135i or 370z

cagneymc@yaho

Tha Z is a legend. This is the first generation for the 1 series. Even though people are comparing these two cars i think they are very different. I dont own a Z so this is not a biased opinion, but i know performance wise the Z wins. And as far as the Cool Factor the Z wins also. The 1 series is bland. JMO

ct63084

Yeah same here i don't own a Z but if your going to get a BMW get a 335 or a M3. The 135 can get on the price range of the 3 series with options on it.

Lone Wolf 75

I also cross shopped the 135i and the 335 Coupe with the 370Z. The problem that I found was that most of the BMW Dealers here load the hell out of the cars they have on the lot, making the BMWs much more expensive than the 370Z's. One of the lots I went to did not have a single BMW under $54K What it came down to for me was that I could get a fully loaded 370Z or a very basic BMW with no options. It's my opinion that a person is always better off getting everything they want as far as options go, otherwise you may kick yourself later for not getting that "difficult to install later" option.

Another thing I did was research on the various forums. I found that the Z forums (here and at my350z.com) were pretty friendly and I fit the demographic. As it sounds like you have discovered, the BMW forum community is a little less friendly, I also think I would be slightly out of place there, since I don't turn my nose up at other cars and say such things as "Oh, it's only a 'insert substandard manufacturer here', it's not a BMW." You could also go to a meet and ask some of the regulars how they like their cars. I did this a year or so ago when I was getting ready to replace my Subaru. I went to a 350z meet and even went for a ride in one of the members cars. Owners will give you an honest view of what they like, don't like, wish was different, etc. about the car. For me, after that meet, I was ready to go and purchase a 350Z. But then my life kinda changed for a year or so and then I decided to wait until the 370Z came out.

Regarding the financing, if you have good credit and get 3.9% from BMW, you can very likely get 3.99% at Pen Fed - see the sticky in the Purchasing forum.

Paul

tstrick9

I agree with this opinion...the 335 is the way to go for the smaller bmw's. Besides the 135 is ugly.