest thing was finding an indy I could trust in my area.

[Topgearsdead]

I purchased a 2007 335i with 240,000km for $4800.

Paint and interior in good shape. Maintenance not up to date.

So far I have done plugs, water pump and thermostat ($800). next are the turbo chargers. ($1500)

I hope that's it for a next few years.

If you're buying a 335i, make sure Turbo's have been replaced if you plan on going stage 1. If the famous waste gate rattle is present then you will have to replace because you will keep hitting the 30ff codes (limp mode)

[Ruddigger]

I wanted a wagon, and there were no other choices.

[OnlyDriveGerman]

Reliability and I knew if I bought a 335, I'd spend a ridiculous amount of money making it faster, money more well spent on a house. I don't plan on making the n52 faster, cause let's face it, not much room to increase power.

[NiNeTyOne]

Originally Posted by Ruddigger

I wanted a wagon, and there were no other choices.

Same situation here, needed/wanted an estate car. Audi isn't bringing a proper estate car (the AllRoad is not an option) into North America so options are pretty limited.

Besides, I have been doing fully built Audi turbo S cars since 1993 and I was ready to go back to a NA car. My last NA car (other than race cars) was a 05.5 OBD1 993 and I really missed the performance character of an NA motor.

[NiNeTyOne]

Originally Posted by OnlyDriveGerman

Reliability and I knew if I bought a 335, I'd spend a ridiculous amount of money making it faster, money more well spent on a house. I don't plan on making the n52 faster, cause let's face it, not much room to increase power.

Getting upwards of 30+% more from an n52 isn't terribly difficult, and the difference between 200 and 260HP is pretty transforming for a car of this weight.

[tetsuo111]

Originally Posted by Ruddigger

I wanted a wagon, and there were no other choices.

This. I surveyed wagons and narrowed the choices to BMW or Cadillac. Even if the 335i wagon was available here, I prefer the visceral driving experience of NA. If FI, I prefer SC.

[Ruddigger]

Originally Posted by tetsuo111

This. I surveyed wagons and narrowed the choices to BMW or Cadillac. Even if the 335i wagon was available here, I prefer the visceral driving experience of NA. If FI, I prefer SC.

Yeah, CTS-V wagons are hard to come by.

[max_330i]

Well, for starters, I was in the market for an early model E90/E92. The LCI cars would have been in the budget but it would have been a little uncomfortable-- wouldn't have much money left for repairs. So it came down to 07 328i vs 06 330i vs 07 335i.

Why I chose N52 330i:

1) reliability
2) price
3) rarity... I see 335i's all day long in my area but I'm one of the few with 330i 6MT.

Basically, I found the right car at the right price. It had the colors I wanted and had numerous nice options... since 330i was the premium model for the 2006 model year, it came with the xenons/premium sound etc. that are hard to come by in 328i's. I made the right choice as the car is fun to drive and bulletproof so far.

Max

[jc5988]

cost of hassle n repair in the future vs n54 n55, plus more pure inline 6 sound and lighter car. more old school bimmer feel.

[Torgus]

I own both.

The NA car blows and is slow and boring the drive. I only bought it as I got a steal of a deal for it and a family member needed my beater more than I did. I'll still sell it in a year or so and bank 4-5k.

Both N54s are a blast to drive and I enjoy it every time I get in them. The e90 is a total sleeper. The E92 not so much.

The only reason to buy a NA non N54 car is for a child for a beginner car or your wife: Slow, Safe, Reliable, still a bmw so they can say they drive a luxury car to their friends.

My guess is most people did not want to spend the extra $. They are more money to buy and maintain but the performance far out weighs the cost difference.


Also, if buying a house is effected by buying a sub 20k car you have other issues and should not be buying a house in the 1st place.

[jc5988]

Originally Posted by Torgus

I own both.

The NA car blows and is slow and boring the drive. I only bought it as I got a steal of a deal for it and a family member needed my beater more than I did. I'll still sell it in a year or so and bank 4-5k.

Both N54s are a blast to drive and I enjoy it every time I get in them. The e90 is a total sleeper. The E92 not so much.

The only reason to buy a NA non N54 car is for a child for a beginner car or your wife: Slow, Safe, Reliable, still a bmw so they can say they drive a luxury car to their friends.

My guess is most people did not want to spend the extra $. They are more money to buy and maintain but the performance far out weighs the cost difference.


Also, if buying a house is effected by buying a sub 20k car you have other issues and should not be buying a house in the 1st place.

im assuming u didnt went for m3 cuz too expensive? lol jk...

[E91 M Sport]

Originally Posted by Ruddigger

I wanted a wagon, and there were no other choices.

Ditto

[Tom Droze]

When I bought my 328i I was fully aware of the 335i, as I looked at them in '07 when they first came out. What I was not aware of was the two N/A engine variants, the N51 and N52.

Also, when I bought the 328i I was stepping out of a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata, which was never intended to be my daily driver but was about 70 percent of the time because of teenage drivers in the house using my intended daily driver.

When I bought the car, I was fairly certain it would remain stock, which lasted for about two weeks. And because my Mazdaspeed Miata was turbocharged, and I was having turbo issues, I wanted to step into an N/A car. Also, buying a N/A BMW was a form of self restraint, as I knew of the horsepower potential of the 335i.

My major regret is getting an N51 and not a N52; and even though I have an ESS Tuning supercharger on order, I would not buy a 335i if I had it to do all to do over again, as I enjoy driving a car that is a bit different than most on the road.

[rick100]

funny thing is only the 335 guys say the car is slow, its almost like they are trying to justify their purchase, while everybody else thinks the car is fine for street driving

I even have a friend with a camaro SS with some mods that would blow the door of any 335 go in my car and say it was quick for street driving . I haven't had one person say the car is slow , for some odd reason is only the 335 guys ...

Back on topic. I purchased my 328 because the same 335 would've cost me 8 000 $ more when you add in similar mileage, year, options and the tax.

Most of the people here saying buying a 335 and 328 is almost the same cost are probably comparing a low mileage vs high mileage or an older vs a newer.

Im sure the difference in price decreases the older they get, but I bought mine when it was 3 years old , still had 2 year warranty left and it only had 10 000 miles on it.

I m not spending 30 000 on an older with with more mileage, less reliability just to say I drive a faster car, furthermore you can not even used that much power in the street and you have to pay more for maintenance. It just did not make sense. I needed something nice, quick , low maintenance that can get me to work

If I had 40 000 $ to blow , I would ve probably choose a 335 with some warranty left and low mileage however I had just purchased a house for 600 000 so I was already stretching my budget at 30 000$

I'll probably purchased a mustang gt, camaro ss , or 335 , in the future as a weekend car, something I don't have to worry about to much . I wouldnt spend more than 20 k on a toy ...

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by jc5988

im assuming u didnt went for m3 cuz too expensive? lol jk...

After rereading my post it may have come off as offensive or a little brash. Look, I own both NA and FI E9X. I drive them both weekly. One is a turd, one is not. I'm sorry if I am hurting any feelings when I mention how slow they are. I literally have double the TQ and HP for small money with the N54s.

I looked closely at the m3 but chose the N54 both times. There is good deal invested in the E92 N54 and my only issue is it's value vs. the m3. The m3 will always hold it's value better and be a 'collector's car'. My 335i never will be even if it out performs an m3. That being said I still prefer my N54s at this time. If it was a track only car or I was a big track junkie the M3 would of made more sense.

Wagon? I own the wagon it has barely any more space than the E90. This is not what a fun wagon is and it can never be.

SS? With an LS3? unless he added FI or a large shot they are not very quick. Given the displacement an underwhelming engine imo.

[OnlyDriveGerman]

Originally Posted by NiNeTyOne

Getting upwards of 30+% more from an n52 isn't terribly difficult, and the difference between 200 and 260HP is pretty transforming for a car of this weight.

This is true. I suppose for the right prices I'd pull the trigger on some of those options, however I don't really want my car to be any louder than it already is. A 3 stage itm and tune would due... Maybe it's time to start looking for parts...

[OnlyDriveGerman]

Originally Posted by Torgus

I own both.

The NA car blows and is slow and boring the drive. I only bought it as I got a steal of a deal for it and a family member needed my beater more than I did. I'll still sell it in a year or so and bank 4-5k.

Both N54s are a blast to drive and I enjoy it every time I get in them. The e90 is a total sleeper. The E92 not so much.

The only reason to buy a NA non N54 car is for a child for a beginner car or your wife: Slow, Safe, Reliable, still a bmw so they can say they drive a luxury car to their friends.

My guess is most people did not want to spend the extra $. They are more money to buy and maintain but the performance far out weighs the cost difference.


Also, if buying a house is effected by buying a sub 20k car you have other issues and should not be buying a house in the 1st place.

I bought my car almost 3 years ago when 335's were not sub 20k cars. Also, putting 12-15k down on a car when I'm looking to buy a house has nothing to other problems. When looking to make a substantial purchase on a something like a home, or even a car for that matter, there's no need to be taking out other expensive loans to disrupt ones credit and ability to finance long term debt. That's just smart finance. I'm living just fine, no problems here.

[Eagle1oh7]

At the time I didn't really look into the speed, I liked the way it looked and felt when I drove it as well as the sound. The lower price worked for me as well, slightly wished I had a different outlook when looking into buying an E90, but after discovering the forums and reading everything about the range, I made peace with my decision and decided that should the engine one day die, I will dump and N55 in there lol