[Chaseme]

My parents in a rut; 335ic or 328ic. I know, I know, I've heard all the back and forth discussion on which is superior as far as performance goes; everyone should know that.

My father will be leasing it for 3 years, and after that it is going to become my mom's when we buy it out of the lease. So in years down the road, past the warrant and extended warranty, we were curious on which model will be a better option performance aside.

The real question is. If you would rather have to deal with one after their warranty expires, which would it be?

I would guess the 335i's newer TT technology is more susceptible to failure and costly repairs.

[crazed792]

Why would you lease and then buy? Buy or lease, but doing both generally is a losing deal. 328i out of warranty will likely have fewer issues.

[Scimitar335i]

What is the major hindrance of the 335 so far? The HPFP and that is now backed by a 100k warranty. Blown turbos are rare for these cars as long as its not tuned and put into extremely competitive events (track, races, etc)... Just make sure he gets a 335 with an oil cooler...

[crazed792]

Originally Posted by Scimitar335i

What is the major hindrance of the 335 so far? The HPFP and that is now backed by a 100k warranty. Blown turbos are rare for these cars as long as its not tuned and put into extremely competitive events (track, races, etc)... Just make sure he gets a 335 with an oil cooler...

Offhand I've heard wastegate issues are actually just as if not more common (maybe not on these forums, but in service departments), though not nearly as costly. Long term reliability hasn't really been shown for either car, but with extra parts and forced induction, I find it hard to believe that the 335i would be >or = to the 328i in reliability down the line. I guess you never know...

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by crazed792

Why would you lease and then buy? Buy or lease, but doing both generally is a losing deal. 328i out of warranty will likely have fewer issues.

Couldn't agree more. If you know you're going to be keeping the car, why lease it first? I'm a big leasing advocate, but that makes little sense.

The general guideline (historically speaking) is that NA engines will last longer than force-fed engines. Most 335s don't have many miles on them yet, so it's tough to say how good the N54 engine will be in the long term as cars get up and over 100k miles. Again, if you're concerned with longevity over raw performance, get the 328.

[Chaseme]

I should clarify; the car is going to be a company lease vehicle; MY 09 (so those engine issues in the 335 will be resolved). After that, my mom is going to have it financed since she has been driving her e46 for nearly 8 years now.

The car will likely still be owned by her after 100k (approx. 7 years).

I didn't know about the 100k HPFP, I did know about the oil cooler.

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

[JoeyBananaz18]

Originally Posted by Chaseme

I should clarify; the car is going to be a company lease vehicle; MY 09 (so those engine issues in the 335 will be resolved). After that, my mom is going to have it financed since she has been driving her e46 for nearly 8 years now.

The car will likely still be owned by her after 100k (approx. 7 years).

I didn't know about the 100k HPFP, I did know about the oil cooler.

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

unfortunately we are going into MY2010 and those problems havn't gone anywhere.

[sokdo]

The 335i prob won't last as long as the 328i, just because you're more prone to "pushing" the car harder than you would a 328i because you can and WILL. 335i will make you do that whether you want to or not lol, I guarantee it. Of course not to say you won't on your 28i either but I'm willing to bet you would do it more often on the 35i.

[klipseracer]

I think the answer to this is fairly obvious. The 328 will be less of a headache due to the fact that it has fewer and more inexpensive parts. By, "Deal with" your implying paying for out of pocket. This is rhetorical. You are looking for a reason to buy the 335i. If you want me to say the 328 breaks down ten times as often as the 335, then your probably not going to get that answer here

[Bimmerdriver17]

Think these cars are too new yet to answer your question. Theoretically, yes a 328 would be more reliable than a 335 given its lack of turbos and all the parts around it. But that doesn't account with BMW electrical problems, etc that can occur in 328's as well. Aside form the turbos, etc (which are made pretty well these days anyway), I think the 335 would be just as reliable as the 328...Again, its too early to tell in my opinion.

[blue2fire]

If you plan to keep the car for 100,000 miles, either car should be fine if you opt for the extended warranty. Otherwise, the 328i is obviously better due to the less complexity and it's track record till now.

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by blue2fire

If you plan to keep the car for 100,000 miles, either car should be fine if you opt for the extended warranty. Otherwise, the 328i is obviously better due to the less complexity and it's track record till now.

+1!
With the ridiculous cost of BMW repairs,I would buy an extended warranty on any BMW model.

[Chaseme]

Yes, extended warranty is a must. It's saved us on our e46.

[ragingclue]

If I absolutely had to have one or the other out of warranty as a daily driver, 328 hands down.

As a plaything, 335 hands down.

[JoeyBananaz18]

i was taught with this mindset :"if you take care of a small problem now, you can avoid a big problem later." im sure i dont have to say this. with that said, take advantage of the warranty, and when that runs out (if you've got the 335) go for the extended warranty.
i have a feeling that repairs will slowly come down in price as more and more 335s get a bit older. within the next couple of years we'll see more and more of them come off their warranties, which means those who did purchase them will be going to private shops.
maybe "come down in price" is the wrong choice of words. but the haynes manual for the E9x will be arriving in october, and forums like these arn't going anywhere so we're going to a a few good resources on information. soon we're going to find more and more people taking care of repairs themselves and getting their hands dirty.

[MrDummy]

^^ amen to that

[E92-Lighting]

depends if you want HPFP or not

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Chaseme

My parents in a rut; 335ic or 328ic. I know, I know, I've heard all the back and forth discussion on which is superior as far as performance goes; everyone should know that.

My father will be leasing it for 3 years, and after that it is going to become my mom's when we buy it out of the lease. So in years down the road, past the warrant and extended warranty, we were curious on which model will be a better option performance aside.

The real question is. If you would rather have to deal with one after their warranty expires, which would it be?

I would guess the 335i's newer TT technology is more susceptible to failure and costly repairs.

Best to worst:

#1 328 w/6 spd
#2 335 w/6 spd
#3 328 w/AT
#4 335 w/AT

[Nikolas]

Originally Posted by Socom

Best to worst:

#1 328 w/6 spd
#2 335 w/6 spd
#3 328 w/AT
#4 335 w/AT

???

Why on earth would you think the 335 manual will be more reliable than a 328 AT?

[Captain Oblivious]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

???

Why on earth would you think the 335 manual will be more reliable than a 328 AT?

I would agree with that. Automatic transmissions have a nasty habit of breaking a lot. Especially considering the 328i has a different transmission than the 335i.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

???

Why on earth would you think the 335 manual will be more reliable than a 328 AT?

Didn't the 328 AT have issues?

[Chaseme]

I've driven the 335 and it's a great car; I've also driven a 325xi, and that thing is the biggest slouch of a new car I've driven. Still haven't driven a 328i.