135i or 370z

Originally Posted by speed_BMW330i

What a coincidence, I drove down to both a BMW and Nissan dealership this afternoon to check out both the 135i and the 370z. I'm probably a few months away before I buy, so I'm not ready to commit yet, but I wanted to check them out in person.

Price:
The 370Z is cheaper, even if its fully decked out. However, if you want to save about $5k or $6k on a Bimmer, you may want to consider European Delivery. I've done the math on an almost fully loaded 135i (with Nav, leather, comfort access, you name it) and it comes out to around $40k with ED. You throw in a $1,000 to $1,500 profit to the dealer and your within spitting range of a fully loaded 370Z.

I've attached a BMW Wholesale Pricing list for the MY 2010. You may want do check out the math for yourself.

Interior:
Neither are gonna be mistaken for Bentleys, but the Bimmer does have a slight edge. As a "luxury car" they do have a few options that the 370Z doesn't offer, but nothing really major. The problem with Bimmers is that they make you pay for stuff that is standard on Japanese luxury cars. For instance, the base 135i doesn't even come with a freakin car alarm or leather.

Looks:
I have to say that the 370Z really says "sports car", while the 135i is more of a sporty coupe. I kinda get the feeling that if you purchased the 135i, after a few months you might get the feeling that you had a normal coupe, without the "whoa" looks of a 370Z. With a 370Z, every time you see it you're gonna be reminded that you have a sports car, no doubt. But looks are subjective.

Driving/Handling:
I'll leave that to the pros on this board, as I'm still trying to learn to drive a stick. Having said that, how many people (not including the hardcore racers on this board) are really good enough drivers to be able to tell the difference in terms of handling and performance. I think for most drivers, both of these cars are more than enough to meet their driving expectations.

Reliability:
The Bimmers have suffered from some HPFP issues, but it doesn't seem to be that bad and BMW has extended the warranty for 10 years on the HPFP. Overall, I think BMW's have a pretty good history of overall reliability. As good as Honda, probably not, but better than Audi or MB or any domestics.

Practicality:
Hands down, the BMW wins this round. Although if you have a second car, this may not be an issue.

If you have any questions on European Delivery, you can wiki it or try some of the Bimmer boards. All I can say is that anyone who doesn't buy a car via ED must have some money to burn, because ED is the easiest way to save some major cash, unless you're purchasing a car that has a ton of incentives.

Hope this helps.

Personally, I'm leaning towards the 370Z for 2 reasons, one is price and the other is the styling.

Martin