E350CDI coupe or 335i/E92 M3 coupe
Discussion
After much much debate it has come down to 3 cars!
I simply can not make up my mind! My budget is £30k tops. I'd prefer to spend less of course!
Insurance for me will cost £850 on the E350CDI and £1200 on the M3. I am not sure about the 335i.
I have not considered the other factors!
What would you go for if you had a choice?
I simply can not make up my mind! My budget is £30k tops. I'd prefer to spend less of course!
Insurance for me will cost £850 on the E350CDI and £1200 on the M3. I am not sure about the 335i.
I have not considered the other factors!
What would you go for if you had a choice?
With some sadness (because I am a Merc man) I'd say the BMW, first the M3 then the 335. To my eye, they're just so more of a piece than the slightly fussy 212; and the motors are wonderful, very nice though the 3.0 V6 diesel in the Merc is. But the decider may be your annual mileage. If you do a lot of miles, the fuel consumption of the BMWs may become boring. But you'd have to be doing 20k plus to feel a really big difference. Mind you, the 3er is up for replacement any day now whereas the 212 will be around for a while to come.
Can i just throw in a 4WD Audi S5? I had a look at them(changing from my 996 C4S) aswell as M3's and although not as quick as the 335 never mind the M3, the build quality and finish & sound from that V8 impressed me.
Also a bit cheaper- http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/used-car-locator/r...
Also a bit cheaper- http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/used-car-locator/r...
I did consider the S5 but there are issues with sticky clutches and I found the auto a bit notchy. The S5 apparently gets 14mpg while owners report 17-19 on the M3. Anyway the major thing for me with the S5 is the lack of leg room in the back. I am after coupe as I have a child and need space for a child seat and space for my wife to sit in the back at time.
I'm a Merc man and I'd say the BMW without a doubt.
Much more of a drivers car IMO and less of a middle aged middle manger bloke car. Although the alternative image may not be complementary it won't matter when you're cruising, especially when you see a Merc 350 with a porky bespectacled stressed out executive eyeing your car!
BMW.
Much more of a drivers car IMO and less of a middle aged middle manger bloke car. Although the alternative image may not be complementary it won't matter when you're cruising, especially when you see a Merc 350 with a porky bespectacled stressed out executive eyeing your car!
BMW.
Depends on what you will be using it for I suppose. If its mainly for driving to work and back through traffic etc the Merc might be the better option. However, if you will be driving on a good mix of roads the M3 might work. Although they have good torque they still need to be reved hard to get the best out of them.
You could get two very nice cars for your budget, maybe a mint E46 M3 for the weekends and a merc for the week.
However, if you did get the Merc everytime you see a M3 you will probably say to yourself 'what if' etc etc
You could get two very nice cars for your budget, maybe a mint E46 M3 for the weekends and a merc for the week.
However, if you did get the Merc everytime you see a M3 you will probably say to yourself 'what if' etc etc
S5 is boring, 335i is boring.
M3 is amazing.
E350cdi is boring, but also feels special and that would be my choice out of the above.
I am and always will be a BMW fan, I will always have one on my drive, but if I could only own one car it would be a Mercedes E350cdi, it just does everything so well.
The BMWs do some things better, but as an overall package it would be the Merc, with the BMWs I love them for 6 montsh and then start looking at swapping, been in my Merc for 18 months now and still love it.
M3 is amazing.
E350cdi is boring, but also feels special and that would be my choice out of the above.
I am and always will be a BMW fan, I will always have one on my drive, but if I could only own one car it would be a Mercedes E350cdi, it just does everything so well.
The BMWs do some things better, but as an overall package it would be the Merc, with the BMWs I love them for 6 montsh and then start looking at swapping, been in my Merc for 18 months now and still love it.
www.petervardybmw.co.uk are doing pretty amazing contract hire deals on a new M3 (and on 730d and 530d GT, not that you'd want one of them).
r129sl said:
www.petervardybmw.co.uk are doing pretty amazing contract hire deals on a new M3 (and on 730d and 530d GT, not that you'd want one of them).
Wow...those deals really are amazing. Although I'm not sure how cheap a 530GT would have to be to overcome the horror of having to look at it on the drive every morning!Lostprophet,
Sounds like you and I have been looking at the same cars, I remember reading a post of yours on the Audi forum.
I looked at the following:
Audi S5 - lovely car but not enough soul for me, nice enough interior but it didn't feel special.
BMW 650i - nice drive, but possibly aimed at an older audience. I thought the ride was very crashy, probably due to runflats? It was on standard sports wheels.
BMW M6 - lively to drive! But the interior was too similar to the pre 2008 650i which isn't really good enough for that kind of car. The maintenance sounds horrendous on them with very expensive clutches and ridiculous spark plug and differential oil changes etc. I couldn't get comfortable with it, but I'm sure it's an excellent car.
In the end, I've just bought a 2007 CLK63 AMG cabrio. I never thought I'd have a Merc at 30, but this one was really comfortable (I'm too big for an M3), goes like stink, it's relatively discreet and the noise puts a smile on my face. I'm collecting it on Saturday :-)
Sounds like you and I have been looking at the same cars, I remember reading a post of yours on the Audi forum.
I looked at the following:
Audi S5 - lovely car but not enough soul for me, nice enough interior but it didn't feel special.
BMW 650i - nice drive, but possibly aimed at an older audience. I thought the ride was very crashy, probably due to runflats? It was on standard sports wheels.
BMW M6 - lively to drive! But the interior was too similar to the pre 2008 650i which isn't really good enough for that kind of car. The maintenance sounds horrendous on them with very expensive clutches and ridiculous spark plug and differential oil changes etc. I couldn't get comfortable with it, but I'm sure it's an excellent car.
In the end, I've just bought a 2007 CLK63 AMG cabrio. I never thought I'd have a Merc at 30, but this one was really comfortable (I'm too big for an M3), goes like stink, it's relatively discreet and the noise puts a smile on my face. I'm collecting it on Saturday :-)
As above, and you won't even need to up your budget as there is currently a 2008 c63 amg on eBay for 30k with reasonable miles, as well as a few cars recently for just above 30k which you could probably get some reduction in price on.
Superior car to the two other options your considering, and from the very brief drive I had in one it's got to be one of the best sounding cars on the market, certainly in this price range, the exhaust note is amazing, makes you want to slam your foot down every chance you get...
Superior car to the two other options your considering, and from the very brief drive I had in one it's got to be one of the best sounding cars on the market, certainly in this price range, the exhaust note is amazing, makes you want to slam your foot down every chance you get...
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