E46 M3 or E92 335i?
- Thread starter Blinkz
- Start date
Personally I'd get a 335i - but most I think would choose an M3.
The 335i has lower running costs than the M3 by quite a margin, the 335i is also quite easy to mod. A remap and few mods can easily see you up to 380bhp.
It is missing the V8-ness and the fact it isn't an M3 so depends on how much than means to you.
The newer shape, toys and fact you get 380bhp out of it without any real problems are the main reasons I'm considering one as a next car.
Also getting a good condition 335i is going to be a lot easier than getting a good condition M3 because of the age and chavs have not got hold of them yet.
I thought you could get something like an 03 plate M3 for about £13k now and the cheapest 335i's are about £15k-£18k in SE spec.
The 335i has lower running costs than the M3 by quite a margin, the 335i is also quite easy to mod. A remap and few mods can easily see you up to 380bhp.
It is missing the V8-ness and the fact it isn't an M3 so depends on how much than means to you.
The newer shape, toys and fact you get 380bhp out of it without any real problems are the main reasons I'm considering one as a next car.
Also getting a good condition 335i is going to be a lot easier than getting a good condition M3 because of the age and chavs have not got hold of them yet.
I thought you could get something like an 03 plate M3 for about £13k now and the cheapest 335i's are about £15k-£18k in SE spec.
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This is a question I have been asking myself for some time now as both cars are on the shortlist for me, but I think the 335i is a far more likely purchase.
Obviously the M3 is... an M3. It's a proper M car, a real precision implement (In BMW terms, at least, pipe down Elise owners!) and if you crave an M Powered BMW nothing else will do. However it also comes with bonkers running costs - even an Inspection 1 is £700 - and it can be very unforgiving. It's also getting older with every passing day and this is especially obvious from the front, where it has the same front lights and basic shape as the plethora of £3k 99 plate E46 Coupe's infesting the local McDonalds carparks lately, which is a real shame.
The M3, though, still stands out, it's still special.
The 335i is a different kettle of fish. Performance wise they are largely the same, the 335i is infact even quicker than an m3 once you've sent it to DMS for a 370bhp remap, but it isn't the weapon the M3 is. It's softer, less hard edged. To be honest, I find this more appealing than the M3. It has a more modern interior, more modern look about the exterior, a newer more modern engine and more kit on the options list. It's also cheaper to run, likely to be more reliable and easier to buy a warranty for.
The downside though is that it looks as near as makes no difference identical to a 320d Coupe. Of which there are approximately 8 billion in the UK alone, 7 billion owned by leasing companies and driven by people who dont know what BMW stand for but thought it looked good and had low company car tax. This is a shame - stand out a 335i absolutely does not. It's undoubtedly an awesome car but it doesn't have the 'Whoa, is that a...' that the M3 does.
That said, I'm erring far more towards the 335i because I feel its just a better all round package. The M3 is a specialist tool, the 335i a crushingly competent all rounder. Barring any last minute 'omg look its mint' E39 M5 madness, I suspect a 2008 335i M Sport will be my next car.
Having said that given you managed to completely destroy an M3 just 5 hours after buying it perhaps a 320d would be better
Obviously the M3 is... an M3. It's a proper M car, a real precision implement (In BMW terms, at least, pipe down Elise owners!) and if you crave an M Powered BMW nothing else will do. However it also comes with bonkers running costs - even an Inspection 1 is £700 - and it can be very unforgiving. It's also getting older with every passing day and this is especially obvious from the front, where it has the same front lights and basic shape as the plethora of £3k 99 plate E46 Coupe's infesting the local McDonalds carparks lately, which is a real shame.
The M3, though, still stands out, it's still special.
The 335i is a different kettle of fish. Performance wise they are largely the same, the 335i is infact even quicker than an m3 once you've sent it to DMS for a 370bhp remap, but it isn't the weapon the M3 is. It's softer, less hard edged. To be honest, I find this more appealing than the M3. It has a more modern interior, more modern look about the exterior, a newer more modern engine and more kit on the options list. It's also cheaper to run, likely to be more reliable and easier to buy a warranty for.
The downside though is that it looks as near as makes no difference identical to a 320d Coupe. Of which there are approximately 8 billion in the UK alone, 7 billion owned by leasing companies and driven by people who dont know what BMW stand for but thought it looked good and had low company car tax. This is a shame - stand out a 335i absolutely does not. It's undoubtedly an awesome car but it doesn't have the 'Whoa, is that a...' that the M3 does.
That said, I'm erring far more towards the 335i because I feel its just a better all round package. The M3 is a specialist tool, the 335i a crushingly competent all rounder. Barring any last minute 'omg look its mint' E39 M5 madness, I suspect a 2008 335i M Sport will be my next car.
Having said that given you managed to completely destroy an M3 just 5 hours after buying it perhaps a 320d would be better
The E46 M3 isn't a V8, therefore there is no V8ness to 'miss' in the choice between E92 335 and E46 M3.
The E92 M3 is irrelevent as its double the OP's budget.
I will want a 2-3 year old one with a view to 5 years of ownership keeping up the BMW warranty.
my cocern with the 335i would be the ammount of failures i've read about on BMW forums.
High pressure fuel pump seems to fail often, with little availability of aftermarket uprated items.
Equally ive had of the twin turbo setup being less than strong, backed up the fact that the newest version of this engine replaces the twin turbos witha single twinscoll unit.
High pressure fuel pump seems to fail often, with little availability of aftermarket uprated items.
Equally ive had of the twin turbo setup being less than strong, backed up the fact that the newest version of this engine replaces the twin turbos witha single twinscoll unit.
A friend of mine had his new (at the time) 335i Msport tuned to 380BHP by Birds. Whenever he pushed hard, the car spluttered and went into limp mode. Apparently it was a problem with the injector(s).
He's had it checked by Birds and by BMW but their diagnostics show the injectors are fine. Birds recommened he upgrade the injectors, but he didn't want to do it while the car was still under warranty.
In the end he had the map removed.
edit: I think I would grab one of the last M3 CSs
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that was the other thing that seems a common failure on the 335 - injectors. The stock ones seem quite unable to handle the extra power that can be put through the rest of the block.
I don't see why, yea I made a mistake but thats not going to scare me into getting a 1 litre clio. There were a number of reasons for the crash and its not something I'm going to forget quickly. I plan to be a lot more careful in the future as well as going on an advanced driving course/airfield day.
Insurance isn't too much of an issue, my ncbs were protected so the preimum next year will only be going up a couple of hundred.
I didn't get around to posting on here, I post a thread on M3cutters.