The Best ///M/Barge/General Rant/Look at this/O/T (Vol XVII)
Discussion
'moose - time for a sports cat 
All the desirable stuff commanding mega bucks it depressing. Monopoly money. It makes these cars rarer, less obtainable and puts upward pressure on the tiers below - have you seen some of the obscenities lurking in the £10-20k and £25-40k ranges? Some owners / traders need a slap, frankly. Even if I had the cash, the market is just extracting the ammonia directly from the kidney, never mind taking the pesh.
Meanwhile, bit obsessed with these, especially since the Sport 350 was introduced:
£63k. Gulp.
All the desirable stuff commanding mega bucks it depressing. Monopoly money. It makes these cars rarer, less obtainable and puts upward pressure on the tiers below - have you seen some of the obscenities lurking in the £10-20k and £25-40k ranges? Some owners / traders need a slap, frankly. Even if I had the cash, the market is just extracting the ammonia directly from the kidney, never mind taking the pesh.
Meanwhile, bit obsessed with these, especially since the Sport 350 was introduced:
£63k. Gulp.
John D. said:
deadslow said:
I've got a lot of time for that. Love the dish on the rear wheels. Funny as I never used to like this shape.
Do we know anything of the tuner?
W00DY said:
Very nice, but Yorkshire plates and high spec = press car???
Diesel Meister said:
'moose - time for a sports cat
All the desirable stuff commanding mega bucks it depressing. Monopoly money. It makes these cars rarer, less obtainable and puts upward pressure on the tiers below - have you seen some of the obscenities lurking in the £10-20k and £25-40k ranges? Some owners / traders need a slap, frankly. Even if I had the cash, the market is just extracting the ammonia directly from the kidney, never mind taking the pesh.
Meanwhile, bit obsessed with these, especially since the Sport 350 was introduced:
£63k. Gulp.
There is hope, me ol' china.All the desirable stuff commanding mega bucks it depressing. Monopoly money. It makes these cars rarer, less obtainable and puts upward pressure on the tiers below - have you seen some of the obscenities lurking in the £10-20k and £25-40k ranges? Some owners / traders need a slap, frankly. Even if I had the cash, the market is just extracting the ammonia directly from the kidney, never mind taking the pesh.
Meanwhile, bit obsessed with these, especially since the Sport 350 was introduced:
£63k. Gulp.
For me at least, out here in the sandpit, these things are 19,000 of your earth Pounds, and rather depressingly, look like a last hurrah for the opportunity to walk into a dealer and order a new car with three pedals (Volkswagen salesmen will try to stifle a snigger when you ask for a car named Manuel). To put that into context, that's cheaper than the
I'll grant you, it's the automotive equivalent of a McDonalds meal (when obviously we all dine at the Raffles, darling), but much like our friend Ronald, it gets the job done, with no worries about bits falling off for several years.
I already pulled out of the deal once, but I'm tempted to get back in there again before we're all forced to drive automatics.
Not having the opportunity to drive does strange things to a man's mind, I tell thee. Sheesh!
Pennyroyal Tea said:
... look like a last hurrah for the opportunity to walk into a dealer and order a new car with three pedals.
Looks like Aston Martin are going to be announcing a V12 Vantage S with 3 pedals (and seven forward speeds).Better get yourself down to the marble edifice of Raffles rather than Ronald's.
LaurasOtherHalf said:
John D. said:
deadslow said:
I've got a lot of time for that. Love the dish on the rear wheels. Funny as I never used to like this shape.Do we know anything of the tuner?
joesnow said:
Well, power can be down if there is a vacuum leak - which actuates a direct cold air flap in the airbag >5krpm, opens flaps in the air intake on top of the engine, and opens butterflies in the exhaust back boxes. After that, coking can be an issue. Due to the speed this engine can spin, 8250rpm, there is a little overlap in the value timings, and some of the combusted fuel comes into contact with the valve stem and intake tract. Over time carbon deposit can build up which limits the volume entering the combustion chamber, and can zap as much as 30bhp. Fortunately mine was cleaned about 10k miles ago, but is probably ready for another clean, if I want the full performance of the car. A bit of an achilles heel, but the car is plenty fast enough as it is. Higher end fuel, plus at least once around the rev counter on each trip is said to help keep the carbon build up minimised.
Congrats on the purchase!If it's of any help, my mate had one of those RS4s from new and as part of the handover, the dealer was very insistent that the engine shouldn't be started and stopped in quick succession e.g. moving it 10 feet to let someone else out, or get into the garage, or whatever. I don't know if that was to help with this problem, or just to try and pass on some good practice, but it will be some advice which has got lost over the years.
Either way, enjoy it!!
W00DY said:
Looks so much better than the coupe!olly22n said:
W00DY said:
The thoughts are they don't deliver on their promises.Shame really as there isn't a lot of choice for a four door manual small saloon.
ferrisbueller said:
olly22n said:
W00DY said:
The thoughts are they don't deliver on their promises.Shame really as there isn't a lot of choice for a four door manual small saloon.
Ergo, the M3 is dead. Long live the M3 or M4 or whatever.
Pennyroyal Tea said:
ferrisbueller said:
olly22n said:
W00DY said:
The thoughts are they don't deliver on their promises.Shame really as there isn't a lot of choice for a four door manual small saloon.
Ergo, the M3 is dead. Long live the M3 or M4 or whatever.
I preferred my E46 CS to the E9X. However, I also preferred it to my E36 M3. Thus newest isn't always best, but sometimes it is better than what went before.
All of these cars were of their time and times change. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
As it stands, the M3 fulfils the requirements of four door practicality propelled by a phenomenal piece of ///M wizardry under the bonnet. The manual shift quality wasn't their best but at least it is a manual. The one constant throughout the ages is that these things can drop a crippling bill on you out of the blue, which is the main reason why I don't have one.
In terms of a small four door saloon, Olly has already gone to the dark side of forced induction. That makes the 335i a viable option. And IMO, the 330i is OK, too. By my reckoning that gives options at 255 (to 268), 306 and 414 bhp, with manual 'boxes.
olly22n said:
Everyone I have spoken to who owns/owned one (albeit a very small selection) hasn't raved about them.
I think because lack of grunt, combined with lack of economy and added with massive bill potential.
In response to the honourable P'tea, the M5 had grunt a plenty, and didn't need 6k on its tacho to even consider picking its skirt up.
I do get the whole'its what we want, a manual revvy atmo M-car, but with the poliferation of grunty diesels, the chance of being caught off guard with your pants down is very real.
Obviously I have never driven one.
The donkey is the one thing which holds it altogether for me; precisely because its a peaky blinder of a thing. Feels much faster than the power output would suggest, but you do have to rev it.I think because lack of grunt, combined with lack of economy and added with massive bill potential.
In response to the honourable P'tea, the M5 had grunt a plenty, and didn't need 6k on its tacho to even consider picking its skirt up.
I do get the whole'its what we want, a manual revvy atmo M-car, but with the poliferation of grunty diesels, the chance of being caught off guard with your pants down is very real.
Obviously I have never driven one.
Conversely, I'd stone myself to get hold of a manual E90 out here, but they just don't exist
olly22n said:
The other fact is throw £8-10k at a 330d touring and remap it, you'd have £10k in the bank, a range of more than 250 miles and you'd be no slouch either.
I like owning cars, not being owned by one. that's what I would fear about the M3.
I can see the appeal in that as long as it wasn't the only car.I like owning cars, not being owned by one. that's what I would fear about the M3.
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