M2

Been lots said about the carbon seats and the manual. I do love the look of those seats and they are lovely to sit in (M3 touring I sat in)….

I test drove an F87 Comp last week, which I liked, but left the showroom having signed up to a two year lease on a new G87 auto.

I've always bought used and paid cash, but this lease deal potentially gets me into a new car for the same cost, over two years, as a four year old one.

Here's the maths;

G87 deposit £5,470 plus 23 x £455, so just under £16k all in. Standard spec, which is higher than a fully optioned F87.

2020 F87 Comp auto £36k. Retail value in 2 yrs say £28k, so I'd get say £23k. That's potentially £13k depreciation plus £895 for second year warranty plus c.£3k lost interest on £30k of savings.

Even if F87's hold their money really well it's not going to have cost much more to get into a new car and I don't have the hassle of selling it.

Arrives some time in May, hopefully.

The thing that lets the manual BMWs down is the shock absorber they put in the shifter. You can replace this with a solid bushing, Tuner now sell a complete replacement for the Fxx series, sure they will add one soon for the latest models.

Are they still putting the CDV in their manuals as well?
If so, pop the grommet out of it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fzpMSVHeZ8

I am very possibly buying an LCI OG M2 very soon. I have driven a few M2s at dealers recently so I will be able to compare how they all drive.

I've paid for a vcheck report for the car in question (all good). MOT history is fine, no advisories

The seller has recorded a few decent videos of inside/outside, including iDrive service history etc. All looks great - full BMW history, RIS on time, etc. Extra maintenance done by current owner. Only thing outstanding, unofficially, is a diff service which I can sort out if I buy it.

He also sent me one of those videos the BMW dealers give you when doing a service. This was only a few months ago and very few miles ago, so is a handy look at the underside of the car & notes things like brake pad & tyre depths, which is helpful.

Is there a good checklist I can run through? Any other red flags to note? This is a private sale so I want to try and avoid a lemon. Whilst I'm travelling a reasonable distance to see this car I am happy to walk away if it's not right.

Thanks

Then we get the moaners telling us it's getting more and more difficult to get 'Test Drives' at the dealers... You wonder why...

I bought a 2018 OG back in Nov 22 and absolutely love it.

The OG seems pretty robust.

Definitely check everything works as expected would be a good starting point.

They can throw up some pricey maintenance bills.

DCT gearbox requires an oil and filter service at 50K miles ish. Its around £700.

Discs and pads are a fortune. You'd need to budget £600 and £500 for fronts and rears respectively, fitted.

Tyres are pricey too - £300 each for rears, maybe £250 each for fronts.

Telling you this in case it needs any of those imminently or soon.

Springs break but they snap in a bad way and basically make the car undriveable. Some people pre-emptively replace them at 45-50K miles. Again, not expensive.

Spec is important on them.

For me Harman Kardon and electric seats was a must, as an absolute minimum. Mine also has ICON headlights (brilliant!), reversing cam, comfort glass (i think thats what its called - darkened rears basically), heated folding mirrors, heated seats.

Colour wise - any of the metallics resell well. White is not so popular.