At $13,500, Will This Manual-Swapped 2010 BMW 335i Quickly Change Hands?
The seller claims that everything from the radiator to the diff has been updated for manual action.
It seems the best way to prevent getting car-jacked is to avoid sketchy neighborhoods and to always drive a thief-thwarting stick-shift car. Today's Nice Price or No Dice 335i has been modded to include this anti-theft feature, let's see if it's worth both the effort and the asking.
There was a lot of concern in the comments over yesterday's 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer having lived its life in Massachusetts, a state that salts its roads in winter. The ad made no mention of any undue road rot as a result while noting that the Jeep did spend its off-hours garaged so perhaps that was a bullet it had dodged. Not so easily avoided was our judgment on its $9,900 asking. Sadly for the seller, that just missed the bulls-eyed in a 52 percent No Dice loss.
They say that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That is to say, make the best of whatever situation you happen to find yourself in. I think that's a pretty crappy, and to be honest, frustratingly phlegmatic policy to maintain.
I would say that the seller of today's 2010 BMW 335i agrees with me. You see, when BMW gave them an automatic-equipped car, they didn't just lemonade the heck out of it and call it a day. No, they went ahead and swapped out the automatic for a six-speed manual and an extra pedal for the driver's footwell.
The ad goes to great lengths to impress that the conversion from auto to stick was done with nothing but OEM parts and with great care and detail. Hell, the seller even goes so far as to note that the Getrag, the driveshaft, rear pumpkin, and the clutch pedal all came from a donor that was the same color and model as this car. The twin-turbo N54 straight-six ahead of all that is claimed in the ad to be in "perfectly working condition with no check engine lights, no wastegate rattle," and the seller avows that the car "has never been tuned."
Delving deeper into the ad, it appears that a ton of other upgrades and enhancements came along with the gearbox swap. Even more work was undertaken within the past 8,000 miles. The car has 104,000 miles on the clock now, with the conversion having been done 9K back. At that time the donor parts had a few more miles on them, but not enough to prove worrisome.
Aesthetically, the car seems to be in decent shape. The ad notes a few chips in the paint on the bumper and driver's door, but nothing egregious. The interior features sport buckets and both wood and silver trim for those who want it all. Everything seems to be in working order and there are no warning lights showing. Back outside, the ad notes new Michelin tires with equally fresh pressure warning sensors. The title is clear and the seller describes themselves as "motivated."
That motivation has resulted in a $13,500 asking price and it's now time for you all to weigh in on how motivating that might be for an interested buyer. What do you think, is this manual-swapped 335i automatically a good deal at that $13,500 price? Or, does that asking make you think people should just leave well-enough alone?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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