So what's wrong with the '08 328's?

[bsell]

I wouldn't even think of buying it unless it was in front of my face.
could've been in a smash, or might be a scam.

That and I don't think i will ever buy a newer bmw, especially one that is all bangled up

Have a date to see it in person tomorrow. I will bring my flashlight and crawling around clothes to have a look-see underneath the car.

The whole throttle by wire and 'valvetronic' thing has me worried about repair problems once the car leaves the warranty period. I am trying to view this as a 'fun' investment deal and not much more than that. More to follow...

Brian

[bsell]

it's one of the ugliest cars ever. ... the 4 door 3 series.
sorry for the rant and sorry if i offended anybody, but i realy realy hate these cars...

So do you hate the cars or yourself? (Just a little Emo talk for ya!)

Now that I have started researching this possible purchase, it seems like these things are everywhere! Up till now, I had never noticed how many new-model 3-series are tooling around western Germany.

I don't know if folks buy these out of necessity given their choices, Citroens, Opels, and Mercedes. I won't own a French car, the Opels are set to self-destruct after 60K miles and forget the Mercedes, who wants to pay the parts costs plus I just don't like the feeling behind the wheel.

My coworker has 250K miles plus (accumulated on three continents) on his 318 with no major repairs (normal suspension and friction materials). I worked on another guy's rust-bucket 316 (that runs like a top @ 180K miles with minimal servicing done) and I thought these aren't so much different from the E34. Sure the 3-series are the base model and I hate 4-bangers (which doesn't apply for this purchase as its a 6-holer) but this deal seems like a decent way to go for the money.

Now step away from the knife drawer...

Brian

[skr]

it's one of the ugliest cars ever. i'd never own or drive one and i defenatly whouldn't pay for it . on the other hand the coupe is reeeeealy hot.
i had a problem understanding why whould anybody buy the 4 door till i met a couple of dem owners . It looks like they all nerd-ed their way through college , got rejected and made fun off ,so they developed a thing for electronic gadjets and stuff, then they started to make some money , bought a cheap jap shitbox, and another cheap jap shitbox and finaly after some years of advancing throu deh corporate rankings they figured the next car after dem jap shitboxes shoud be a german shitbox : the 4 door 3 series.
sorry for the rant and sorry if i offended anybody, but i realy realy hate these cars...

[repenttokyo]

how can you say they are not 'so much different' from the e34? They are light years different. I don't know what generation 3 series you were working on in your example, but the most current generation is a bloated, electronics laden luxo cruiser that is underpowered in almost every form except the 3.5 turbo. They are hideously ugly, with horrible flares and design cues. They are impossible to work on properly without extensive dealer equipment and diagnostic gear, and their bloated weight and slow steering make them nowhere near as fun to drive as our e34's. and don't get me started on the interior that makes me want to barf.

it really sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into this. if you want to get the car, get the car, but don't delude yourself into thinking it is somehow in any way linked to the e34 by anything other than the badge on the hood.

[bsell]

how can you say they are not 'so much different' from the e34? They are light years different. ... don't delude yourself into thinking it is somehow in any way linked to the e34 by anything other than the badge on the hood.

I was comparing the 3 series version that was produced at the same time as our cars. Being from the same era, I guess it stands to reason they have the same feel. I hear you on the nightmare doing the maintainence on these cars has become. I concede that my comparison had nothing in common with the new version of a 3-series.

I drove the car tonight (the owner is one seriously anal-retentive clean freak) and found the engine to be smooth and pulls well down low. The run up the rev range was also smooth, but uninspiring and kind of slow. While more power was made the faster you spin it, it really was not impressive at all from 70-120 kph. My wife's 03 Sable is more 'fun' during acceleration even though it is probably much slower.

The sports suspension rode well but I had no chance to really wring the car out due to traffic and the AR owner. He almost sniffed back a tear when he said I was the first person other than him to drive the car! I didn't really notice a slowness in the steering, it seemed natural enough and tighter than what I drive everyday. I guess it might be time for some tie rods, pitman arm, and other goodies for the 5er.

The whole push button start thing feels pointless and kinda nerdy/tweaky to me. I mean really, the 'key' is as big as two of my regular keys put together. What's the point?

I told him I have to sleep on his offer of $27,400 which includes three windows tinted, winter tires on rims, and now 12K miles on the clock. The only damage I could see was a stone chip down low on the front valance...and now some dirt on the t-shirt that was protecting the floor mat.

Oh yeah, no oil/filter services to date either..."its synthetic, the filter traps the metal," he said. Just cheap if you ask me...

I appreciate you all's unemotional feedback on this,

Brian

[DanDombrowski]

I'd check out to see what the trade in value is (either blue book or just by calling a dealer and saying "I have this car what will you give me for it?" )

If the asking price is lower than trade-in, I smell a scam. If its higher than trade in, then he may just be looking to turn the car quickly while not getting totally reamed by the dealer.

As far as the 3 series being more complicated - I said the same thing about my E46. Overboosted steering, drive by wire throttle, DSC, etc etc. Honestly, I havent thought about any of that since, I really enjoy having the car. The only thing that I have noticed is that since its newer than 96, I have OBDII, and can use my scanner to pull my engine codes and read engine data, which has been extremely helpful.

I don't really know anything about the E90s though. Good luck with it, I'd love to know why he's selling so cheap!

[bsell]

Good luck with it, I'd love to know why he's selling so cheap!

We get them about 15% cheaper than US price due to local delivery. Plus he has put some serious miles on it, as in the whole of the first year's mileage so that has to count for something.

He has a truck ordered and on the way and I figure he just wants to move the car without hassle, hence the lowish price.

The cheapskate in me wants it for even less.

Brian

[Adnan]

how can you say they are not 'so much different' from the e34? They are light years different. I don't know what generation 3 series you were working on in your example, but the most current generation is a bloated, electronics laden luxo cruiser that is underpowered in almost every form except the 3.5 turbo. They are hideously ugly, with horrible flares and design cues. They are impossible to work on properly without extensive dealer equipment and diagnostic gear, and their bloated weight and slow steering make them nowhere near as fun to drive as our e34's. and don't get me started on the interior that makes me want to barf.

it really sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into this. if you want to get the car, get the car, but don't delude yourself into thinking it is somehow in any way linked to the e34 by anything other than the badge on the hood.

Hi,

I'm one of those who recently bought an '08 328i after a decade of owning an E34 535i. It was certainly a mixed and somewhat emotional decision to let the 535 go but there are things both good and bad about the E90.

First, I agree about the electronics. I deliberately opted out of all gadgets, buying a very base model. In this guise, the car seems to have less gadgets than my 535 did. Granted it has DTC which I don't care for and little things like automatic climate control, rain-sensing wipers and speed-sensitive volume, none of which are important to me but I couldn't delete them. But that's it for bells and whistles.

Driving dynamics are superior but then again, I'm comparing a new car to a very old one, even though it was in good shape. One area where the E34 drove me nuts was in the steering department - that center-play was a pain. The rack and pinion on the E90 is better in every way and it certainly doesn't feel slow.

The looks are the one area that the E90 can't hold a candle to the E34. I take solace in the fact that I don't see it when driving. The interior is spartan but is more streamlined and is starting to grow on me. I also opted to go with leatherette. On the 3-series, the leather isn't that good and the leatherette has a better reputation for holding up well over time.

It is a heavy car but it out-accelerates a stock 535 and does so rather without drama. It also gets better gas mileage while doing so. The dual-mass flywheel on the 535 was noisy and the gearbox had long throws that were fairly notchy. The 6-speed on the E90 is smooth, with short throws and positive gates.

The clutch is much more friendly. My wife refused to drive the 535 because the pedal was so heavy but the E90 is so much easier to drive.

Ultimately, the decision to get an E90 was driven largely by the little things that had started to go wrong on the 535, typical of a car that old. While I really enjoyed the car and did almost all the maintenance myself, it was starting to demand more time than I had. I test-drove new cars but found that nothing satisfied like the 535 so I came back to the fold. Driving the E90 convinced me that it was the closest thing in the lineup from a simplicity and driving standpoint.

So yes, the looks are far from E34 standards but the E90 is quite a competent car in its own right. While it took a few weeks of griping that it was different from the 535, I eventually got used to it and now really enjoy it.

Oh, the E90 has one of the worst-sounding sound systems this side of the Prime Meridian but that's an easy upgrade.

Regards,
Adnan

PS I have no issue with those who "hate" the E90. It took me a while to warm up to it too.

[bsell]

Hi,

I'm one of those who recently bought an '08 328i after a decade of owning an E34 535i. It was certainly a mixed and somewhat emotional decision to let the 535 go but there are things both good and bad about the E90.

First, I agree about the electronics. I deliberately opted out of all gadgets, buying a very base model. In this guise, the car seems to have less gadgets than my 535 did. Granted it has DTC which I don't care for and little things like automatic climate control, rain-sensing wipers and speed-sensitive volume, none of which are important to me but I couldn't delete them. But that's it for bells and whistles.

Driving dynamics are superior but then again, I'm comparing a new car to a very old one, even though it was in good shape. One area where the E34 drove me nuts was in the steering department - that center-play was a pain. The rack and pinion on the E90 is better in every way and it certainly doesn't feel slow.

The looks are the one area that the E90 can't hold a candle to the E34. I take solace in the fact that I don't see it when driving. The interior is spartan but is more streamlined and is starting to grow on me. I also opted to go with leatherette. On the 3-series, the leather isn't that good and the leatherette has a better reputation for holding up well over time.

It is a heavy car but it out-accelerates a stock 535 and does so rather without drama. It also gets better gas mileage while doing so. The dual-mass flywheel on the 535 was noisy and the gearbox had long throws that were fairly notchy. The 6-speed on the E90 is smooth, with short throws and positive gates.

The clutch is much more friendly. My wife refused to drive the 535 because the pedal was so heavy but the E90 is so much easier to drive.

Ultimately, the decision to get an E90 was driven largely by the little things that had started to go wrong on the 535, typical of a car that old. While I really enjoyed the car and did almost all the maintenance myself, it was starting to demand more time than I had. I test-drove new cars but found that nothing satisfied like the 535 so I came back to the fold. Driving the E90 convinced me that it was the closest thing in the lineup from a simplicity and driving standpoint.

So yes, the looks are far from E34 standards but the E90 is quite a competent car in its own right. While it took a few weeks of griping that it was different from the 535, I eventually got used to it and now really enjoy it.

Oh, the E90 has one of the worst-sounding sound systems this side of the Prime Meridian but that's an easy upgrade.

Regards,
Adnan

PS I have no issue with those who "hate" the E90. It took me a while to warm up to it too.

Adnan,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with this car. It helps hearing 'man in the streets' feedback on the car. Especially so when it is not written by some kid whose daddy bought him the E90.

I am unpassionate about this car and see it as an investment opportunity that I can drive. Add in the fact that I have had zero loan activity for the past 10 years, I figure I am due to show some loan action on my credit report to help when I buy a house in a few years. So this car can take care of a couple birds with its one 'stone.'

Brian

[attack eagle]

At least it doesn't have the 'new' F*ing turn signal stalks.

I finally figured out instead of hitting the other way to cancel, like every other car on the planet, you hit it the SAME WAY AGAIN to cancel.

the e90 felt and looked cheap inside to me, compared to the e34. But compared to 3's it weren't half bad.