3 Series Purchase help

[JCL]

Originally Posted by GoVols!

I wasnt aware a 325 got 40mpg on the highway. I also wasnt aware that the 328 matched the 335i 0-60. The d does both(OK, .1 sec slower than the 335i).

And I don't care if it's a Chevy, a BMW, or a Ferrari, running an engine balls out at high RPM's constantly is going to wear it out faster than running it slower. That is just common sense. Why do you think rental cars run like hell after 50,000 miles? I'd like to know the service history of dealer loaners since they more than likely get driven harder than people's personal vehicles. I would be willing bet a bunch of money that the vast majority of 300,000 mile X5's were not redlined very often. Of course if you lease, it doesnt matter and becomes someone else's problem...... :-)

Maybe it's just my driving style, but I feel the d fits me better than the i. I like having tons of power available at low rpm's so I dont HAVE to rev it all the way up. In real world day-to-day driving how often do you really need or want to run 8000 rpm?

FSETH's graph certainly shows some good numbers for the comparison. I tend not to use US government figures, because they aren't close to reality, and there are so many correction factors that I think the tests are not reproducable. I use either Transport Canada, or the UK government figures. Going with the UK figures, because they are listed conveniently on www.bmw.co.uk, the 335d has a 0-62 mph time of 6.0. The 335i is at 5.6, the 325 is at 6.7, and the 330 (when it was listed) was down the middle of those, same as the 328, very close to the 335d. Yes, it is only one aspect of performance. The mileage of the 335d on the combined cycle is listed as 42.2 mpg (remember that is Imperial gallons). The 335i is at 34 mpg, the 325 is at 39 mpg, and the 323 (when it was listed) was at 42. The 320i is listed at 44. My analogy therefore wasn't correct. It should have been the mileage of the 323, the acceleration of the 328/330, and the cost of the 335i. I will further grant you that in the US, you got rebates so that the 35d didn't cost that much. The rest of us don't get those rebates.

I don't have a concern over running my BMW gasoline engines to redline most times I drive them, after they are properly warmed up. It has not resulted in increased oil consumption or engine wear. If you read posts by wallyx5, he discusses his 300,000 mile 3.0 X5 that he regularly runs at high speeds. These engines do much better with that use than they do on short trips and at idle.

If your 35d works for you, that is fantastic. They are great engines. My only comment would be that if you like to take advantage of the low speed torque, and keep engine rpms down, and always have throttle response available, then that is not so much a diesel characteristic as it is a turbocharged engine characteristic. Your diesel just happens to be a turbocharged design. My 535i has the same characteristics, but with the added bonus that I can rev it if I want to. It has a six speed manual, and I can pretty much shift it 1-3-5 or 2-4-6, it has far more gears than it needs in daily driving, given the available torque just off idle.