(Long!) My day off!...SMG, 330i's and E30 M3
Discussion
Well I've had an interesting day!
As some may recall, I've decided to sell my E30 M3 (and E30 325i Touring) in favour of a more modern daily driver. Last night I suddenly noticed that the green service lights on the M3, which were previously still showing 2, had now become singular! Feeling that this just didn't look good for a prospective sale and having already booked in my 735i at our local maindealership for an Oil Service scheduled forthis morning I got them to do the M3 instead. More of this later.
At the same time we had also arranged an appointment with one of their sales team to look at a 330i Sport Coupe and an E46 M3.
Ok impressions....
The 330i looked really nice in Silver Grey; spec was fairly ordinary, interior was 'nice' without being 'special'. Drive was very easy, smooth, brisk but not exactly ...erm...'shattering'! Just a 'nice' car really.
The E46 M3 was about a year old, Carbon Black with Black interior and just over 6K miles on the clock. And do you know what?...it looked F
ing shit!
I suppose even though I've been driving BMW's for over 20 years it's taken this long to be seriously in the position of looking at newish cars at a maindealer. BUT I WAS SHOCKED! The paintwork over the entire car was covered ( I mean completely covered!) in swirls and scratches ...you know then kind from whirly brush car-washes? Deeper scratches elsewhere, marks on the interior etc.
Speaking of interior the quality of the leather was cr ap as well! I thought maybe it was just this particular car...but "No!Every other M3 they had also had this 'stuff' in it. Looked like some kind of smooth, featureless 'ersatz' leather that Linda Barker had rejected from DFS! Why did the leather in the 330i look so much better? I didn't even say that looked 'good'...just better than the 'stuff' in the M3!
Then we come to driving it. I'd only driven one E46 M3 before and that was few years ago.This was a manual convertible...belonging to my neighbour and the first in Scotland when we were living up there! I remember being really impressed! Really, really (really) fast!
The car I drove today was fitted with SMGII. I'm sure it was all down to my ineptitude and the salesman's
ignorance (God!I hope he doesn't read this...and in fairness he did say he'd only been with BMW 8 weeks...and he was a nice guy!
) but driving this car was not a pleasant experience!
Under his guidance I almost managed to give my wife (seated in the back) whiplash just a split second prior to almost smacking her nose on the headrest in front! I spent most of the time looking at the digital read out trying to figure which gear I was in; which mode I was in and whether I should be using my hands on the wheel-paddles, the stick or neither or both!!! I mean I play loads of driving simulators on my PC so I thought I'd be good at this...but GEEEEEZ! Maybe with practice huh?
Anyway, by now I was looking forward to getting back into my E30 M3. Call me old fashioned but after this experience I'm now beginning to appreciate what I haven't fully appreciated in over 3 years of ownership of the E30..that is that it really is a purist's car. It has a delicacy of feel that the E46 M3 with it's SMGII just didn't have. I know it's unfair to compare 3 years of knowing a car really well against 20 minutes with the E46 so I'll need to have a another go and maybe see how I feel with an 'old fashioned' manual E46 M3.
So I get back into my E30 M3 after it's Oil Service and:
"What's this? Won't idle properly?"
I call the Service assistant out into the car park...
" Oh Yes Sir, the technician said he split the air intake hose when he took it off so it's leaking air...I'll take it back and see if he can fix it temporarily...It's on the list of things he suggested needed attention"
Anyway, so the hose get's taped up and they'll order me a new one for £16.50 but it won't arrive until Tuesday...Bear in mind I'm selling this car and generally weekends are times when people like to come to look at cars?
Ok..can't be helped...so I drive home. Once home (4.30pm) I realise they haven't reset the Service Indicator lights properly and my own tool won't cancel the light that says "Inspection" with the little clock timer next to it ie. just the simple Annual (pain in the) Inpsection. Doesn't look good does it? 
In panic/desperation I phone Nigel Moseley at Moseley Motorsport to ask if there's any chance he might be working late tonight?
"Nope!..wife's birthday!...but if you can be here in half an hour I'll reset your lights for you and sell you an intake hose...."
At something better than a mile/minute (average)I get to Moseley Motorsport and Nigel 'sorts me'...Big thanks!
As we have a few minutes to spare I show him the points suggested/recommended/highlighted, whatever you want to call them, by the maindealer technician:
eg1. Brake fluid needs changing...erm, no it doesn't because it was done at Moseley Motorsport two months ago!
eg2. front break pads worn to within 3mm of sensor...erm, no they aren't and they look virtually new!
eg3.N/S outer headlamp water ingress...erm, no there isn't...in any of them!
eg4. Air intake hose split...erm, yeah...cos' you split it!
eg5. Accelerator cable grommet split...erm ok...fine! Price of the part? = £0.94 !!! Why didn't you replace this instead of charging me £1.49 for screenwash when I had made sure it was absolutely full to the brim lastnight before I brought it to you?! Specifically to avoid that silly charge that you always slap on!
This brings me to my next (and you'll be relieved final) point. I ask the salesman ( in fact I asked him several times because I was so surprised by what he was telling me):
Q."How long a warranty do I get if I buy one of your cars?"
A. "3 years"
Q. "No, I mean how long do I get if I buy a secondhand...I mean 'Approved Used BMW'?"
A."3 years"
Q."Okkkkkk...So let me re-phrase that a little differently...So, whatever car I buy from you...new or used...I get 3 years warranty?"
A. "Yes"
Is that right?!...that isn't right is it?!
BUT...If it is right presumably one has to maintain servicing according to the service schedule?...Ok,that's fair enough.
One also assumes that servicing has to be done by a maindealer?! And that's where the/my problem comes in!
I've just been blatantly told that a load of 'wear and tear' items on my E30 M3 needed attention today. As this car does not in anyway enjoy a maindealer warranty I had the option to say: "Thanks very much for your advice...I know most of it's a load of boll ocks and I'm just going to an expert independent elsewhere to confirm that the rest of the stuff which I can't easily assess myself, as a layman, is also a load of boll ocks!
Of course, if I had just bought their £40K M3 I wouldn't have the luxury of this option and I'd have to swallow their boll ocks (well,not literally but you know what I mean!) in order to maintain my warranty! And once I don't play ball with their 'recommendations' out of the window goes my warranty!!! Ever think you were in the wrong business? 
Sorry for the rant! But as you can see I felt I needed to get this of my chest!
Whilst I'm here where is another good place to look for new(ish) M3's or 330i's another than maindealers?
Many thanks for bearing with it if you got this far!
www.bmwclassics.co.uk/page_m3.html
Cheers
As some may recall, I've decided to sell my E30 M3 (and E30 325i Touring) in favour of a more modern daily driver. Last night I suddenly noticed that the green service lights on the M3, which were previously still showing 2, had now become singular! Feeling that this just didn't look good for a prospective sale and having already booked in my 735i at our local maindealership for an Oil Service scheduled forthis morning I got them to do the M3 instead. More of this later.
At the same time we had also arranged an appointment with one of their sales team to look at a 330i Sport Coupe and an E46 M3.
Ok impressions....
The 330i looked really nice in Silver Grey; spec was fairly ordinary, interior was 'nice' without being 'special'. Drive was very easy, smooth, brisk but not exactly ...erm...'shattering'! Just a 'nice' car really.
The E46 M3 was about a year old, Carbon Black with Black interior and just over 6K miles on the clock. And do you know what?...it looked F
ing shit! I suppose even though I've been driving BMW's for over 20 years it's taken this long to be seriously in the position of looking at newish cars at a maindealer. BUT I WAS SHOCKED! The paintwork over the entire car was covered ( I mean completely covered!) in swirls and scratches ...you know then kind from whirly brush car-washes? Deeper scratches elsewhere, marks on the interior etc.
Speaking of interior the quality of the leather was cr
ap as well! I thought maybe it was just this particular car...but "No!Every other M3 they had also had this 'stuff' in it. Looked like some kind of smooth, featureless 'ersatz' leather that Linda Barker had rejected from DFS! Why did the leather in the 330i look so much better? I didn't even say that looked 'good'...just better than the 'stuff' in the M3! Then we come to driving it. I'd only driven one E46 M3 before and that was few years ago.This was a manual convertible...belonging to my neighbour and the first in Scotland when we were living up there! I remember being really impressed! Really, really (really) fast!
The car I drove today was fitted with SMGII. I'm sure it was all down to my ineptitude and the salesman's
ignorance (God!I hope he doesn't read this...and in fairness he did say he'd only been with BMW 8 weeks...and he was a nice guy!
) but driving this car was not a pleasant experience! Under his guidance I almost managed to give my wife (seated in the back) whiplash just a split second prior to almost smacking her nose on the headrest in front! I spent most of the time looking at the digital read out trying to figure which gear I was in; which mode I was in and whether I should be using my hands on the wheel-paddles, the stick or neither or both!!! I mean I play loads of driving simulators on my PC so I thought I'd be good at this...but GEEEEEZ! Maybe with practice huh?
Anyway, by now I was looking forward to getting back into my E30 M3. Call me old fashioned but after this experience I'm now beginning to appreciate what I haven't fully appreciated in over 3 years of ownership of the E30..that is that it really is a purist's car. It has a delicacy of feel that the E46 M3 with it's SMGII just didn't have. I know it's unfair to compare 3 years of knowing a car really well against 20 minutes with the E46 so I'll need to have a another go and maybe see how I feel with an 'old fashioned' manual E46 M3.
So I get back into my E30 M3 after it's Oil Service and:
"What's this? Won't idle properly?"
I call the Service assistant out into the car park...
" Oh Yes Sir, the technician said he split the air intake hose when he took it off so it's leaking air...I'll take it back and see if he can fix it temporarily...It's on the list of things he suggested needed attention"
Anyway, so the hose get's taped up and they'll order me a new one for £16.50 but it won't arrive until Tuesday...Bear in mind I'm selling this car and generally weekends are times when people like to come to look at cars?
Ok..can't be helped...so I drive home. Once home (4.30pm) I realise they haven't reset the Service Indicator lights properly and my own tool won't cancel the light that says "Inspection" with the little clock timer next to it ie. just the simple Annual (pain in the
) Inpsection. Doesn't look good does it? In panic/desperation I phone Nigel Moseley at Moseley Motorsport to ask if there's any chance he might be working late tonight?
"Nope!..wife's birthday!...but if you can be here in half an hour I'll reset your lights for you and sell you an intake hose...."
At something better than a mile/minute (average)I get to Moseley Motorsport and Nigel 'sorts me'...Big thanks!
As we have a few minutes to spare I show him the points suggested/recommended/highlighted, whatever you want to call them, by the maindealer technician:
eg1. Brake fluid needs changing...erm, no it doesn't because it was done at Moseley Motorsport two months ago!
eg2. front break pads worn to within 3mm of sensor...erm, no they aren't and they look virtually new!
eg3.N/S outer headlamp water ingress...erm, no there isn't...in any of them!
eg4. Air intake hose split...erm, yeah...cos' you split it!
eg5. Accelerator cable grommet split...erm ok...fine! Price of the part? = £0.94 !!! Why didn't you replace this instead of charging me £1.49 for screenwash when I had made sure it was absolutely full to the brim lastnight before I brought it to you?! Specifically to avoid that silly charge that you always slap on!
This brings me to my next (and you'll be relieved final) point. I ask the salesman ( in fact I asked him several times because I was so surprised by what he was telling me):
Q."How long a warranty do I get if I buy one of your cars?"
A. "3 years"
Q. "No, I mean how long do I get if I buy a secondhand...I mean 'Approved Used BMW'?"
A."3 years"
Q."Okkkkkk...So let me re-phrase that a little differently...So, whatever car I buy from you...new or used...I get 3 years warranty?"
A. "Yes"
Is that right?!...that isn't right is it?!
BUT...If it is right presumably one has to maintain servicing according to the service schedule?...Ok,that's fair enough.
One also assumes that servicing has to be done by a maindealer?! And that's where the/my problem comes in!
I've just been blatantly told that a load of 'wear and tear' items on my E30 M3 needed attention today. As this car does not in anyway enjoy a maindealer warranty I had the option to say: "Thanks very much for your advice...I know most of it's a load of boll
ocks and I'm just going to an expert independent elsewhere to confirm that the rest of the stuff which I can't easily assess myself, as a layman, is also a load of boll ocks! Of course, if I had just bought their £40K M3 I wouldn't have the luxury of this option and I'd have to swallow their boll
ocks (well,not literally but you know what I mean!) in order to maintain my warranty! And once I don't play ball with their 'recommendations' out of the window goes my warranty!!! Ever think you were in the wrong business? Sorry for the rant! But as you can see I felt I needed to get this of my chest!
Whilst I'm here where is another good place to look for new(ish) M3's or 330i's another than maindealers?
Many thanks for bearing with it if you got this far!
www.bmwclassics.co.uk/page_m3.html
Cheers
Good post.
I have had certain experiences with BMW dealers, most of them are very good, and definately better than other main dealers.
However, due to the age of mine, it gets looked after away from the dealer network.
Onto the newer cars, I tend to agree with you about the leather. I have sold a 328i recently which had full black leather, which didn't look like leather.
Saying that, the car I had before the 328 was a Jaguar XJ8 Sport. The leather (in my opinon)was even worse, it was thin and didn't half look very plasticky.
I now have an E34 525I (And an alfa sportwagon which incidentally is fantastic and very reliable
)
I prefer the E34 Design, and build quality to newer ones, and probably will lean towards buying an E34 M5 in the fullness of time.
Still not sure about the new designs, however the 6 series coupe is pretty impressive in the metal.
I have had certain experiences with BMW dealers, most of them are very good, and definately better than other main dealers.
However, due to the age of mine, it gets looked after away from the dealer network.
Onto the newer cars, I tend to agree with you about the leather. I have sold a 328i recently which had full black leather, which didn't look like leather.
Saying that, the car I had before the 328 was a Jaguar XJ8 Sport. The leather (in my opinon)was even worse, it was thin and didn't half look very plasticky.
I now have an E34 525I (And an alfa sportwagon which incidentally is fantastic and very reliable
) I prefer the E34 Design, and build quality to newer ones, and probably will lean towards buying an E34 M5 in the fullness of time.
Still not sure about the new designs, however the 6 series coupe is pretty impressive in the metal.
I agree! My wife has an E34 525i Touring with a leather interior...it's a really nice leather interior!
Despite being 9 years old, a light colour and subject to the daily abuse of the school run with 3 kids it still looks like a nice leather interior!
And the plastic!...that was always a BMW thing...they're plastic ALWAYS looked better than everybody elses plastic!
At the moment my wife has a courtesy car from elsewhere which is a brand new Ford Fiesta...though it gauls me to admit it the plastic in this Fiesta is as good as if not better than (ouch!) anything I saw at in the new BMW's I saw today!
Despite being 9 years old, a light colour and subject to the daily abuse of the school run with 3 kids it still looks like a nice leather interior!
And the plastic!...that was always a BMW thing...they're plastic ALWAYS looked better than everybody elses plastic!
At the moment my wife has a courtesy car from elsewhere which is a brand new Ford Fiesta...though it gauls me to admit it the plastic in this Fiesta is as good as if not better than (ouch!) anything I saw at in the new BMW's I saw today!
Derin100,
The SMGII takes a while to get used to it - everyone bunnyhops around at first, especially on a cold engine. After a week of ownership you'd most likely grow to love it - superfast changes and automatic throttle blip on downchanges. Depending where you are (and assuming you're not an axe murderer) I'm more than willing to show you how SMGII can work (albeit in a CSL now).
Leather - yes it's dire for the money. My E39 M5 was superbly upholstered in thick, strong, fine grained, beautifully fitted leather. The M3's can look like it's been thrown at it from 20 yards. I am also hugely disappointed at the lack of quality feel in the newer cars - the 6er and E60 5er use far inferior looking plastics to the E39 / E46. All this is not acceptable - especially given the constant round of price hikes on the E46 M3 and others.
It's unfortunate the car you saw was Carbon Black and had been abused by the owner & auto car washes. There will always be abused cars around and CB shows everything.
Would I buy another new BMW - unfortunately yes because I cannot find another manufacturer who gets the right balance of performance, handling, useability, etc.. to meet my needs. They do need a good kick up the backside though. Hopefully, dire sales of the overpriced X3 and hateful 1er will teach them a lesson.
As regards warranty on the M3. A UK car has 1 yr Manufacturer, 2 years Dealer (both effectively the same), then so long as it has been serviced correctly it can be extended yr by yr for around £700 a year. The warranties are pretty much bullet proof.
The SMGII takes a while to get used to it - everyone bunnyhops around at first, especially on a cold engine. After a week of ownership you'd most likely grow to love it - superfast changes and automatic throttle blip on downchanges. Depending where you are (and assuming you're not an axe murderer) I'm more than willing to show you how SMGII can work (albeit in a CSL now).
Leather - yes it's dire for the money. My E39 M5 was superbly upholstered in thick, strong, fine grained, beautifully fitted leather. The M3's can look like it's been thrown at it from 20 yards. I am also hugely disappointed at the lack of quality feel in the newer cars - the 6er and E60 5er use far inferior looking plastics to the E39 / E46. All this is not acceptable - especially given the constant round of price hikes on the E46 M3 and others.
It's unfortunate the car you saw was Carbon Black and had been abused by the owner & auto car washes. There will always be abused cars around and CB shows everything.
Would I buy another new BMW - unfortunately yes because I cannot find another manufacturer who gets the right balance of performance, handling, useability, etc.. to meet my needs. They do need a good kick up the backside though. Hopefully, dire sales of the overpriced X3 and hateful 1er will teach them a lesson.
As regards warranty on the M3. A UK car has 1 yr Manufacturer, 2 years Dealer (both effectively the same), then so long as it has been serviced correctly it can be extended yr by yr for around £700 a year. The warranties are pretty much bullet proof.
Bweemer
Yep agree with all your points.But unfortunately, like you I can't see myself going with another manufacturer.
Carbon Black isn't going to be the colour for me...it really showed everything with the sun bouncing off it. I'm so anally retentive about swirls and fine scratches
On the pricing issue you're right as well...When the E46 M3 came out I remember thinking "Oh that sounds quite reasonable" Now I come to look at secondhand ones in dealerships and the prices are far higher than I imagined...I'd put it down to all the 'extras' hiking the price up...I hadn't realised they'd also just increased the initial purchase price!
As you can probably tell the new(ish) car world is fairly new to me. I've always made do with older cars with either very slow or even zero depreciation. The downside (financially) comes in forking out for repairs. Ok...this year was a bad year and I had to spend £2500 on my E30 M3...but my classic insurance on it is under £300/year! Roughly what is the annual depreciation on an E46 M3? Also what about on a 330i Coupe? I mean depreciation plus insurance (don't know how much that would be for me? I'd imagine maybe £700-800) plus warranty extension £700. And I only drive maybe 8000 miles a year.
Geez! I think I need to sit down for a few moments
Yes, I'd really like to see SMGII in action in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing as I had such high hopes for it. I live in Shropshire...I don't know if that's anywhere near you? Now, where did I leave that axe?!
Yep agree with all your points.But unfortunately, like you I can't see myself going with another manufacturer.
Carbon Black isn't going to be the colour for me...it really showed everything with the sun bouncing off it. I'm so anally retentive about swirls and fine scratches
On the pricing issue you're right as well...When the E46 M3 came out I remember thinking "Oh that sounds quite reasonable" Now I come to look at secondhand ones in dealerships and the prices are far higher than I imagined...I'd put it down to all the 'extras' hiking the price up...I hadn't realised they'd also just increased the initial purchase price!
As you can probably tell the new(ish) car world is fairly new to me. I've always made do with older cars with either very slow or even zero depreciation. The downside (financially) comes in forking out for repairs. Ok...this year was a bad year and I had to spend £2500 on my E30 M3...but my classic insurance on it is under £300/year! Roughly what is the annual depreciation on an E46 M3? Also what about on a 330i Coupe? I mean depreciation plus insurance (don't know how much that would be for me? I'd imagine maybe £700-800) plus warranty extension £700. And I only drive maybe 8000 miles a year.
Geez! I think I need to sit down for a few moments
Yes, I'd really like to see SMGII in action in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing as I had such high hopes for it. I live in Shropshire...I don't know if that's anywhere near you? Now, where did I leave that axe?!
I have found that BMW vehicles, in comparison with other makes (I have dallied around with a few) per car are one heck of a lot more reliable and rewarding and therefore cost effective to own.
The only anomaly is my wifes current car, an alfa 156 sportwagon, NOTHING has gone wrong, obviously alfa have messed up here, you don't buy an alfa for reliability.....Even the leather is fantastic, really thick momo leather that still smells leathery after 3 yrs.
I always return to BMW, have owned a few and never had a problem with any of them. They have ranged from an E39 523ISE, to a safari beige 316 (not even an i)
(my first car).
As a testament, the beige bombshell did 160,000 miles without hiccup, so pretty much set the standard.
However, I seem to have a soft spot for the E34 Model, hence will be scouring the country for a good M5 in a year or so, I only hope that the good ones haven't been killed off by then.
Mind you, E30 M3's have always been on my list - lhd though, tried that, bit awkward....
The only anomaly is my wifes current car, an alfa 156 sportwagon, NOTHING has gone wrong, obviously alfa have messed up here, you don't buy an alfa for reliability.....Even the leather is fantastic, really thick momo leather that still smells leathery after 3 yrs.
I always return to BMW, have owned a few and never had a problem with any of them. They have ranged from an E39 523ISE, to a safari beige 316 (not even an i)
(my first car).
As a testament, the beige bombshell did 160,000 miles without hiccup, so pretty much set the standard.
However, I seem to have a soft spot for the E34 Model, hence will be scouring the country for a good M5 in a year or so, I only hope that the good ones haven't been killed off by then.
Mind you, E30 M3's have always been on my list - lhd though, tried that, bit awkward....
Just thought that I would let you know that in this months BMW CAR magazine there is an article on main dealer servicing and warranties, it would appear that BMW ( GB ) have said that if you have a new car 3 year warranty you can have your car serviced elsewhere as long as you follow the service schedule guidelines and use genuine BMW parts, this does not apply to extended warranties though, these cars still have to be serviced at the main dealers, after what you have said, this can only be good news.
What a useless salesman. First of all, he showed you a car in bad condition. Secondly, he didn't know how to coach you in SMG use. The guy who showed me was very patient and explained it well. It took me a couple of hours to get used to it and several months to master it, but I wouldn't be without it now. SMG II is a fantastic aid to driving fast.
As for teh leather, the M3 nappas is softer and more delicate than the hard stuff in the other 3 series models, but you must have seen a bad bunch of cars. Mine is nearly two years old and the leather looks good.
As for teh leather, the M3 nappas is softer and more delicate than the hard stuff in the other 3 series models, but you must have seen a bad bunch of cars. Mine is nearly two years old and the leather looks good.
Its a shame more dealers don't know how to drive cars with the SMG-II box. It really is the best thing about my M3 and gives you the best of a manual and an auto. Problem is it does take a while to get used to it, how to drive it smoothly and its characteristics. But no-one I know who has had an extended test drive or has "persisted" with it has been disappointed.
Being able to drive fast on twisty roads without having to take your hands off to change gear is a superb feeling.
As for colour, I went for Imola Red as its different, not too common and I think it looks stunning. Silver and black look superb but are quite popular. I think I'd got for gunmetal grey next time tbh.
-Mike
Being able to drive fast on twisty roads without having to take your hands off to change gear is a superb feeling.
As for colour, I went for Imola Red as its different, not too common and I think it looks stunning. Silver and black look superb but are quite popular. I think I'd got for gunmetal grey next time tbh.
-Mike
A good post. There is no doubt that BMW need to do some urgent PR work in certain areas. The much publicised £150 an hour labour charge revealed at a City of London dealers doesn't help.
For what its worth I prefer the E34 to all others too. I have a main dealer maintained 540 auto and I love it to bits (silver leather still looks new!). The dealer I use is excellent and although they aren't cheap they always knock a bit off here and there to take into account my cars age/value to make it worthwhile me using them. My only gripe is the waiting time for parts (only ever a day or 2 but still a pain) but as its a long since discontinued model I guess its to be expected....
Newer is not necessarily better for BMW I fear...
For what its worth I prefer the E34 to all others too. I have a main dealer maintained 540 auto and I love it to bits (silver leather still looks new!). The dealer I use is excellent and although they aren't cheap they always knock a bit off here and there to take into account my cars age/value to make it worthwhile me using them. My only gripe is the waiting time for parts (only ever a day or 2 but still a pain) but as its a long since discontinued model I guess its to be expected....
Newer is not necessarily better for BMW I fear...
Mags
You'll be pleased to hear that I've listened to you and the voice inside my head!
After Friday's experience I tussled with the various permutations and combinations all day Saturday whilst the constant phone calls and emails kept coming about the E30 M3...Thoughts of people like you who've had E30 M3's, sold them only to regret it and end up searching for another...Made a date for one chap who'd sold his and now wanted another to come on Wednesday night all the way from Suffolk to buy it with the asking price in cash in his hand!
On Sunday morning I got up really early and pulled the car out of the garage...My wife watched me through the window walking round and round it. When I came back in she said: "You don't really want to sell that car do you?...Well, then you shouldn't!"
That's it in a nut-shell...I'm sure the E46 M3 and 330i Sport are great cars but I don't think they're really for me at the moment. I'll accept that I'm probably not driver enough to cope with the power and performance of the E46 M3 and the 330i Coupe just felt 'nice'...At this point in time £27K (with big depreciation still to come!) for just 'nice' seems like a lot?
You're right...the E30 M3 may not be able to cut it against modern performance machinery on the public road so I shouldn't judge it against that. It is a purist's car and I should drive and enjoy it for just that! Without wishing to sound too lyrical about it, and I know I'd only experienced the E46's for a very short time against my 3 years experience with the E30, my feelings were thus:
With the E46 M3 I felt like I was sitting ON it and being driven along by it...with the 330i Coupe I was sitting IN it and it was tame...when I got back in my E30 M3 it felt like I was wearing it and it knew what I wanted to do!
Anyway, I decided that as I wasn't SURE I'd best not sell the E30 M3. As you know, it's not the kind of car that you just go out and buy another one off the shelf! I kept thinking about the ASDA Slogan :"Once it's gone it's gone!"
So the plan now is...keep the E30 M3 but still sell the E30 325i Touring (see my ad on BMW Car Mag site etc) in favour of a 'cheap' but newer BMW as a daily driver for the next maybe 2 years...The new 3 Series comes out next April so within 2 years E46 prices will have plummeted (E46 M3 will probably remain strong for a good while though as there is always a delay in the M version coming to fruition).Even if I have the money, I probably won't want a 'New' 3 Series as it will probably follow in the same PIG-UGLY vein as the E60 and E65 5 and 7 Series have done and I'll then be able to pick up a 'nice' good-looking 330i Coupe Sport as a daily runner for a fraction of the £27K the guy was trying to sell it to me for on Friday!
There's one big potential flaw in my theory though: Everyone else will also probably think the new 3 Series pig-ugly and still want E46's too!
You'll be pleased to hear that I've listened to you and the voice inside my head!
After Friday's experience I tussled with the various permutations and combinations all day Saturday whilst the constant phone calls and emails kept coming about the E30 M3...Thoughts of people like you who've had E30 M3's, sold them only to regret it and end up searching for another...Made a date for one chap who'd sold his and now wanted another to come on Wednesday night all the way from Suffolk to buy it with the asking price in cash in his hand!
On Sunday morning I got up really early and pulled the car out of the garage...My wife watched me through the window walking round and round it. When I came back in she said: "You don't really want to sell that car do you?...Well, then you shouldn't!"
That's it in a nut-shell...I'm sure the E46 M3 and 330i Sport are great cars but I don't think they're really for me at the moment. I'll accept that I'm probably not driver enough to cope with the power and performance of the E46 M3 and the 330i Coupe just felt 'nice'...At this point in time £27K (with big depreciation still to come!) for just 'nice' seems like a lot?
You're right...the E30 M3 may not be able to cut it against modern performance machinery on the public road so I shouldn't judge it against that. It is a purist's car and I should drive and enjoy it for just that! Without wishing to sound too lyrical about it, and I know I'd only experienced the E46's for a very short time against my 3 years experience with the E30, my feelings were thus:
With the E46 M3 I felt like I was sitting ON it and being driven along by it...with the 330i Coupe I was sitting IN it and it was tame...when I got back in my E30 M3 it felt like I was wearing it and it knew what I wanted to do!
Anyway, I decided that as I wasn't SURE I'd best not sell the E30 M3. As you know, it's not the kind of car that you just go out and buy another one off the shelf! I kept thinking about the ASDA Slogan :"Once it's gone it's gone!"
So the plan now is...keep the E30 M3 but still sell the E30 325i Touring (see my ad on BMW Car Mag site etc) in favour of a 'cheap' but newer BMW as a daily driver for the next maybe 2 years...The new 3 Series comes out next April so within 2 years E46 prices will have plummeted (E46 M3 will probably remain strong for a good while though as there is always a delay in the M version coming to fruition).Even if I have the money, I probably won't want a 'New' 3 Series as it will probably follow in the same PIG-UGLY vein as the E60 and E65 5 and 7 Series have done and I'll then be able to pick up a 'nice' good-looking 330i Coupe Sport as a daily runner for a fraction of the £27K the guy was trying to sell it to me for on Friday!
There's one big potential flaw in my theory though: Everyone else will also probably think the new 3 Series pig-ugly and still want E46's too!
James
You're right they do maybe need to do some PR work...but I'd also maybe question what's going on in some of the Service Departments.
When I went on Friday the place was incredibly busy...That I guess is a symptom of BMW success in the sales stakes. However, with the warranty/servicing policies we discussed above one just wonders whether their service departments are really able to cope with this volume of work and whether they can deliver an appropriate high quality service to all customers?
This was tradtionally a BMW 'thing' ie. to try and keep even owners of olders models within the fold. The impression I got on Friday was that:"...if we can't get our Oil, Inspection 1's and 2's in and out like a conveyor belt we're losing out..."
Whenever, I have taken my car's into maindealers I for servicing I always specify that "I DO NOT WANT THE CAR WASHED"..this was after an experience many years ago when I had a set of alloys on an M535i ruined after they were 'cleaned' at a maindealers. I'm bloody glad I specified this for my M3 the other day...when I walked round the back looking at their secondhand selection I saw them line up serviced cars to take them through a big whirly-brush car washer! Makes you wonder where all those swirls on that Carbon Black M3 (and I load of their other secondhand cars) had come from?
I have a real connundrum coming up soon. I also own an E32 735i which once belonged to Sir Frank Williams...I bought it 3 years ago with only 26K miles on the clock and a FBMWSH...It has now still only done 40K and I've maintained maindealer servicing elsewhere (in Scotland actually until our recent move). Following the experience with my local maindealer now I'm not so sure I want to take it to them!
Well...would you want this 15 year old paintwork to be put through a whirly brush washer?!
www.thee32register.co.uk/attach/10696/Pict0012-embed.jpg
You're right they do maybe need to do some PR work...but I'd also maybe question what's going on in some of the Service Departments.
When I went on Friday the place was incredibly busy...That I guess is a symptom of BMW success in the sales stakes. However, with the warranty/servicing policies we discussed above one just wonders whether their service departments are really able to cope with this volume of work and whether they can deliver an appropriate high quality service to all customers?
This was tradtionally a BMW 'thing' ie. to try and keep even owners of olders models within the fold. The impression I got on Friday was that:"...if we can't get our Oil, Inspection 1's and 2's in and out like a conveyor belt we're losing out..."
Whenever, I have taken my car's into maindealers I for servicing I always specify that "I DO NOT WANT THE CAR WASHED"..this was after an experience many years ago when I had a set of alloys on an M535i ruined after they were 'cleaned' at a maindealers. I'm bloody glad I specified this for my M3 the other day...when I walked round the back looking at their secondhand selection I saw them line up serviced cars to take them through a big whirly-brush car washer! Makes you wonder where all those swirls on that Carbon Black M3 (and I load of their other secondhand cars) had come from?
I have a real connundrum coming up soon. I also own an E32 735i which once belonged to Sir Frank Williams...I bought it 3 years ago with only 26K miles on the clock and a FBMWSH...It has now still only done 40K and I've maintained maindealer servicing elsewhere (in Scotland actually until our recent move). Following the experience with my local maindealer now I'm not so sure I want to take it to them!
Well...would you want this 15 year old paintwork to be put through a whirly brush washer?!
www.thee32register.co.uk/attach/10696/Pict0012-embed.jpg
You have made the right decision. I have an E46 Tourer and an E30 M3. The Tourer is lovely if I have to do distance. However, every time i get back into the M3 it's like a home coming. I drove it to goodwood this weekend, and it's just so much nicer to drive than the E46. Even the kids prefer it, they always want to go in the M3 rather than the comfort of the tourer. Says it all really.
Funny what you said you about your kids preferring it!
When I first said I was going to sell my E30 M3 my youngest son (6 years old) said: "Daddy you'll never sell that car in your lifetime!"
(profound I know...but wait for this!) I said: "Erm...I think I will, Mr Smartarse!"
He says:"Well, you can't sell the M3...losing the M3 will be like losing a member of the family!"
You see, I literally have owned it longer than HE can remember!
Anyway, this week I sold my E30 325i Touring so I'm now looking for a replacement daily driver. Without going into my convoluted logic too much, today has been spent scouring the 'net for either an E38 728i or an E36 Touring.
I'm not looking for out-and-out performance in a daily driver and I definitely want to stay this side of £10K.
Unfortunately, anything really good sounding still seems to be uncomfortably close to that price. I really only want to keep this replacement for a couple of years (that's a short time for me...bear in mind I kept a 3.0CS for 13 years!...And it was 16 years old when I got it! And Yes, I still regret selling that!) until I probably can get an E46 330i Coupe Sport without major depreciation as my daily driver.
Anybody got first hand experience/opinions of either 728i and 328i Touring? Many thanks.
When I first said I was going to sell my E30 M3 my youngest son (6 years old) said: "Daddy you'll never sell that car in your lifetime!"
(profound I know
...but wait for this!) I said: "Erm...I think I will, Mr Smartarse!" He says:"Well, you can't sell the M3...losing the M3 will be like losing a member of the family!"
You see, I literally have owned it longer than HE can remember!
Anyway, this week I sold my E30 325i Touring so I'm now looking for a replacement daily driver. Without going into my convoluted logic too much, today has been spent scouring the 'net for either an E38 728i or an E36 Touring.
I'm not looking for out-and-out performance in a daily driver and I definitely want to stay this side of £10K.
Unfortunately, anything really good sounding still seems to be uncomfortably close to that price. I really only want to keep this replacement for a couple of years (that's a short time for me...bear in mind I kept a 3.0CS for 13 years!...And it was 16 years old when I got it! And Yes, I still regret selling that!) until I probably can get an E46 330i Coupe Sport without major depreciation as my daily driver.
Anybody got first hand experience/opinions of either 728i and 328i Touring? Many thanks.
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