What car... in a year?

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Discussion

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Monday 8th February 2016
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I currently drive an F10 M5, and have done for the past 2 years. I have the M5 for another year on a lease, however I am always thinking about what car next; in fact it takes up far too much of my time. So, although it is a year away, I wanted to get opinions on the different cars I am always jumping between in my mind. I appreciate that I need to drive the cars, and I will do this nearer the time, but for now your experiences would be helpful.

I am a 31 year old guy, and although I don't have kids yet, I do expect to have them in the next year or two, so any car would need to have back seats; my wife has what will be the family car, but I think any car without back seats would mean I wouldn't get to use it enough.

The things I love about the M5 are the straight line pace; it really is very fast, the comfort and technology, the fact it is on a lease with set monthly costs and a new car warranty so I don't need to worry about big costs outside of consumables and it is fun to drive when set to sport plus and taken down a windy road.

The things I don't like are the lack of sense of occasion just sitting in it, it isn't loud enough (although it does sound good), it just looks like a normal 5 series to most people, and as sad as it may be, I want the car to look special; and the fact that I feel like it struggles to put traction down so I find it hard to drive quickly for fear of the end breaking away (and not being a good enough driver to not crash)

I do around 12k-13k miles per year and would probably like to spend around £800 per month.

The cars I currently have on my list are

Leased BMW M6 grand coupe: I saw one the other day and it looked awesome, way more special than the M5 and nicer interior, but I am concerned it may not have any sense of occassion to drive and will suffer with the same traction issues as the M5

Leased Mercedes AMG C63s coupe: I like the look of this, and being an AMG I expect it may have more drama than the M5 and sound awesome, but will it be a step below an M6 grand coupe?

Used Panamera turbo: Fast, good traction, Porsche badge; concerns are it would have to be a bit older and has questionable looks, and would it be too ordinary?

Used 991 carrera s: This feels like it could be the do everything car; it can do the motorway miles, it feels really focused to sit in, it is very well built inside, I expect traction to be better because of weight over rear wheels, it has the Porsche badge, it is going to handle better than the bigger cars;but does it have a sense of occasion? does it look too ordinary?

Used Evora 400: This looks nice in a kind of mini super car way. It will handle great and sounds loud and exciting. My concern with this is if I would end up wishing I had gone for the 911

Used Nissan GTR: This looks aggressive and special, it is rapid, handles well and has the traction; my concerns are around the poor interior, the reality of living with it every day for the times when I am not hooning it (which is most of the time), the running costs and the Nissan badge

Used Maserati Granturismo S (probably MC shift)_ Looks great, sounds amazing, has a sense of occasion; my concerns are around it not being powerful enough after the M5, the seats being uncomfortable and the running costs (the worry of of a clutch going would be a concern)

Used Audi RS7: Looks ok but not as special as the M6 Gran Coupe, is rapid, has traction, has good technology and nice interior; concerns are around it being too ordinary, having to get an older car compared to the M6 as the lease deals are not as good

I know this is a lot of text, and I know I need to drive them and I know it is a year away, but my mates aren't really into cars, so I just wanted to get the opinions of a load of other car geeks!

Cheers.


Edited by mjw0321 on Tuesday 9th February 07:45

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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I think I'd also consider

Jag XJR: it is fast, comfortable, lovely interior; but might be a bit big and not look special enough from the outside

Challenger Hellcat: Very, very, very fast in a straight line, looks good, sounds awesome, massive sense of occasion; probably won't handle well, difficult to get hold of and not sure I could get finance (lease purchase with balloon at the end) on an import

Mustang GT350: Similar to the Hellcat, but with better handling; but I don't think I could get hold of one

Edited by mjw0321 on Tuesday 9th February 09:12

ZX10R NIN

27,490 posts

124 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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If you do a lot of town driving then get the Auto Maser the MC Shift isn't a fan of town driving. I think you'll have to wait until you're a bit closer (about 3 months from the end) to finishing your lease so you can properly assess what lease/finance deals are out there & how they best suit your wallet.

SuperVM

1,098 posts

160 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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What about a 997.2 Turbo?

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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SuperVM said:
What about a 997.2 Turbo?
Good shout. I think it would have to be a 997.1 turbo to be within budget. If I put about £8k-£10k down up front, and keep the payments under £800 per month, I doubt I could get a .2. I think the 997.1 might be a bit old and i'm not sure about the tiptronic (rather than PDK), and it is becoming increasingly hard to get hold of a manual. Definitely worth adding to the list though!

SuperVM

1,098 posts

160 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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mjw0321 said:
SuperVM said:
What about a 997.2 Turbo?
Good shout. I think it would have to be a 997.1 turbo to be within budget. If I put about £8k-£10k down up front, and keep the payments under £800 per month, I doubt I could get a .2. I think the 997.1 might be a bit old and i'm not sure about the tiptronic (rather than PDK), and it is becoming increasingly hard to get hold of a manual. Definitely worth adding to the list though!
There is a manual 997.1 in red for sale around £45k at the moment, but then I can see your point about it feeling a bit old coming from the M5. I guess your current budget for a second hand car is around £50k max, which probably is a bit short of a 997.2 Turbo, though you never know what will happen in a year. I've no idea when/if this car bubble will burst, but if it continues I would think the 997.2 will be a decent place to put money thanks to the hydraulic steering, much better looks than the 996, decent interiors and manual gearbox options, not to mention the non-Turbo variants actually being naturally aspirated.

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
SuperVM said:
There is a manual 997.1 in red for sale around £45k at the moment, but then I can see your point about it feeling a bit old coming from the M5. I guess your current budget for a second hand car is around £50k max, which probably is a bit short of a 997.2 Turbo, though you never know what will happen in a year. I've no idea when/if this car bubble will burst, but if it continues I would think the 997.2 will be a decent place to put money thanks to the hydraulic steering, much better looks than the 996, decent interiors and manual gearbox options, not to mention the non-Turbo variants actually being naturally aspirated.
I think the budget is around £60k; based on playing around with figures on http://www.capitalcarfinance.co.uk/ via lease purchase with a final balloon, but I still think it would be a bit of a stretch for a 997.2 from a main dealer (which is what I'd prefer).

StarmistBlue400

3,029 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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Friend has an M6 GC and it is an awesome machine but traction is an issue and it likes to go sideways.


mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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StarmistBlue400 said:
Friend has an M6 GC and it is an awesome machine but traction is an issue and it likes to go sideways.
Yeah, this is my concern. When pulling away from the lights on a damp road the other day, I initially struggled to pull away from a 330d because adding more throttle caused the traction control to kick in. It is kind of nice having so much power that you can get the traction control light to flash when flooring it on a dry road at motorway speeds, but it isn't the best for firing out of corners. The tyres have plenty of tread and are MPSS.

jkh112

21,889 posts

157 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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mjw0321 said:
Yeah, this is my concern. When pulling away from the lights on a damp road the other day, I initially struggled to pull away from a 330d because adding more throttle caused the traction control to kick in. It is kind of nice having so much power that you can get the traction control light to flash when flooring it on a dry road at motorway speeds, but it isn't the best for firing out of corners. The tyres have plenty of tread and are MPSS.
Is this loss of traction, or just an over cautious traction control? It does not alter that fact that you could not use your power, but would things have been better with a lower setting on the TC (assuming it has one)?

Benbay001

5,794 posts

156 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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Evora by far.
But then I never seem to pick my cars based on logic

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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jkh112 said:
Is this loss of traction, or just an over cautious traction control? It does not alter that fact that you could not use your power, but would things have been better with a lower setting on the TC (assuming it has one)?
Quite possibly... perhaps M dynamic mode would have been better.

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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Benbay001 said:
Evora by far.
But then I never seem to pick my cars based on logic
Given what I have read about the way they drive, I may well be sold when I do actually drive one.

I think the other thing I will be thinking about is the depreciation on the car. If I keep it for 3 year for example, I would like to be sure (or as sure as I can be) that I would get my initial payment, plus cover the final balloon payment. I have a feeling the 911 might do this best.

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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I'd be looking at one of these:-

GroundEffect

13,819 posts

155 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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Why not an F8* M3? I hear very good things about them, despite the 'low rent' engine wink


mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
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GroundEffect said:
Why not an F8* M3? I hear very good things about them, despite the 'low rent' engine wink
I'd feel like it was step down from the M5 in terms of power, interior quality and "specialness". I have also heard it has traction issues, so I would probably go with an M6 GC if I went the BMW route; it is a much better looking car IMO, and appears more special. If I was going down the smaller "step down in range" route, I think I'd go with the AMG C63s as I think it looks better, sounds better and has a more special engine.

mjw0321

Original Poster:

293 posts

125 months

Wednesday 10th February 2016
quotequote all
Tuvra said:
I'd be looking at one of these:-
These do look good, however I'd feel like it was step down from the M5; if i want something more chuckable, I don't see why I would choose the M2 over a 991 C2s (other than lower price).

theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Thursday 11th February 2016
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mjw0321 said:
jkh112 said:
Is this loss of traction, or just an over cautious traction control? It does not alter that fact that you could not use your power, but would things have been better with a lower setting on the TC (assuming it has one)?
Quite possibly... perhaps M dynamic mode would have been better.
MDM would allow a greater degree of wheelspin for sure. If I want to make a brisk getaway from a standstill on a wet road I get the car rolling and the DCT into second after which power can be fed progressively - in 1st any more than very modest throttle is going to result in wheelspin and a potentially harsh TC intervention.

A lot of 330d's have xDrive too.

bigtime

513 posts

138 months

Thursday 11th February 2016
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I think a used 911 Carrera s is the way forward but you really will notice the drop in power and torque compared to the M5.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 11th February 2016
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If you are worried about future value the GTR and Evora are those that will hold their value the best.

For me it would be the Evora, GTRs are amazing but how often can you actually utilise the power (same for 911.1/2 turbo).