15k: 2007 BMW 335i E90 6-spd Sedan

For folks looking for a newer daily driver with sporty intentions you really can’t go wrong with the newest BMW 3-series.  BMW has been cranking out these benchmark sporty sedans in huge numbers since 1975 and the next generation is always faster than the previous (albeit uglier and heavier.)  This 2007 BMW 335i sedan with 6 speed manual trans is for sale in Framingham, MA for $17,5000 via ebay buy-it-now.

 First introduced in 2006, the E90 (5th generation) 3 series was the last of BMWs lineup to be redesigned in the post-Bangle era, thankfully it didn’t receive the funky rear end treatment that graced disgraced the trunk of the 5, 6 & 7 series, but it did get a healthy dose of flame surfacing and other deconstructivist themed parts.  Today the E90 has be superseded by the F30 and prices have dropped accordingly – great news for cheapskates!

 In 2007 BMW abandoned its long time practice of using healthy naturally aspirated inline sixes in 3 series range toppers and force fed the 2007 335 with two turbochargers.  The resulting N54B30 inline 6 puts out 300 horsepower and 295 ft-lbs of torque from 1500-5000 rpm – so while we will miss the melodious exhaust note of the earlier BMW engines, we will revel in the prodigious torque curve of this force fed beast. These engines are also immensely tunable – with simple plug and play chips that give an additional 60 horsepower and 70 ft-lbs of torque available from companies like Dinan.  Mated to a 6 speed manual transmission makes for a typically great BMW driving experience, but the lack of limited slip differential (now reserved for the M line only) and undefeatable traction control makes the newer BMWs more akin to a Lexus or Mercedes…i.e. lame and boring. 

 Inside the E90 is typical BMW 3-series ‘looks great when new, but rapidly deteriorates’ cheap interior.  We would prefer the 3 series in cloth seats as the leather develops cracks and creases with a year of light use and the rubberized painted surfaces look nice when new – they start peeling like a bad sunburn as soon as the warranty runs out – not that it would have covered wear and tear anyway.

The biggest concern when picking up a high mile early model year (for its generation) BMW is – what will break on it costing you $$$ in the first 6 months of ownership.  We’d expect this car has already had its high pressure direct injection fuel pump replaces 6 or 7 times and with luck the turbos have been replaced since there are some common wastegate issues with these Borg-Warner supplied turbochargers.  It would also be important to note that any issues with the multiple computer based systems (ABS, TCS, I-drive, alarm, etc) are going to cost more to fix…which is probably why these have depreciated to a level that we could afford. 

Bottom line:  want a newer car that goes 0-60 in less than 5 seconds, seats 5, has manual trans and rear wheel drive?  This is it.  Just hope you can afford the maintenance. 

See another cheap daily driver for sale?  email us here:  tips@dailyturismo.com