Keep E90 330D or Upgrade to F30 335i

[brentbmw]

Whatsup guys,

Hope everyone is having a great festive season. Wanted some advice from those with experience.

My 2008 330D (M57 Variant) recently went to ZF to get another oil change just for them to tell me it seems my clutches are on the way out so they are not going to change the oil, but the technician assured me I have about 40k km left before the box needs to be overhauled for around 29k excl of vat.

Here is where my question comes in. I have another 3.5 years left to pay the 330D, do I pay it off and overhaul box and then keep it? Currently around 215k km on the clock. Would it be worth it at this mileage?

Or do I cut my losses now while I can still get good trade in value and upgrade to an 2014/2015 F30 335i with around 75-100k km on?

If you were in my position what would you guys do?

Thanks for the input

Brent

 

[Firstimer]

Whatsup guys,

Hope everyone is having a great festive season. Wanted some advice from those with experience.

My 2008 330D (M57 Variant) recently went to ZF to get another oil change just for them to tell me it seems my clutches are on the way out so they are not going to change the oil, but the technician assured me I have about 40k km left before the box needs to be overhauled for around 29k excl of vat.

Here is where my question comes in. I have another 3.5 years left to pay the 330D, do I pay it off and overhaul box and then keep it? Currently around 215k km on the clock. Would it be worth it at this mileage?

Or do I cut my losses now while I can still get good trade in value and upgrade to an 2014/2015 F30 335i with around 75-100k km on?

If you were in my position what would you guys do?

Thanks for the input

Brent

Hi Brent

I am not expert at all, the advise here is merely my opinion. The suggested mileage and year model on the 330d if the car is in perfect condition will maybe suggest a retail of 100 to 120k and a trade of probably 60 to 80k or less. You will not be adding 30k value to the vehicle with the repair. especially not with the considered mileage. Though i do not know what you still owe on the car, my advise would be if you can break even then do it. If you can make a profit in the sale do it. This model will not increase in value.

I always treat a vehicle as a liability and not an asset, it will cost you money, how much, over how long, over how many kms. and you will get what back after x years and so on..

 

[msm]

Why not upgrade to a proper model, like a F30 330d :fencelook:

 

[brentbmw]

Whatsup guys,

Hope everyone is having a great festive season. Wanted some advice from those with experience.

My 2008 330D (M57 Variant) recently went to ZF to get another oil change just for them to tell me it seems my clutches are on the way out so they are not going to change the oil, but the technician assured me I have about 40k km left before the box needs to be overhauled for around 29k excl of vat.

Here is where my question comes in. I have another 3.5 years left to pay the 330D, do I pay it off and overhaul box and then keep it? Currently around 215k km on the clock. Would it be worth it at this mileage?

Or do I cut my losses now while I can still get good trade in value and upgrade to an 2014/2015 F30 335i with around 75-100k km on?

If you were in my position what would you guys do?

Thanks for the input

Brent

Hi Brent

I am not expert at all, the advise here is merely my opinion. The suggested mileage and year model on the 330d if the car is in perfect condition will maybe suggest a retail of 100 to 120k and a trade of probably 60 to 80k or less. You will not be adding 30k value to the vehicle with the repair. especially not with the considered mileage. Though i do not know what you still owe on the car, my advise would be if you can break even then do it. If you can make a profit in the sale do it. This model will not increase in value.

I always treat a vehicle as a liability and not an asset, it will cost you money, how much, over how long, over how many kms. and you will get what back after x years and so on..

Thanks, this makes great sense.

And you are definitely right every minute I keep the car with the expensive repair looming I am losing money.

---

Why not upgrade to a proper model, like a F30 330d :fencelook:

I was thinking of a F30 330D but I thought the 335i would be the faster option? Basically I am looking for best daily all rounder that can put a smile on your face every time you accelerate or overtake by pinning you in the seat.

My E90 isn't a slouch but it just leaves you wanting that little bit more, an itch to scratch if I can put it that way.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

330d vd 335i are 2 very different cars. Don't underestimate how thirsty the N55 motor can be.. Especially in traffic..

I drive it for the sound, turns fuel into noise :cartel:

30k for a gearbox repair vs starting finance from scratch is another question to be asking..

 

[yush1]

Hi. Since you have 3.5 years left it would be best to fix the gearbox. If you were to consider it would be wiser to to upgrade to a F30 330d instead of a 335. The petrol 6 cylinders are no where near the diesel in terms of consumption unless you don't do much mileage.

 

[Twinz]

Tough decisions you have to make.

If you are in a financial position to upgrade to a newer model then that is what i would do...the F30 330d would be my choice and bias as well. My interest in the 335i models ended with the e90.

 

[Mamboza]

335i will use a whole lot more fuel in town. If you are looking for more power you can always remap the 330d and you will get more than enough power.

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[msm]

If you plan on keeping the car again between 100K and 200K KM, things are not cheap on the 335i when they go wrong. Not saying that the 330d is bulletproof, but in general the 330d seems to have a better track record compared to the 335i.

I stand under correction, the ZF boxes are also different/stronger in the 330d compared to the 335i (8HP45 vs 70).

 

[babyboss]

F30 335i is not to bad on fuel ..
Drive here is much more pleasurable the sound etc ..
F30 330d is also a good car ..
Beats 335i only on Fuel ..
F30 330i - also underrated car 185kw ..
340i's now also comin cheap on used side ..

 

[tman]

30k for a gearbox repair vs starting finance from scratch is another question to be asking..

This is the most important question.

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[brentbmw]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Each perspective has its pro's and con's but you are right 3.5 years left vs finance starting all over for more than double the installment, I owe around 85k on the car where as the 335i would be anywhere from 250k or more.

With the 330D at around 215k km, say I fixed the gearbox in 2 years time (I only travel about 10-12000km per year so I have time), how could the long term reliability of the M57 330D be? And then just keep the car till its expiry date (350k, 400k km?) you know when everything starts going wrong.

I have no major issues with the car and it is serviced religiously every 10000km. No smoke, no weird things here and there.

Naturally there are no guarantees in life, but would it be worth keeping the 330D if it is reliable, paying it off and then saving up cash for an upgrade?

So let me rephrase what would be best:

Keep the 330D, fix the box (R14.5k for an import ZF6HP26 at MYM Autoworld vs overhaul at ZF) and run it into the ground.

Or

Trade in now for used F30 335i/330D and pay around 3x the installment.

Advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Twinz]

Hence i said...if you in a (financial position) to upgrade than that is the best route...and you can still get something for the current vehicle.

Fixing the gearbox on your current vehicle is the cheaper option right now.

 

[msm]

Keep the car if it is still going fine and postpone the decision until the box packs up. At that point you can re-evaluate the options. Let's assume that the box will pack up in a year or 2: At that point the F30 you're considering now would have probably depreciated more than the value of your car - hence, you don't lose out as your current 330d is not going to depreciate by anywhere near the same amount.

Do the maths. Here is an example:
Values Now:
Current value of E90: R100k to R150k
Price of decent F30 335i/330d: R300k to R400k
Your cost if you trade now: R400k - R100k = R300k

In 2 years:
Value of your E90: R100k (or say R50k if you sell with a broken box)
Price of decent F30 335i/330d: R200k to R300k
Your cost difference if you trade in 2 years: R300k - R50k = R250k

NB: I've used the values in bold in the calculations as worse case.

Hence, whilst the numbers are not entirely accurate, what I'm trying to show is that if you wait, you're not worse off as a F30 will depreciate more than your E90. Unless you have a new car itch... then it's a heart over head decision.

Hope this makes sense.

(Ignoring the time value of money, interest rate, paying off a car sooner if financed earlier, etc, etc - oversimplifying to illustrate waiting is not a bad thing in this case).

 

[MR_Y]

MSM is spot on.
I was about to post the same thing.

 

[brentbmw]

Keep the car if it is still going fine and postpone the decision until the box packs up. At that point you can re-evaluate the options. Let's assume that the box will pack up in a year or 2: At that point the F30 you're considering now would have probably depreciated more than the value of your car - hence, you don't lose out as your current 330d is not going to depreciate by anywhere near the same amount.

Do the maths. Here is an example:
Values Now:
Current value of E90: R100k to R150k
Price of decent F30 335i/330d: R300k to R400k
Your cost if you trade now: R400k - R100k = R300k

In 2 years:
Value of your E90: R100k (or say R50k if you sell with a broken box)
Price of decent F30 335i/330d: R200k to R300k
Your cost difference if you trade in 2 years: R300k - R50k = R250k

NB: I've used the values in bold in the calculations as worse case.

Hence, whilst the numbers are not entirely accurate, what I'm trying to show is that if you wait, you're not worse off as a F30 will depreciate more than your E90. Unless you have a new car itch... then it's a heart over head decision.

Hope this makes sense.

(Ignoring the time value of money, interest rate, paying off a car sooner if financed earlier, etc, etc - oversimplifying to illustrate waiting is not a bad thing in this case).

Thanks mate,

This post made up my mind, going to keep the 330D and run it into the ground, 99% of my driving is on the open road anyway so even better.

The longer I keep it the more the F30's will depreciate as you said.

If I carry on itching for more power I'll just get a mild tune from rkmotion that doesn't affect reliability much.

Thanks for taking the time appreciate it!

 

[MOE 000 GP]

I had an E90 330d... They lovely can't compare to a 335i....335i is much faster and roar is awesome!!! But it can be more costly to fix small things on the F Series can cost. Too many electronics but might be better to just fix the E90 up and run it for another 100 000km

 

[Sleepa]

My suggestion keep the 330d

Install XHP software upgrade on the gear box and drive the car like it is, you will not even feel the wear of the clutch plates for at least 50xxx kms.

 

[Muhammadmoola]

30k for a gearbox repair vs starting finance from scratch is another question to be asking..

This is the most important question.

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Agreed

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