My Local BMW Dealer Has 12 M3s
Discussion
On Friday I had a poke around the local BMW dealer to have a look at the orange 1M Coupé parked out front, but I couldn't help but notice there were quite a few E92/E93 M3s hanging about. Now obviously not all of these were for sale at this very moment (one was in the showroom, one was a demonstrator and a couple were just sitting about), but what is going on with these at the moment? Another victim of fuel prices? Not sure I'd want to buy one right now...
The MPG on my E46 is woeful (low-mid 20s) and I can't see a bigger V8 being any better. Plus, I think the E9x M3s get savaged on road tax, and coupled with the general expense of running the thing, a lot of people are trading them in. I wouldn't mind one myself, but I'm not smart enough to afford one 
If you can get yourself a bargain M3 then I'd suggest doing so, you only live once! Alternatively if you don't want to, I'd be happy to, er, receive the finance and explore the concept for you
If you can get yourself a bargain M3 then I'd suggest doing so, you only live once! Alternatively if you don't want to, I'd be happy to, er, receive the finance and explore the concept for you
David87 said:
On Friday I had a poke around the local BMW dealer to have a look at the orange 1M Coupé parked out front, but I couldn't help but notice there were quite a few E92/E93 M3s hanging about. Now obviously not all of these were for sale at this very moment (one was in the showroom, one was a demonstrator and a couple were just sitting about), but what is going on with these at the moment? Another victim of fuel prices? Not sure I'd want to buy one right now...
When I went to my local BMW franchise to buy a part the salesman who sold me my 335d saw me nosing round an M3 that had been wrapped matt black in the showroom. He said "don't bother with them, the running costs are double on what you've got, the performance is unusable on the roads around here (large midlands city). The only people who buy M3s are the ones who want to say "I've got an M3". No point to them. 335 is the best package overall." My head agreed with him, my heart didn't, but I could see where he was coming from. Might get one someday. dhariwab said:
When I went to my local BMW franchise to buy a part the salesman who sold me my 335d saw me nosing round an M3 that had been wrapped matt black in the showroom. He said "don't bother with them, the running costs are double on what you've got, the performance is unusable on the roads around here (large midlands city). The only people who buy M3s are the ones who want to say "I've got an M3". No point to them. 335 is the best package overall." My head agreed with him, my heart didn't, but I could see where he was coming from. Might get one someday.
He needs a career change.sebhaque said:
The MPG on my E46 is woeful (low-mid 20s) and I can't see a bigger V8 being any better. Plus, I think the E9x M3s get savaged on road tax, and coupled with the general expense of running the thing, a lot of people are trading them in. I wouldn't mind one myself, but I'm not smart enough to afford one
If you can get yourself a bargain M3 then I'd suggest doing so, you only live once! Alternatively if you don't want to, I'd be happy to, er, receive the finance and explore the concept for you
343 bhp car in 20/25 mpg shocker !If you can get yourself a bargain M3 then I'd suggest doing so, you only live once! Alternatively if you don't want to, I'd be happy to, er, receive the finance and explore the concept for you
I only get that or less from my Saab, M3 is regarded as reasonably frugal for the performance it has.
But agree, cant imagine the V8 is a paragon of economy in comparison.
whoami said:
dhariwab said:
When I went to my local BMW franchise to buy a part the salesman who sold me my 335d saw me nosing round an M3 that had been wrapped matt black in the showroom. He said "don't bother with them, the running costs are double on what you've got, the performance is unusable on the roads around here (large midlands city). The only people who buy M3s are the ones who want to say "I've got an M3". No point to them. 335 is the best package overall." My head agreed with him, my heart didn't, but I could see where he was coming from. Might get one someday.
He needs a career change.It strikes me as odd that a M3 would be effected by petrol prices as the typical owners tend to be people who have bought the car outright and using £20-30pw extra fuel here an there will make no odds to them.
dhariwab said:
When I went to my local BMW franchise to buy a part the salesman who sold me my 335d saw me nosing round an M3 that had been wrapped matt black in the showroom. He said "don't bother with them, the running costs are double on what you've got, the performance is unusable on the roads around here (large midlands city). The only people who buy M3s are the ones who want to say "I've got an M3". No point to them. 335 is the best package overall." My head agreed with him, my heart didn't, but I could see where he was coming from. Might get one someday.
He had some diesels to sell."M3's spotted at BMW dealership" doesn't sound particularly news-worthy, but hey - what do I know!?
Low-20s from an e46 sounds on the low-side: suggests it's being either thrashed or doing a lot of town centre stuff. My e46s were certainly capable of 30mpg on a run.
The fuel consumption of the e92 is noticeably worse. My OBC is currently reading 21.4, which is a little eye-watering, but I bought the car knowing exactly what to expect and don't regret it for a moment. Bloody brilliant car and the novelty hasn't worn off yet - I'm expecting a small improvement in mpg as and when it does.
Fuel costs - I doubt these are driving e92 owners to shed their cars all of a sudden - fuel prices haven't shifted that much in the last few months.
My guess is that quite a few early ones are at the end of 2 or 3 yr PCP deals and are being chopped in. And / or there are a few in the system as a result of owners trading them in on 1 Sept to catch the new registration number.
And as for a 335d being a better buy... Was the salesman DXB in disguise? Purely a matter of personal opinion / requirements as to whether the relative costs of ownership are so important as to make the 335d a "better" ownership proposition.
Low-20s from an e46 sounds on the low-side: suggests it's being either thrashed or doing a lot of town centre stuff. My e46s were certainly capable of 30mpg on a run.
The fuel consumption of the e92 is noticeably worse. My OBC is currently reading 21.4, which is a little eye-watering, but I bought the car knowing exactly what to expect and don't regret it for a moment. Bloody brilliant car and the novelty hasn't worn off yet - I'm expecting a small improvement in mpg as and when it does.
Fuel costs - I doubt these are driving e92 owners to shed their cars all of a sudden - fuel prices haven't shifted that much in the last few months.
My guess is that quite a few early ones are at the end of 2 or 3 yr PCP deals and are being chopped in. And / or there are a few in the system as a result of owners trading them in on 1 Sept to catch the new registration number.
And as for a 335d being a better buy... Was the salesman DXB in disguise? Purely a matter of personal opinion / requirements as to whether the relative costs of ownership are so important as to make the 335d a "better" ownership proposition.
To be fair the E90/92 M3 is, in my opinion, a significantly different and distinct driving experience to the 335i or other models in the range. It's easily my favourite BMW of the current range that I've tried. However, the reason I don't have one is indeed the mpg. A friend of mine has one and gets up to 25/26mpg on the motorway, and an average of around 20mpg. As a person who regularly does long motorway journeys, I simply can't justify owning one.
aka_kerrly said:
whoami said:
dhariwab said:
When I went to my local BMW franchise to buy a part the salesman who sold me my 335d saw me nosing round an M3 that had been wrapped matt black in the showroom. He said "don't bother with them, the running costs are double on what you've got, the performance is unusable on the roads around here (large midlands city). The only people who buy M3s are the ones who want to say "I've got an M3". No point to them. 335 is the best package overall." My head agreed with him, my heart didn't, but I could see where he was coming from. Might get one someday.
He needs a career change.It strikes me as odd that a M3 would be effected by petrol prices as the typical owners tend to be people who have bought the car outright and using £20-30pw extra fuel here an there will make no odds to them.
Not sure typical M3 owners buy them cash - a lot are bought on BMW subsidised lease or PCP deals.
aka_kerrly said:
whoami said:
dhariwab said:
When I went to my local BMW franchise to buy a part the salesman who sold me my 335d saw me nosing round an M3 that had been wrapped matt black in the showroom. He said "don't bother with them, the running costs are double on what you've got, the performance is unusable on the roads around here (large midlands city). The only people who buy M3s are the ones who want to say "I've got an M3". No point to them. 335 is the best package overall." My head agreed with him, my heart didn't, but I could see where he was coming from. Might get one someday.
He needs a career change.It strikes me as odd that a M3 would be effected by petrol prices as the typical owners tend to be people who have bought the car outright and using £20-30pw extra fuel here an there will make no odds to them.
Perhaps they’d originally been bought new by people who have since been bitten by the recession. Now they’re for sale for, perhaps, half as much, but someone who has the budget of half of a new M3 may not be as willing to pay for servicing and road tax that costs as much as it does on an M3, so they’re sitting unsold. That’s just wild speculation on my part, of course.
MitchT said:
....but someone who has the budget of half of a new M3 may not be as willing to pay for servicing and road tax that costs as much as it does on an M3, so they’re sitting unsold.
I think that's true of a lot of cars that were expensive when new - the sort of person would love them as a used car would struggle with the insurance and other running costs.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff