E92 335i, 335d or M3

B

Billy

Member
 Greater London
Some family member of mine is looking at getting a used E92 (that's the coupe) 335i, 335d or M3. Around the 09/10 mark and less than 30k miles. They're coming from a F30 328i.

All of them seem to be selling between 22k and 26k and while the M3 might be very tempting I am not sure this is the best or most sensible choice as they are not really performance orientated drivers.

Question is, how all of those compare in terms of:
- Maintenance (I assume the M3 is a fair bit more, but how much)
- Depreciation (M3 probably wins here)
- Running costs (335d probably wins slightly ahead of 335i due to fuel which is in front of M3 due to tyres and other consumables)
- Day to day driving (obviously the M3 wins at performance but how does it do in terms of every day comfort, long-distance, etc)
- Getting through London (I sometimes struggle to get over speed bumps in my E89... I assume the M3 must be worse. It's also 4cm wider than the normal E92 and probably a fair bit lower)?
- Reliability
 
All three are nice motors the M3 and 335d are very different in character though the 335d has instant accessible power without having to think about it whereas you have to flog the M3 to get the performance reward back but its more satisfying overall.

I ran a E92 M3 as a daily and covered 10K miles in 10 months in it and I didn't like it and found it frustrating as hell and wasted in the daily grind, if they are covering over 15k miles a year then I would suggest the 335d as the best all rounder but if they are not doing many miles then the 335i would be the best option I think.

With the 335i you have reasonable economy for the performance and it also has usable low down shove and its a nicer engine to sit behind than a diesel too.
 
335i. Half a second down on the M3 with better economy and more reasonable insurance premium. Also the ultimate Q Car :thumbsup:
 
inkey$ said:
335i. Half a second down on the M3 with better economy and more reasonable insurance premium. Also the ultimate Q Car :thumbsup:
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That was my feeling as well, the 335i seems well balanced. I drove a F30 335i a couple of times and it was great fun; never taken an M3 for a spin though which makes it difficult to compare.

It seems that the E9x 335d is hardly an upgrade over the F30 328i in terms of performance which is the car they are coming from. The F3x 3/435d seems to have an upgraded engine which is a different beast altogether (but a F3x 335d is off the cards for now).
 
Billy said:
inkey$ said:
335i. Half a second down on the M3 with better economy and more reasonable insurance premium. Also the ultimate Q Car :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

That was my feeling as well, the 335i seems well balanced. I drove a F30 335i a couple of times and it was great fun; never taken an M3 for a spin though which makes it difficult to compare.

It seems that the E9x 335d is hardly an upgrade over the F30 328i in terms of performance which is the car they are coming from. The F3x 3/435d seems to have an upgraded engine which is a different beast altogether (but a F3x 335d is off the cards for now).
Click to expand...

Sounds like an E9x 335i is the one then Billy. Just make sure the turbo waste gates are checked and okay, otherwise it's a potential turbo out [costly] repair. They are a lot of fun to drive though. Havent driven the M3 either, so can't compare.
 
I've just bought an E70 X5 3.5d (same engine as the 335d I believe). Given the mass of the X5, I can't believe how fast this thing accelerates with the 425 lbs ft torque. So I can only imagine what this would be like in a much lighter car. I can get about 26-30 mpg in the X5 at cruising highway speeds.
 
Looks like a slightly used 428i M-Sport won them over in the end :thumbsup:. Beautiful car that is
 
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