Autocar M3 vs D3 test

[ZX10R NIN]

gizlaroc said:

No way the resale will be stronger!!

To get the D3 to match the M3 spec it will cost you £52,000, no discounts.
The M3 is £56k and you will get it for £52k no problem.
So initial price is the same.

In 4 years time with 48k miles on it the M3 will be around £30k but I bet the D3 will be £25k at the very best.

That is £5000 more in depreciation.


The M3 will see an average of 28mg, the D3 will see an average of 40mpg. (You may be up or down on those but that is the sort of gap).

£10,000 of fuel for the M3 at £1.30 a litre.
£7,000 of fuel for the D3 at £1.30 a litre.


That leaves you with £2000 to spend on servicing for the M3 to get back to them costing you the same.


Obviously the D3 may well be the car to change Alpina depreciation forever, but I doubt it.
£55,000 for a 3 series diesel is not going to appeal to everyone, and the fact only a few Alpina fans have ordered it tells you this.

It will depreciate like every other Alpina before it, horrendously!!

I reckon the M3 will be cheaper overall to run for 4 years and 48,000 miles.

How much is it to spec an M3 to a decent standard because people who buy them hit the options list to, so lets say they spend 4K on it then that makes your M3 60k

M3's depreciate just as badly as the Alpinas do.

My mate's M3 is averaging 24.6mpg on over a week on his E92 335d was doing 38.8mpg he loves the car, I showed him the twin test he's still happy but will look at a D3 next time he changes.

As for me I average 15000 miles per year & a petrol car doesn't work for me a 335d with decent spec is £48000 so for an extra 4k I'd rather have the Alpina because the re sale will batter the 335d's depreciation

[Wills2]

It's not an extra 4k at all!

My new 335d xdrive touring was 49k with 9.5k discount knocked it down to just under 40k the same spec D3 touring (rwd) is 56k and no discount.

16k more for the D3.

[craigjm]

I think that's the problem with the Alpinas. In general it's not hard to get an overall 10% off a standard BMW after options but Alpina is list price and no budging. I would really like a B4 but specced up its easy to touch late 60s

[Welshbeef]

Wills2 said:

It's not an extra 4k at all!

My new 335d xdrive touring was 49k with 9.5k discount knocked it down to just under 40k the same spec D3 touring (rwd) is 56k and no discount.

16k more for the D3.

Hmm you could have the 335d and a 997 C2S for that - just/overspend

[gizlaroc]

ZX10R NIN said:

How much is it to spec an M3 to a decent standard because people who buy them hit the options list to, so lets say they spend 4K on it then that makes your M3 60k

But we are talking about getthing them to the same spec as each other, add those £4k's worth of M3 options to the D3 and you are back to square one.

ZX10R NIN said:

M3's depreciate just as badly as the Alpinas do.

Alpinas have always been horrific depreciators.
Now there is a 'proper' diesel though this may swing things.

ZX10R NIN said:

My mate's M3 is averaging 24.6mpg on over a week on his E92 335d was doing 38.8mpg he loves the car, I showed him the twin test he's still happy but will look at a D3 next time he changes.

Let it loosen up a bit and as I said, 40% difference.
He is almost there with a week old car vs a 335d that has probably done well over 10k miles?

ZX10R NIN said:

As for me I average 15000 miles per year & a petrol car doesn't work for me a 335d with decent spec is £48000 so for an extra 4k I'd rather have the Alpina because the re sale will batter the 335d's depreciation

15k miles a year is not a lot. For someone buying a car that is £150 a month £20 extra on fuel is a great deal, but when you are in a car costing £8-900 a month is it the deciding factor?

D3 £52000 new, 4 years later and 60k miles £22k* trade in?
40mpg average
£809 a month for the car and fuel.

M3 £52000 new (you can get a discount of around 7% already) £26k* trade in after 4 years and 60 months?
28mpg average
£904 month for the car and fuel.

• You may find that the D3 is worth £28K, but I would then think the M3 would be worth £32k.

As I said, cost is not a reason to go diesel, trying to save money on a car that is hemorrhaging £30,000 in depreciation then trying to save £20 a week by going derv just sounds mad to me.

Do it if you prefer it, but not a massive saving.


I think the road tax is a bigger pain than the fuel prices.

[pattyg]

I really like the D3 and the exclusivity of Alpina - if only it had those M3 front and rear vents.

[gizlaroc]

pattyg said:

I really like the exclusivity of Alpina .......

And that is enough of a reason.

I'm the same, something about the Alpina is you know you will only ever see one or two around, which is nice.

[gaz1234]

F what model?

[Patrick Bateman]

When you say Alpinas are horrific depreciators, I presume you're meaning only for the first few years?

Looking at the likes of the V8 B10's and the B5's, they've faired far better en masse than their M brethren in the depreciations stakes.

[craigjm]

Ive never understood why Alpinas keep the bonnet and boot badge from the original BMW but have their own badges on the wheels and steering wheel.

[Wills2]

Welshbeef said:

Hmm you could have the 335d and a 997 C2S for that - just/overspend

You couldn't get a good 997 for 16k but you'd get a decent 996 though.

[Welshbeef]

Wills2 said:

Welshbeef said:

Hmm you could have the 335d and a 997 C2S for that - just/overspend

You couldn't get a good 997 for 16k but you'd get a decent 996 though.

You can get lightly used 335ds for £35k then £20k for a 997 C2S

[Wills2]

Hmmm but we were talking about a new reasonable spec 335d or D3, like I say you need around 25k+ for decent C2S from a specialist or OPC.

[ZX10R NIN]

[quote=Wills2]It's not an extra 4k at all!

My new 335d xdrive touring was 49k with 9.5k discount knocked it down to just under 40k the same spec D3 touring (rwd) is 56k and no discount.

16k more for the D3. [/quote


Forgetting the discount for the moment would you have taken the car at 49k & would you have felt it represented good value at 49k?

[Wills2]

ZX10R NIN said:

Wills2 said:

It's not an extra 4k at all!

My new 335d xdrive touring was 49k with 9.5k discount knocked it down to just under 40k the same spec D3 touring (rwd) is 56k and no discount.

16k more for the D3.

Forgetting the discount for the moment would you have taken the car at 49k & would you have felt it represented good value at 49k?

No and no, BMWs are over priced as are most cars hence the discounts and so IMHO is the D3 (yes a better car but not 16k better)

[Welshbeef]

Wills2 said:

No and no, BMWs are over priced as are most cars hence the discounts and so IMHO is the D3 (yes a better car but not 16k better)

Rember the E46 M3 CSL wasn't that c£20k more and was a sales flop - now a different story though.

[leemarkadams]

Interesting, as I am away for 2 years with work and then will be back and looking to get a decent commuter (120 miles a day, 5 days a week roughly = 31200 miles per year) so for me a diesel is a no brainer. Now been thinking already of what to get when back and was thinking of a BMW 335D or 535D (good compromise I feel between economy and performance) but I wonder if a D3 will be within my budget then........as they seem to offer everything!

[gizlaroc]

Patrick Bateman said:

When you say Alpinas are horrific depreciators, I presume you're meaning only for the first few years?

Looking at the likes of the V8 B10's and the B5's, they've faired far better en masse than their M brethren in the depreciations stakes.

They do their depreciating in the first 5-7 years, and then suddenly they tend to become quite rare and desirable and suddenly they hold their money.

[philmots]

gizlaroc said:

They do their depreciating in the first 5-7 years, and then suddenly they tend to become quite rare and desirable and suddenly they hold their money.

Bang on that. 10 year old 100k E46's are still swapping hands at around 8-10k

That's based on watching them on the online sites, and them not being there long at all..

[Welshbeef]

philmots said:

Bang on that. 10 year old 100k E46's are still swapping hands at around 8-10k

That's based on watching them on the online sites, and them not being there long at all..

And that is different to E46 M3's how?