[KingKL]

Hello
I am in the market for a 08/09 pre lci e92 335i. I'm only 21 still at uni but I work as well. I have £18000 saved over the years to spend on a new car but ideally want to spend £12000 + selling my current car for around £2500. Insurance will be £900. Will the money left over cover for maintaining and running the car for about a year until I start my full time job from my placement and have a steady income?

Also if something major goes such as the hpfp or turbos, how much am I looking at to getting these replaced?

Many thanks

[AlanYoro35i]

Don't do it.. Use it for a morgage... This is coming from a person who got a 335i at 22 during finaly year uni. I wished i didn't spend all that money and now have to save up for the deposit again.

I would be 40k richer if i didn't buy my 335i and modding it/service cost/fuel etc

[AlanYoro35i]

Turbo's will cost 5-6k from bmw, 3-4 from indy.
Fuel cost 7k per annum base on a 1000 miles a month
Tyres cost 400 a set for rears... Lucky if u have 1 set a year.
Big service cost 500.
Actually the 335i is a wallet burner.

[Juz5i]

Sounds like good advice from Yoro35i mate. Why don't you just keep your old car ticking over until you actually start your job for real. Then if the cash stacks up you could treat yourself to an upgrade. Not worth wasting all that hard earned cash for & could potentially leave you skint.

[KingKL]

I do agree about buying a house but to be honest it's not a priority at the moment and it's not something id do now due to personal reasons.

Car wise, id like to replace/sell my current car now before something else goes on it. My work will only be a 10 mile round trip. At the moment I do a max of 4000 miles but can see this go up to about 10000 miles when I start work.

I'd just like to see if I'd be able to afford it now or wait.

[fastloop]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

Turbo's will cost 5-6k from bmw, 3-4 from indy.
Fuel cost 7k per annum base on a 1000 miles a month
Tyres cost 400 a set for rears... Lucky if u have 1 set a year.
Big service cost 500.
Actually the 335i is a wallet burner.

Not quite sure how you can manage to get 7K per annum with only a 1000 miles a month. Depending on fuel price that gives you an average of 10.9 MPG (using pump price of £1.4/L) over a year which is pretty impressive. I have only seen usage like that on track with a modified car.

A more reasonable average would be 20 MPG, which would give you an annual fuel cost of £3814.

The book time on replacing the turbo's is 11h, so I wouldn't expect the costs to be more than 3-4K at a dealer and sub 3K at an Indy. You can probably avoid this buying the right car in the first place. E.g. one that's already had them replaced due to wastegate rattle.

Yearly maintenance costs can be kept to a reasonable level unless you need to replace all injectors or something major fails.

Most common issues are caused by:
- Injectors
- Ignition Coils/Spark plugs
- HPFP
- Intake valves clogging up (Walnut blast them ever 40K, to keep issues at bay (£280) )
- Wastegate rattle (May require turbo's to be replaced)

[makkan00]

335i is for those who have deep pockets!!!

[Bmw10]

I have a 335i and I'm also 21 doing about 6-700 miles a month using about £40-50 fuel a week
That's a mix of motorway and town driving love it amazing car

[KingKL]

I'm not doing many miles which is the reason I'm considering the 335i. It's just maintaining it is my concern. I'm not sure how bmw warranty works but can I buy a used car from anywhere other than a bmw dealer and get a warranty cover for it? Would the warranty cover problems dealing with the turbos and other major repairs?

[KM79]

You can get a BMW warranty on an annual or pay monthly policy providing you have full Bmw history and it's far cheaper when under 60k miles.

[whateva411]

Originally Posted by KingKL

I'm not doing many miles which is the reason I'm considering the 335i. It's just maintaining it is my concern. I'm not sure how bmw warranty works but can I buy a used car from anywhere other than a bmw dealer and get a warranty cover for it? Would the warranty cover problems dealing with the turbos and other major repairs?

Im at university and the only annoying thing I find about my 335 is that I spend a lot of time at the fuel station!
I went for a n55 due to it apparently being more reliable and a fraction more efficient than the n54.

[KM79]

I had a 335i also and would recommend.Dont get put off by all these stories about turbo failure etc,I see more turbos fitted to 320/330/335d and far more electronic engine faults than the 335i.I had mine for over a year and no engine issues whatsoever ,plus a check of the warranty history showed neither had the previous owner.25mpg around town and 37-40 on the motorway with a manual car.

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

Turbo's will cost 5-6k from bmw, 3-4 from indy.
Fuel cost 7k per annum base on a 1000 miles a month
Tyres cost 400 a set for rears... Lucky if u have 1 set a year.
Big service cost 500.
Actually the 335i is a wallet burner.

Your prices are way out.

Turbos are £3-3.5k from a dealer. The big service is now only £254 with BMW's fixed price servicing.

Rear tyres are about £400 for a good brand, but you should see more than a year out of them.

Fuel should be around £2500 per year for an average driver doing 12,000 miles per year.

I've had my 335i for 4 years and I'm surprised how cheap owning one is. You are going to run it for the same price as a 1.0 Micra, but all things considered the costs aren't high at all unless you do suffer a few failures.

The running costs of a 335i aren't much different than most of the 2.0 hot hatchbacks.

The OP also has the option on a BMW warranty to avoid the big bills.

[gangzoom]

Your guys must have amazing part time jobs to be able to afford some like a 335i at uni!! I could barely afford to run a £500 Nissan Micra at Uni

In regard to running a 335, I've spent £2.5k on various repairs in the last 8 months. I recently worked out my 335 has cost me in the region of £700/month all in, including deprecation/insurance/mods/fuel etc, even excluding mods it's about £500/month.

For the performance/practicality on offer I personally think the 335 is hard to beat, but it's not a car to run on a budget. Still if you can afford one at 21 your doing well

[Mattfox89]

Go for it you only live once!!!

If I could have afforded a 335i at your age I would have got one.

[timp7748]

Have to agree about the mortgage advice. I was able to save up for an E46 M3 just as I was finishing uni and whilst I could afford it at the time I now wish I had been wiser. If I wasn't the type to swap cars so frequently I would have been able to buy a house piece of piss. Mortgages are also hell of a lot harder to get these days and with 18k deposit, your options are a lot better.

Having a nice car at a young age makes you proud and feel special, but talking from experience and learning from my mistakes, i would definately get a house before a car that will only lose value sat on the drive.

Damn it... i sound like my dad!

[AlanYoro35i]

Originally Posted by 335rocks

Not quite sure how you can manage to get 7K per annum with only a 1000 miles a month. Depending on fuel price that gives you an average of 10.9 MPG (using pump price of £1.4/L) over a year which is pretty impressive. I have only seen usage like that on track with a modified car.

A more reasonable average would be 20 MPG, which would give you an annual fuel cost of £3814.

The book time on replacing the turbo's is 11h, so I wouldn't expect the costs to be more than 3-4K at a dealer and sub 3K at an Indy. You can probably avoid this buying the right car in the first place. E.g. one that's already had them replaced due to wastegate rattle.

Yearly maintenance costs can be kept to a reasonable level unless you need to replace all injectors or something major fails.

Most common issues are caused by:
- Injectors
- Ignition Coils/Spark plugs
- HPFP
- Intake valves clogging up (Walnut blast them ever 40K, to keep issues at bay (£280) )
- Wastegate rattle (May require turbo's to be replaced)

opps sorry, i calulated it wrong.
I used £100 V-power a week so its 5ish k a year for me

I think i drove more than 1000 miles a mo th then

[MrPogle]

I'm 50 and financially comfortable so I'd say the smart thing is to buy a house. But I'd rather be 21 so I say buy the car.

[gangzoom]

Mortgage/house is 100% a better use of savings/money compared to wasting the money on any car, but your only young/single/unattached once in your life.....If I was 21 again and could afford a 335 I wouldn't even think twice

[AlanYoro35i]

Ultimatly it is your decision op, but my advice would be buy and let a property. I was like you when i was 22 (4years ago) no plans, fxxk this, yolo so i bought the 335i. Once u get money rolling into your account, u be buying lambo's!! Lets take a look with properties rising so quickly, it will be harder say 10 years later when your at the point of buying your own property.

I'll sell u mine for £15k if u like

82k , bew turbos, new fuel pump. Recenlty had £4k spent on preventive maintaince.
Birds suspension kit, wrapped in white to protect orignial paint work. Coils and plugs all replaced. Bmw warranty paid about 6k worth of stuff. So the engine is like new.
No oil leaks or anything last time when steve at a1bn checked.

[zltm089]

Do it OP!.... life is short!

Make sure you get a BMW warranty and enjoy the car! roll up at the student union and get the bad bitches!

[breathe3asy]