Vs 2008 328i. Help me decide

[ktsang47]

so I have right now a 2008 328i sedan w/ sport package. Looking into the civic si. I dunno what to do.

328i
Pro:
50/50 weigh distribution love how this thing can turn
Rwd
I6 smooth enigine

Con:
Older car with 80000km
Maintaining will get expensive
And also reliability issue

I have had the CSx type s before this with the k20 engine and loved the high revving, as the engine have changed for this one, I am curious if this civic with active dampers turns as well as the BMW, will test drive to find out. But on paper which will you guys choose.

Buy a new civic si and drive it for probably next 10 years or
Keep the BMW and use the money to maintenance cost and risk getting stranded

Sponsored

 

[repeet]

If you haven't seen THIS yet. They're two different cars. Yet both great cars. I hate having my car in the shop, so I went with the Honda. Have you driven the Si yet?

 

[theonly]

I dont have the si but i have the civic turbo coupe.
Power on the bmw is unreal, no civic turbo (except type r) can match.
My 08 bmw was 110km and it needs new suspensions and also some minor stuff (i forgot what i did)
Overall, Bmw is a drivers car, and si is a econ performance car.

It's hard to compare a used car and a brand new car.

 

[ktsang47]

More background
I'm turning 34 next week and Have one child and another on the way. What's making me chose the civic si is that even tho I'm paying for a brand new car but if I keep it for the next 10 years it would be cheaper than keeping the BMW for the next 10 years. But I also want something that's family friendly and fun to drive. The BMW right now is actually too low for my pregnant wife to get into and that's with the stock sport package suspension.

I really need to test drive one. The thing is there's so few right now too to pick the colour you want.

 

[theonly]

More background
I'm turning 34 next week and Have one child and another on the way. What's making me chose the civic si is that even tho I'm paying for a brand new car but if I keep it for the next 10 years it would be cheaper than keeping the BMW for the next 10 years. But I also want something that's family friendly and fun to drive. The BMW right now is actually too low for my pregnant wife to get into and that's with the stock sport package suspension.

I really need to test drive one. The thing is there's so few right now too to pick the colour you want.

It already sounds like you know what you want.
E90 backseat is too small for a rear facing seats

 

[Andy123az]

Have you considered looking in the Acura TL or Lexus IS? I find these two models significantly more reliable than a 2008 BMW 328i

The TL is a nicely sized sedan thats reliable and fun (with SH-AWD). These can be had for less than 25K for a 2012+.

The IS is a rear wheel drive car like the 3 series, however is more reliable albeit a bit slower. You can pick up a used one for well under 20k depending on what year/model. The IS gives you an option for a 2.5L V6 or a 3.5L V6. Personally, I find the 2.5L V6 underpowered for what it is. You have 1.5L Civic's that are faster than the 2.5s. The 3.5L is a sweetheart of an engine. Super reliable, nice sounding, and a lot of power.

The Civic Si on the other hand will end up being the best car for handling and corners. That thing can pull 0.97G's on a skidpad! Really impressive for a FWD car. The Civic Si does lack some of the luxury features such as leather.

All in all, it depends on what you really want.

 

[ktsang47]

Have you considered looking in the Acura TL or Lexus IS? I find these two models significantly more reliable than a 2008 BMW 328i

The TL is a nicely sized sedan thats reliable and fun (with SH-AWD). These can be had for less than 25K for a 2012+.

The IS is a rear wheel drive car like the 3 series, however is more reliable albeit a bit slower. You can pick up a used one for well under 20k depending on what year/model. The IS gives you an option for a 2.5L V6 or a 3.5L V6. Personally, I find the 2.5L V6 underpowered for what it is. You have 1.5L Civic's that are faster than the 2.5s. The 3.5L is a sweetheart of an engine. Super reliable, nice sounding, and a lot of power.

The Civic Si on the other hand will end up being the best car for handling and corners. That thing can pull 0.97G's on a skidpad! Really impressive for a FWD car. The Civic Si does lack some of the luxury features such as leather.

All in all, it depends on what you really want.

Oh yea forgot to add my side of the garage is shorter because we built a pantry and the other side has my wife's SUV. The car needs to be 182in and shorter surprising this civic si is bigger than my current BMW. Car these days are huge! Other cars this siZe I was considering but crossed off due to reliability was gti and focus st.

 

[VarmintCong]

so I have right now a 2008 328i sedan w/ sport package. Looking into the civic si. I dunno what to do.

328i
Pro:
50/50 weigh distribution love how this thing can turn
Rwd
I6 smooth enigine

Con:
Older car with 80000km
Maintaining will get expensive
And also reliability issue

I have had the CSx type s before this with the k20 engine and loved the high revving, as the engine have changed for this one, I am curious if this civic with active dampers turns as well as the BMW, will test drive to find out. But on paper which will you guys choose.

Buy a new civic si and drive it for probably next 10 years or
Keep the BMW and use the money to maintenance cost and risk getting stranded

I sold my 2004 330i last year for the Sport hatch. I did it cause it's a work car so I needed the hatch space, MPG and reliability. I don't really miss the BMW though, the Civic is fun cause it's so light, and it's torquey so I don't miss the 3.0L. In fact in 6th gear it pulls much better than the BMW so I can leave it in 6th on the highway. In the 330 I'd have to downshift to get any useful acceleration on the highway. I average like 33 mpg vs 21 mpg. I also like having the modern phone/stereo.

I would not sell for reliability though, a 2008 328i with 80k miles has tons of useful life left in it. If you have a good independent BMW shop to take it to, it won't cost you that much.

 

[VarmintCong]

More background
I'm turning 34 next week and Have one child and another on the way. What's making me chose the civic si is that even tho I'm paying for a brand new car but if I keep it for the next 10 years it would be cheaper than keeping the BMW for the next 10 years. But I also want something that's family friendly and fun to drive. The BMW right now is actually too low for my pregnant wife to get into and that's with the stock sport package suspension.

I really need to test drive one. The thing is there's so few right now too to pick the colour you want.

10th Gen Civic is really low, I don't think it's any higher than the BMW. If this is your family car I'd get something else. Other than that it's a good family car, big back seat and big trunk. My kids always want to ride in my car rather than our Outback.

 

[VarmintCong]

Oh yea forgot to add my side of the garage is shorter because we built a pantry and the other side has my wife's SUV. The car needs to be 182in and shorter surprising this civic si is bigger than my current BMW. Car these days are huge! Other cars this siZe I was considering but crossed off due to reliability was gti and focus st.

The hatchback is shorter. Get the Type R.

 

[charleswrivers]

Your cars engine is barely broke in at 80k km... even if it was 80k miles. If you need a rear facer, check out a Radian R100 or something on a similar frame with the pad you can get to adjust the seat angle. I used them in my 9th gen and had gobs of room. I ended up 3 across forward facing ones the little ones got less little.

BMWs are great handling cars and RWD is an advantage to fun, IMO, compared to even a good FWD. And a BMW is a great RWD.

If you want it though, the Civic would be a solid change... especially if you feel like you need to sink some cash in your existing car, though I don't know what it'd need at such a low mileage/age, other than tires/suspension bits/brake work. Never owned a BMW... driven a 335, 330 and 328 a long time ago... ridden in a few. 335 was on my short list about 5 years ago but I've since lost interest.

 

[xcoreflyup]

Between me and my family, we owned 3 BMWs the last 9 years. No double the driving experience is great but the maintenance is the deal breaker. After the 6 year mark, all the luxury feature will fail one after another. Power seat, monitors in the cluster gauge, sunroof...etc and I havent got to their plastic cooling system issue yet that goes way back to the E36 (92-1998 3 series) days.....

I love to get a 335i/340i tho...those are beast in a suit.

Sponsored