Leaving the fold. :-( and :-)
Discussion
Well after my recent aborted attempt at buying a VXR8 I've been turned by the power of ///M.
Hopefully picking up a new shape M3 Saloon this weekend.
Really would have been happy with a VXR8 but disinterested dealers (apart from John at Picador who I spoke to on the phone) put paid to that. Niggling worries about reliability and the fact I have 0% trust in my local dealer (Crap of Loughton) also contributed.
To explain, my Monaro broke down and was off the road for 2 months in July after it overheated (fixed by Crap of Loughton, who also gave it back to me with an engine hose diconnected). Same thing happened on Saturday night less than a thousand miles later. It seemed to fix itself, but my confidence is shattered because it's obvious that the repair may have been bodged to get the car through the remaining 1.5k miles of warranty.
I will miss this forum though, a proper font of knowledge. The car itself gave me many thousands of miles of fun and I'll never forget my first rear wheel drive car.
Hopefully picking up a new shape M3 Saloon this weekend.
Really would have been happy with a VXR8 but disinterested dealers (apart from John at Picador who I spoke to on the phone) put paid to that. Niggling worries about reliability and the fact I have 0% trust in my local dealer (Crap of Loughton) also contributed.
To explain, my Monaro broke down and was off the road for 2 months in July after it overheated (fixed by Crap of Loughton, who also gave it back to me with an engine hose diconnected). Same thing happened on Saturday night less than a thousand miles later. It seemed to fix itself, but my confidence is shattered because it's obvious that the repair may have been bodged to get the car through the remaining 1.5k miles of warranty.
I will miss this forum though, a proper font of knowledge. The car itself gave me many thousands of miles of fun and I'll never forget my first rear wheel drive car.
Shame, lovely car the M3 but I doubt it has the character of the Vauxhall. Perhaps you should have trusted your car to RapidGB or Monkfish, there's a reason the rest of us do. Buy the VXR and ask one of them to fit a blower, then you'll have a proper M3 basher for less money!
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 3rd November 19:00
wormus said:
Shame, lovely car the M3 but I doubt it has the character of the Vauxhall. Perhaps you should have trusted your car to RapidGB or Monkfish, there's a reason the rest of us do. Buy the VXR and ask one of them to fit a blower, then you'll have a proper M3 basher for less money!
It was an idea, but this will be the wife's car on weekdays with, in a few months, a new born baby so it just worked out as too impractical to take the car so far the get the inevitable minor, but infuriating, niggles delt with. Edited by wormus on Monday 3rd November 19:00
No doubt the VXR has more character, and I will miss the pops and BANGS of a wortec but the M3 just feels so together. It does have some character, anything with a V8 that revs to over 8000rpm has to!
S600VXR said:
Just don't get to disheartened when a black VXR comes past you on the Ring!
I'll have my window down in anticipation, so you'd better be nailing it!Edited by -Z- on Monday 3rd November 19:29
Ha... wait till you see the bill from a service by BMW... 
you could almost pay a bloke to take your car to either Monkfish, Rapid or Walko's and still come out laughing.
Honestly, things do go wrong with all cars, but in particular the monaro's etc, have found the VX dealerships absolutely hopeless, but then again that is the same as most dealership workshops in the UK. Am supprised by the level of customer service I have experience anyone buys cars at all.
There is a wealth of knowledge around the place if you know where to look. What you will tend to find is that dealerships have stuffed around with these cars, kind of having a little idea of what they are doing, do a bodged job, then it comes back to bite later on. I would probably say, the main 3 servicing out sourcing companys who know what they are doing, would see more monaro's in a week, than each of the monaro "specialists" would see in a year.
I honestly think most of the problem is car concentration and how many in each of the specialist dealerships get to sort problems out.
you could almost pay a bloke to take your car to either Monkfish, Rapid or Walko's and still come out laughing. Honestly, things do go wrong with all cars, but in particular the monaro's etc, have found the VX dealerships absolutely hopeless, but then again that is the same as most dealership workshops in the UK. Am supprised by the level of customer service I have experience anyone buys cars at all.
There is a wealth of knowledge around the place if you know where to look. What you will tend to find is that dealerships have stuffed around with these cars, kind of having a little idea of what they are doing, do a bodged job, then it comes back to bite later on. I would probably say, the main 3 servicing out sourcing companys who know what they are doing, would see more monaro's in a week, than each of the monaro "specialists" would see in a year.
I honestly think most of the problem is car concentration and how many in each of the specialist dealerships get to sort problems out.
certainly dont trust a car to main dealerships. Dick Turpin at least wore a mask.
Example, called Jag for an interim service cost for the x-type, they said as I bought it from them I can have a loyalty discount. Oh goody said I. £300+vat says them. Thats 300 quid to change the oil and filter. 300 quid, thats right and thats with discount. Instead took it to a well respected indi and paid a grand total of 215 quid. Thats 215 quid that also included new front pads fitted, service and MOT
Example, called Jag for an interim service cost for the x-type, they said as I bought it from them I can have a loyalty discount. Oh goody said I. £300+vat says them. Thats 300 quid to change the oil and filter. 300 quid, thats right and thats with discount. Instead took it to a well respected indi and paid a grand total of 215 quid. Thats 215 quid that also included new front pads fitted, service and MOT
It wasn't so much the servicing I was worried about, it was the warranty fixes! Loughton dealer is the only one close enough but I know that they will be so disinterested when something goes wrong, especially as the VXR8 wouldn't have come from them!
Can you imagine the earache I would have got if they told my wife with baby that she could be driving an 1.2 Corsa for 2 months!
M3 seemed to be the win-win solution.
p.s. Craps of Loughton also have the Honda franchise and somehow managed to charge my mother in law £700 for the 1st 10k service on a 1.8 Civic! £700!!! Brake pads and discs all round! She knows nothing about cars and unfortunately had already paid by the time I found out
Can you imagine the earache I would have got if they told my wife with baby that she could be driving an 1.2 Corsa for 2 months!
M3 seemed to be the win-win solution.
p.s. Craps of Loughton also have the Honda franchise and somehow managed to charge my mother in law £700 for the 1st 10k service on a 1.8 Civic! £700!!! Brake pads and discs all round! She knows nothing about cars and unfortunately had already paid by the time I found out
Edited by -Z- on Monday 3rd November 22:52
I work in the motor industry on all makes of cars and have to deal with main dealers, bought my new VXR8 from Quickars in June and havent looked back, will get my servicing done by Monkfish and if and when any warranty work is required will take a day trip out to Picador, i could have bought a bmw, Porsche , merc, ferrari, AM or even my sons fave GT40 but bang for buck VXR8 come up trumps, BMW etc stealers (dealers) are just as bad as vauxhall but rip your shorts down twice as hard, new M3 aint faultless and ive worked on quite a few, "VXR8 has a tacky plastic handbrake lever" quote critics. BMW have tacky plastic waterpump impellers. I always smile driving my VXR8 in a BMW im always trying to work out the over complicated heater controls
jamiep said:
Lovely car the new M3, i had a go in one when i was selling my SC monaro, handling was amazing, made my car feel like a bus, not much in it in a straight line either id say.
The ones at V Max must have been duff then as they got eaten at V Max by the Ro...? and that was with it running badely on power with the heat....Edited by jamiep on Tuesday 4th November 21:25
wormus said:
Impressive, obviously helps when you can fit silly-wide rubber. What hp you shooting for?
That was on 19" wheels, 60ft was a not very good 2 seconds, once cams are fitted and bigger intake manifold i want 650ish, if it dont make it i will be changing to a T04z turbo.Next years suprapod i will get some DR tyres on and see what it will do.
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