This Is One Of The Best Cars You Can Buy For Under $20K

"Torque Affair" (torqueaffair)
07/12/2015 at 09:21 • Filed to: CAR BUYING

Lately, it has become increasingly difficult to visit Jalopnik. Almost every day I come across articles that list a deluge of reasonably priced cars, most of which I feel like I must own right this second.

I can barely stand it anymore.

So I did what anyone else would do - start buying a lottery ticket every single day.

Thanks to Jalopnik, instead of spending a few minutes a day browsing through Carmax and Autotrader, I started spending hours and hours browsing through all the sites that I could find selling cars which I talked about !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . During this time, I kept hearing a voice inside my head that said: “You must spend money on a car, instead of saving it. Screw being financially smart. Do the dumbest thing possible, you idiot . Buy a depreciating asset!”

I tried resisting initially but eventually I gave in.

But then came the hard part - actually deciding what to get. I couldn’t make up my mind because of the sheer abundance of options. Too many cars fit my desire of owning something relatively new with a manual transmission and lots of power.

Some of the cars I started considering were the following: BMW M3, M5, M6, 911, Z06, ZL1, SRT8s, S4, RS5. In general, I would say that a BMW M3 was at the top of my list mostly because a friend of mine !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and I really enjoyed driving it. One of my key criteria was that I needed it to be a manual because I just can’t drive an automatic.

Driving an automatic makes me a hazard to other drivers out on the road because I have such a hard time keeping my eyes open. Just steering, accelerating and braking aren’t enough. I must shift! Unfortunately that meant that AMGs were out of the running.

Given these options, I soon came to the realization that I would have to roughly spend somewhere in between !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to get my hands on the kind of car I wanted. Any financial planner or investment advisor would disapprovingly shake their head at me for spending so much on a car when I could be doing much better things like giving them my money to lose it for me instead.

Unfortunately, I was cursed by being born with this unexplainable love of cars which therefore means that I am destined to make some stupid financial decisions for as long as I live.

Why buy a house when you can buy a car!

I’m a terrible influence on my friends because I’m generally trying to get them to buy cars that they have no business buying. Sometimes it works, but mostly it doesn’t.

I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned that I spent hours and hours browsing for cars for sale when I could have been doing something much more productive with my life, like volunteering at a local homeless shelter or learning a new language. Who knew that after browsing through all these different sites, I would ultimately find the car I was looking for on Craigslist.

Early on during my search, I never considered a 335i because I just didn’t think it looked aggressive enough; next to an M3, a 335 looked entirely too plain. 300 hp / 300 lb-ft was good but I wanted more. That’s me - always wanting more - never satisfied. Aghh..life is going to be a struggle.

But when I came across this grey 6-speed 335i on Craigslist, I was intrigued because it was more than just a regular 335. It had a stage 2 Dinan performance tune. I knew the turbos on the 335s were extremely capable and I imagined that the Dinan tune would’ve bumped the power numbers significantly. Excited about the possibility of driving an upgraded 335, I immediately called up the owner to take a look.

For whatever reason the owner, Brian, let me (a random craigslist car buyer who could have stolen his car) test drive his car by myself. So I took advantage of that and took off with the car without ever coming back. No - of course, that didn’t happen. I can’t even get away with sneaking into a movie theater!

Luckily, unlike some Craigslist ads I’ve seen, Brian didn’t make me sign anything stating that I had to give away my first born child to him in case something happened to the car. You know you’ve seen those ads that have a line at the bottom saying, “No joy rides, no cashier’s check, $100,000 deposit before test drive.”

Once I started driving the car, it didn’t take me long to experience the difference that the tune made to the driving experience. The extra horsepower (~60 hp) and torque (~80 lb-ft) completely changed the feel of a regular 335i. There was a nice bump up in power after about 2500 rpms which felt so awesome like the car was running away from me - if that makes any sense.

After driving the 335, I forgot why I wanted the M3 in the first place! Oh that’s right - the looks . Sure, the M3 is a more attractive car and has that wonderful V8, but in terms of driving experience I couldn’t be more satisfied with the Dinan-upgraded 335.

The M3 is also much more suited for track driving anyway and since tracking the car wasn’t high on my list of priorities, this 335 would suit me just fine as a daily driver.

The owner loved the car quite a bit and took great care of it over the years. It’s always great to buy a car from a fellow auto enthusiast because you know it’s been in good hands. I took it to the BMW dealer for an inspection just to make sure that there wasn’t a $5K repair bill looming in my immediate future. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Everything checked out and things looked good except for the front brakes which would need replacement in roughly 10K miles and cost me approximately $223,456.

Now let me address something that is probably on your mind at this point. You must be thinking: “This car will cost you so much money to maintain that you will regret the purchase and you’ll wish you got a Civic instead”.

I understand that I may have to shell out some cash for repairs but I’m ok with that. Nobody can drive one of these cars without expecting to spend any money on it. My plan with this BMW is to enjoy it for a few months and then sell it; if during this time I have to spend a couple thousand dollars on something breaking, then so be it. I’ll just roll the dice on this one.

Here is the best part about buying this car. I bought the car for $17.5K which is so much cheaper than anything else I was considering - Tavarish would be proud of me. It’s a 2009 BMW with 52K miles on it and there is so much demand for a manual 335, that I have no doubt I’ll be able to sell it quickly without taking too big of a hit in depreciation. What a tremendous value!

In the meantime, I will really enjoy driving it.

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DISCUSSION (39)

Nibby > Torque Affair
07/12/2015 at 09:28

Better idea. For $2k or less, you can have this and it’ll outperform any BMW out there easily.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/511012…

Torque Affair > Nibby
07/12/2015 at 09:32

lol. They should give away that car for free!

E92M3 > Torque Affair
07/12/2015 at 09:43

Congrats! I’ve been saying this for years, if one has no intentions to do trackdays (I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t but lets not judge), the 335i is all the car anyone needs. Compared to the E92 M3 it’s actually a better daily.

JR1 > Torque Affair
07/12/2015 at 09:43

For under 20,000 that is a pretty phenomenal buy. And the 335i doesn't get the love it deserves. Glad to see you made a smart pursche that will be loads of fun.

Torque Affair > E92M3
07/12/2015 at 09:47

Yeah, I really need to do an in-depth comparison with my buddy’s M3. We talked about trading cars for a while so we can compare the two.

Torque Affair > JR1
07/12/2015 at 09:49

Thanks! I’m loving it!

JR1 > Torque Affair
07/12/2015 at 09:52

You'll have to do a review in the future!

Torque Affair > JR1
07/12/2015 at 09:54

Definitely!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Torque Affair
07/13/2015 at 09:04

Good get!

finn's arm > Torque Affair
07/13/2015 at 14:42

Pretty color, 6 speed and great price! It is a lot of car for that price and these things feel blisteringly quick.

Torque Affair > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/14/2015 at 06:01

Thanks! Got lucky.

Torque Affair > finn's arm
07/14/2015 at 06:02

Indeed! More and more impressed with the car the more I drive it!

Frank Grimes > Torque Affair
07/19/2015 at 13:04

you could of bought a nice used S97 mustang for that price!

Zach Roether > Torque Affair
07/19/2015 at 14:46

What state do you live in? I’ll buy it off you when you’re done with it.

TurboLag23 > Torque Affair
07/19/2015 at 16:09

I was literally just researching these due to the potential need to replace my current DD - they’re amazing!!

The 2007-2010’s with the N54 do have some issues (fuel pump, cooling systems, wastegates), but overall these cars have proven to be quite easy to live with. 9 times out of 10, the previous owner(s) (although many of them are one-owner cars) also babied the hell out of them. You also get a TON of performance for your money. The only thing I can see wrong with it is the lack of an LSD - but that can be fixed for $3,000 or cheaper, and makes a good selling point if you ever decide to move on to something else.

And best of all, the early 335’s have mostly hit the bottom of their depreciation curve - they cost over $50,000 new, and they’re selling for under $20,000 now, so the previous owners took the depreciation on the chin and you’re laughing all the way to the bank. Even if you buy one now for $17,000 and sell it in 6 years for $7,000 (don’t laugh - E46 330’s go for that much with 150,000 miles on them these days), you only lose $1,700 a year. My Acura TL (the car touted as the best used-car value by people who view a car as unreliable when it needs its timing belt changed after 100k) is dropping in value at that same rate - 3 years ago I could have gotten $18,000 for it; now I’ll have a hard time getting above $13k!

My ideal 335i would be a 6-speed manual sedan, with a tan interior. And because there are so many 335i’s on the market, there are actually a couple cars meeting those exact criterion close to me.

d00mZ > Torque Affair
07/19/2015 at 16:10

Kinja'd!!!

Congrats on the buy! I wanna share what helped me on buying a car within budget.

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair
07/19/2015 at 16:17

A question - if you do the Dinan thing when the car is new, does any aspect of it void the warranty?

I love you but I've chosen hooning! > Torque Affair
07/19/2015 at 17:15

I have something similar, whereas driving an automatic feels so incredibly weird that my driving becomes stupid and myopic. For me there is a certain command pattern: Look at road ahead, assess situation, shift up or down accordingly. With an automatic that’s gone and I drive like a freaking idiot who has to tell his left foot to keep calm.

Rand0nS > Frank Grimes
07/19/2015 at 22:32

Or even a 2011 with the 5.0 for around the same price.

Torque Affair > I love you but I've chosen hooning!
07/20/2015 at 00:13

Hah, yeah, definitely! I know what you mean.

Torque Affair > Steve in Manhattan
07/20/2015 at 00:17

Nope, apparently the previous owner had the BMW dealer do this under warranty. He paid a lot, but it didn't void the warranty.

Torque Affair > TurboLag23
07/20/2015 at 00:22

There are a handful of folks out there that really want a 335i with a manual 6-speed. I’ve inquired about a few before and they were all sold so quickly that I didn’t even get a chance to look at one! I got lucky with this one for sure.

I’m really enjoying this one with the upgraded tune - it’s a fantastic car, and the extra torque/hp make a world of difference. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me at torqueaffair@gmail.com.

casper > Torque Affair
07/20/2015 at 00:26

my brother is trying to sell his 2009 335i with no luck. he has owned the car for less than a year now and has quite a receipt folder to show for. aside from the maintenance, his fuel injectors somehow failed him and were pissing fuel and almost blew the car up. he’s beginning to have transmission issues @ 42k miles (auto). battery took a dump, brakes needed to be done, the window regulator failed and has noticeable carbon build up. these cars are dirt cheap for a reason. and that reason is that they’re maintenance whores after warranty, similar to the m3. i wish you luck however...

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair
07/20/2015 at 01:35

Guessing there are tuners that manufacturers tolerate, and some they don’t. If you’ve read my comments before, you know I always lean towards keeping a car stock. But Alpina, Dinan, other BMW tuners that don’t void a warranty ... how can I complain?

TheNotoriousBJMG > I love you but I've chosen hooning!
07/20/2015 at 01:47

I just find the car lurches and shifts at inexplicable times. Like someone else is trying to drive it too, which I guess is sort of true.

Torque Affair > Frank Grimes
07/20/2015 at 07:54

haha

magman007 > Torque Affair
07/20/2015 at 11:54

Nice choice. The only thing that holds me back time and time again from any non M bmw is the lack of LSD.

Torque Affair > Steve in Manhattan
07/20/2015 at 21:58

What do you drive now?

Torque Affair > casper
07/20/2015 at 22:29

I think the manuals are highly desired because they’re rare with the 335. I know some of the 335s have had lots of problems - hopefully I didn’t end up with one of those. I’m fully expecting to put some money into repairs, let’s hope it’s not one thing after another!

casper > Torque Affair
07/21/2015 at 13:36

i think you’re right. manuals are more desirable, so when it comes to selling time, you won’t have an issue. find a good shop or dealership to take your car. with all the sensors and warnings about service intervals, it’s good to have someone who can help you out.

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair
07/21/2015 at 19:47

Hertz.

Haven’t had a car since 2001, when I sold my ‘97 SHO and moved here. Just garaging a car in Manhattan is $495 a month, to say nothing of insurance costs. Far cheaper to rent for the 3 or 4 times a year I need to drive.

Torque Affair > casper
07/21/2015 at 20:08

Yeah, my plan is to just go to the dealer if something does happen. It has a detailed dealer record throughout its warranty period and for the sake of resale value, I’ll just stick with it.

Torque Affair > Steve in Manhattan
07/21/2015 at 20:10

How much is it to join the classic car club in Manhattan?

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair
07/21/2015 at 20:46

I’m guessing 10s of thousands ... and we’re getting ready to buy an apartment. She’d kill me.

Torque Affair > Steve in Manhattan
07/22/2015 at 06:15

Oh man, can’t even imagine the cost of buying an apartment there. But that’s awesome - congrats!

Steve in Manhattan > Torque Affair
07/22/2015 at 18:45

While the apartments are expensive, consider what I don’t have - a car payment, car insurance, gas costs, repair costs, storage costs. Spending $500-600K on an apartment isn’t that big a deal. The subway is still relatively cheap, my grocery prices are no higher than yours - you just have to know where to shop. For the $1500/month I a car, we can add a couple hundred grand to a mortgage.

A Person > Torque Affair
08/30/2015 at 23:02

Good work narrowing that dream list down to something even better. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with any stick shift bimmer. The cheapest one you can get (an e36 318i) with a manual is still a fun and useful car.

Torque Affair > A Person
08/31/2015 at 06:09

I would love to own an E36 one day...

Frank Grimes > Torque Affair
11/30/2015 at 14:39

I would buy one of these for under 10k

Kinja'd!!!