[rick100]

Last year I was supposed to finally purchased a newer car , but things worked out differently , we ended buying a 2015 cadillac srx for the family. I still have my FBO 328xi and we kept the 2008 buick enclave as the beater car. These past winter i drove the enclave to work almost everyday . The 328 was driven on days without much snow .

Fast forward to this summer, the 328 sees more driving , its pretty quick after the mods I ve done, looks pretty good with the coil overs, rims , ceramic coatings. The enclave is mostly park but still gets used on raining days or when I go far with the family. However my wife and I agreed that if we have to spend too much money on the enclave , it has to go ( car has 200 000 miles)

Here is my dilemma , I would really hate to get rid of the bmw as i put too much into it , it has been dead reliable, and i won't get what I put into it , and I just love the way it looks ... I may be able to get 10 k canadian for it , seeing what the cars are selling for in autotrader, but again I put at least 5k in mods already ...

Anyways , I can afford roughly 25k canadian for a car. I ve been looking around and I have narrowed down to 3 cars. And here is the cars and why .

2015 M235i manual - Fastest car on the list, everything about this car I like , however its a 2 door , although I have one kid which I think would work , something tells me it won't be the car that I would take on long trips. I dont go out much without the family and when we do , we usually drive at least 2-3 hours , having my daughter in the backseat for that long makes me feel a bit guilty , , so I m not sure if i just want this car for my drive to work or the weekend in the backroads around my house. Spending 25k seems a little high but i love the car . The 328xi would be my daily if i were to get this car

2018 wrx manual - checks all the boxes too . I like the car, interior could be better but i dont mind it. Its pretty quick , newer , i feel that i can get on this car with the family comfortably and go far without worrying about how comfortable my daughter is in the back . The problem with this car is that it would be a daily , its not that much faster than my 328 , i actually find it about the same . I know stage 1 can wake it up a little bit , but the gains are minimal ( its mostly the way it feels that improves) . Even at stage 2 , 310 whp is what is expected. I m not saying its slow but its not really fast. I don t even know if i need a 400whp car but i always thought my next car would have to be a lot faster than the 328. In this case the 328 would be my garage queen .

2015 wrx sti - I have not tested this car yet , but it is faster than the wrx , also checks all the boxes. It already comes ready for the odd track day , it is a " special" car. However , i keep reading the engine is old and outdated, and that is not that reliable. It would be a big upgrade over the 328 , i feel like the money spend is worth it and keeping the 328 as a daily would make more sense but the newer engine on the wrx makes me think twice.


I hope i m not all over the place, but i find myself going back and forth over these 3 cars . What would you guys do??? . I know there are a lot more cars that could be brought up , but price wise and what is being offered ( mileage , year , options , manual tranny, what I like ) is what brought me to these 3 cars .

[e90yyc]

M235.

You have an SRX you can use when hauling the family, so why not?

Worst case it’s a weekend car that you absolutely love to drive. Lots of aftermarket options if you want even more power.

[Schmitz]

I'm not sure what the dilemma is. You seem to have two perfectly good sedans for putting people in. Why not buy an m235? I'd be looking for the fun car at this point.

If it's me, I'm dumping the Buick, keeping the 328xi and getting that fun car, whatever it may be.

[Balr14]

I had a 2005 Forester XT. It has basically the STI engine with a smaller turbo, so it was easy to upgrade to STI specs and add the brakes and suspension. That generation engine is not most reliable. They are prone to bore scoring and excess oil usage, which is common to horizontally opposed engines. I replaced it at 93k miles. The good news is replacing the block is not terribly expensive ($5k). I gave the car to my son-in-law at 110k miles and now has about 160k miles with no additional major expense.

I think the 2011 STI engine is still basically the same. Any horizontally opposed engine requires you know how to treat it properly.

[tcphoto]

No question it, the M235!

[krhodes1]

I had a '16 M235i - the backseat was actually pretty livable, if a bit awkward to get in and out of. The cool factor should make up for any slight discomfort.

I replaced it with a GTI when I needed something more practical, and I have no regrets at all. While the BMW had some amazing qualities, I actually like the VW better overall. A car you should check out as well.

Though that said - when did parents start caring whether their kids were comfy or not in the car? I counted myself lucky to get a ride at all! My folks had a '77 Pontiac Grand Prix and an old 911 when I was a kid, neither exactly known for spacious back seats. And I was 6' tall in the 8th grade. No f's were given for my comfort or lack thereof in the car.

So get they one *you* like!

-Single guy with no kids.

[Biginboca]

M235 all the way. It’s the fastest most engaging car of that group, can be tuned/modded for serious HP, and the backseat is surprisingly livable once you get back there.

Don’t kid yourself about the STI. I’ve been challenged by 2 of them and beaten both in my 328. They are not fast and they are not reliable, really have nothing to offer IMO.

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

I had a '16 M235i - the backseat was actually pretty livable, if a bit awkward to get in and out of. The cool factor should make up for any slight discomfort.

I replaced it with a GTI when I needed something more practical, and I have no regrets at all. While the BMW had some amazing qualities, I actually like the VW better overall. A car you should check out as well.

Though that said - when did parents start caring whether their kids were comfy or not in the car? I counted myself lucky to get a ride at all! My folks had a '77 Pontiac Grand Prix and an old 911 when I was a kid, neither exactly known for spacious back seats. And I was 6' tall in the 8th grade. No f's were given for my comfort or lack thereof in the car.

So get they one *you* like!

-Single guy with no kids.

Funny you said that...I have a 2018 GTI that I got to have a reliable daily since my 335 spends so much time on jack stands. Something to consider...it’s not as fast as the 335 but it’s got a lot of torque and it’s a great car for little kids. If you get one that’s out of warranty I think you can tune them to be close to a golf R pretty easily. The six speed is so slick too...