EpicSS

Whats up all, im getting to chose a new vehicle in a couple of weeks, and im torn between a 07 SS or a 335! I love the Impala and i love the LS4 even more (cousine owned a 07 monte ss) but the bimmer is nice with its twin turbocharged inline 6. The bimmer is faster than the ss no doubt and it has a better transmission. But the Impala SS is bad a** and i wanted one since 16! The only thing that scares me about the SS is that transmission! Please help!

cleveland63b

I'd never own a bmw unless you have a dealer in the area and are ready to pay the costs for parts, impalas can be worked on by pretty much any shop but a lot of places won't even touch a bmw or you pay for it greatly. Just my opinion

blue-impala

These cars are not even in the same league, this is a Apples & Filet Mignon comparison. Take the BMW and just deal with with what extra it will cost. It is a way better car. This is a No Brain-er !!!

U.Nanimous

I have to assume you haven't really driven the 335i, or you wouldn't be asking this question!

Personal questions here...how old are you and what is your car budget (maintenance/repair)? If you are 19 and are going to blow all your money on the purchase I'd say get the Impala, but if you are a little older with a career (as in not "would you like fries with that") than go for the BMW. And speaking of budget, how does your state calculate registration costs? In Michigan my '99 740i costs me over $200 a year because it is based on the original base model sticker price.

Looking at it some more different ways:
Single=smaller BMW; family=bigger Impala
Warm climate=BMW; snowy climate=Impala - unless you have $$$ for snow tires or the 335i has X-Drive
DIY=either; $$$ mechanic=Impala
And then there is how you drive it. Short trips are rough on any car but if most of your driving will be trips under 5 miles, DO NOT BUY THE BMW unless you adjust your routes to extend them (ex. 4 miles to work, 10-15 miles to get home).

Are these cars for sale by owner or dealerships? Warranties/CPO?
You are here asking questions...how about on a BMW forum? For reference the 335i you are looking at is known as an E90, E91, E92 or E93 depending on body style. I'm on bimmerfest but bimmerforums is also very popular and a couple others.

JunkyardJack

My brother bought a BMW and I was fixing to buy a European car so I called the mechanic I usually go to and asked them does it really cost a lot more to fix these European cars? And they said yes. Buy American or Oriental if you ain't got a fat wallet.

U.Nanimous

Key word there being "mechanic". Of course "American" shouldn't include Cadillac in that statement either, they are just as $$$ as European cars. Funny thing though is that in Europe the likes of BMW, Mercedes and others offer some lower end models and trim that is not available in the U.S.A., we only get the good expensive stuff.

Back to the fat wallet though, mechanics don't always find the best prices for parts and many charge extra for labor just because they can. If you DIY though the difference in cost is very small, it is just a little extra routine maintenance because it is a more precision machine. And since the OP's comparison is with a BMW - driving experience is well worth the difference!

So what model did your brother buy?

JunkyardJack

I don't know what model he bought except it was expensive and a convertible.

As far as my mechanics goes I know they are reasonably competent, not that I'd know either way except via breakdown or warning lights, honest, and offer fair labour prices, and don't do markups on parts although they don't bother shopping around either. They call you with the costs before they do they work and ask for authorization. I learned that when I looked up to buying a part for my now totaled Toyota on Amazon and was going to do it myself and it would of cost $94 but let them do it because I come out of those things usually with busted up hands and I've not got hardly a tool to me name. My regular mechanics did it and it cost $200 but the same warning light came on again 3 or 4 months later so maybe I should have tried. :-( I dealt with Firestone mechanics here locally once and they was doing things like try and charge me $50 a sparkplug and did shoddy work. Never done business yet with the GM dealer mechanics for this Impala but I did try to do business with the Toyota dealer mechanic and I practically had to force them to check if all the recalls had been done on my car. They were unfriendly, claimed there weren't any, and I think they lied because on a back wheel the thing that connects the wheel to the axel broke not long afterwards and I believe that was the one and only thing they did a recall for that model Toyota on.

U.Nanimous

Convertibles are always a little pricier. I guess "expensive" could be defined a little better though, you can get a 10 year old 3 series vert for under $10K. Then there are the roadsters (Z3,Z4,Z8!) or a newer 6 series ($$$$$$$$). NOTE: I paid $10K for my Venture @ 4years with 48K miles, less than $6K total for the other 3 vehicles in my signature and 2 are daily drivers - the 330xi is clean and runs smooth but makes a LOT of smoke @ 192K miles.

The thing with taking a BMW to a mechanic is that the parts are more likely to come from a dealership (even if that's not where the mechanic is) because that's the most likely local place to have the part in stock or available the next day. If you DIY though there are plenty of places online to order parts (even OEM) for similar prices to Chevy parts.

JunkyardJack

I know it was used and over $10K and it looks sharp but that's all I know. I also know their are plenty of used non-BMW cars for over $10K too. I intend to buy a 2016 model in 3 years or so when I can afford payments. Probably a 2016 Honda Accord Coupe because it's safety ratings and features beat all the others. Things like frontal crash avoidance and such are getting to be really good but maybe I will wait til Impala catches up in Future model years because I really like the silvery sky blue 2016 Impala but it doesn't compete safety wise.

blue-impala

How does it not compete Safety wise ? What does Honda have that the Impala does not have ?

2014-2016 Impala has:

5 Star Crash Ratings
Adaptive Cruise / Collision Avoidence System
Blind Spot Monitoring
Lane Departure Warning
Rear Camera with Cross Traffic Alert and Park Assist
Anti-Lock Brakes
Numerous 2 Stage Air Bags
Stability Control System
Traction Control