Think I found my next car.

2007 335i sedan
manual
34k miles
sport package
premium package
comfort access package
heated front seats
ipod and usb hookups
sat radio


It's being sold from a BMW dealer, carries the 100k CPO warranty, and has the standard CPO treatment: replace worn parts, fix dings, new tires etc. Factory warranty and maintenance is good till 9/2011 and CPO is good till 9/2013. It was a lease, and is being sold from the same dealer it was leased from, so it's got a solid 1 owner history.


1 - How much should I offer and how much should I settle for? I was thinking of ending up around $25.5k-$26k? Maybe offer $24k?

Asking price is $27,650. According to the [clean] Carfax it was offered for sale 9/1/2010, so they've had it a while. Salesman said they recently reduced the price on it. Pretty sure they're offering 0.9% financing on it, if that matters. MSRP was $46.5k, which matters even less.


2 - It's an out of state purchase, so how is that different than buying a car in-state? Where do I pay sales tax, here or there? What else is involved with the out of state thing?


3 - What should I look for maintenance wise? It's a manual 335i which was leased, so I'm thinking it might have been flogged a bit...are there certain things I can look for to determine the amount of flogging it endured? I checked the maintenance history and it was in at the proper intervals...only things out of the ordinary is they had to replace a fuel temperature sensor and a fuel injector a 4-5 months back.

1/21/2011 8:51:48 PM

Actually I doubt it's been beaten on too hard. It's the sedan, and I bet it was leased by someone who couldn't really afford to buy it new.

You need to talk to them about the high pressure fuel pump. Tell them you want it replaced with the updated part. There was a recall on it and it is notorious for failing on these engines. When it fails the engine goes into "limp mode" where it will still run, but not well (down on power etc). I'm not sure of all the details of the recall but if this car has the original HPFP it's only a matter of time before you have problems.

1/21/2011 9:28:26 PM

I just bought the same car except it's a coup.e Your car is ~ $24.5. Offer 23.5 and see where it goes from there.

You always pay taxes in your state. Dealer will give you everything you need to take to DMV.

HPFP, recall may have been done and if it wasn't it will be later. Anyhow, HPFP is covered to 120k/10 years. Don't worry about it.

1/21/2011 10:06:32 PM

I am looking at a similar car... 2007is 335xi coupe, manual transmission.. waiting for the right deal to come along..

1/21/2011 11:44:54 PM

Congrats, I'm envious. Often wish I could afford such a new car, they're very polished and nice while still being fun and safe blah blah.

PS: You should put it on track, you'd be amazed the cars it can hang with when driven properly.

1/21/2011 11:46:15 PM

Lack of LSD is driving me NUTS. You don't realize how much you actually use it. I have been spoiled by M3s...

1/21/2011 11:53:19 PM

335's are beautiful cars. They are quick and were my second choice next to the m3. Other than the fuel pump failing you are golden (as mentioned previously by 1in10^9). If you get that swapped out. I'd say pull the trigger. You will not regret it.

1) 24 sounds like a reasonable price with the fuel pump replaced.
The twin turbo setup, from what I've heard is excellent. Plenty of power!

2) You pay sales tax here in NC, once you go to the DMV and register the car. That is where you pay the tax and the fees for the tags and what not. If there is a lien on the car, then they will mail the title to the lien holder.

3) As far as maintenance wise...I would not worry about much as of now. The mileage is low, the clutch should pull really strong. As long as the suggested maintenance was performed you should be ok.

Overall, the 335 is a slick, very nice car. I would own one if I didn't get the m3. Take this as you wish though. I am one of the few on this forum, along with ahmet and lin10^9, that are fanatics about bmw and that deal with the problems and maintenance issues involved.

[Edited on January 22, 2011 at 3:21 AM. Reason : good luck, and hopefully...welcome to the family ]

1/22/2011 3:19:34 AM

335i had "overheating" issues when tracked no?

1/22/2011 3:34:42 AM

/\ The oil got stupid hot in N54 when pushed hard, putting it in limp mode in certain circumstances. Bigger oil coolers are easily retrofit. Definitely worth the price of admission.

1/22/2011 9:35:01 AM

only 335 that didn't have oil cooler were 07 sedan autos. all other configurations should have it. just look inside of your front passenger wheel well. if you see plastic fits in front of the wheel (bumper side)....you have oil cooler.

1/22/2011 9:47:44 AM

If anyone is interested, I just put my 2008 sedan up for sale on autotrader. Manual, 24k, same options as the 2007 listed in the OP.

1/22/2011 10:36:59 AM

Great car. I was looking at them before I got my 996.

I have heard the same things about over heating on track etc...and the biggest turnoff was the lack of LSD. If neither of these things bother you that car is just plain sex.

1/22/2011 11:02:48 AM

[quote]I bet it was leased by someone who couldn't really afford to buy it new. [quote]

BMWs and Audis are more often leased new than purchased direct, not because the doctors and lawyers can't buy them directly, but because they lease a new one every 3 years

1/22/2011 3:01:17 PM

You're better off buying it and then selling it. Leasing a car is foolish any way you want to look at it.

1/22/2011 4:11:26 PM

i think buying or leasing a brand new car is pretty foolish, myself. i'll let the rich folk do that, then buy it from them after a couple of years

1/22/2011 4:38:41 PM

just put in an offer for $25.5k. From everything I've read/heard the list price is a pretty good price...so i'm thinking i'll end up paying 26.5k and be happy about it

salesman was talking all that "there are other parties interested in this vehicle" jazz but i'm not buying it.

1/22/2011 4:39:40 PM

^ tell him you're also looking at an Audi at a local dealership, that'll really piss him off

1/22/2011 4:54:55 PM

they accepted the $25.5k offer

1/22/2011 5:19:00 PM

You have any pictures of the car?

1/22/2011 5:23:00 PM

not yet....its graphite exterior, terra leather, and currently has "dark burl" trim on the inside, but I'm gonna throw aluminum in there so it looks like this:


outside looks like this:

1/22/2011 6:34:02 PM

Very attractive, well done sir. Consider that for a 3 year old car you're paying ~half of what the orig. owner paid... Far less in taxes/registration and insurance also. Speaking of, since tax is only paid on the lease value, possibly reduced insurance, etc. in certain circumstances it could make a bit of sense to lease, though I still wouldn't do it.

1/22/2011 6:52:09 PM

that interior shot is from a 1-series

/nitpick

1/22/2011 11:05:29 PM

yeah i couldn't find a 335 interior with that color combo

1/23/2011 11:56:34 AM

^^wow, good catch. They are different, but not all that different!


[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 12:08 PM. Reason : pic of 335i interior with terra leather]

1/23/2011 12:04:20 PM

terra leather is absolutely gorgeous

1/23/2011 12:22:02 PM

My brother bought one a few months back, the exact same color. I think his price was right around $25k and it did not have the sport package. I think you did pretty well for yourself there, congrats!

1/24/2011 8:53:22 AM

Are you driving to pick it up, or having it shipped to you?

1/24/2011 9:18:27 AM

Should I be surprised at the depreciation of these things?

1/24/2011 12:04:05 PM

stay safe out there

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=480106

1/24/2011 2:27:23 PM

Nice car man. You keeping the VW?

1/24/2011 2:33:28 PM

updates...

I saw the car advertised for $24.7k elsewhere, so I asked the sales dude if they would honor that price and they will. I've already put down the deposit and obtained 1.9% financing, and am going to fly there and pick it up

Insurance is $4 cheaper per month than my 2008 GTI. Didn't see that coming.

^ naw I'll sell the GTI eventually

1/24/2011 5:03:51 PM

There was a recent injector recall as well, have them run the VIN. BTW the fuel pump they are using for the recall is nothing new, you may even be given a refurbished unit. I only qualified for a software update in my last service.

[Edited on January 24, 2011 at 5:24 PM. Reason : ]

1/24/2011 5:20:53 PM

well they did replace at least 1 fuel injector recently...the maintenance item reads

'fuel injector permanent malfunction'

Quote :

"software update"

what are the pros about getting those? how long after purchase can you get those done?

1/24/2011 5:25:29 PM

since thanksgiving, i've had all injectors replaced, the fuel pump replaced, and the software updated. you can probably take your car to the dealer to see if the software is up to date along with any recalls.

1/24/2011 9:52:48 PM

The latest software update will prime the hpfp when you unlock the car. Just a patch to prolong the life of the current fuel pump it seems. Probably new tuner detection code as well.

1/25/2011 10:56:49 AM

^,^^ thanks for the information


is there anywhere i can go read all the recalls and bulletins for my car? i did some googling but that wasn't very productive

1/25/2011 1:22:10 PM

read a e9x specific board like e90post, n54tech

1/26/2011 10:26:16 AM

so i was planning on flying into NYC and driving it back from Connecticut tomorrow, but then 15+ inches of snow fell on 75% of my drive last night and this morning.

think the roads (95) will be decent by tomorrow afternoon or is it a little risky, especially considering the car? i'm leaning to the former, but could use confirmation

1/27/2011 12:12:34 PM

You should be fine, just be careful off the interstate. Also, call and get full coverage before you start the car.

Ps: congrats again and post pics.

1/27/2011 6:24:26 PM

Thanks!

From what I can tell from traffic cameras and DOT websites 95 looks clear as hell, so I'm thinking we'll be good.

1/27/2011 9:23:51 PM

Congrats man. Have a safe trip back.

1/27/2011 9:44:10 PM

do E46 AWD models with "sports" package actually have a sport tuned suspension?

[Edited on January 30, 2011 at 3:27 PM. Reason : http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/2186902859.html]

1/30/2011 3:14:19 PM

^they have stiffer springs than regular non awd models to compensate for higher center of gravity.

1/30/2011 9:00:56 PM

(woodgrain is soon to be replaced by aluminum trim)

Really love this car. I would have preferred a coupe but I couldn't pass up this deal. Been searching for 5 months and didn't want to have to search for another 5+ for the perfect coupe...Plus the extra doors come in handy.

Compared to the GTI the difference in power is crazy...and I haven't even begun pushing it around the corners *that* hard yet, but its a bunch of fun to drive. Think I killed like $20 in gas tooling around today and consider it money well spent. So far I've been averaging like 21-22mpg around town, but we'll see how long that's the case as I get more comfortable with the car

I'm glad I waited for one with comfort access cause that's a pretty awesome feature. I actually avoided the nav option mainly because of the unsightly bulge in the middle of the dashboard it creates, but was wishing I had it when I was configuring all the different options in the OBC. The terra leather doesn't look as red as I thought it would, but I'm liking it all the same.

Time to start up a savings account for tires, lawyers, maintenance (after the free stuff is no longer starting 9/11) and non-CPO breakage! They changed the oil and spark plugs before I picked it up...wondering why they replaced the plugs but I'm not arguing. They agreed to change out the HPFP and as part of that it got a software update. I'm pretty impressed by the whole CPO process. The car is in great shape, no real noticeable defects anywhere and the tires are new. It really is as new as it can be for a 3.5 y/o car.

Overall the process was smooth...flew into La Guardia, they sent a shuttle for me and I spent about an hour signing paperwork etc, without even seeing the car (felt pretty comfortable with the CPO process and the factory warranty). The only minor snag was it was stuck in the detail shop and actually didn't show up for like 45 minutes after we were done with everything. Pretty minor though, and understandable because they just had like 2 feet of snow a couple days before. Roads were perfectly clear, and it was fun coming down 95 with all the loonies.

First up is replace the woodgrain with some aluminum trim, then getting a tint job of some sort, and outside of that I don't have any immediate plans. Wouldn't mind making some minor changes to the exterior but I'll probably end up doing nothing. Wouldn't mind chipping it some day but I'll probably puss out because I'm worried about the warranty. I guess if I go the dinan route its theoretically still covered....but I'm thinking that'll cost like 3X what it should.

[/blog]

[Edited on January 30, 2011 at 10:05 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on January 30, 2011 at 10:06 PM. Reason : ]

1/30/2011 9:42:29 PM

its pretty

i'm green

1/30/2011 9:47:13 PM

oh and this is where I got it from:

1/30/2011 10:16:03 PM

new bmw owners envision all of these mods and upgrades they plan, until they find out how much they actually cost

1/30/2011 10:48:06 PM

^^nice E90. BMW of Darien is like 15 min from my work. I, on the other hand, love my wood grain over the cold schwabian aluminum. To each his own.
Are you planning on JB4?

1/30/2011 11:49:03 PM

haha yeah i'm pretty realistic in thinking that i'll probably do nothing to it, outside of the trim and tint.

1/30/2011 11:49:47 PM

^ how hard is it to replace?

1/31/2011 12:37:44 AM