So I am planning on getting a new (to me) car within the next couple weeks or months depending on finding the right car. This will be my first “big” car purchase. I’ve owned many cars in the past, but my budget for this purchase is a MAX of 35k, and not 5k like the other cars.
I want a sporty, premium luxury car that I can drive year round. No automatics. Must have tuning potential for more power (like boost). No FWD cars. Euro brand preferred.
Cars I am considering:
2007-2009 BMW 335i coupe. This is my favorite. I’ve compared many cars, and I always come back to this car. It is within my price range, I love the engine, and the tuning potential. The one huge drawback for me is the HPFP which BMW has failed to address with multiple attempts to fix. Another thing about this car is that I feel that the interior is very bland and outdated compared to other interiors like the Audi.
2010 Audi A5 - I love everything about this car, except the price. It has AWESOME gas mileage, 4wd for winter, a turbo engine for modding, killer looks, and the BEST interior I’ve been in. Only thing is the price on a 2.0T premium plus on this car is the same or even MORE than the more powerful, sporty 335i.
2009 Audi A4 - Same as the A5 but more affordable. This would keep me happy, but I’d much rather have the coupe styling of the A5.
Mecedes E55 - NYSPEED bangwagon car. I dunno if I’ll even be happy with this car because of the auto tranny, but how can I say no to 450hp?? Maintenance and warranty is also the issue here.
I know I am missing a ton of cars, and I need more opinions/options.
as a second car the audi or merc, as your all around only car the BMW because it’s the best all-rounder.
I love my audi for daily + fun, but it’s no drivers car compared to the BMWs
also, the audis have HPFPs just like all direct inject cars, they’re not know to fail as much, but you switch to different problems with the audis like cam followers that will kill the motor. be ready to spend with any german car out of warranty.
i was in the same situation for a bit
was deciding between a 335 and an a4
if you are looking to just have a comfortable daily and didnt plan on modded it too heavily id say a4
if you want something that you could leave how it is and still be fun, or mod it and make good power then id say 335 all day
a5s are cool and all but the price isnt worth spending, you could have a nice 335 plus many extra moneys to mod and still be under the price of an a5
You quickly forget the e55 has an auto transmission when you can go from driving around like a normal human being to laying down a heater from a 30mph roll.
I drive a 400 hp RWD car with snows as my DD. This winter there wasn’t a single day I couldn’t get to work in it. Last winter I think there was one day or maybe two day that I car pooled with the wife in the big ass 4wd. What I’m driving at is don’t let RWD scare you off a great DD because our road crews do a really good job clearing the streets. The exception would be if you live on some side street in the city or the southtowns. Either of those AWD is almost a must because of the lack of clearing or quantity of snow.
My vote is for the 335. The A4, thought it’s a more comfy DD, isn’t really close in terms of modding potential or feel - so if you want to mod and have some good power I’d definitely be looking at the 335.
My vote also goes for the 355. I may be jaded in my decision though… as I have an '08 335XI which I picked up before winter last year.
As for the HPFP issues, they have already replaced mine twice. The second time around, I received “an upgraded model” which has been fine for several months now. Towne BMW even gave me a set of $150 all-weather floor mats as an apology for me having to come back twice in 30 days.
Also, the HPFP is in warranty now until 120,000 miles. Don’t let that be a factor in your decision.
What you want to factor in is #1 Sport seats #2 HK sound system
I don’t know what I’d do without either of those options.
I love my 335XI. I’m glad, even still, that I decided to buy it.
I like the A5 a lot, if the S5 came with the V6t (that is supercharged) I would seriously consider it, however I own a 335 and am pretty content. My car has almost 70K on it, and 50K of them were modded, and I have yet to replace the HPFP. My car makes decent power and is great to drive as a daily. I know the audi interior is better, but that doesn’t make the BMW interior crappy, it’s still pretty nice. If you compare it to your garden variety Honda it’s still miles ahead.
Looks like the 335i is the winner here. I am very particular about choosing the right 335i. It must have:
Coral red interior
NAvi
sport package
Help me find this! Towne had a 335i coupe about a month ago. It was space gray, sport package, but missing the navi and coral red interior so I passed.
A lot of the time searching for options on sites doesn’t include the best results because the people that list them either make mistakes, or don’t add the options.
I saw that yesterday. No nav, no sport option. The non-sport seats just look plain ugly, and the reason I want navi on this car is because the screen is integrated into the dash, unlike other 2 din aftermarket units. You also get iDrive with the Navi option.