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waffling about what to do next

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  mr29 
#1 · (Edited)
And procrastinating at work. :)

I have an e92 335i lease coming due next April which will put me into a bt of a no mans land as far as new cars (esp BMWs are concerned). Ideally, i'd like the next gen 2 series gran coupe, but I doubt we'll see that before the 2016 MY. But regardless, i want something smaller. There a are few new cars that fit my goldilocks criteria of RWD, small but not too small. A Subary BRZ would be interesting, but probably not quite practical or comfortable enough for example. A used cayman would be expensive, not practical enough and a somewhat scary propostion maintencae wise. Almost halfway tempted to give teh Focus St or mk 7 GTI a shot despite fwd and electric steering. I'd like a 1M coupe, but they're too expensive, so:
-I could buy an e46 M3
Pros:
-NEver owned an M car
-Looks great
-pretty cheap to buy now
-Great engine/ quick throttle response
-LSD
-Slighly more practical/spacious
Cons:
_i've owned an e46 before so even though this would be an M, it would sort of feel like been ther edone that
-NOt sure i want the hassles of now dealing with what is now going to be atleast an 8-9 year old car
-Notchy manual or crappy SMG
-Lack of modern creature comforts/ electroncis that i've now become used to w/ my 335
-Squeaks and rattles that are inevitabe on an 8-10 year old high performnce car (esp en e46)
-Finding the right car that hasn't been molested and/or getting very unlucky with repairs after i buy it. Less peace of mind.

-135i or is
Pros:
-quite sure there will be great lease deals next year given final production year. If I had to palce a bet, December will be interesting. And they sometimes throw in extras for free during the final model run. My guess is that I might be able to do a 0 down lease with European delivery in the mid to high 3s. Almost a no brainer at that point.
-Have been intrigued by this car for a while
-Modern electroncis/ woudln't be a setp down from 335 in terms of features. I happen to have grown very fond of idrive and decent builtin nav for example.
-decent manual and great DCT options
-keep the n55 turbo engine i'm accusotmed to
-Very similar perforamcne to an e46 m3/ thoguh different feel
-New car/warranty/etc
-Ability to lease (variety of reasons why i prefer)
_ability to do Europena delivery-which both me and my wife agree was an amazing experience.
-hydraulic steering (compared to pretty much any other new car)
-Great size for driving-- and a welcome change from the huge e92
Great "stock" exhaust sound w/ the is
Cons
-Still don't love the interior or exterrior styling and my wife really dislikes it. But in space gray w/ M sport and that nice terracotta interior it's pretty damn nice i gotta say. e82 seems very sensitive to wheel choice and color.
-Would feel a bit strange to be getting a new car that is in its last year
-DOn't like the way the n55 engine idles; very harsh and rough-- but htat's a characterisit of direct injection for the most part.
-Tight backseat
-Bouncy highway ride? Have heard this from various places due to short wheelbase, runflats, and soft suspension setup but haven't driving enough to form opinino
-Tuned for ots of understeer from the factory though I hear swapping in the m3 front sway bar is a quick and cheap fix. Could probably also pickup a used set of OEM front wheels to gain a square setup.
-Lame con: dealing with the constant derision from several friends and colleagues who drive M3s and have openly made fun of the 1. Bunch of arrogant pricks, but still irritating.


Another thing I consider is ditcing my lease now and getting a final year e92 M3 but there are so many big cons with that as far as cost, and the abysmal range and fuel econ plus it's the same size as my 335 which seems too big
I suppose a hybrid approach would be to buy say a 2011 135i and spend a few thousand on some key upgrades (M3 suspension pieces, non runflats, lightweight wheels, etc).
-
 
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#2 ·
I understand your reticence about the E46 M3, but I think it's worth the risk of the notchiness of the manual if you can find a last model run '06 with ZCP and relatively low mileage.

Unequivocally in my opinion the best looking 3 series of all-time.

You might also consider the 135is. It raises the performance bar a bit on the stock 135 and comes with tasty bits like the Performance Exhaust.

Plus you can get it in Carbon black, which is unavailable to the garden variety einser.

If that's too much still maintenance wise, then you also have Le Mans blue to fall back to.
 
#4 ·
First to clarify; that's this April or next? Next April there's a possibility 1'er will be the 2'er and will be the next generation according to what I've read. Though of course, that may well be wrong... either way next April there won't be an E92 M3 to the best of my knowledge unless they extend the M3 beyond the coupe... which they haven't said definitively to the best of my knowledge again; they certainly didn't continue the E90 M3 Sedan...

A friend of mine has an E46 M3, and yes we've taken them both to the track. We've both traded cars and driven against each other in each other's cars too... and you know what? The 135i can hang with the E46 M3 with little trouble. The M3 does tend to get ahead where you've got long straights because it can just rev higher and longer... plus after a few hours on the track (85 degree day, moderate humidity) the 135i was running pretty damned hot and needed a rest... the M3 probably could've kept going all day. Having said that, how often are you really going to be driving like that? Bear in mind also, this was on stock wheels, tires and suspension. His M3 is a stick, my 135i is a DCT.

For the record, I did find the M3 easier to drive and super-legal speeds... the 135i gets a bit floaty above about 120... but on the road that's probably never going to be an issue :)

The E92 M3 is a truly awesome beast, but yes that V8 does suck down the gas. I found driving one (not on a track, just on the streets) was an almost sublime experience; everything just felt right about it but I just couldn't justify the cost premium and fuel premium over my basically fully-loaded 135i. When I decided to buy it, I figured that it was 95% of an M3 for 65% of the cost... that just made sense to me.

While I think any of these cars are fantastic, I would lean toward the 135i or 135is (more performance) simply from a value perspective. I'm almost half way through my lease and am seriously going back and forth whether I want to take another Euro Delivery or buy out the lease on my 135i... I like it that much.

HTH...
 
#5 · (Edited)
Get post 2009 135i

M3 is great but impossible to find e46 m3 manual at low mileage

In the trade, they call SMG = shxt m gearbox, DSG = dog shxt gearbox
 
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