HopefulOwner

Yes, of course, and fair point. I should have posed the question differently. I’m not asking anyone to make a decision for me so much as reassure me that my line of thinking is in line with their own (having more experience with the cars). I should add, any car I’m going to seriously consider buying I would be taking to a mechanic for a thorough check up prior to buying it. Cheers for your help. I’ll keep looking

Indeed, I have taken three out for a test drive since the original post, if I wasn’t already in love with the 335, I certainly am now. Absolutely gorgeous to drive. I now have the dilemma of choosing between the various offerings. I have one seller of an ‘07 335i who has replaced: Expansion tank, Radiator, Coolant hoses, Battery, fixed a few oil leaks, sump, brake rotors, brake pads And another seller with an ‘08 which is in better condition (visually speaking, it’s way cleaner) but who doesn’t seem to have replaced anything. The ‘08 has done about 70k less kilometres as well. Should I be looking at the ‘07 one with all the parts replaced assuming the ‘08 is going to need that stuff done to it later anyway?

Thanks Dave, much appreciated. Yes I’m definitely leaning towards the E93. Though the later model years (and post LCI) are definitely creeping above my price range. Is the reliability that much better to be worth it? When I ask some sellers if they’d had problems, (and listed leaky gasket cover, turbo waste gates, fuel pump, water pump, turbo failure) they’ve said they’ve had no problems at all and it has been serviced regularly. Obviously I’ll check the service history thoroughly, but I wonder if nothing has gone wrong, does that mean it is simply yet to? Some sellers have had problems but have had the parts replaced, possibly that’s better as the parts are newer…I wonder. Perhaps I should be posting in an E93 buyers thread.

Hi all, Wondering if anyone can help me decide on my first BMW purchase? I’m looking primarily at two models, happy to look at a few other models around these but would like to stick with minimum 3L for the added power. Model no. of the two I’m most keen on below: ‘03 330Ci E46 Auto MY04 (soft top convertible) OR ‘08 335i E93 Auto MY08 (hard too convertible) The latter is about $2k cheaper. Both around 150k kms and in immaculate condition. The thing is, the older 3 series in my opinion are much more beautifully styled. They’re timeless and gorgeous. I like both models in the convertible, love a summer country drive. However, the 335’s extra power and hard top is pretty attractive to me over the (I assume) less efficient 3 litre 330Ci without a turbo and with a soft top which isn’t as good in winter. Can somebody help me decide? Both have been taken care of very well it seems. Are there other models I should be looking at too? Also does anyone know which years the LCI came in for these variants? Thanks in advance for any info you can spare!