Ask TCC: What Should I Know About Buying A 2008 BMW 3-Series? - The Car Connection (blog)
As you might imagine, we get a lot of questions about buying cars--both new and used. I'm looking at a 2008 BMW 328 or 335, with about 25,000 to 30,000 miles, from a dealer, warranty remaining one owner etc. There are buy-back 335s with replaced fuel pumps that are $10,000 cheaper. We got notes from two High Gear Media editors and one BMW-savvy friend. - Certified Pre-Owned is definitely the way to go for peace of mind. if so, test the driving response to make sure you like it. - We couldn't come up with a lot of knowledge on the fuel-pump buy-back issue, so we recommend avoiding those. BMW-owning friend : The 335i has considerably more power and way more torque than the 328, about 50 percent more in both cases. And BMW seems to be sandbagging the horsepower and torque numbers on the 335i, meaning it REALLY makes a lot of power. But the 335i also runs hotter and has had a few issues regarding overheating, particularly the early cars that had no oil cooler. By 2008, the 335i models with the sport package (most manuals have it unless special ordered without it, which would be absurd) have a factory oil cooler. If your friend is not a speed demon, then the 328 is the way to go. The BMW Certified Previously Owned program is great. Source: www.thecarconnection.com
