Talk to me about E92s

scratch

scratch

scratch

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,145
Location
Southampton
Hey guys,

I love my E46 330ci, but now I've got a new job and a chunk more expendable income than I did with the last job, I'm seriously thinking about upgrading to an E92. I know I've only had the E46 for 6 months but I fancy something a bit newer and I've always loved the look of the E92.

I'll have around £15-20k to spend, so should be able to get something around 3 or 4 years old with 20-30k miles on the clock with a decent spec list. I've never spent more than 10k on a car though and the thought scares me lol!

I want to stick with a 6 pot petrol, and think the two main choices I have are the 330i or the 335i. I can currently live with the 24mpg I get with the E46 but it does get to me slightly because we never take my car on long journeys any more due to the extra cost in fuel; we always take the gf's diesel Juke :o From what I can tell the N54 gets similar economy to the old M54 and I don't really need the kind of performance that the N54 offers, so do you think the N53 is a suitable replacement for my M54?

Is there anything I need to be looking for spec-wise..any must-have gadget that I need to make sure I get? I want factory nav so that's already on the list, but things like High Beam Assist and Dynamic Cruise Control look really good.

Also is there anything else I need to look out for on these?

Cheers!
 
I loved my E46 330i, and i love my E92 335i.

I would stick with your 330i and save your money. The E46 is a fantastic car and reliable as well - i still miss mine! The E92 feels much sharper than the E46 though, and my E46 had new shock absorbers and new bushes all around so it wasn't tired in the suspension department. A clean, OEM M-Sport/Sport E46 still looks fantastic and nowhere near as old as the numberplate suggests it should.

How many miles do you do a year?
 
I can't give you any engine advice, but on the spec front I can confirm that high beam assistant is excellent, and go for the pro nav rather than the standard (or business I think they call it) nav. The bigger screen alone makes it worthwhile, but there are extra features in the pro nav that aren't in the basic one such as Google local search. I went for standard cruise control, mainly because of the heavy premium for the adaptive version, and I've not once yet wished I had the fancy version.

A note on the high beam assistant...look for a car that's got the "visibility package", which gives you adaptive Bi-Xenons, High beam assist, auto-dimming rear view mirror, auto headlights and rain sensing wipers. Chances are that many of the cars that have HBA got it this way, but would be worth checking.

Heated seats would be worth a look (something I miss in the winter months), and electric seats are always nice. Folding mirrors might be worth your while depending upon your parking circumstances. Probably also nice to find a car with proper iPod integration into the nav system (via the adapter in the arm rest). Again, something that I wish I'd chosen but didn't.
 
The 335i is an amazing car, especially when you bang a JB3/4 into it :)

I used to get 27mpg in it, mixture of fun and careful driving.

If you get a 335i, make sure you get a spec'd out one with sat nav etc.
 
As others have said the 335i is a amazing car. Spec I would not buy without Sat Nav, the upgraded HiFi system is nice to have as the basic one is quite bad.

I have a E93 that I dont use anymore right at the bottom end of your budge but its a very high spec.
 
Not a chance - the only thing i feel short changed about is the fact the 6 pots look awesome. But the 335i's 348mm x 30mm brakes are more than up to the job (a Ferrari 360 only had 330mm brakes and weighed only 150kg less). They have great feel and i have very rarely felt fade from them, which surprised me to say the least.

The 135i has smaller 338mm x 26mm brakes
 
Last edited:
Trifid said:
I still can't get my head round this. The Nav surely isn't that good to justify spending at least £1000 more on second hand, and £2000 on when new.
Click to expand...

The interior does not look as nice without it, when you a driving a £20 to £30k car you dont want to have a TomTom stuck to the window with a power cable hanging from it.

The IDrive controls all the car systems, bluetooth, radio/ipod/cd and all sort of other bits and bobs.
 
Trifid said:
I still can't get my head round this. The Nav surely isn't that good to justify spending at least £1000 more on second hand, and £2000 on when new.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Nav just isn't an issue for me. I understand it is for others though, so that saved me a lot of coin when I bought my 335i without one. :p

(Note Im not intending to sell anytime soon either).
 
Trifid said:
I still can't get my head round this. The Nav surely isn't that good to justify spending at least £1000 more on second hand, and £2000 on when new.
Click to expand...

If it were purely a navigation system then I'd agree, however it's not. It's the complete user interface for the vehicle's infotainment and system settings. It's integrated into the car very well, nice large display, easy to read even in direct sunlight, very easy to control using the iDrive controller and steering wheel buttons.
 
Dr House said:
The interior does not look as nice without it, when you a driving a £20 to £30k car you dont want to have a TomTom stuck to the window with a power cable hanging from it.

The IDrive controls all the car systems, bluetooth, radio/ipod/cd and all sort of other bits and bobs.
Click to expand...

Can't speak for others, but in the unlikely event I haven't researched where I am going, a vent mounted smartphone will do that without the need for cables etc.

I also think the double hump looks odd and I prefer the cabin without it.

I do agree on the idrive being a control point, but honestly the regular stereo controls work just fine.
 
Please don't "upgrade" to that plastic POS.

I went from an E46 to an E90 and it was awful. If you have any appreciation for quality and solid interiors stay where you are! Or potentially go for an E60, may be better built.

And try not to notice the wiper motor through the brake pedal when you're sat on it :D

If you spend £20k on it you will feel insulted. I spent £12k on my 07 330i that was extremely well specified and I still felt as though I was spat in the face.
 
Last edited:
Crimefighter said:
Can't speak for others, but in the unlikely event I haven't researched where I am going, a vent mounted smartphone will do that without the need for cables etc.

I also think the double hump looks odd and I prefer the cabin without it.

I do agree on the idrive being a control point, but honestly the regular stereo controls work just fine.
Click to expand...

Sticking a portable nav on the.windscreen sucks and to be honest the technology improvements are the best thing about the E92 so if you don't want them you might as well save your money and stick with the better built e46 :p

Do not spend 20k on an E92, it simply isn't a 20k car anymore, in design terms it's coming up for 9 years old.
 
I was reading in CAR magazine, and I quote, that "we all know the 335i is a 6 cylinder engine powered by a single turbo"...

am I missing something?
 
My mum's 07 E93 335i SE was listed at £15k back in May. Fully loaded, <40k, FBMWSH and two new dual scroll turbos fitted by BMW. I think that is probably just above the absolute limit in terms of price I'd pay but then she got £6k for her CLK320 rag top as p/x. That kind of cash on a coupe seems overly excessive for what it is.

It's a lovely car imo, bucket loads of grunt, though I can't help but feel it would be nicer in the corners if it had the M-Sport pack. Mind you, not to her tastes. :)
 
Theophany said:
My mum's 07 E93 335i SE was listed at £15k back in May. Fully loaded, <40k, FBMWSH and two new dual scroll turbos fitted by BMW. I think that is probably just above the absolute limit in terms of price I'd pay but then she got £6k for her CLK320 rag top as p/x. That kind of cash on a coupe seems overly excessive for what it is.

It's a lovely car imo, bucket loads of grunt, though I can't help but feel it would be nicer in the corners if it had the M-Sport pack. Mind you, not to her tastes. :)
Click to expand...

the se and m sport suspension is the same :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom