gangzoom Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) It's now been nearly 3 years since I waved goodbye to the 350Z and hello to the 335i, so I decided to work out running costs etc and may be consider a change... The total cost of ownership ALL IN works out as £760/month (£27k in 3 years ) including fuel at 24mpg for 5k/year. Depreciation is biggest single cost and accounts for 1/3 of the cost, with mods accounting for the second biggest cost. Having access to someone like Mitz/Andy at Cougar store has been a life saver!! One thing I quickly realised with the 335 is that it's a lot more 'delicate' than the Z. Components fail on a regular basis, infact in 10 years+ of driving various cars, including a £500 Micra I've never had to be towed anywhere, but with the 335 it's happens once already and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again!! But I would happily say the 335 is the best car I've owned by a long way, there's not a single other car for the money that combines 400bhp, 40mpg possible long runs, RWD, comfortable, plenty of gadgets, and discrete, it's not a cheap car to own/run but for me worth every penny Right now I cannot think of another car I would swap the 335 for... The new M3 did catch my attention, but after reading the early reviews I really don't think it's worth spending £40k+ over my 335 to get into one. The only other car right now I would swap my 335 for is a Tesla S, but at £65k+ for the model I want that's not going to happen any time soon...So will have to 'make do' with the 335 for now Edited May 18, 2014 by gangzoom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Still looks great mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Gang, it's a great car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Lovely looking Beemer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 oooooh i like that future car for me i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 Really like these, a couple of guys at work have them, one of them chipped and lowered on BBS wheels. Is your one an auto (dont think iv seen many manuals for sale) Also, have you got the M3 brakes on yours, look bigger than I remember on the standard car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted May 18, 2014 Author Share Posted May 18, 2014 (edited) Brakes sizes are standard, but just had new EBC Ultimax discs/Yellow stuff pads fitted. If i was seriously going to track the car I've considered the AP big brake kit, but total costs would be at least £3-4K even without fitting, which is too much for me to justify. Mine is an auto, manuals are really rare, and to be honest I wouldn't go back to manual if all autos are as good as the ZF box in the 335. In day to day driving you simply don't need to think about it, and the Manual mode changes quick enough for me when you really want to press on....Only feature missing from mine that I miss is having split/folding rear seats, which was a factory option that rarely got ticked ...retrofitting is possible but costs about £200-300 just to get hold of the needed brackets from BMW, and than your need to get hold of some seats. Mods wise the list is pretty long... Quaife LSD Birds B3 suspension, Eibach anti-roll bars, M3 subframe bushes AR design high flow cats Evolve Intercooler AFE sealed air intake Procede ECU tune (switchable maps on the fly) EBC brakes pads/Discs + braided lines - 750 Built in CCC Satnav upgraded tolatest CIC model + Alpina speaker upgrade Pure300di DAB + internal aerial 250 Alufelgen 19inch wheels Finally, Racwreks uprated oil cooler - Currently with CS waiting to be fitted If I hadn't modified the suspension and added a LSD I would have swapped the 335 for something else by now. The power train in the car is good enough to be in a M car (as BMW has now done) but it was almost as though BMW handicapped the rest of the car on purpose so it wouldn't threaten the E90/92 M3. My lovely wife recently has been hinting at me to change to a more economical/reliable car, hence me doing some ownership costs....We've now reached a compromise, and I've promised her my next car will be an EV car so running costs will be minimal....but luckily even she realises the only EV that is actually usable on a daily basis is the Tesla S, so the 335 will be safe from been culled for while yet Edited May 18, 2014 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Blimey, that is a pretty impressive list. Though disappointing to see that the care is a little fragile, and cant believe it does not have split fold rear seats, thats outrageous! As an overall package, i think its a hard car to beat, is there enough space for family stuff in the back, or would you recommend the touring? As for the brakes, could you not upgrade to the BMW 6pots? Edited May 19, 2014 by Daryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Overall the car is pretty practical, BMWs specific with to spec just about everything is an optional extra so when your looking for one don't assume any thing As for the brakes, the 335s brake are pretty good once you get uprated pads. Even the M3 brakes apparently aren't all that good if your going to track the car....there's no way round it, regarding brakes if you want top end performance you have to pay the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Did a track day a couple of years back with an E92 M3, and the brakes were pinging etc after a few hot laps, and needed cooling. The Zed's brakes were fine for how ever many I wanted to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanta350 Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) wow I m staggered...edited as I read your post again... sorry 27k in 3 years....man! Edited May 25, 2014 by wanta350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) wow I m staggered...edited as I read your post again... sorry 27k in 3 years....man! To be fair it's only that much if I was to PX the car in the car now for trade value. The actual car only cost me £13k + trade in for my 350Z 3 years ago, and my budget was for a E90 M3, so the 335 came in at way under budget, hence my justification for going mad with mods Been driving the car this weekend on some lovely roads, love it, worth every penny...Life is for living, and am lucky enough that money I've spent on the car has not had any impact on more important things (holidays/mortgage etc)....I would love a GTR but their running costs are in a different league which I simply cannot ever see my self affording Edited May 25, 2014 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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