330d or a 335d

Liquidfox

Liquidfox

Liquidfox

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Afternoon all,

I'm looking for a replacement car for the Focus ST and I'm undecided whether to go for a higher spec and likely newer 330d or the slightly more powerful 335d. Ideally I'd be spending around 15-16k. If I was to go for the 335d I'm presuming people would recommend taking out a Mondial warranty so I'd have to get a car with less than 60k on and then I'd probably pay for it monthly if the rolling on loophole still applies?

As I'm coming from such a basic interior in the Focus (ST-1 so it only really came with some seats, steering wheel and a lovely engine), the options list isn't such a massive concern for me. Options that I definitely want are cruise control, xenon headlights (the one thing I really missed on my ST) and climate control. The uprated sound system would be nice if you guys think it's worth it? Logic7 I think it's called?

I do about 15K a year of which at least 60-70% of it is A-roads and motorways so a diesel averaging 35-40MPG would be a considerable fuel saving whilst the engine would still have a bit of grunt behind it. I'm not making this change to save money (paying for the car kind of throws that idea out of the window!), I've owned the Focus 5 years now and it's time for a change.

So it's over to you guys, would you recommend a 2008-2009 335d or a 2009+ 330d? Having a quick gander it appears there's a 2011 plate 330d up for 14K on Arnold Clark but the options list seems to cover pretty much everything down to the individual bolts so it's a bit confusing what's actually an extra!
 
15 to 16k might get you in to f30 territory rather than e9x if you shop around.

Also if you can get the registration number it's very easy to get the vin which then tells you exactly what options are on the car.
 
Having not read any of your post and only going off the subject line, I had to say neither, get the 335i.

Having owned one, they are amazing.

330 is meh. 335d is a great engine, no doubt, but why get a 3l twin turbo and hinder it with diesel for a couple extra mpg.

335i.
 
15k on a 8 year old BMW 3 series that now looks really dated :eek:. I know they are nice to drive in top spec form and the 335d is a very quick car but there's no getting past how dated it looks next to the new model.
If I was spending that kind of money I would at least want a new shape car something like the Golf GTD or the new Focus ST3 diesel can probably be had for that money at a year old.
 
If £15k can get you into an f3x then that's where my money would go or I'd keep saving. I couldn't justify spending that money on any variation of e90, they're starting to look pretty old

The cars mentioned above (golf /focus) aren't in the same league as a 330d let alone 335d so not great alternatives
 
Dav4 said:
15k on a 8 year old BMW 3 series that now looks really dated :eek:. I know they are nice to drive in top spec form and the 335d is a very quick car but there's no getting past how dated it looks next to the new model.
If I was spending that kind of money I would at least want a new shape car something like the Golf GTD or the new Focus ST3 diesel can probably be had for that money at a year old.
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You know why? Because they are nasty economy cars when compared with a high performance premium machine. A total joke of a comparison.
 
Provided you get a September 2008 onwards 330d it will have the N57 engine instead of the older M57 engine. This is a big improvement in terms of refinement. I think I'd favour a newer 330d over an older 335d - there is about 40bhp in it. The 335d is quicker, obviously, but not by enough of a margin to make it worth totally discounting the 330d.

When I bought my 530d I test drove the 535d and the 530d and decided I liked them both and would simply buy the first good example of either that met my requirements. I suspect a similar approach - as finding a nice car is going to be quite difficult anyway without restricting your choice through engine choice.

I'd say that £15k is not a good budget for an F30 6 cylinder. If you can spend more, do so and get an F30.
 
My 335d was epic. Loved it. And after I mapped it, woo hoo. Mine was a mild map, so only around 340bhp, but was the equal of my V8 S4 in a straight line (kind of). Certainly fast enough, and I averaged 38 mpg over my ownership.

Mine had xenons, which is a relatively rare option on the e9x models. Might be more common on the f3x models though. But I don't think these can be mapped yet, as far as I know anyway. I'd happily have another e91 335d though, and would be happy enough paying that sort of money for the right one, since they can be mapped, which I would do again, the day I bought it if I could.

Of course, that probably takes away the warranty aspect though.
 
Clarkey said:
when compared with a high performance premium machine. A total joke of a comparison.
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Behave a diesel E90 a high performance premium machine :rolleyes: we are not talking about M3's M5's or even a far superior F10 535d that have a far superior interior or driving experience.
The E90 interior/exterior is dated and depressing and given that apart from the badge the 335 doesn't look any different on the outside next to the new no1 chav chariot of choice the E90 318/320 that can be had for around 5k now and is seen everywhere with gangsta lean reclined seat and sick m sport rimz on every council estate I would want something better and different for my 15k!
Granted the 335d would spank most other performance style/hot hatch cars on the road especially with a map but by today's standards is a 3 litre twin turbo producing 286bhp all that impressive? Especially one that can throw up eye watering bills and produces rubbish mpg compared to modern fast diesels?
Yes I know the 2 cars I suggested are also driven by chavs and far slower than the 335d etc but having driven an e90 I don't think a 1 year old well specced Golf is far off an 8 year old 3 series in terms of quality and gadgets.
To sum it up if I was OP I would look at other cars. All the 335 offers is straight line speed and not much in the way of value for 15k!
 
I've seen a couple 2011 330d cars in the 15k range but the garage didn't have pictures up yet so I'm not sure if it's an F30 or not. What kind of price range am I looking at for a decent F30 these days? I've had quick look on AT and they're starting at around 16k for non-moon mileage ones if I'm correct? They've got more power than the E9x which would bring the deficit between that and the 335d down a bit I believe? I think the F30 is around 242bhp compared to the E9x 200ish. With the deposit I'm putting down in the form of my existing car and some cash the increase from 15K to 17K isn't massive and more than achievable.

I wouldn't want a Golf and the Focus diesel is only 185BHP, if I were to get the Focus it'd be the petrol one but I'm not keen on having a little 4 cylinder engine after coming from a 5-pot. I'm much prefer a 6 cylinder diesel to be honest.
 
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That 535d looks lovely, but why is it priced similar to an 08 onwards 335? I look around AT/PH for 335's and all seem to be pushing 13k onwards for a decentish miles 08 onwards.
 
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