the more I think about it 3 Series and G35 will always be comparable

[John105]

Yesterday I was talking to one of our VP's, and I mentioned to him that I got the new 335 coupe, because I knew he drives a 330 sedan. Interesting, our conversation progressed and he said he got the 330 and came out of a G35 sedan! Naturally you can imagine where our discussion went.....he decided to keep his G35 as he has a daughter who will be driving shortly (nice car for a new driver), saying he really didn't want to look for a used car and the G35 was such an excellent car he didn't want to get rid of it.

No question, anyone you talk to who has owned the G35 will have good things to say about it. I told him there's this thing on the web on whether a 335 is worth it or not, and being an owner now I feel I have the right to say that the answer is no. He burst out laughing at this point. But he saw my point of view--if you can just pay the extra money (again my story of redeeming about 8k from a mutual fund), then you can buy the BMW and not look back.

The more I think about it, the more I realize there are real reasons to compare the G35 and 3 Series. Both are on the 10 Best list for C&D and Ward's engines, and are great cars. It will boil down to taste, and of course, money. I feel I've learned a lot from this forum (sorry, more here than e90post hehe)!

[Picus]

The answer to you might be no, but I think regardless of subjective opinions on the matter, when it comes down to it the value question is something each individual needs to answer. For me, the added cost of the 335i is/was worth it; but I completely understand how someone could look at the OTD prices and say "you know, the G offers a lot more for the money, I will go with that". I look at it like diminishing returns - I really don't think there is a better car under 50k than the 335i, but that's assuming you want to spend 50k. For 40k the G35 is one hell of a car.

It's like, would I rather have a 911 turbo/GT3 or a Z06? The Z06 is ~$30k less than the 911T but you get a ton of car for the money. It's a huge bargain in it's segment. Still, if I had my pick I'd go with the 911.

[RBull]

^I think the same way you do on this topic. Unfortunately, where you and I live in Canada the price on high end cars is higher and the differentials even greater. So the choice to spend more on a competing car (911 turbo) for example is even that much more difficult.

[Picus]

Ya, thats a good point too. We have an almost stupid amount of dealerships here in Toronto (even more than I had access to in the SF Bay Area), you can really do some serious price shopping.

Have you ever thought about buying new from a Toronto dealership and just having it shipped out? I know it's off topic, but I'm curious.

[Garnet Canuck]

Originally Posted by picus112

Ya, thats a good point too. We have an almost stupid amount of dealerships here in Toronto (even more than I had access to in the SF Bay Area), you can really do some serious price shopping.

Have you ever thought about buying new from a Toronto dealership and just having it shipped out? I know it's off topic, but I'm curious.

Kevin, I have often thought about doing that but have never checked into it. I guess I always figured it would be too much of a hassle and shipping costs would negate any discount I would get. I have no idea if that would be the case though. I wonder how much shipping would be from TO to the Maritimes?

[Renesis]

Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck

Kevin, I have often thought about doing that but have never checked into it. I guess I always figured it would be too much of a hassle and shipping costs would negate any discount I would get. I have no idea if that would be the case though. I wonder how much shipping would be from TO to the Maritimes?

Shouldn't be too expensive
I shipped my car from Vancouver to TO for about $700.
My friend is getting his GT3 shipped from Vancouver to TO free of charge(I think) straight from MCL (only Porsche dealer in Vancouver).

[Picus]

I think maybe a dealership would suck the cost up if you found a car you wanted, rather than ordering. So for example, call Oakville, say do you have any '07 Garnet/black G35 Sports, haggle, have em ship it to a dealership in the Maritimes, and go from there. Seems like it would work!

I know guys in the US buy from out of state all the time...I think the only time you run into hiccups is if the dealer who has it has PDI'd it already. I know a guy who recently bought a 335i sedan from Budds but he found it in Quebec, so Budds sucked up an allocation, took the car from the Quebec dealership, negotiated the price and brought it in...

[Skaterbasist]

Well the 3-Series is the main competitor of the G35... so whats the big surprice here?

.

[RBull]

Originally Posted by picus112

Ya, thats a good point too. We have an almost stupid amount of dealerships here in Toronto (even more than I had access to in the SF Bay Area), you can really do some serious price shopping.

Have you ever thought about buying new from a Toronto dealership and just having it shipped out? I know it's off topic, but I'm curious.

Yes, I think I would look seriously at that whenever I get back in the market to buy. That may be while yet though. There is little competition here and dealer volumes are so low they need big margins to survive.

The trouble is the local dealers are good customers of mine. I would be bypassing them on the sale and then having to show up for service with my new car.

[RBull]

Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck

Kevin, I have often thought about doing that but have never checked into it. I guess I always figured it would be too much of a hassle and shipping costs would negate any discount I would get. I have no idea if that would be the case though. I wonder how much shipping would be from TO to the Maritimes?

I can ask my dad who found his Frontier on line in Kitchener and bought it from O'Regans who brought it in. I think he found out what it cost them to ship here.

[InTgr8r]

Originally Posted by RBull

Yes, I think I would look seriously at that whenever I get back in the market to buy. That may be while yet though. There is little competition here and dealer volumes are so low they need big margins to survive.

The trouble is the local dealers are good customers of mine. I would be bypassing them on the sale and then having to show up for service with my new car.

That would definitely be a consideration Deane...
Could cost you more in the long run if you pi$$ed of a few clients.

[RBull]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

That would definitely be a consideration Deane...
Could cost you more in the long run if you pi$$ed of a few clients.

Exactly. I bought my car just before this business however the dealers were still my largest customers with my former employer. It was only a fleeting thought to consider shopping elsewhere and they ended up giving me a pretty good deal anyhow with no haggling. I'm sure I could do better in TO but not without potentially larger issues.

[nghiars]

if i were to buy a bmw i would go straight to germany...not sure about canada but the ecu is restricted for usdm cars and plus.. you get to drive the audobahn(sp) when you buy it from the factory.

[Picus]

Originally Posted by nghiars

if i were to buy a bmw i would go straight to germany...not sure about canada but the ecu is restricted for usdm cars and plus.. you get to drive the audobahn(sp) when you buy it from the factory.

The ECU isn't restricted any more for USDM 335i's than it is for European cars. Both are governed at 166mph.

ED is awesome in the U.S, it's sort of useless in Canada.

[John105]

Originally Posted by picus112

The answer to you might be no, but I think regardless of subjective opinions on the matter, when it comes down to it the value question is something each individual needs to answer. For me, the added cost of the 335i is/was worth it; but I completely understand how someone could look at the OTD prices and say "you know, the G offers a lot more for the money, I will go with that". I look at it like diminishing returns - I really don't think there is a better car under 50k than the 335i, but that's assuming you want to spend 50k. For 40k the G35 is one hell of a car.

It's like, would I rather have a 911 turbo/GT3 or a Z06? The Z06 is ~$30k less than the 911T but you get a ton of car for the money. It's a huge bargain in it's segment. Still, if I had my pick I'd go with the 911.

Well, of course I spent the money and don't regret it, because I love the car. So I guess I mean figuratively no, and for me, literally yes, it was worth it. But again, my justification is to simply find that money for the differential, spend it, and not look back. Most of the time, I will not do this, I will seek value. But with a car there is an emotional aspect to the decision....

Would I buy another one? Probably someday, around 2k16!