[naz]

NefCanuck,May 5 2008, 09:51 PM Wrote:Thing is though as nice as bimmer looks,  owning one on this side of the pond  takes a level of commitment and care bordering on the obsessive/compulsive.  It truly has become a niche driver's car over the years here, which is sad IMO...

I dunno if the 1 series can change that, but we'll see (Does the 1 come with the free scheduled maintenance? :unsure:)

NefCanuck
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yea the 1 series has the free maintenance too.. in the US minis have then for 3yr/36k miles too

for long term 'keeper' i would definitely have looked much much harder at lexus or infiniti.. i'm not sure i trust bmw/mercedes for long term durability of random stuff like electricals etc..

i don't think the 1 series will be any cheaper to maintain than the other bmws.. the only thing cheaper is the initial purchase price

flo.. im sure you and your father have thought this through.. but IMHO.. off lease 335 is a scary thought. almost sure to have been driven hard, strong chance it had at least a chip... and i've heard many anecdotes of chipped BMWs running into oil overheating / limp mode issues.. IMHO a 335i will get $$$$ as it gets older if you will keep for a long time.. if you have the cash flow for an old 335 may want to consider a 911 C2S or C4S instead.. at least those have proven long term durability to go with the $$$$$ maintenance cost

if you are set on the 335 .. at least make you the one you get has OE oil cooler installed. early build vehicles did not have this from the factory (needed to be dealer retrofit)

couple of those thoughts.. 335 built after mar08 supposedly will go into limp mode if you chip them.. and many cars have the rear diff welded to the subframe so its pricey to swap to a LSD if you were thinking about doing that