Welsh country road sporty number must have 4 seats

[R2Detour]

I bought an e93 M3 recently and unfortunately i've had a lot of issues with it.

I love the car and the s65 v8 is just sublime - when its working, but its rod bearings, electrical gremlins, actuators and a seized roof all since May and its taken its toll on me. I don't mind paying to fix the things but it's pushed up my time schedule as i only planned on keeping it for 6 months for the summer.

But now i'm thinking what to have next.

I want something that flows as lovely as the m3 does along welsh valley roads where i often spend a lot of time. The m3 is great for eating tarmac point to point, it flows very nicely and the dct is a great gearbox. My only criticism is that sometimes it feels like the car is perhaps too big for some of our more country sized lanes.

I want the car to have a theatre/presence to it - the v8 in the m3 draws some lovely attention and people love the car, i like that and think that as a petrolhead you want to experience the theatre of any great engine.

The issue i've got is that the majority of cars in this bracket are not 4 seaters which is where the m3 really wins. It's a proper useable everyday car when you need it to be.

So what do i choose afterwards. I had lent my mind to a 997.2 but ultimately i don't think the rear seats are useable enough for two tweenagers??

M2 ?

What other marques should i be looking at it?

My budget would be in the region of £30 - 35k no more.

[SDarks]

If you need the engine and theatre - C63, Mustang, B7 RS4

Go smaller - M140, M2, A45

V8 Bentley Contis may start dropping into your budget soon, cheapest 4.0 V8 on Autotrader currently is £38k.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202207177...

[Belle427]

I'm assuming you have had the rod bearings etc done so you have tackled the worst of the jobs.
Why not keep it?

[zippy3x]

Giulia Quadrifoglio

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203304...

Faster than an M3 (bar the G80), more comfortable than an M3, and I suspect due to pliant suspension and the German approach to improving cornering by simply adding spring rate, much better on Welsh country roads then the M3.

And seeing as the M3 has been long recognised as being better than any other German 4 seater, the Alfa beats them too

The Alfa would also appear to be more reliable than an M3

[fflump]

A decent Giulia QF is probably a bit out of budget.

There are not many better looking or sounding 2+2s than a Maserati Granturismo S.

[Dave.]

Belle427 said:

I'm assuming you have had the rod bearings etc done so you have tackled the worst of the jobs.
Why not keep it?

This.

If you've spent money sorting all the issues, why throw in the towel before enjoying it properly?

[R2Detour]

Belle427 said:

I'm assuming you have had the rod bearings etc done so you have tackled the worst of the jobs.
Why not keep it?

They aren't done as yet.

I am not one to usually take internet scare stories but the m3 has proved me wrong, i'm happy to admit. The rod bearings will be done. Its booked in.

But ultimately the whole experience has tainted the ownership of the car and taken the joy out of owning and using it - i will always be eaten up by a niggle in my head "what is going to go wrong next" and that puts question marks in choosing the keys when it comes to picking "what to drive today".

In my mind, it makes sense to move it on in that case. Some may think i'm nuts, but i like to have faith in a car and with so many faults in only a 12 week period, its not really the best feeling.

Edited by R2Detour on Monday 25th July 14:41

[zippy3x]

fflump said:

A decent Giulia QF is probably a bit out of budget..

Ahh, you're correct. I was so eager to spread the QV love, I failed to notice the two sub £35k cars were both Cat S.

OP - save more and get a Giulia QV

[Belle427]

R2Detour said:

Belle427 said:

I'm assuming you have had the rod bearings etc done so you have tackled the worst of the jobs.
Why not keep it?

They aren't done as yet.

I am not one to usually take internet scare stories but the m3 has proved me wrong, i'm happy to admit. The rod bearings will be done. Its booked in.

But ultimately the whole experience has tainted the ownership of the car and taken the joy out of owning and using it - i will always be eaten up by a niggle in my head "what is going to go wrong next" and that puts question marks in choosing the keys when it comes to picking "what to drive today".

In my mind, it makes sense to move it on in that case. Some may think i'm nuts, but i like to have faith in a car and with so many faults in only a 12 week period, its not really the best feeling.

Edited by R2Detour on Monday 25th July 14:41

Fair enough