Chris Harris buys a 1M

[andyman_2006]

tenfour said:

I must be the only person on the planet who found the 1M very average to drive. But then my reference point was the E46 CSL.

The chassis was fine, but the engine just felt soulless.

---

Hi, not the only one, i loved the look of the car, (including the Valencia orange) and very nearly bought a new one (unseen/driven) but i waited, and tested a ex demo one @ coopers a few months later, and in fairness was glad i did wait, the interior was very much same as my 1 series company diesel hatch (same seats/dash/trim/mats etc etc) and whilst if was fast, and handled very well indeed at the time it didn't feel as special as my E46 M3, its lost some M car feel, and felt more like the 335i Msport (same engine i know) but didn't feel like a £40K M car, and whilst they have become super rare, valuable, and collectable, i still couldn't in any way part with £45K+ for one now. My E46 (to me) drives so much better, more responsive engine (for soul feel, and overall experience) plus the E46 interior is so much better seats, dash, overall build quality, and basic spec (like electric memory nappa seats for example)

I know i'll be bombarded by the 1M fan club for saying these things, and if it was a £25K used car id be all over it, but at the time it most certainly was not worth a £30K premium over my old M3. So i didn't buy. Still have the M3 amongst others i'm keeping.

I since have kicked myself, however for only one reason really - resale values. Not for the 'car itself' which explains how i felt when these were new, i'll not be alone, and i get why some love these cars, and i suppose they are more desirable now than when new, so In hindsight i could have owned and run it free for 3 years and got my money back, which is a rare thing with a new car, but you have to like it better than what you currently own, and be able to justify the large jump up in price, for me it couldn't.

I guess if i had a 'spare' £45K or money was not an issue, of course i'd add one to my garage, but i wouldn't sell other cars to fund one.

Andy

[david hockney]

andyman_2006 said:

---

Hi, not the only one, i loved the look of the car, (including the Valencia orange) and very nearly bought a new one (unseen/driven) but i waited, and tested a ex demo one @ coopers a few months later, and in fairness was glad i did wait, the interior was very much same as my 1 series company diesel hatch (same seats/dash/trim/mats etc etc) and whilst if was fast, and handled very well indeed at the time it didn't feel as special as my E46 M3, its lost some M car feel, and felt more like the 335i Msport (same engine i know) but didn't feel like a £40K M car, and whilst they have become super rare, valuable, and collectable, i still couldn't in any way part with £45K+ for one now. My E46 (to me) drives so much better, more responsive engine (for soul feel, and overall experience) plus the E46 interior is so much better seats, dash, overall build quality, and basic spec (like electric memory nappa seats for example)

I know i'll be bombarded by the 1M fan club for saying these things, and if it was a £25K used car id be all over it, but at the time it most certainly was not worth a £30K premium over my old M3. So i didn't buy. Still have the M3 amongst others i'm keeping.

I since have kicked myself, however for only one reason really - resale values. Not for the 'car itself' which explains how i felt when these were new, i'll not be alone, and i get why some love these cars, and i suppose they are more desirable now than when new, so In hindsight i could have owned and run it free for 3 years and got my money back, which is a rare thing with a new car, but you have to like it better than what you currently own, and be able to justify the large jump up in price, for me it couldn't.

I guess if i had a 'spare' £45K or money was not an issue, of course i'd add one to my garage, but i wouldn't sell other cars to fund one.

Andy

I totally get what you are saying- and the E46 M3 is obviously a superb car.......but one of the other desirable traits of a 1M is I've never seen another on the road....it's nice to have something a bit different- if we all bought cars solely on value and performance there would not be a thriving collectors scene-we'd all just buy a new Golf GTI or whatever.....

[andyman_2006]

david hockney said:

I totally get what you are saying- and the E46 M3 is obviously a superb car.......but one of the other desirable traits of a 1M is I've never seen another on the road....it's nice to have something a bit different- if we all bought cars solely on value and performance there would not be a thriving collectors scene-we'd all just buy a new Golf GTI or whatever.....

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As you said, yes totally rare, and the only others I've seen since i drove that demo orange one, is white ones, seen 2 since one locally and one whilst in Cleethorpes of all places.

I'm not dragging the 1M down, far from it, and its much further the top of the desirable car list than hundreds of other cars in the market or on sale, just for me they didn't stack up, and still dont at the money they are fetching.

I'm a big fan of the classic car/modern classic and collectors scene, and would spend my 45K elsewhere (unless as i said before money was not a consideration) but would still like one on my drive, just not in place of my current cars.

Mine would have been orange had i signed the order form.

Andy

[nw942]

The CSL is a hard car to beat.

IMHO, the few areas where the 1M seems/feels better are:

1. Looks - the CSL has classic and purposeful good looks, but the more boisterous 1M edges it for me (despite the nose).
2. The front end of the 1M feels ever so slightly more planted and confidence inspiring. Having said that I don't think the rear always seems as keen to follow, and on the whole the CSL feels better balanced when cornering.
3. Engine flexibility - the pull from low revs in any gear - 3rd gear in particular is 'wow'.

I would say steering feel is about the same in both cars.

I will ignore the manual v SMG debate as I'm happy using either.

[cidered77]

andyman_2006 said:

---

As you said, yes totally rare, and the only others I've seen since i drove that demo orange one, is white ones, seen 2 since one locally and one whilst in Cleethorpes of all places.

I'm not dragging the 1M down, far from it, and its much further the top of the desirable car list than hundreds of other cars in the market or on sale, just for me they didn't stack up, and still dont at the money they are fetching.

I'm a big fan of the classic car/modern classic and collectors scene, and would spend my 45K elsewhere (unless as i said before money was not a consideration) but would still like one on my drive, just not in place of my current cars.

Mine would have been orange had i signed the order form.

Andy

they are a lot of money, but you also have to look at the total cost of ownership. The combination of universally great press, very low numbers and distinctive looks... it's always going to be in demand. People (these forums!) have been calling it as about to go down in value for ages now, but it still goes up. If anything, the M2 has strengthened values.

So 45k is a lot, but if you own it for 10k miles and 3 years you have a good chance of paying pretty much nothing for the whole thing when you subtract appreciation costs from insurance/tax/servicing. The latter (servicing) by the way has been almost hilariously low for me - even at main BMW dealer prices.

They are always going to be loved, will always be exciting to drive, will always be a rare spot (352 on the road today only in the UK) - so in conclusion: buy mine, as it's for sale

Edited by cidered77 on Wednesday 21st September 09:37

[JNW1]

andyman_2006 said:

tenfour said:

I must be the only person on the planet who found the 1M very average to drive. But then my reference point was the E46 CSL.

The chassis was fine, but the engine just felt soulless.

---

Hi, not the only one, i loved the look of the car, (including the Valencia orange) and very nearly bought a new one (unseen/driven) but i waited, and tested a ex demo one @ coopers a few months later, and in fairness was glad i did wait, the interior was very much same as my 1 series company diesel hatch (same seats/dash/trim/mats etc etc) and whilst if was fast, and handled very well indeed at the time it didn't feel as special as my E46 M3, its lost some M car feel, and felt more like the 335i Msport (same engine i know) but didn't feel like a £40K M car, and whilst they have become super rare, valuable, and collectable, i still couldn't in any way part with £45K+ for one now. My E46 (to me) drives so much better, more responsive engine (for soul feel, and overall experience) plus the E46 interior is so much better seats, dash, overall build quality, and basic spec (like electric memory nappa seats for example)

I know i'll be bombarded by the 1M fan club for saying these things, and if it was a £25K used car id be all over it, but at the time it most certainly was not worth a £30K premium over my old M3. So i didn't buy. Still have the M3 amongst others i'm keeping.

I since have kicked myself, however for only one reason really - resale values. Not for the 'car itself' which explains how i felt when these were new, i'll not be alone, and i get why some love these cars, and i suppose they are more desirable now than when new, so In hindsight i could have owned and run it free for 3 years and got my money back, which is a rare thing with a new car, but you have to like it better than what you currently own, and be able to justify the large jump up in price, for me it couldn't.

I guess if i had a 'spare' £45K or money was not an issue, of course i'd add one to my garage, but i wouldn't sell other cars to fund one.

Andy

Hi chaps, this makes at least three of us as I also had a drive in a 1M a few months after they were launched and couldn't really understand the hype either! My benchmark was an E46 M3 CS and, aside from superior torque and a better gear-change, there wasn't a single area where I felt the 1M was the nicer car. Having said that, if someone had told me I could buy the 1M, run it for several years and at least get my money back at the end I'd have signed on the dotted line; it was still nice to drive and there are very few cars that can be used normally every day and remain depreciation proof!