As long as people are willing to pay for it...

The way i built 435i came out to be 53k... I think it is reasonable (435 comes with a lot of standard stuff that you will have to pay to get with 428), I even think my 335 got way too many unnecessary craps.

M Sport
Navi (alone)
6mt

No X drive, No Premium (I am fine with leatherette,), No HK sound (Base sounds better than anything BMW offered in E46 and E90), No Cold weather package, No LED lighting (Bi-Xeon is good enough for me)

 

As usual, stay away from packages.

I priced a 435i M-sport, including navigation, leather, heated seats for less than 55K$.

In a world of 50K$ A4/328i 4-cylinder, that's not bad.

I think that I would prefer to remove the 3100$ M-Sport and lower/tweak the suspension myself. The wheel gap even with M-Sport is still huge and I wouldn't live with it.

 

and it's still a performance value like none other.

That said, I could never pay $60k for a 3-series coupe that's NOT an M3.

 

At $53k, I don't care how good the leatherette is ... It's inexcusable that the car doesn't have leather. This is not a 911 GT3 so it's not as if the car's got Alcantara seats instead of leather.

 

are halogens still standard equipment?

 

Xenon been standard on the 3-series coupe for awhile now.

Standard on the 335i F30 Sedan. Optional on 328i sedan.

 

I actually prefer the leatherette. It's a hell of a lot more durable than leather. I do understand that if you are paying premium prices that you expect premium materials but for the same look leatherette just seems more practical.

 

I also like leatherette over real leather in the 3-series. The real leather is not all that nice. IMO

Oh and speaking of pricey BMWs, they are raising prices starting October 1st.

 

If I were to go black again, I'd prefer leatherette as well. In my 80000 miles car, it is practically intact. However in my next one I'd like Coral red or Dakota brown leather. A lot more maintenance to keep it in top shape in the long run.

 

Why not look at the 428i coupe?? I'm not exactly sure how much you will save, but if its a significant amount you should consider it. Those turbo 4's make a good amount of power.

 

There are a lot of reasons to go with the 428i and there are also a lot of reasons not to if you can afford 435.

#1 reason: similar equipped 428 costs as much as similar equipped 435 because of standard features. Unless you want a base, otherwise the price difference is minimal,

#2 reason: even tho the N20 makes good power, it still sounds like a diesel. I personally hate the sound.

Those 2 reasons are enough for me to go with 435i.

 

It seems they can be had for 1k over invoice currently. So not bad.

 

Wait a couple years and watch the depreciation kick in

 

well, my 335 went into limp mode again. Hopefully 435 M sport will not see this problem. But i have a feeling that it will.