Xavier6162

I am currently cross shopping between the two now. I was leaning heavily towards the BMW. Lets face it…300 foot pounds torque at 1400 RPM. Wow. And you can add another 40-80 HP and Torque with piggy back chips for under $300. Can’t do that on an IS350.

I spend a lot of time on BMW forums. I don’t enjoy it as much as I should. But I’m trying to fit in. It’s hard though. A lot, not all, of the BMW owners have demigod attitudes about themselves and their choice of the perfect driver’s car that sometimes puts me off. But I guess that’s what the ignore button is for. But I don’t use it and my time is often wasted reading useless rhetoric. Let’s just say I hate going to those sites but I need the research source. Lots of warranty Issues there. And you’ll find no one that would keep their car past the warranty period.

Last night I had a chance to test drive the IS350, 335i and 135i at the auto mall in Riverside California. The IS350 was a fully loaded 2007 model at the Infinity Dealership. The 335i and 135i, of course, were at the BMW dealer across the street...about 50 ft away. The 2007 335i was in their used lot (for their lease returns) and the 135i was on the new car lot.

I drove the 335i first. I really wanted this car and I needed a base for the others to try and match. My intent regardless was to buy the BMW. Nice interior. Nice feel to the seats. Nice ride. Throw you back in the seat acceleration (massive early torque). Though it didn't appear to be as fast as I’d hope. The piggy back chip will change that. The ride started to get a little harsh when the road surfaces became irregular. I didn’t like that and I’m sure the wife wouldn’t. The overall impression I got was it would be an excellent car if the roads were perfect…all the time. Towards the end of the 15-20 minute ride the seat started to become uncomfortable. Not a good sign. In the end I was a little disappointed.

I walked across the street to test drive the IS350. I had an appointment with the internet sales manager. I was extremely impressed with the quality of interior workmanship. Much better than BMW. I was just as impressed with the quiet comfortable ride and the get up and go light throttle response. It felt as fast as the 335i but without the drama and harshness. I didn’t have to preload and prepare my body for the experience of encountering road imperfections (and as usual there are a lot). I just rode right through them without a care. It was a very, very enjoyable riding experience.

Well I walked back across the street to BMW’s to test drive the 135i. They had only one model: In black. The 135 is small compared to the IS350 and 335i and it’s an ugly car. Actually it looks like a fat econo-box. The interior quality was a step lower than the 335i. In fact the word cheap did come to mind. If my wife were with me she’d find no problem with expressing that to the salesman. Although it was a tight fitting car, surprisingly, there is ample space (for my kids) in the back seats. The ride was similar to the 335i with exception to how it felt over rough roads. It was much more compliant…but was noisier. I didn’t like the 135i at all.

EDIT: Bought the unlimited 30 day CarFax report program. Carfax reports for used 335i shows double digit irregular entries for all low miles used (2007 &2008) models. Not a good sign.

Carfax reports for used (2006-2008) IS350 showed boring (nothing to see her) single digits regular maintenance services reports. That’s a good thing.

syzygy

hahahahhaha and here come the resident 335i/bmw only owners with their daily trek over to the IS forums.

It's a just slightly laughably pathetic.

To anyone else who has no clue what I'm talking about, this guy is just a bimmernot who comes to CL to only bolster the status of his 335i/bmw/mercedes in general and incite flames about lexus whenever possible.

That's...literally the only reason he's here.

syzygy

Also great review .

Your assessment sounds a lot like mine. If the 335i did not have so many maintenance issues, I would've gone with it over the IS 350 due to the better handling.

But, I realized that the vast majority of 335i owners are "lease for 3 years and move on" types of people.

If you only keep a car for 3 years, then I think the 335i may make more sense. Maintenance should not worry you as much in this case.

But if you're like me (I'm going to medical school, I'm going to make **** for pay for the following 4+ years in residency as well, I needed my car to last me 7-10 years) then a more reliable product makes more sense.

Good luck with the 335i if you end up getting it though, it's definitely a solid product. Just shoddy engineering (reliability), but fantastic driving machine.

Lexi D

iTrader: (2)

When I bought my IS i shopped the 335 as well. But in the end I went with luxury. To me the IS is a luxury sports cars. It's more comfortable, better layout in the cabin, to me just a better daily driver. The BMW is a true sports cars, but I would not like to drive it everyday around the bay area. Yesterday I went and test drove a 07 G35 sport for fun. Very nice and fun to drive, but again not everyday. The IS is to me the best of both worlds. I can get on the gas and blow by some dude in a mustang or just cruise down the highway in comfort.

kbkura

Sweet! Another med student! I made EXACTLY the same decision as you for EXACTLY the same reason! I'm a 2nd year right now and I needed something that'd last me through residency and maybe even beyond. Hence, I went with Lexus! To be perfectly honest, I LOVE BMW... I love the way it drives, the way it looks, just everything about it. But I couldn't afford that kind of maintenance, and honestly, the IS is no slouch at all... just a better car overall (considering things other than just plain performance)!

CRB

Pretty much every publication that writes about autos says the BMW is better. That has to be worth something but I'm not sure what.

leescape

Better? Better in terms of what? That kind of statement is extremely vague and ambiguous, and regardless of what the publications say, every potential buyer is going to consider all the pros and cons of every vehicle before buying.

TokerIS350

iTrader: (13)

335i!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go for it!

Xavier6162

Which is why the 335i is one of my considerations. Their tests are on the Track under perfect conditions. And the BMW was only better in handling and a tad (tenth or so of a second) faster. It lagged behind everywhere else. When you take the cars to the public streets the BMW isn't better. It's different. You'd have to drive them back to back to understand. Although I may still get a 335i, for regular street or daily use the IS350 is a better car. On the track than the BMW is better. But when you look at the BMW 335i or Lexus IS350 or any other car for that matter they are all being driven exactly the same down the highway/roads/streets. People are riding their cars not driving to handling limits.

When you consider initial costs, resell value, depreciation, maintenance cost and reliability the two cars are not in the same league. I want a 335i knowing that the IS350 is a better value: Short term and long term. I would buy used IS350 from just about anyone. I would not buy a used BMW 335i unless it was a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle.

Let me say I got interested in the 335i because a co-worked has one (it's a 2009 model) and let me drive it. I love the looks. It is a non-sports model but still on the thumpy ride side. But she admits she'll never buy another because it's in the shop too much and she doesn't trust it. She has had 2 fuel pump failures in the 9 months she has had it. And that doesn't count being in the shop several times for other warranty issues. Her favorite car, the one use most often, is her Toyota Yaris. She calls it her “YaYa”. I still want one though (335i). And I'll continue to research further until I make up my mind one way or another.

Last night, it was the IS350 that lingered more in my mind. And although I may prefer the 335i, it was the IS350 that was in my dreams as I slept last night.

The decision may boil down to which the wife will prefer after the test drives. Methinks I already know the answer…which is why I haven’t logged onto any of my BMW sites today.

gs400998

If reliability is not a concern and don't plan to keep the car more than the manufacture warranty, go for it.

lamar411

I'm just gonna say it again. The guy that started this thread (sandwiches) owns a fully loaded IS250. He took a drive in a 3 series coupe/convertible and enjoyed it. So now he considering a 335i coupe/convert. As soon as he said 335i. All of you said IS350.... He owns the IS250 and he didnt like it and it shows...So if he did go and buy the IS350 and mod it to make it sporty (a waste of money) because he didnt test drive the 350 is extremely stupid. He probably walked into the lexus dealership test drove the 250 and bought it. Go for the 335i. A nice change of scenery from the lexus... But dont post it about here because everyone will start telling you that the IS350 was the better choice. 335i FTW!!

yOyOYoo

Before you decide to trade in the IS250, go ahead and flip the switch to activate the ECT PWR!

You may want to go ahead and keep the IS250 after that! haha

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

That's because they rate them primarly from a performance standpoint. I was reading a review last week about the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse, and the primary comparison was against the ES350. The authors then proceeded to start talking about 0-60 times, skidpad & lateral acceleration results... REALLY? Track tests for an ES350 and a Buick LaCrosse? For the .01% of people who actually race or track their cars, that might be a relevant discussion, but for the real world who uses their cars to go the grocery store, commute to work, and bring their kids to school, REAL things like reliability, cost of ownership, resale value, and interior (fit, finish, & quality) are of more importance. That's what every one of these magazines that are so enamored with BMW fail to realize. It's okay, my Lexus will still be working like new for years after the 50,000 mile warranty is up while the "better" BMW's are being sold immediately after they're out of warranty because the owners know what's coming.

Javier

loftus112

iTrader: (2)

If you can afford a BMW than IS250 vs 335i, go for the 335i coupe (hands down to that). However, IS250 vs 328i than I would definitely get an IS350. This being said, if you plan on getting a 335i, make sure the bimmer will have at least 2-3yrs+ warranty on it and you don't plan on keeping the car for many extended years thereafter due to reliability issues.

Weezy$Baby

go for it. brother has a 335I he loves it to death..


250 is a weeeeak... no offense to the 250 owners