[koston]

I was in a similar situation to you and ended up getting a 235. It really is one of the best cars in the segment.

The maintenance costs in the first year were fairly minimal and the car has been reliable so far (blown fog light and update to software all covered under warranty).

Depreciation will always be an issue but as you are buying used, you've let the first owner take the biggest hit.

As long as you are financially stable and keep a buffer of a few thousand in case you have issues you'll be fine. Look for an extended warranty when the original one runs out, as others have mentioned.

I've kept mine stock but sports/no cat, muffler/exhaust and JB4 are pretty common first mods. The car is pretty quiet so a good first mod is a new cat and MPE.

On a side note, all the 125/235 drivers I've passed always give a thumbs up (mostly young males) .

[TonyM235I]

I just sold a Stage 2 GTI MKV that I drove for years and absolutely loved it. Brought it over here with me and it ate up the autobahn... then I saw and drove an M235I that was a year old with 6k fully loaded for 38K.. sold the GTI for 5k and haven't looked back. When you compare, you can't unless you go RLine Which will put you right back into a BMW. I spent well over 10k getting my GTI to Stage 2.. baseline the BMW wins- all the posts are right, my wife drives it three hours on the autobahn in Comfort and loves it. I put it in sport plus and smoke youngsters regularly!

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

All true but if you stick with a 235 it will still be under warranty and you can pay to CPO it if you want up to 100K. Sometimes spending A LITTLE more now saves a LOT more later.

I personally wouldn't own this car without a warranty. Not a 235 obvs but GF's 328 just needed a new rear diff and transfer case. That's a $6k job. Thank god we CPO'd it.

I bought my 135is CPO last Fall. I'm still covered through 6/30/2019. There are also aftermarket warranties that won't break your bank. There are lots of options out there besides BMW too. I'd also consider a used Golf R.

[bryan_G01]

buy a certified pre-owned for around 35k

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by MGM135is

I bought my 135is CPO last Fall. I'm still covered through 6/30/2019. There are also aftermarket warranties that won't break your bank. There are lots of options out there besides BMW too. I'd also consider a used Golf R.

Yeah the golf R is nice for sure. Said GTI bc if budget is a concern I don't know that the R is worth the extra dough to be honest.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Yeah the golf R is nice for sure. Said GTI bc if budget is a concern I don't know that the R is worth the extra dough to be honest.

Just for commuting and really cheap, yeah you could try to find a MKV or MKVI GTI for cheap, but the new MKVII Golf R is worth the extra coin.

[MartyMcFly88MPH]

Have you driven one? Idk if I would buy if the test drive didn't make me sure.

I put 14k miles on mine since I bought it used in September. It's my only car and it has been fantastic. I don't understand why people would steer clear of it as an only car unless they have a family. I don't regularly have more than one other person in the car, and I don't make my car purchases for my passengers anyway. Also, the back seat isn't any worse than a Golf R or S3, which I was also considering.

I road trip it, drive it hard in the mountains with a local car club, in winter I throw a cargo box on and take it to the slopes, summer gets the bike mount. It does it all.

[Maynard]

You won't be unhappy with the 235, but I would encourage you to consider, and test drive, a 228 or a 230. I found that they had all the power I was likely to want (at least 95% of the time) and more balanced handling and cheaper to feed and maintain. I would not consider trying to keep any modern BMW out of warranty unless you are a certified mechanic - the engines are solid, but most anything that could break or wear out will startle you with the price to repair - I almost never see repair jobs that aren't in the thousands (check out things like battery or alternator repair, new brake discs, etc.). Ditto for the other sporty cars others have mentioned (older 135, WRX, Focus) - these will have been beaten on to the point that they are probably much less reliable, even if more affordable to fix (and they don't really fit into 'suit world' nearly as well). You'll still get some envy from the stodgy, but not as bad as with a 'wing-and-can' tuner car.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Maynard

You won't be unhappy with the 235, but I would encourage you to consider, and test drive, a 228 or a 230. I found that they had all the power I was likely to want (at least 95% of the time) and more balanced handling and cheaper to feed and maintain. I would not consider trying to keep any modern BMW out of warranty unless you are a certified mechanic - the engines are solid, but most anything that could break or wear out will startle you with the price to repair - I almost never see repair jobs that aren't in the thousands (check out things like battery or alternator repair, new brake discs, etc.). Ditto for the other sporty cars others have mentioned (older 135, WRX, Focus) - these will have been beaten on to the point that they are probably much less reliable, even if more affordable to fix (and they don't really fit into 'suit world' nearly as well). You'll still get some envy from the stodgy, but not as bad as with a 'wing-and-can' tuner car.

You can get a new 230 (or even better leftover 228 if you can find one) and give Dinan $1500 and you'll have more than enough power and a full warranty. The 228 leftover w the 48 month good warranty / maintenance is the real smart money play.

[Maynard]

Yes, I'd think that would be a great option. Full warranty is a BIG plus. I bet your local dealership can run a lookup, and whoever has one would be highly motivated to ship it your way (or a great excuse to burn through many of those break in miles). I'd think you could get one at- or close to $35k new (could probably special-order a stripper model 230 for under 40k).

I loved the idea of the BMW straight six, but the turbo 4 has a TON of torque almost from idle, probably overkill unless I'm up in the mountains (or occasionally getting out of the way of some lumbering SUV). I doubt I've needed to truly floor it more than a dozen times in the 18 months I've had it, and when I do it is a sure trip to the triple digits.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Maynard

I'd think you could get one at- or close to $35k new (could probably special-order a stripper model 230 for under 40k).

There are nicely optioned brand new 228s out there for $32-ish. If you are willing to explore executive demos you can get fully loaded for that money with under 10K miles. The downside there is the clock has started ticking on the warranty.

Truth be told if you take $32K for a leftover 2016 228, brand new car, if you decide to keep it I think it's under $3K to get warranty up through 100K, you're at $35K for a damn nice car with 100K of worry free driving.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Maynard

I loved the idea of the BMW straight six, but the turbo 4 has a TON of torque almost from idle, probably overkill unless I'm up in the mountains (or occasionally getting out of the way of some lumbering SUV). I doubt I've needed to truly floor it more than a dozen times in the 18 months I've had it, and when I do it is a sure trip to the triple digits.

I rarely do anything beyond feather my throttle. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my car that's now Stage 2, but I took a 228 out not that long ago and it was a lot of fun. Different, a little more engaging to drive. Kind of like rolling your own cigarette, something about it taking more work to really get the most out of it makes it a more rewarding experience.

[Maynard]

Yeah, it isn't a Miata, but it has some of the feel that you are working it in the upper ranges. I'm old school enough that I'm still pinching myself at the magic that the computer turbo brings. It may 'only' have about 250hp, but torque is what you feel, and it has more mid range torque than anything I've ever driven. I know there are probably a few places where the full-burst of the 6 would be noticeably better, but for daily driving I almost never feel like I'm maxxing out the power (and I assume just a bit less turbo lag, given the smaller displacement of the whole system - but haven't really compared directly).

[3rdcoast228i]

The 4 cylinder is fantastic. I have so much fun in this car, absolutely love it.

It's really worth considering a M-sport 228i

[Dylan86]

N20/N55 is a very solid power plant, and wouldn't be too reserved on future maintenance costs, etc. Make sure the vehicle has everything you want/need and try to have it CPO'd to get you some more piece of mind for your first couple of years. Aside from that I can't think of many issues with the newer 2/3/4 series cars that should have you worried, aside from an auto trans, x drive components for a long term ownership period, of which (personally) I wouldn't be at all concerned. The platform is solid, the drivetrain is solid, the parts are relatively easy to find, and can stay well away from the dealer once out of warranty, without breaking the bank.. My $.02 on any F series car at this point. The later E chassis cars proved to be really good, I can only assume the same for the newer models prior to the B engine release. That's a territory of which I have no experience or knowledge of..

[ratherbbankin]

I decided to move forward with the purchase. Pictures to follow, super stoked!!!