Looking to trade my M3 for 135i - need opinions!

[Artz 330]

41K on the 135, great for daily driving. Much more fun than my M Coupe. S54 is still great tho when you can really open it up! I've also done several long trips, 800+ miles, without it really bothering me.

[BMW86]

Very happy 135i customer here. I've had the car for just over 6 months and I've clocked 17,500km's and still going strong. Only complaints are small fuel tank and it can be thirsty. The engine is phenomenal. I know it's not an M car but this engine is great. BMW's first turbo and there is so much torque. The N52 was already a great platform and now they have bolted 2 turbos onto it and now it just flies. It's a little pocket rocket. Most of my commute is around town so I fully utilise all of the peaks of the 135i engine. The downside is I burn alot of fuel. The 135i is a little beast it pulls hard coming out of corners and it's phenomenal off the line.

This car is my daily driver and it's great because I still have a backseat, a very decent bootspace and the rear seats fold down anyway. IF you get all the options you'll be up to date for gadgets. In terms of looks you are downsizing big time. I love the 135i it's nice and with some rims and a few CF bits it does look really sporty but the M3 is the clear winner in the looks department. But who's complaining anyway, both are nice brand new BMW's. People that rip on you are just haters. I think colour choice is more important anyway and being tasteful in any aftermarket cosmetic mods.

Things I would miss about the M3 are the V8 power, exhaust note, luxury, the looks and the status. The M3 is the better car here no doubt. If you plan to get the 135i and keep it for a while, do some mods and look after it, you'll find it just as rewarding.

[cheungms]

Originally Posted by HPFREAK

It is a good car to drive everyday. Just enough speed and quiet enough not to wake the neighbors. Add a JB3 and you have your M3 speed back plus some I just put one on and it is a lot of fun. tons of low end and it screams. I think you will like it a lot.

On the noise, is it loud enough that you actually hear the turbo spool up ever? Blow-off valve noise? I want to hear it because it makes it seem like you are driving a rocket!

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

I have been using the 135i as my daily for well over a year...22K miles will attest to that. Just remember to get the sport seats

Will do - thanks for the heads up! Any negatives? Other specific positives?

Originally Posted by MOCKBA

Daily driver, my most complains are:
rough ride
small fuel tank

What is the range on the fuel tank? Avg gasoline mileage?

Originally Posted by BMW86

Very happy 135i customer here. I've had the car for just over 6 months and I've clocked 17,500km's and still going strong. Only complaints are small fuel tank and it can be thirsty. The engine is phenomenal. I know it's not an M car but this engine is great. BMW's first turbo and there is so much torque. The N52 was already a great platform and now they have bolted 2 turbos onto it and now it just flies. It's a little pocket rocket. Most of my commute is around town so I fully utilise all of the peaks of the 135i engine. The downside is I burn alot of fuel. The 135i is a little beast it pulls hard coming out of corners and it's phenomenal off the line.

This car is my daily driver and it's great because I still have a backseat, a very decent bootspace and the rear seats fold down anyway. IF you get all the options you'll be up to date for gadgets. In terms of looks you are downsizing big time. I love the 135i it's nice and with some rims and a few CF bits it does look really sporty but the M3 is the clear winner in the looks department. But who's complaining anyway, both are nice brand new BMW's. People that rip on you are just haters. I think colour choice is more important anyway and being tasteful in any aftermarket cosmetic mods.

Things I would miss about the M3 are the V8 power, exhaust note, luxury, the looks and the status. The M3 is the better car here no doubt. If you plan to get the 135i and keep it for a while, do some mods and look after it, you'll find it just as rewarding.

Awesome write-up! I have a e46 so it's just an inline-6, but 333 hp is definitely nice to have. And the rumble of an ///M is phenomenal. What mods do you have? Any inherent problems with the 135i? I know in the e46, there were subframe problems, as well as RTAB and FCAB issues. Any others?

Keep the responses coming! Pics of your cars would be great too as I definitely love the look of my car, whereas I haven't seen all the colors available for the 135i.

THANKS AGAIN! Great forum response!

[vasracer]

the edmunds site, inside line, has a good comparison between e46m3 and 135i...never owned the first, so don't know who valid.

i came from z3mcoupe, and the 135i is very very different. Much more predictable, so faster for most of us. Very responsive engine, and very torquey, but quiet, isolated, and smooth.

60mph in the z3 is like 110 in the 1, although i can't drive in snow (no experience)...

The 1 does not have the "special" feeling the z3 mcoupe had, i miss it.

[cagekicker]

the 135 is great for daily driving. sport package is a must.

[shodanusmc]

Originally Posted by RobMason

I had an E46. It was a beast. But for some reason I could never get comfortable in it. The 135i is more luxurious, softer ride, with immediate torque available from the TT six. I like driving the 135i, perfect as a daily driver.

Softer ride? I hit a small [othole and thought the car had split in 1/2.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by cheungms

Will do - thanks for the heads up! Any negatives? Other specific positives?

Um no other negatives as far as driving it. I recently went on a 1000 mile road trip and averaged about 24 MPG over the first half (at 87 MPH! ) and when I slowed it down and started running for mileage on the second half I got 32 MPG at 69 MPH. I never once got uncomfortible in the car.

You can hear the turbos spool up and down on hard acceleration with the stock exahust, but it is faint. I can hear them much more with my performance exhaust. An absolute must in my opinion, you can even merge the cost of it into your monthy payments, which is nice.


Only complaints I have with the car are all related to maintenance. Although I have had more hardships than most. My car actually qualifies as a lemon . And im trying to get the paperwork sorted out. Wish I could replace the car, but SGM doesnt exist anymore...unless I can get the law to make BMW give me a 2010 SGM 135i haha. Im trying to see if I can get my vert for free and just not get it replaced.

If not I wont press the lemon charges further because I just love SGM so much.

[HPFREAK]

Originally Posted by cheungms

On the noise, is it loud enough that you actually hear the turbo spool up ever? Blow-off valve noise? I want to hear it because it makes it seem like you are driving a rocket!



Will do - thanks for the heads up! Any negatives? Other specific positives?



What is the range on the fuel tank? Avg gasoline mileage?



Awesome write-up! I have a e46 so it's just an inline-6, but 333 hp is definitely nice to have. And the rumble of an ///M is phenomenal. What mods do you have? Any inherent problems with the 135i? I know in the e46, there were subframe problems, as well as RTAB and FCAB issues. Any others?

Keep the responses coming! Pics of your cars would be great too as I definitely love the look of my car, whereas I haven't seen all the colors available for the 135i.

THANKS AGAIN! Great forum response!

With the dual cone filters you can hear the turbos a lot more and you get a little bit of that Pssshhh pssshhh noise when you get in and out of it so yes you do hear the turbos.

[CrazyIvan]

Cant say much about E46 - never driven one - but you wont be dissappointed with 135 even in stock form. On paper its faster than E46 M3 but I cant confirm that. Gas mileage varies with driving style - in teens with aggressive driving and low 30s with moderate cruising. As a daily driver the car is excellent: quiet, nice ride even with sport suspension, plenty of go at any rpm. No turbo lag whatsoever - if you dont know you might think its just a very torque rich engine like V8 or something. But you will lose on exclusivity. M car will always stand out.

[cheungms]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Um no other negatives as far as driving it. I recently went on a 1000 mile road trip and averaged about 24 MPG over the first half (at 87 MPH! ) and when I slowed it down and started running for mileage on the second half I got 32 MPG at 69 MPH. I never once got uncomfortible in the car.

You can hear the turbos spool up and down on hard acceleration with the stock exahust, but it is faint. I can hear them much more with my performance exhaust. An absolute must in my opinion, you can even merge the cost of it into your monthy payments, which is nice.


Only complaints I have with the car are all related to maintenance. Although I have had more hardships than most. My car actually qualifies as a lemon . And im trying to get the paperwork sorted out. Wish I could replace the car, but SGM doesnt exist anymore...unless I can get the law to make BMW give me a 2010 SGM 135i haha. Im trying to see if I can get my vert for free and just not get it replaced.

If not I wont press the lemon charges further because I just love SGM so much.

What performance exhaust did you get? BMW / Dinan?

Also, (again, I'm a n00b) what is SGM? What "hardships" have you had? Better gasoline mileage compared to what I have been able to get (at best, 29 MPG at cruising), so that's good.

Anybody have pics of aftermarket items such as spoilers / body kits / etc that people have done to their cars?

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by cheungms

What performance exhaust did you get? BMW / Dinan?

Also, (again, I'm a n00b) what is SGM? What "hardships" have you had? Better gasoline mileage compared to what I have been able to get (at best, 29 MPG at cruising), so that's good.

Anybody have pics of aftermarket items such as spoilers / body kits / etc that people have done to their cars?

SGM is Sparkling Graphite Metallic, a color that was brought back up to heaven after the 2008MY by the gods for being too beautiful for human eyes to see.

Ohh and I have the BMW performance exhaust.

See this thread for my hardships and then add 2 accidents:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301788

To see pics of SGM go here:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...fficial+thread

And search the photos forum...all you seek in terms of body kits is there...although there isnt much availible for the 135i yet...but thats slowly changing.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by HPFREAK

It is a good car to drive everyday. Just enough speed and quiet enough not to wake the neighbors. Add a JB3 and you have your M3 speed back plus some I just put one on and it is a lot of fun. tons of low end and it screams. I think you will like it a lot.

I recall a track/road test done by Edmunds where they tested a 135i,
E46 M3, and a 335i. Their conclusion was that the 135i was nearly a match for the M3 in terms of acceleration, braking, and almost on the handling, with the M3 being, of course, the better overall handler.
However, the 1 won due it's better day to day driving abilities as it's suspension is more compliant than the M3.

I've driven some E46 M3's as that is my favorite M3, in vert and coupe, manual and a couple with sportronic. Never drove an SMG, but always heard bad things about it. The M3 is gorgeous in coupe and vert styles.
Handling is sharp, and steering feel is better than the 1, the rack feels to have a tighter ratio. But, you pay for the razor sharp handling when driving on typical daily roads. That suspension really CRASHES on even mild road bumps. Often I considered getting one, but every time I would test drive one it reminded me of how I couldn't drive it on a daily basis without getting a better suspension to smooth out the drive.
If I ever get an E46 M3 it would be a manual vert and I would put in an adjustable suspension for a much better daily ride, and still tune it for more aggressive driving and for the track.

OP, you'll love the 1 for day to day. It has much of the great characteristics of the E46 M3, including the adjustable side bolster sport seats. It's a tad softer on the shifter where I feel the M3 is a bit more "mechanical", which I like, but clutch feel is more linear in feel and response, better for day to day. Audio system is nicer, and the interior is a much quieter place to be when you've had a hard day.
I think the MPG is better too, and insurance should be a decent discount as well, but that depends on your age too. At 45 I get great rates on pretty much any car I want. That's one good thing about getting older, I guess.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by shodanusmc

Softer ride? I hit a small [othole and thought the car had split in 1/2.

Comparison, he's comparing.
Go drive an E46 M3 and hit that same pothole, be ready to catch any fillings you may have.
It feels that hard...ok, you won't lose fillings, I was just being creative.

[bimmerboy]

the 135 is perfectly capable of being a daily driver, but it can really get you in trouble with its wide powerband. I often find myself speeding without even trying, the torque is just too addicting. For a daily driver i'm sure there are much more logical choices out there *cough* honda accord, but I am sure you will find it surprisingly easy to live with for how much performance it offers

[HPFREAK]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

SGM is Sparkling Graphite Metallic, a color that was brought back up to heaven after the 2008MY by the gods for being too beautiful for human eyes to see.

Ohh and I have the BMW performance exhaust.

See this thread for my hardships and then add 2 accidents:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301788

To see pics of SGM go here:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...fficial+thread

And search the photos forum...all you seek in terms of body kits is there...although there isnt much availible for the 135i yet...but thats slowly changing.

That is a great color. I saw one awhile back. It is like the Cyber Gray the ZR1, ZO6 and Camaro comes in.

[imported_mega]

Originally Posted by BMW86

BMW's first turbo and there is so much torque.

the n54 is not bmw's first turbo

[tbird]

I think you have your information pretty well given at this point on performance, that you can lean towards the 135. That Edmunds article mentioned above, comparing your car to the 135, should provide good info as well.

On a more practical note, gas mileage and insurance costs. While you had a company car, you enjoyed your E46 being 1) Low Mileage and 2) No commute, which lowers the insurance. Try calling your insurance company and running the numbers now on your choices of cars, see what they come back with. Those numbers might end up being a bit of a shock to your wallet. Hopefully not.

Let alone MPG, what are the numbers on the E46? How about warranty vs repair costs?

Sorry to be the boring one on this thread, but this sort of stuff really counts in the long run. Company car is nice, you get your costs taken care of. But now, you have whatever car payments plus insurance plus repairs plus gasoline. Add it all up, see which is the best for you. Personally, looking at a repair bill on ANY M-oriented BMW would be enough to give me a heart attack. A 4y/50K warranty (with possible 6y/100K warranty for about $2000 more) is peace of mind to me. But that's IMHO.

[cheungms]

Originally Posted by RPM90

I recall a track/road test done by Edmunds where they tested a 135i,
E46 M3, and a 335i. Their conclusion was that the 135i was nearly a match for the M3 in terms of acceleration, braking, and almost on the handling, with the M3 being, of course, the better overall handler.
However, the 1 won due it's better day to day driving abilities as it's suspension is more compliant than the M3.

I've driven some E46 M3's as that is my favorite M3, in vert and coupe, manual and a couple with sportronic. Never drove an SMG, but always heard bad things about it. The M3 is gorgeous in coupe and vert styles.
Handling is sharp, and steering feel is better than the 1, the rack feels to have a tighter ratio. But, you pay for the razor sharp handling when driving on typical daily roads. That suspension really CRASHES on even mild road bumps. Often I considered getting one, but every time I would test drive one it reminded me of how I couldn't drive it on a daily basis without getting a better suspension to smooth out the drive.
If I ever get an E46 M3 it would be a manual vert and I would put in an adjustable suspension for a much better daily ride, and still tune it for more aggressive driving and for the track.

OP, you'll love the 1 for day to day. It has much of the great characteristics of the E46 M3, including the adjustable side bolster sport seats. It's a tad softer on the shifter where I feel the M3 is a bit more "mechanical", which I like, but clutch feel is more linear in feel and response, better for day to day. Audio system is nicer, and the interior is a much quieter place to be when you've had a hard day.
I think the MPG is better too, and insurance should be a decent discount as well, but that depends on your age too. At 45 I get great rates on pretty much any car I want. That's one good thing about getting older, I guess.

wow - well said - I think this answers almost all the questions I had and helps me figure out the positives of the "1er"!

Originally Posted by bimmerboy

the 135 is perfectly capable of being a daily driver, but it can really get you in trouble with its wide powerband. I often find myself speeding without even trying, the torque is just too addicting. For a daily driver i'm sure there are much more logical choices out there *cough* honda accord, but I am sure you will find it surprisingly easy to live with for how much performance it offers

Haha...I'm going to try it out with just one car that I can daily drive and see if it's "ok". Preferably would not want to drive such a "numb" car as the Accord...

Originally Posted by tbird

I think you have your information pretty well given at this point on performance, that you can lean towards the 135. That Edmunds article mentioned above, comparing your car to the 135, should provide good info as well.

On a more practical note, gas mileage and insurance costs. While you had a company car, you enjoyed your E46 being 1) Low Mileage and 2) No commute, which lowers the insurance. Try calling your insurance company and running the numbers now on your choices of cars, see what they come back with. Those numbers might end up being a bit of a shock to your wallet. Hopefully not.

Let alone MPG, what are the numbers on the E46? How about warranty vs repair costs?

Sorry to be the boring one on this thread, but this sort of stuff really counts in the long run. Company car is nice, you get your costs taken care of. But now, you have whatever car payments plus insurance plus repairs plus gasoline. Add it all up, see which is the best for you. Personally, looking at a repair bill on ANY M-oriented BMW would be enough to give me a heart attack. A 4y/50K warranty (with possible 6y/100K warranty for about $2000 more) is peace of mind to me. But that's IMHO.

Good call on this "soft" stuff. That was also part of my misgivings of the M. Given that I currently don't DD it, I can take my time to fix it on my own and spend as much time as I'd like, whereas a DD would drive me nuts if it had to be worked on and tinkered with regularly (not that I have had to do it much, but it saves money to DIY.

[tbird]

Well, Bimmerboy has a point. I have my 135 as my weekend/fun car, and I have a commuter. I drive a minimum of about 80 miles a weekday, and then all the chores on the weekend where shopping carts bang around by tight parking spaces and jagoffs who doording ya, I needed a second car. But, being a car freak, I did need something that was not "numb".

So I got a nicely depreciated Focus (American so it's cheap to buy, cheap for parts/labor, and dependable for the little cars), and then I modded it up a bit for power. Granted, 7 seconds is nothing compared to my 135's times, but when I see all the dings on the paint, dings on the door, scratches, and all the abuse, and I know that it is on my depreciated Focus and NOT on my beautiful 135, I just smile.

PLUS, since I "commute" in the Focus, the insurance company is forced to make it my "Primary" vehicle, so they have to base my insurance on that. My wife's car goes second obviously, which puts my 1 as the "weekend" car, and that plummets the insurance rate.

Yes, driving a Focus every day, NOT as exciting as the 1, but thanks to the mods, it has plenty of zip to weave through the left lane squatters, and it saves me a bundle. Plus, on the times I actually drive slow, it gets over 30mpg, while the 1 unfortunately does not.

It's your car, your money, your budget. We all can offer our advice, but you know your situation better than us. We all just offer you good information, which I think we all did.

Good luck.

[imported_mega]

my insurance company does not seem to care what my primary vehicle is

my rate on my 135i is less than it was on my e36 m3 though, which is nice, biggest cost on my m3 was the damned insurance

[mshahidz]

I was originally looking to buy an 05-06 M3. I searched around for months but never was able to find one in decent condition (for the price i was looking for). I ended up walking into a dealership and checked out the 135i...I test drove the 335i and 135i back to back. WOW! The seating position of the 135 is MUCH better, and very comparable to the ///m IMHO.
Also, it is important to note the maintainance. Regardless of what you are reading on the forums, its like the VANOS issue on the e46 M's. Its everywhere on the forums, but I have not met anyone with such a problem. It is a very possible failure, but regardless forums seems to magnify situations.
Most people won't come online and say "WOW, i got home and back with NO PROBLEMS"! Rather, if anything goes wrong, the forums are the first place you will read them. Its nothing to worry about though, you have warranty to take care fo that for a bit.

For me (in canada)
Insurance on the M - 5500 (year) 2950 on the 135i
maintaince costs ---pretty much a fraction of the ///m. Dont forget the damned valve-adjustments and all that non-sense that you dont have to worry about
newer is better to me, only for the reason that it'll be a new start and a new car for you, and there really is nothing comparable on the market.


If you think about it, most people on forums are comparing the 135/335/ e46M. IMO it shows the true engineering prowess of BMW to create cars that are timeless. Even the e36M's are no joke--even though they are almost 15 years old. Regardless im happy with my 135i, but i wish i had the looks of your car


Post some pics fo your car...was it modded? I can show you some cars that have the same taste in mods so you can compare!

P.S. My 135i is my DD. Its 4 weeks old and has 3000KM already! I havent had any problem except that the dealer gave me the car with low power steering fluid!

[cheungms]

I've posted up some pics in the for sale section, just to see if anybody was interested in trading their 135i for an e46 + cash.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301772

Not really looking to make drastic changes, just want it to stand out slightly more (like my ///M does compared to standard 3 series on the streets).

Thanks for the comparison on the insurance! My e46 M3 runs about $1200 a year, so hopefully that gets cut in half like yours too!

Thanks again for the comments and looking forward to your pics!