I dont understand why people still talk about the cost of owning a BMW. All maintanance except tires are covered until 50,000 miles. No other manufacturer does that excapet maybe Audi. After owning many BMW's, I can say that costs for parts are very reasonable.

 

And you can get a maintenance plan extension.

I don't know about a $10-15K differential. When I shopped my e90 the competition was a IS350. As much as I like to hassle Y2ks2k I think that's a great car too. When I priced it out optioned the way I wanted it, just like my e90, there was only about a $4K adder for going BMW. And even that $4K gets whittled down by my 4 yr/50K free maintenance.

Now part of the smaller gap was actual price, not MSRP's. e90's had been out for a while so I could (and did) knock a bunch off MSRP. IS350's were the hot new model so there was very little give in price.

The 335i is now the new hot model and I haven't shopped so I can't say if $10-15K is the current differential. But it was NOT the case when I bought.

 

Do you not pay attention before you post? There *was* no special modified 3-series coupe that catered to the GT crowd before the 335i. Previous generations were simply 2-door versions of the 3-series sedan. This is the first time BMW has gone as far as making a specially-styled coupe to compliment the sedan in the lineup. Infiniti did this first with the G35C, and has had huge success with it. I see that trend in BMW's latest 3-series product.

I made no statement whatsoever about the 3-series not being a benchmark. Read before jotting down the first flicker of a thought that pops into your head.

 

The 335 and IS350 are close in price although you can cut a better deal on the Lexus. It is only the G35 that is substantially cheaper but that is only based on estimated '07 prices since they have not been anounced.

The included maintenance means little to me.. it means four oil changes for most cars.

 

[QUOTE=David,Oct 27 2006, 12:32 AM]I've always had the same difficulty in purchasing a BMW over other brands.

 

Oh no the coupe is beautiful. Even the sedan is good looking. What I meant by "ugliest" is simply a relative term. I said the 3-series sedan is the ugliest among the three, I just think G35 sedan and IS look EVEN BETTER than the 3 sedan, that's all. But the 3 coupe is definitely a piece of art, especially the front and the side proportion, oh I love it.

 

Sounds about right, I too would opt for the 335i over the is350/g35. Can't wait to dump my s2k for maybe a 335i in the future.

 

spoken like a mature adult... i shopped a G35C and the precursor to the 335 Coupe... the 330Ci... and I bought the 330Ci... the 335 coupe is the replacement for the 330Ci... it is no "special modified 3-series" to cater to the GT crowd... it will attract the same crowd as did the 330... the difference between sedan and coupe is the headlights, bumpers, tailights, and some odds and ends... just like on the E46's... the entire powertrain for both coupe and sedan is exactly the same... its about as much a GT car as is the 330.. you need to better understand automotive marketing... the ///M3 is the "special modified 3-series" which catered to the true GT crowd...

 

335i ain't got no LSD. Have fun spinning one tire through that turn while the M3 pulls away.

Slight exaggeration, but it's not gonna be as much fun as an M3.

 

It's not supposed to be as "fun" as a M3.