[Bestia]

I’ve been lurking for a while so here is my intro. Three months ago I took the plunge and bought a 2014 435i CPO. I am a V8 N/A type of guy so the decision was a difficult one. I did test drive other American V8s but I honestly didn’t want to drive the same car my 16 year old neighbor is driving. Below are my first impression and opinion (driven a little over 5K miles)

Performance - The car is quick but not fast. It’s hard for me to explain, but an M4 is both quick and fast. The M4 has a heavier feeling and reminds me more of a proper M setup. However, I don’t believe the M4 is worth that much more than the 435i. The 435i is all I need in terms of performance.

Turbo - It tool me one week of commuting around town and a Houston to Austin drive to get over the fact that I am not driving a V8. My car is stock and at 300hp, it really pulls. The low end torque reminds me a little - just a little - of my M5.

Steering - A lot has been said about the steering, but I find it okay; not great, but not bad. It gives me enough feedback to know when it’s about to get loose. I do hate the comfort setting steering mode, but who drives in comfort mode.

Noise - I have the run flats, so it’s a little loud on the highway, but that didn’t bother me. The car handles at speed and those will be changed soon.

Materials - My previous cars have had the leather dash so my opinion is a little distorted. I believe the bean counters bought the plastic materials. They are cheap. What saves BMW, is their interior design. The layout is clean and they have manage to make the cheap look good.

My Options - It took me a while to find my 435i, because I wanted an Estoril Blue with the M package and without navigation. I know some creature comforts were sacrificed, but I am glad I went this route. My iPhone does everything I want.

Would I buy again - If I was ten years younger, I would’ve bought an M2. It would’ve been a bad financial decision though because I would’ve taken the depreciation hit. If the year was 2019, I would’ve bought the M4 because someone had already taken the hit. So the answer is Yes. Perfect car for the perfect time.

After Market - I am surprised at how inexpensive it is to modify this thing. That is a great problem to have. There is a brand new RPI GT exhaust in my garage. I am still debating on a Stage 1 tune and Dinnan springs. The wheels will stay at 18 but this summer the RFTs get dumped and they’ll be wrapped in 245s PSS.

[HitmanHearns]

Originally Posted by Bestia

I’ve been lurking for a while so here is my intro. Three months ago I took the plunge and bought a 2014 435i CPO. I am a V8 N/A type of guy so the decision was a difficult one. I did test drive other American V8s but I honestly didn’t want to drive the same car my 16 year old neighbor is driving. Below are my first impression and opinion (driven a little over 5K miles)

Performance - The car is quick but not fast. It’s hard for me to explain, but an M4 is both quick and fast. The M4 has a heavier feeling and reminds me more of a proper M setup. However, I don’t believe the M4 is worth that much more than the 435i. The 435i is all I need in terms of performance.

Turbo - It tool me one week of commuting around town and a Houston to Austin drive to get over the fact that I am not driving a V8. My car is stock and at 300hp, it really pulls. The low end torque reminds me a little - just a little - of my M5.

Steering - A lot has been said about the steering, but I find it okay; not great, but not bad. It gives me enough feedback to know when it’s about to get loose. I do hate the comfort setting steering mode, but who drives in comfort mode.

Noise - I have the run flats, so it’s a little loud on the highway, but that didn’t bother me. The car handles at speed and those will be changed soon.

Materials - My previous cars have had the leather dash so my opinion is a little distorted. I believe the bean counters bought the plastic materials. They are cheap. What saves BMW, is their interior design. The layout is clean and they have manage to make the cheap look good.

My Options - It took me a while to find my 435i, because I wanted an Estoril Blue with the M package and without navigation. I know some creature comforts were sacrificed, but I am glad I went this route. My iPhone does everything I want.

Would I buy again - If I was ten years younger, I would’ve bought an M2. It would’ve been a bad financial decision though because I would’ve taken the depreciation hit. If the year was 2019, I would’ve bought the M4 because someone had already taken the hit. So the answer is Yes. Perfect car for the perfect time.

After Market - I am surprised at how inexpensive it is to modify this thing. That is a great problem to have. There is a brand new RPI GT exhaust in my garage. I am still debating on a Stage 1 tune and Dinnan springs. The wheels will stay at 18 but this summer the RFTs get dumped and they’ll be wrapped in 245s PSS.

My Exact problem with getting my bmw 340. I can not find a bmw 340 with the right options WITHOUT navigation! My last two cars had them and I never used it once. Waze App all the way O_o