Went and had a poke around a new M3 on Sunday....

[bob1179]

...and I have a few questions.

Righty ho then, obviously from my current list of cars it can be seen that I'm a bit of a BMW nut, and I've taken a bit of a shine to the new M3 so I decided to go down and take a look at one at the local dealer down here.

I absolutley love the thing but I did come across a few items that I wouldn't be totally happy with if I decide to take the plunge and buy one and I was wondering if it's just me being overly niggly or just a poorly finished car.

The first and most blatant thing I noticed was the paintwork, the car in the showroom was Interlagos blue, which is the colour I'd go for, but the finish was very 'orange peely' (although it felt totally smooth) and didn't look like it should be on a +50k motor. I mentioned this to the lady showing me around the car and she said that it was a normal finish. Is this true?

The second thing was a couple of bits of interior trim, which included the glovebox (which felt a bit flimsy and didn't close properly) and the bit of plastic that runs across the dash, again it didn't look like the sort of thing you'd get in such an expensive motor. Again is it just me being whiney or are they all like that?

Don't get me wrong, I really do like the car, and in a few months (when I've been sensible and cleared off a few bill etc.) I'd like to buy one. I just wanted to see if anybody noticed these issues.

Cheers.



The other issue I have is that being a true car nut, I have a list of cars about hundreds long and I have absolutley no idea what I want! If only I could win the lottery...

[Pugsey]

bob1179 said:

...and I have a few questions.

Righty ho then, obviously from my current list of cars it can be seen that I'm a bit of a BMW nut, and I've taken a bit of a shine to the new M3 so I decided to go down and take a look at one at the local dealer down here.

I absolutley love the thing but I did come across a few items that I wouldn't be totally happy with if I decide to take the plunge and buy one and I was wondering if it's just me being overly niggly or just a poorly finished car.

The first and most blatant thing I noticed was the paintwork, the car in the showroom was Interlagos blue, which is the colour I'd go for, but the finish was very 'orange peely' (although it felt totally smooth) and didn't look like it should be on a +50k motor. I mentioned this to the lady showing me around the car and she said that it was a normal finish. Is this true?

The second thing was a couple of bits of interior trim, which included the glovebox (which felt a bit flimsy and didn't close properly) and the bit of plastic that runs across the dash, again it didn't look like the sort of thing you'd get in such an expensive motor. Again is it just me being whiney or are they all like that?

Don't get me wrong, I really do like the car, and in a few months (when I've been sensible and cleared off a few bill etc.) I'd like to buy one. I just wanted to see if anybody noticed these issues.

Cheers.



The other issue I have is that being a true car nut, I have a list of cars about hundreds long and I have absolutley no idea what I want! If only I could win the lottery...

Paint work - 'yes sir, they're all like that'. Well, mine was and all the other ones I've seen have been too. Some colours look worse than others.

Interior - sounds like a few iffy bits and bobs on the car you looked at. Mine was very well put together and stayed that way through five months or so hard use.

If you're buying new get a good discount. If you're going second hand you're looking at a good £10k off list for a car that's still under a year old! Enjoy.

Edited by Pugsey on Tuesday 1st July 15:01

[Deutscher]

Pugsey said:

Paint work - 'yes sir, they're all like that'. Well, mine was and all the other ones I've seen have been too.

Me too. Why on earth is this?

[bob1179]

Cheers for the replies, I really do like the car as it really looks the dogs dangly bits, plus the road tests have said it drives just as good (I'm booked in for a test in a couple of weekends).

To be honest, the paint work is the one thing that really puts me off, both my 14 year old 540i and 23 year old M535i have paintwork that has an almost glass like quality to them.

I'm astounded that BMW can let cars leave the factory with that sort of finish, especially at more than 50 grand.

Ahh well, glad I'm not the only one to query this!

Edited by bob1179 on Tuesday 1st July 15:56

[jeremyc]

Regarding the paint, check out this thread

[bob1179]

jeremyc said:

Regarding the paint, check out this thread

Cheers for the link. Very interesting and quite unfortunate. My big question is why is this occuring with BMW when other manufacturers don't seem to suffer from it?

[jeremyc]

Forgot to add: here's my review.

I too had the same issue as you ...

bob1179 said:

The other issue I have is that being a true car nut, I have a list of cars about hundreds long and I have absolutley no idea what I want! If only I could win the lottery...

... so I went and joined Ecurie25 and used their list of cars, including that E92 M3 ...

[bob1179]

jeremyc said:

Forgot to add: here's my review.

I too had the same issue as you ...

bob1179 said:

The other issue I have is that being a true car nut, I have a list of cars about hundreds long and I have absolutley no idea what I want! If only I could win the lottery...

... so I went and joined Ecurie25 and used their list of cars, including that E92 M3 ...

I hadn't thought of of one of the car clubs, cheers for the idea!

I liked your review too, it certainly gives me somthing to think about.

[whoami]

bob1179 said:

Cheers for the replies, I really do like the car as it really looks the dogs dangly bits, plus the road tests have said it drives just as good (I'm booked in for a test in a couple of weekends).

To be honest, the paint work is the one thing that really puts me off, both my 14 year old 540i and 23 year old M535i have paintwork that has an almost glass like quality to them.

I'm astounded that BMW can let cars leave the factory with that sort of finish, especially at more than 50 grand.

Ahh well, glad I'm not the only one to query this!

Edited by bob1179 on Tuesday 1st July 15:56

The paint is like that (ie shyte orange peel effect) on my wife's non-M3 E92 as well.

Both the dealer and BMW might as well told me to fk off when I complained.

No more BMW's for me.

[Webber3]

I noticed my 650i cab has orange peel all over the back end. I was beginning to think it had been accident damaged. Can't believe they leave the factory like this My E90 330 seems to have a perfect finish, but it's not black.

[belleair302]

BMW today are not using the bes paint methods, and in their rush to produce so many cars have forgotten quality. Yes the paints are water based not oil based but they rush the drying stage and thus you get orange peel.

I was in BMW Central (Birmingham) two weeks ago looking at an M6....shocking paint job and it just looked cheap. Its a shame and BMW should up its game or more buyers will be knocking on the door of Porsche, Nissan, Audi, and M-B!!

[waremark]

Don't get carried away by poor BMW quality. There may be a bit of orange peel effect, but my new M3 looks pretty shiny, and feels like a good quality well put together piece of engineering.

[Pugsey]

waremark said:

Don't get carried away by poor BMW quality. There may be a bit of orange peel effect, but my new M3 looks pretty shiny, and feels like a good quality well put together piece of engineering.

A 'bit'! I'd say at least 50% of my cars paintwork was effected (thank goodness the roof was carbon) and ALL the others I've seen have been as bad. Mine even had slight variances of colour (Space Grey) on the bonnet.

[bob1179]

Pugsey said:

waremark said:

Don't get carried away by poor BMW quality. There may be a bit of orange peel effect, but my new M3 looks pretty shiny, and feels like a good quality well put together piece of engineering.

A 'bit'! I'd say at least 50% of my cars paintwork was effected (thank goodness the roof was carbon) and ALL the others I've seen have been as bad. Mine even had slight variances of colour (Space Grey) on the bonnet.

I have to admit, the paint issue is really, really putting me off what is an otherwise excellent car.

I'm a really picky bugger and I wouldn't be able to look at the thing every morning as the finish would really annoy me.

[Pugsey]

bob1179 said:

Pugsey said:

waremark said:

Don't get carried away by poor BMW quality. There may be a bit of orange peel effect, but my new M3 looks pretty shiny, and feels like a good quality well put together piece of engineering.

A 'bit'! I'd say at least 50% of my cars paintwork was effected (thank goodness the roof was carbon) and ALL the others I've seen have been as bad. Mine even had slight variances of colour (Space Grey) on the bonnet.

I have to admit, the paint issue is really, really putting me off what is an otherwise excellent car.

I'm a really picky bugger and I wouldn't be able to look at the thing every morning as the finish would really annoy me.

It's a superb car in all other respects - including all other areas of build quality. I'm very very picky too and I lived with the finish which suprised me and says a lot about the car. Try it.

[whoami]

bob1179 said:

the finish would really annoy me.

Trust me, it really, really does.

[bob1179]

I'm taking one for an extended test drive in a week or so. I really want to love it, but it's that bloody paintwork that is the clincher.

I'm also off to look at a few other marques, as being a proper car nut, I can't make my mind up as to what I really want...

[Pugsey]

bob1179 said:

I'm taking one for an extended test drive in a week or so. I really want to love it, but it's that bloody paintwork that is the clincher.

I'm also off to look at a few other marques, as being a proper car nut, I can't make my mind up as to what I really want...

A lightley used 997S perhaps?

[whoami]

Pugsey said:

bob1179 said:

I'm taking one for an extended test drive in a week or so. I really want to love it, but it's that bloody paintwork that is the clincher.

I'm also off to look at a few other marques, as being a proper car nut, I can't make my mind up as to what I really want...

A lightley used 997S perhaps?

[bob1179]

whoami said:

Pugsey said:

bob1179 said:

I'm taking one for an extended test drive in a week or so. I really want to love it, but it's that bloody paintwork that is the clincher.

I'm also off to look at a few other marques, as being a proper car nut, I can't make my mind up as to what I really want...

A lightley used 997S perhaps?

Funny you should mention that, but I'm to the local OPC this weekend for a little looksy...