Daily driving an M2
Discussion
Ive always had garage queens but am thinking of changing and going for a nice all round daily driver and cutting down the number of cars in the household.
I only have a short 13 mile each way commute on quiet b roads, probably average 5000 miles a year.
I bought an Elise back in May but i dont think its going to be a long termer, glad ive tried one though but sits in the garage 11 months of the year!
Im not a fast driver but like to open the taps in the dry now and again when the mood takes me, is this a waste of the car or will it cope with the use ok?
Always been a huge M car fan but never owned one, the M2 is one of my favourites so far.
The only thing that worries me slightly is depreciation, normally i like to buy and not loose too much money but i can see it being a long term thing tbh if i do go for it.
Budget likely to be around £25k.
I only have a short 13 mile each way commute on quiet b roads, probably average 5000 miles a year.
I bought an Elise back in May but i dont think its going to be a long termer, glad ive tried one though but sits in the garage 11 months of the year!
Im not a fast driver but like to open the taps in the dry now and again when the mood takes me, is this a waste of the car or will it cope with the use ok?
Always been a huge M car fan but never owned one, the M2 is one of my favourites so far.
The only thing that worries me slightly is depreciation, normally i like to buy and not loose too much money but i can see it being a long term thing tbh if i do go for it.
Budget likely to be around £25k.
Edited by Belle427 on Thursday 16th November 08:03
I've run two M2's as dailys averaging 18/20,000 a year and currently running a new M240IXDRIVE which is on 19,000 in its first year. I think as an all rounder there a excellent performance usable car,maintenance not eye watering, depreciation hasn't been alarming and overall very enjoyable usable cars. I have just taken delivery of the New M2 but I ordered that with Manual and unable to order a sunroof i have decided to keep that as a weekender and continue to use the M240 for anothe year...
Go for it you won’t regret it! I’ve owned 2 since 2017 currently own a Comp, I don’t use mine everyday it’s more of a garage queen as I’ve retired now and have 2 other vehicles and it’s parked up from November onwards, that’s more down to where we live (steep driveway and street) and pretty much useless without winter rubber.
Great cars when on your favourite road and the weathers good.
Great cars when on your favourite road and the weathers good.
|https://thumbsnap.com/ZDGSHbcf[/url]Belle427 said:
Yes ideally I'd put in in the garage for weekends which would be a better idea really.
Just wanted to try running 2 cars instead of 3.
May have to find a cheap runaround with £0 tax to help a little!
My little 1 litre ecoboosty zetec s town car gets used in winter while the M2 is parked up, zero tax £150 to insure. Just wanted to try running 2 cars instead of 3.
May have to find a cheap runaround with £0 tax to help a little!
Not a waste of time at all. The M2 is much more usable than an Elise as a regular driver. You’re obviously looking at F87, it’s Achilles heel is the standard coilovers which are frankly crap for uk roads. However, all is not lost it’s not megabucks to put some decent coilovers on or better yet buy one that’s had them done. So much better when this is done than the m cars as the chassis is much stiffer and more communicative and it’s plenty quick enough.
ubbs said:
Belle427 said:
Yes ideally I'd put in in the garage for weekends which would be a better idea really.
Just wanted to try running 2 cars instead of 3.
May have to find a cheap runaround with £0 tax to help a little!
My little 1 litre ecoboosty zetec s town car gets used in winter while the M2 is parked up, zero tax £150 to insure. Just wanted to try running 2 cars instead of 3.
May have to find a cheap runaround with £0 tax to help a little!
My last commute was 30 miles each way. I commuted in various cars over the years from a VW Golf TDi (90hp) to a Dodge Challenger (707hp). I like to drive interesting/fun cars. My feeling is if I have to commute might as well enjoy the drive.
Short commutes with no longer trips in the mix is kind of hard on an ICE car. You can mitigate this some by more frequent oil/filter services. But the M2 has an intelligent battery management system that might not deem a 13 mile drive sufficient to top up the battery. I use my M2 often enough and drive it long enough to keep the battery topped up. No commute but I do take pleasure drives in my M2 (or my JCW) when the mood strikes me.
If you decide to replace the M2 with another car more suited to the usage you have you might want to consider an EV. Something like a MINI SE. The US version 2-door hard top starts at around $30,000. The EV market has softened some so deals might be available.
M2 depreciation might be good or it might be bad. Can't know for sure to state the obvious. But almost certainly your M2 is worth as much now as it ever will be so if you decide it is not the car for you for whatever reasons the time to sell is *now*.
Short commutes with no longer trips in the mix is kind of hard on an ICE car. You can mitigate this some by more frequent oil/filter services. But the M2 has an intelligent battery management system that might not deem a 13 mile drive sufficient to top up the battery. I use my M2 often enough and drive it long enough to keep the battery topped up. No commute but I do take pleasure drives in my M2 (or my JCW) when the mood strikes me.
If you decide to replace the M2 with another car more suited to the usage you have you might want to consider an EV. Something like a MINI SE. The US version 2-door hard top starts at around $30,000. The EV market has softened some so deals might be available.
M2 depreciation might be good or it might be bad. Can't know for sure to state the obvious. But almost certainly your M2 is worth as much now as it ever will be so if you decide it is not the car for you for whatever reasons the time to sell is *now*.
I've daily driven both; an S3 Elise S and currently an F87 M2 DCT.
To the naysayers, you'll be able to drive either, depending on your keenness. I drove / drive both in all weathers, and despite a little more effort to demist an Elise front screen, anything's possible. I did have a Defender 90 when I lived in the sticks, for winter driving instead of the Elise, but that was primarily down to rural roads not being cleared by the Council for the area of Scotland I lived in at the time.
The M2 will be 'easier', but I doubt more fun. I've struggled to see what I'd replace the M2 with, but my sights are set on either an Elise Cup 250, or an Exige 350. Either way....a Lotus.
Not sure on residuals for the M2 to be honest, but can't be hideous.
To the naysayers, you'll be able to drive either, depending on your keenness. I drove / drive both in all weathers, and despite a little more effort to demist an Elise front screen, anything's possible. I did have a Defender 90 when I lived in the sticks, for winter driving instead of the Elise, but that was primarily down to rural roads not being cleared by the Council for the area of Scotland I lived in at the time.
The M2 will be 'easier', but I doubt more fun. I've struggled to see what I'd replace the M2 with, but my sights are set on either an Elise Cup 250, or an Exige 350. Either way....a Lotus.
Not sure on residuals for the M2 to be honest, but can't be hideous.
Im going to wait 18 months until we need to juggle our cars again and have a look at the prices then.
If the OG comes down a little closer to £20k i think i will go for it and just use it every day and enjoy it, i cant really see where i will go after one tbh so it will probably be a long term keeper and future value/mileage wont be a concern.
If the OG comes down a little closer to £20k i think i will go for it and just use it every day and enjoy it, i cant really see where i will go after one tbh so it will probably be a long term keeper and future value/mileage wont be a concern.
Sorry if I’ve missed this in the requirements, but do you need 4 seats?
If you can get away with 2 seats your options increase considerably.
My choice would be a Porsche Cayman (or boxter if you like open top motoring), maybe a Z4M.
I know some people are starting to keep these in a garage as a weekend toy, but I’d rather use them daily.
Would sit nicely between a Lotus and M2 in terms of driving dynamics and comfort. Limited depreciation as well.
If you can get away with 2 seats your options increase considerably.
My choice would be a Porsche Cayman (or boxter if you like open top motoring), maybe a Z4M.
I know some people are starting to keep these in a garage as a weekend toy, but I’d rather use them daily.
Would sit nicely between a Lotus and M2 in terms of driving dynamics and comfort. Limited depreciation as well.
I went from a m240i manual to an m2 dct similar sort of age. Both used for a commute. It is fair to say that the ride economy etc of the m240i is the much easier if the two. The m2 isn’t that much quicker either, but every journey is more interesting and in my eyes it is a stunning car. I was tempted by an m4, but very pleased with my choice.
willttqs said:
I went from a m240i manual to an m2 dct similar sort of age. Both used for a commute. It is fair to say that the ride economy etc of the m240i is the much easier if the two. The m2 isn’t that much quicker either, but every journey is more interesting and in my eyes it is a stunning car. I was tempted by an m4, but very pleased with my choice.
Funnily enough I went from an M240i manual to an M4 dct of a similar age and used both for the commute too, I went for an M4 because I wanted more space basically, I drove the M240i for 3 years and it never let me down and I was quite sad to see it go despite moving to a full fat M car. I'd say an M2 would be of the same mould to my M4 and would be perfectly fine as a daily driver, although it does feel a little over the top at times when the M lite can do as good a job in 95% of circumstances
Jamescrs said:
I'd say an M2 would be of the same mould to my M4 and would be perfectly fine as a daily driver, although it does feel a little over the top at times when the M lite can do as good a job in 95% of circumstances
That's a fair comment.. i think the M lite 'is' as good 95% of the time on a daily basis.. but it's that extra 5% of weekend smile time that I would miss... hence me having to keep both....
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