[dangerous_al]

I got £7k off my 330i at my local dealers which if it was not the first in the country was pretty close as I picked it up 31st July 2015. Now had it for almost 15 months and still love it. Average mpg over 10k miles almost 37mpg with an astonishing 53mpg on one trip. Not been back to the dealers since the day I picked it up, no issues whatsoever, plenty fast enough when you want it and the 8AT gearbox is great, I will find it hard going back to a manual after this. 330i is a great car and very under rated

[nozydog]

Managed to get a test drive in a 430i today so I have now at least tested the engine I was curious about. Absolutely impressed by the performance and not bad sounding either. Almost now made my mind up on a 330i and may well go for my first ever auto as I loved the box too (never been particularly blown away by manual BMW boxes) Dealer says currently BMW will contribute £3k which he will top up by a further 10% so a £36k lister (after options added) will cost me around £30k, and that's before I've even attempted to squeeze 'em dry!! So a deal may be done quite soon!

Anyone have saddle brown leather which looks quite nice to me

or may just end up back with black & dark oyster contrast stitching/piping which looked nice in a showroom model

[Xplosiv166]

make sure you check out http://www.coast2coastcars.co.uk/

as you maybe able to get a better discount, i managed about 12K off my 440i starting with the coast2coastcars numbers and then getting 3 dealers to compete (admittedly it was a lot of work but the discount is worth it IMO - took about 2 weeks of negotiation)

Are you going with the x30i or the x40i?

Edit: the total discount on the 330i M Sport Auto with no options is £6,701 on coast2coastcars making the base car £28,429

Edit: the total discount on the 430i M Sport Auto with no options is £6,860 on coast2coastcars making the base car £31,300

[dangerous_al]

I didn't go overboard on the options, not because I couldn't afford them, just because I didn't want them. If you are going for the saloon as I did, then I would highly recommend split/fold rear seats, I have used them many times and it makes for a much more versatile car. I also went for professional nav and wish I had gone for HUD as well (didn't have the professional nav plus at the time). Colour wise I was very boring, estoril blue with all black interior and brushed aluminium trim. Very easy to live with and still looks great

[mcoops]

Originally Posted by nozydog

Managed to get a test drive in a 430i today so I have now at least tested the engine I was curious about. Absolutely impressed by the performance and not bad sounding either. Almost now made my mind up on a 330i and may well go for my first ever auto as I loved the box too (never been particularly blown away by manual BMW boxes) Dealer says currently BMW will contribute £3k which he will top up by a further 10% so a £36k lister (after options added) will cost me around £30k, and that's before I've even attempted to squeeze 'em dry!! So a deal may be done quite soon!

Anyone have saddle brown leather which looks quite nice to me

or may just end up back with black & dark oyster contrast stitching/piping which looked nice in a showroom model

Had saddle brown on my f34 and it's really nice if you like a classy rather than overtly sporty interior. Works best with darker exterior colours and anthracite trim.

[nozydog]

Originally Posted by Xplosiv166

make sure you check out http://www.coast2coastcars.co.uk/

as you maybe able to get a better discount, i managed about 12K off my 440i starting with the coast2coastcars numbers and then getting 3 dealers to compete (admittedly it was a lot of work but the discount is worth it IMO - took about 2 weeks of negotiation)

Are you going with the x30i or the x40i?

Edit: the total discount on the 330i M Sport Auto with no options is £6,701 on coast2coastcars making the base car £28,429

Edit: the total discount on the 430i M Sport Auto with no options is £6,860 on coast2coastcars making the base car £31,300

Thanks very much bud, that's really useful to know and should give me some leverage! I'm currently looking at around £6k discount on a 330i with absolutely no haggling whatsoever and believe me I'm no pushover! and yes I am thinking of playing two or three local dealers off against each other!

I think us 3er fans are in a good position at the mo with the current model now in its fifth year and the competition more fierce than it ever was (new classy C class, excellent driving XE, new A4 etc) and the dealers know they need to fight hard for a sale!

[nozydog]

Originally Posted by mcoops

Had saddle brown on my f34 and it's really nice if you like a classy rather than overtly sporty interior. Works best with darker exterior colours and anthracite trim.

Do you (or anyone else reading this) think it will work with silver, very boring I know but I prefer classy understatement and think GS will look great with the orbit grey style 398 wheels (only £165 extra) if it's not a good match I will go for black (with the contrast oyster stitching which adds a classy/sporty touch imo)

[mcoops]

Originally Posted by nozydog

Do you (or anyone else reading this) think it will work with silver, very boring I know but I prefer classy understatement and think GS will look great with the orbit grey style 398 wheels (only £165 extra) if it's not a good match I will go for black (with the contrast oyster stitching which adds a classy/sporty touch imo)

It wouldn't be for me, but then again it's not as extreme as White + Oyster, and (for me) less dull than Black + black. You'll be able to find pics / vids online for that combo if you look hard enough, and if you like it that's all that really matters.

I do like silver with grey or black wheels though - very nice. Look at recent thread by Grant_7 - his silver F31 looks awesome with his winters on.

[nozydog]

Originally Posted by dangerous_al

I didn't go overboard on the options, not because I couldn't afford them, just because I didn't want them. If you are going for the saloon as I did, then I would highly recommend split/fold rear seats, I have used them many times and it makes for a much more versatile car. I also went for professional nav and wish I had gone for HUD as well (didn't have the professional nav plus at the time). Colour wise I was very boring, estoril blue with all black interior and brushed aluminium trim. Very easy to live with and still looks great

I don't think EB is boring at all, whenever I see one in that colour I always think how striking they look! And the black must look good against it. I had a pale grey interior in a 3 coupe which looked quite grubby after a couple of years, with black I guess you won't get that problem and any wear on the bolster edges could be blacked back up with polish! Can't really go wrong with a black interior as it goes with anything!

[dangerous_al]

Best thing about EB is that it doesn't show the dirt, even when it hasn't been washed for a few weeks it still looks good.

[nozydog]

Originally Posted by dangerous_al

Best thing about EB is that it doesn't show the dirt, even when it hasn't been washed for a few weeks it still looks good.

Sounds like the colour for me then... as I'm not much of a car washer!