Getting time for an upgrade. Your 2 cents?

[usinjin]

Hello Mafia!

It has been a hot minute since I posted. But the feedback here has never let me down. I'm sure threads like this already exist, but the advice for my situation would still be appreciated.

My ZHP is about to hit 160k. Still love the car. Still my daily driver. Car runs like a champ. Very little work left to do on it besides differential mounts. Still enjoy working on the car myself. Still get strangers at stoplights and gas stations asking me if I want to sell it. I really don't want to sell it. At the same time, I do want an upgrade.

I want more power. So here is my question: sell it eventually and get...maybe a 335? If I buy a new (used) BMW, I'd probably want to get something on the newer side, which I probably can't afford yet.

Or..maybe invest in some real performance for the longer run for the ZHP? Investing about $5000 would get me an upgraded exhaust, SC and better suspension. Or do these things hurt resale value at all?

Interested in getting some takes on this.

[cakM3]

Get the ESS TS2 twin screw supercharger.... you will get a performance boost from this and will love the additional power. :thumbsup

[BADCLOWN]

I say refresh your car, will provide a new found love for it after you bump up the power

[Will]

Hello Mafia!

It has been a hot minute since I posted. But the feedback here has never let me down. I'm sure threads like this already exist, but the advice for my situation would still be appreciated.

My ZHP is about to hit 160k. Still love the car. Still my daily driver. Car runs like a champ. Very little work left to do on it besides differential mounts. Still enjoy working on the car myself. Still get strangers at stoplights and gas stations asking me if I want to sell it. I really don't want to sell it. At the same time, I do want an upgrade.

I want more power. So here is my question: sell it eventually and get...maybe a 335? If I buy a new (used) BMW, I'd probably want to get something on the newer side, which I probably can't afford yet.

Or..maybe invest in some real performance for the longer run for the ZHP? Investing about $5000 would get me an upgraded exhaust, SC and better suspension. Or do these things hurt resale value at all?

Interested in getting some takes on this.

Like the others mentioned, supercharge it and refresh seems like the way to go.

[John in VA]

E92 335i.

[ELCID86]

I went to a 981 Cayman. Wow, what a car! Paid $41k for a clean low mile southern car.

Still miss some aspects of the ZHPs but this is such a fun reliable car. Also fairly easy to wrench on if you are a DIYer like me. Check out planet-9 forums.


Shawn in VA (USA)

[Oli77]

I went with an e90 convertible after one year in an Audi A6 quattro with comfort, but unacceptable turbo lag.
I changed the intake on the 6 cylinder 328 to make it a 330. Super happy.

[fredo]

2011 e90 sedan 335i. That one has the N55 engine which is more dependable than the N54. It has 300 hp. There was one FS recently on TRED for $9k.

[ELCID86]

More thoughts on the topic. http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?20698-Why-the-ZHP-s-Replacement-is-Italian


Shawn in VA (USA)

[Galapolis]

More thoughts on the topic. http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?20698-Why-the-ZHP-s-Replacement-is-Italian


Shawn in VA (USA)

I've tested a 2020 Giulia TI and G20 3 series. I liked the Giulia more. It had more soul and was definitely more of a driver's car.

[alexandre]

Very much enjoying my LCI F31 so far, I'm almost a year in. With adaptive steering and suspension it's a super fun car. I had test driven a 2014 (pre-LCI) and it was super sloppy, so I think that's where BMW's bad rep on the F30 handling/steering came from. They revamped it all as part of the LCI (2016+)

[ItsRichieRich]

I sold my F30 335i for my ZHP. I took that money (sold the car for $25k and bought the ZHP for $10k) and put it away for my next real estate purchase. If I wasn't a grown up, I would of for sure kept that car.

I have owned a E46 M3 and I will say I enjoyed the F30 335i more, but that's because it's a better suited daily driver. The E46 M3 is more of a weekend/track car. With basic bolt ons and a Bootmod3 tune, the 335i was a beast. I had the early generation with the pneumatic wastegate, top end was ok but the power downlow was absurd. Here are a few pictures of the F30:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50637431043_b33f822bff_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2k9E54V)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50638260942_d32a4bfb19_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2k9JjLw)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50638176171_5ab4a60402_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2k9HTyX)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50672030688_44bac637d8_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kcHpkw)

[Will]

Those are some good looking F30 and F31, fellas.

[Rovert]

If you have the resources to change, don’t deny yourself the experience of being able to try something outside of your well known comfortable box.

My best friend told me life is too short to drive one single car for many years. It always sticks in the back of my mind after owning my ZHP for just over eight years.

The most optimal scenario would be to keep the ZHP and try something different. I was forced into changing from my ZHP due to a car crash which was bad for my ZHP but I’ve learned now that is was great for me.

What change taught me…there is a world to see and experience first hand without the noise of third party reviews. I took for granted how great my old ZHP was and how it will be difficult to replace. I have a greater understanding of the power of M and while it’s a different beast than the ZHP, how a piece of me wants to keep hold of that more raw emotion. I’m starting to learn about turbo now and how it makes for more easy accessible power. I hope that the next future experiences will continue rounding out the car enthusiast in me but the benchmark will remain as my old ZHP while the friends I make along each new path will allow me to gain a greater understanding of the world and myself.

[/Confucius out] [emoji23][emoji23]

[cakM3]

If you have the resources to change, don’t deny yourself the experience of being able to try something outside of your well known comfortable box.

My best friend told me life is too short to drive one single car for many years. It always sticks in the back of my mind after owning my ZHP for just over eight years.

The most optimal scenario would be to keep the ZHP and try something different. I was forced into changing from my ZHP due to a car crash which was bad for my ZHP but I’ve learned now that is was great for me.

What change taught me…there is a world to see and experience first hand without the noise of third party reviews. I took for granted how great my old ZHP was and how it will be difficult to replace. I have a greater understanding of the power of M and while it’s a different beast than the ZHP, how a piece of me wants to keep hold of that more raw emotion. I’m starting to learn about turbo now and how it makes for more easy accessible power. I hope that the next future experiences will continue rounding out the car enthusiast in me but the benchmark will remain as my old ZHP while the friends I make along each new path will allow me to gain a greater understanding of the world and myself.

[/Confucius out] [emoji23][emoji23]

+1


Why I now have another E46 ZHP in my garage after I sold my first one three years ago...

[BMWCurves]

All Trevor is trying to say is he hates everyone here and their dumb ZHPs.

[Rovert]

All Trevor is trying to say is he hates everyone here and their dumb ZHPs.

HAHAHAHAHA...I never get bored of William's replies. I was expecting a meme too...you're letting all of us down.

I'd love to have a garage like Jay Leno but that isn't my case. I'm just grateful I can move cars freely when I want which wasn't an option when I was younger. The one caveat to meeting new groups of people are adding multiple "Williams" of each car model to your life. Imagine an ///M William and a Diesel William. It's hard to be productive when they continually share with you their joy of friendship.

[cakM3]

All Trevor is trying to say is he hates everyone here and their dumb ZHPs.

[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


Sent from my iPhone 11 Pro Max using Tapatalk Pro

[BMWCurves]

HAHAHAHAHA...I never get bored of William's replies. I was expecting a meme too...you're letting all of us down.

I'd love to have a garage like Jay Leno but that isn't my case. I'm just grateful I can move cars freely when I want which wasn't an option when I was younger. The one caveat to meeting new groups of people are adding multiple "Williams" of each car model to your life. Imagine an ///M William and a Diesel William. It's hard to be productive when they continually share with you their joy of friendship.

Bruh, there is only one William, and that's the best William.

[usinjin]

Thank you all for the replies rich in both insight and information. I have spent some time thinking and believe I’d like to stop worrying about the ZHP’s mileage, resell value, etc and just drive it. Some day, that F90 Competition M5 will be mine, but until then it’ll likely be the ZHP. Somehow, the thought of driving an Audi, Porsche, etc feels alien—like I’m not a part of any of those clubs. Years of owning a BMW makes me feel more like I’m granted the privilege of knowing the ins and outs of all the models, the goods and bads, and armed with that knowledge I feel more like an insider than just someone looking to buy a fast car. Hard to explain I guess.

At any rate, I am looking to invest in a decent forced induction setup, in case anyone is willing to part with something like that. I periodically see them around but am always too late to snag a deal.

[NorCalZman]

I decided to spend over 5k on my ZHP a few weeks ago to do a large amount of refreshing. Suspension, Drivetrain mounts, lost of maintenance, etc. Feels like a much, much newer car now and I do not have a desire to buy a new car anymore, especially with the way the market is right now. Money well spent in my eyes!

If you have not refreshed the suspension and engine/differential mounts yet, I highly recommend it. I feel like I took 10 years off the life of my car! (I see you have not done the differential mount yet)

[BADCLOWN]

Doing all that stuff definitely will make that feel like a whole different car, nice work