Discussion
The M4 is my first foray into the world of real performance cars, but first a quick recap on the last two cars i owned before it. Firstly there was a Ford Focus with the 1litre 3 cylinder ecoboost engine knocking out an almighty 124bhp. This seems to be the only picture i have of it, taken having driven it to the Alps:
As good a car as it was, I was looking to replace it and having got a free upgrade to a 5 series as a company hire car, it was clear that was the car for me. So i bought this 2012 530d:
Which was, quite frankly, brilliant and taught me 3 important points:
1. Torque is ace. It had about 400lb ft and from no revs at all you put your foot down and it would just keep on accelerating in a remarkably unfussed manner.
2. The automatic gearbox / autohold / electronic handbrake powertrain work so seamlessly together that I can see why BMW pushed autos out into the M-car range, particularly for the M5 / M8. I realise it's very fashionable to try and win Clarkson points by saying everything should be manual with a traditional handbrake and before I had the 5 series I might have said the same, but not now.
3. Diesel isn't the devil incarnate the car community makes it out to be. It has its downsides, such as being a hard smell to get rid of when you fill your car up, or for a while being much more expensive than petrol. Also chucking all kinds of crap pollution out into the urban environment. But on the upside, I typically managed 40-45mpg even though i tend to drive with lead boots on and with a 75 litre tank, the range was enormous (1,000 miles is possible apparently).
Go back and watch the Top Gear review of the equivalent generation M5 and the first thing they say when it goes back to the studio is 'why spent all that money on an M5 when the 530 offers so much for half the price'. I can see why.
So given my enthusiasm for the 530 why sell it? Being a diesel I was concerned it was going to become increasingly worthless as time passes, regulations change, more ULEZ pop up etc etc. I shouldn't have worried though as that was already the case. The amount I was offered for the 530 with about 80,000 miles was very, very low IMO. Part exchange values were typically £5.5k and the most optimistic Autotrader value was only £8k. At those sorts of prices whoever bought it next got a real bargain given the money I'd spent keeping it in fine fettle.
The other reason for selling it is that whilst it was quick, it wasn't quite quick / special enough for me
. So on to the contenders. My shortlist of replacements looked like this:
- BMW M5 (F10). Seriously temping given how much I liked the 530. My main concerns were the reliability of the V8 and it was also 'more of the same' in many respects. It's four-door which i don't need. Plus while some people love them, a common complaint is that with 550bhp and rwd, it's a real struggle to use the power.
- BMW M6 (F13). Coupe rather than the 4 doors of the 5, but I think Inactually prefer the looks of the 5, making it a bit pointless for me.
- Mercedes C63 AMG. Love the sound but I'm just not a Mercedes person.
- Bentley Continental. The wild card. Great interior and performance, but expensive to run and the infotainment would be very outdated on the early ones i could afford. Most of all though, i just think they're ugly.
- Jaguar XKR. Serious contender, love the looks and noise, masses of power. Euro 5 emissions though so I was concerned I'd be buying a ULEZ compliant car that might quite rapidly become non-compliant in my ownership with the consequent affect on values. Plus I really struggled to find one to test drive.
- Jaguar F-Type. Another serious contender. I test drove two and really enjoyed them. The trouble was I wanted an F Type S at the least and to get one I would have been buying at the bottom of the range.
So why the M4? I love the looks, it's a bit smaller and lighter than the 5/6 series would have been, it's Euro 6 rather than 5 and as such the car tax is pretty reasonable (£365 per annum iirc). The insurance is the most expense of all the options I considered, and by no small margin. Factor in the car tax saving though and whilst the M4 is still the most expensive, it's a much more close run thing. Here it is:
Having bought it only a few weeks ago in winter, it's been a bit of a struggle to get much of a feel for the performance given the road conditions out there. It's pretty immense though when you do get a chance. Resale silver might look like a fairly pedestrian colour in the pictures, but on the car itself it looks great. The interior is all black / carbonfibre which wouldn't have been my first choice but I'm happy enough with it. The main perk of this particular car was that despite being a 2016 car, I bought it as a BMW approved used car with a year's warranty that can be extended. The condition also stood out. It's done just over 40,000 miles and bar some very, very minor marks in the interior and a slightly worn drivers seat bolster from all the twisting round to get the seat belt, it's otherwise good as new.
I've no immediate plans to modify it in any way, albeit more power can be unlocked fairly easily it would seem. I would quite like to retrofit Android Auto to it for better built-in sat nav. Evidently it's doable and possibly a DIY job for those good at that sort of thing. I'd need to find somewhere to do it for me though so if anyone has any suggestions...
As good a car as it was, I was looking to replace it and having got a free upgrade to a 5 series as a company hire car, it was clear that was the car for me. So i bought this 2012 530d:
Which was, quite frankly, brilliant and taught me 3 important points:
1. Torque is ace. It had about 400lb ft and from no revs at all you put your foot down and it would just keep on accelerating in a remarkably unfussed manner.
2. The automatic gearbox / autohold / electronic handbrake powertrain work so seamlessly together that I can see why BMW pushed autos out into the M-car range, particularly for the M5 / M8. I realise it's very fashionable to try and win Clarkson points by saying everything should be manual with a traditional handbrake and before I had the 5 series I might have said the same, but not now.
3. Diesel isn't the devil incarnate the car community makes it out to be. It has its downsides, such as being a hard smell to get rid of when you fill your car up, or for a while being much more expensive than petrol. Also chucking all kinds of crap pollution out into the urban environment. But on the upside, I typically managed 40-45mpg even though i tend to drive with lead boots on and with a 75 litre tank, the range was enormous (1,000 miles is possible apparently).
Go back and watch the Top Gear review of the equivalent generation M5 and the first thing they say when it goes back to the studio is 'why spent all that money on an M5 when the 530 offers so much for half the price'. I can see why.
So given my enthusiasm for the 530 why sell it? Being a diesel I was concerned it was going to become increasingly worthless as time passes, regulations change, more ULEZ pop up etc etc. I shouldn't have worried though as that was already the case. The amount I was offered for the 530 with about 80,000 miles was very, very low IMO. Part exchange values were typically £5.5k and the most optimistic Autotrader value was only £8k. At those sorts of prices whoever bought it next got a real bargain given the money I'd spent keeping it in fine fettle.
The other reason for selling it is that whilst it was quick, it wasn't quite quick / special enough for me
. So on to the contenders. My shortlist of replacements looked like this:- BMW M5 (F10). Seriously temping given how much I liked the 530. My main concerns were the reliability of the V8 and it was also 'more of the same' in many respects. It's four-door which i don't need. Plus while some people love them, a common complaint is that with 550bhp and rwd, it's a real struggle to use the power.
- BMW M6 (F13). Coupe rather than the 4 doors of the 5, but I think Inactually prefer the looks of the 5, making it a bit pointless for me.
- Mercedes C63 AMG. Love the sound but I'm just not a Mercedes person.
- Bentley Continental. The wild card. Great interior and performance, but expensive to run and the infotainment would be very outdated on the early ones i could afford. Most of all though, i just think they're ugly.
- Jaguar XKR. Serious contender, love the looks and noise, masses of power. Euro 5 emissions though so I was concerned I'd be buying a ULEZ compliant car that might quite rapidly become non-compliant in my ownership with the consequent affect on values. Plus I really struggled to find one to test drive.
- Jaguar F-Type. Another serious contender. I test drove two and really enjoyed them. The trouble was I wanted an F Type S at the least and to get one I would have been buying at the bottom of the range.
So why the M4? I love the looks, it's a bit smaller and lighter than the 5/6 series would have been, it's Euro 6 rather than 5 and as such the car tax is pretty reasonable (£365 per annum iirc). The insurance is the most expense of all the options I considered, and by no small margin. Factor in the car tax saving though and whilst the M4 is still the most expensive, it's a much more close run thing. Here it is:
Having bought it only a few weeks ago in winter, it's been a bit of a struggle to get much of a feel for the performance given the road conditions out there. It's pretty immense though when you do get a chance. Resale silver might look like a fairly pedestrian colour in the pictures, but on the car itself it looks great. The interior is all black / carbonfibre which wouldn't have been my first choice but I'm happy enough with it. The main perk of this particular car was that despite being a 2016 car, I bought it as a BMW approved used car with a year's warranty that can be extended. The condition also stood out. It's done just over 40,000 miles and bar some very, very minor marks in the interior and a slightly worn drivers seat bolster from all the twisting round to get the seat belt, it's otherwise good as new.
I've no immediate plans to modify it in any way, albeit more power can be unlocked fairly easily it would seem. I would quite like to retrofit Android Auto to it for better built-in sat nav. Evidently it's doable and possibly a DIY job for those good at that sort of thing. I'd need to find somewhere to do it for me though so if anyone has any suggestions...
Edited by Snubs on Sunday 17th December 22:09
That looks a lovely car; sits well on those 437Ms too 
IMO they're a superb car from factory and sound brilliant too; a good friend of mine had one in that lovely gloss purple BMW did and only sold it due to being relocated near to Harrogate to work in the base up there and with the weather they get up on the tops; he needed a non expensive car that hi could stick winters on and not worry about if he ended up in a ditch... Hence he bought a JCW Mini
They have a Honda Accord estate for the dog and 'other equipment' too
- also on winters; but he really does miss his M4
The F10 530D is a superb car; my FiL had one and he loved it; like you send, endless waftability and comfort with plenty of poke too..
IMO they're a superb car from factory and sound brilliant too; a good friend of mine had one in that lovely gloss purple BMW did and only sold it due to being relocated near to Harrogate to work in the base up there and with the weather they get up on the tops; he needed a non expensive car that hi could stick winters on and not worry about if he ended up in a ditch... Hence he bought a JCW Mini
They have a Honda Accord estate for the dog and 'other equipment' too
- also on winters; but he really does miss his M4The F10 530D is a superb car; my FiL had one and he loved it; like you send, endless waftability and comfort with plenty of poke too..
Thanks, nice to see others like the colour
I think the wheels certainly add to the discretion being the 437 M with a Ferric Grey rather than Jet Black centre. The 666 M wheels are more obviously M car wheels but I can't make up my mind whether I like that design or not. In any event, they would be 20" wheels rather than the 19s on mine, so more expensive tyres and possibly an adverse affect on ride, so I'm more than happy to stick with what I have.
Can't wait for a warm, sunny day in 2024.
I think the wheels certainly add to the discretion being the 437 M with a Ferric Grey rather than Jet Black centre. The 666 M wheels are more obviously M car wheels but I can't make up my mind whether I like that design or not. In any event, they would be 20" wheels rather than the 19s on mine, so more expensive tyres and possibly an adverse affect on ride, so I'm more than happy to stick with what I have.
Can't wait for a warm, sunny day in 2024.
Snubs said:
Thanks, nice to see others like the colour
I think the wheels certainly add to the discretion being the 437 M with a Ferric Grey rather than Jet Black centre. The 666 M wheels are more obviously M car wheels but I can't make up my mind whether I like that design or not. In any event, they would be 20" wheels rather than the 19s on mine, so more expensive tyres and possibly an adverse affect on ride, so I'm more than happy to stick with what I have.
Can't wait for a warm, sunny day in 2024.
Deffo stick with the 437Ms - they're forged and light too and they suit the car wellI think the wheels certainly add to the discretion being the 437 M with a Ferric Grey rather than Jet Black centre. The 666 M wheels are more obviously M car wheels but I can't make up my mind whether I like that design or not. In any event, they would be 20" wheels rather than the 19s on mine, so more expensive tyres and possibly an adverse affect on ride, so I'm more than happy to stick with what I have.
Can't wait for a warm, sunny day in 2024.
IMO fully powdercoated in Ferric Grey; they'd look superb. Better than the diamond cut finish - but that's personal preference
Congrats Snubs, great looking car, love it in silver - with the relatively mundane colour and the subdued/classy styling compared to BMW's latest offerings it almost goes 'under the radar'. Quite fancied a manual F80 M3 for a while and tested a couple, however then got thrown the keys to a Giulia QF and never ended up making a decision..... I look forward to seeing how you get on with the M4!
I thought I'd provide an update on my M4 on a 'credit where credit's due' basis. A little while back I got a message on my phone from the car saying a service was due. I looked down the detailed list of what was required thinking 'fair enough', but when I got down to "new spark plugs required" given that I'd bought it from BMW as an approved used car around 3 months before it got me recounting exactly what was said and whether I was liable to pay. Long story short, BMW Solihull looked into it and all the dates around who was liable for what out and it ended up in a grey area as it was down to a few days as to whether they were expected to pay or not. In the end they accepted the costs and did it themselves even though they could have easily contested it if they wanted to, which is for the best as evidently the sparkplugs are a PITA to get at and the service would have set me back at least £1,200 if they hadn't covered it. When i took it in it, the chap I bought it from gave me the keys to his own company car to use while mine was being serviced.
BMW Cotswold is my local dealership and i went to them a few times with my 5 series and the level of customer service I've had from them previously and BMW Solihull recently has been absolutely first rate. BMW isn't the most premium brand on the planet and I'm most certainly not the most premium customer, but it really goes to show you what a difference customer service makes as I'd be cautious about stepping away from BMW as a result.
As for the car itself, I know Lee had that other thread where his M4 stepped out on him on the motorway, but in my experience to date I love mine. The way monster torque from 2,000 rpm hands the baton to big power at 5,000 rpm never gets dull. I run out of courage before the car runs of power, as that's the way it should be in my world
BMW Cotswold is my local dealership and i went to them a few times with my 5 series and the level of customer service I've had from them previously and BMW Solihull recently has been absolutely first rate. BMW isn't the most premium brand on the planet and I'm most certainly not the most premium customer, but it really goes to show you what a difference customer service makes as I'd be cautious about stepping away from BMW as a result.
As for the car itself, I know Lee had that other thread where his M4 stepped out on him on the motorway, but in my experience to date I love mine. The way monster torque from 2,000 rpm hands the baton to big power at 5,000 rpm never gets dull. I run out of courage before the car runs of power, as that's the way it should be in my world
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff