Purchasing a BMW Convertible

[gmufiji12]

Hello all,

Need some sage advice. I had an E36 Convertible, and made the mistake of trading it in on a Lexus. Now I'm coming back to BMW...

I'm looking at a 2009 328 convertible with 26K miles, one owner, local car, Very vanilla...
or a 2008 335 convertible with 31K miles. Navigation, two owners, first owner lived in buffalo, was purchased at an auction, but otherwise clean and seems to have a good maintenance records. Checked the carfax and called the dealer.

I plan on buying an extended warranty for 5 years 100K miles.

What would you recommend. I like the thought of the 335 and the navigation, but is it going to be more expensive to maintain and operate. Any know issues on either car that I should know?

Thanks in advance!

[pseto]

iDrive and the navigation system for any BMW isn't that great. You get way more functionality with a smartphone if you have one. I believe MY2008 was DVD based (not hard drive based), so not alot of updating you can to it other than buying/burning new DVDs for newer maps.

The 328 will be a lot more reliable than the 335 who have had fuel pump, turbo, wastegate, and carbon build-up issues. If the extended warranty specifically covers the fuel pump, turbo, and wastegates, then probably not a bad idea. Unless you're super handy, these jobs aren't easy enough for the weekend mechanic. That said, I'm still a fan of the N54 motor as mine was very solid and no real issues (only 1 fuel pump went bad).

Did the dealer provide you a copy of the 335's service records? I wouldn't purchase one without it and get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) done.

The 328 will be pretty much bulletproof if you keep up the normal maintenance. Not sure an extended warranty would be needed.

[gmufiji12]

Thanks Paul! Which one would you buy? I'm really on the fence. Also, which one do you think is going to hold its value better in 5 years?

[1996 328ti]

And with Navs, eventually the DVDs get to the end of their life. I believe new DVDs won't work with my current Nav OS.
Fortunately my smartphone is always up to date.

[pseto]

Thanks Paul! Which one would you buy? I'm really on the fence. Also, which one do you think is going to hold its value better in 5 years?

In general, both should hold their value decently. Depends on if you'll have buyer's remorse on not getting the bigger engine. For me, the 328 was underpowered and not much can be done to increase performance. There's plenty of bolt-ons for the 335 that make a huge performance difference. Plenty of info on E90post forums.