[Mikex101]

I'm keeping my eyes open for an LCI 330i and there seems to be a distinct lack of them up for sale?

Autotrader currently has 2 up for sale for less than £13k. 1 saloon, 1 coupe neither of which are up to much IMO.

Am I really looking at the arse end of the market for an 09 330i with a £13k budget?

[acerboo]

Originally Posted by Mikex101

I'm keeping my eyes open for an LCI 330i and there seems to be a distinct lack of them up for sale?

Autotrader currently has 2 up for sale for less than £13k. 1 saloon, 1 coupe neither of which are up to much IMO.

Am I really looking at the arse end of the market for an 09 330i with a £13k budget?

look for a 335 a much better car all round

[M4rius]

I was in the same boat ,was after 330 m sport manual e92. After some time i gave up and bought 325 .

[ukbeemerboy]

Probably need to up the budget to nearer £14k and be prepared to travel....

[Hulla the Hulla]

Persevere, they are out there but you need to bide your time, check regularly and the right one will turn up

[330ray]

Mines pre lci but took me a month to find a decent one with MT haha!

[rhysh1990]

Took me a few months to get my manual coupe pre lci but found it in the end!

[afalton]

Where are you looking I found mine on pistonheads
But mines a e92 pre lci n53 330i dct
Great car!
Good luck with your search

[335d Rocco]

Couple of coupes on the bmw site, late 2008 cars for £15k.

Got my 330i as an AUC a few months ago, love it

[Not a Diesel!!!]

Took me 9 months to find mine. LCI 2010 plate M Sport Touring in Manual.

Once I bought it I looked at how many left & I think they only built 10 across 2 years.

Remember the 3.0 was dropped I think so only a couple of years of LCI cars instead of the 4 of cars like 335i, 330d, 335d.

Love it.

[ukbeemerboy]

Originally Posted by Not a Diesel!!!

Took me 9 months to find mine. LCI 2010 plate M Sport Touring in Manual.

Once I bought it I looked at how many left & I think they only built 10 across 2 years.

Remember the 3.0 was dropped I think so only a couple of years of LCI cars instead of the 4 of cars like 335i, 330d, 335d.

Love it.

The E90 330i (272bhp) was available until 2011 on a 11 plate.

[joeyt]

335?

[Reece]

Is the 330i just a 3l straight 6?
How comes with 2 turbo's bolted on the 335i only produces 306bhp standard if the 330i is 272bhp? Obviously plenty of tunning potential but should it not be running higher as standard?

[Ian122]

Yes they are both a 3l straight 6. But they are two different engines to begin with. A 335i is not just a 330i with 2 turbos.

[Mikex101]

Have considered a 325 but for the differences I just don't see why id not go for a 330 if I can find one! same lump, same problems, v similar fuel economy but with 50bhp more?

Again with the 335, thought about it but unsure about them. Just don't fancy having to fork out for a couple of turbos when they inevitably go. Plus all the hassle people seem to have with vac lines and all the rest of it.

Don't get me wrong, I like a turbo'd motor and have owned and worked on them (well, an old easy to work on one) but that was in the days I could spend longer under the bonnet.

Cheers for the replys all.

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by Reece

Is the 330i just a 3l straight 6?
How comes with 2 turbo's bolted on the 335i only produces 306bhp standard if the 330i is 272bhp? Obviously plenty of tunning potential but should it not be running higher as standard?

No. It was designed to drive like a NA engine and hence does not have huge amounts of turbo boost. 335i makes peak power way before the redline and power drops off from then. This gives a pretty interesting characteristic that is when you shift to the next gear you are roughly making about the same amount of power from the engine as you were prior to changing gear (~275hp stock)

[ahenners]

Everyone bought 4 cylinders or diesel?

[sohail330]

I have an e92 330i... it's a great car and very responsive with it being N/A

[WonderBang]

I too had a budget of anywhere between 12'000-14'000 as I just wanted a car until I saved for a nice £40k+ car. I didn't want the turbo'ed 335 so went for the a straight 6 and couldn't find 330's much. Ended up with a very low mileage 325 M sport.

The 330's especially in M Sport trim are relatively hard to come by. Good luck and hope you find your ideal car sooner rather than later!

[335d Rocco]

When I was looking for mine, I was quite surprised at the amount of 325i's which were for sale compared to the 330i, would a lot of the 325i's been company cars?? It just seems strange why so many people would pick the 325i ahead of the 330i

[Robin330i]

325i feels a lot slower than a 330i - a lot!

[xPETEZx]

When I was looking I too wanted a 330i, but I had a rather limited budget, and when I found I could get a 325i SE LCI for the money I had, I took it.
I never even test drove a 330i, so I do not know what I am missing.
For me, the 325i is the fastest car I have ever owned. Even after 2 years, I still love driving it and look forward to it every time.

I only spent about 3 months looking for my car, so maybe if I had waited longer I would have found a 330i, but tbh, I wanted to get out of my old Ford Mondeo quickly.

If you have not driven a 330i yet, I would say try a 325i. If it feels fast enough for you, maybe settle for a 325i instead of holding out.
Don't let the internet tell you how fast your car needs to be. There will always be something thats faster than you. If youre in the 325i, you wish you got the 330i, if you get the 330i you wish you got the 335i if you got the 335i you wish you got the M3...etc etc etc.