RE: BMW M240i: Driven

[xjay1337]

They are nice - but 43k?! (As tested).

Can pick up an early M2 for that no?

[Funk]

daemon said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

To all the people banging on about the price and the cost of options, they're irrelevant. 99% of cars sold will be on PCP so all that matters is the monthly outlay.

There are numerous threads running if you want to feel aggrieved about PCP deals for the masses however for info discount available and cost of options will heavily influence PCP payments.

Wouldn't options, in this case, also push it up into the higher rate of first year VED (over £40k) which is based on list not sold price?

[RedTrident]

I pcp'd the m140i. Have a young daughter and needed 5 doors with a baby seat, boot for pram etc.

I specced it as much as I could to make it a driver's car. Manual etc etc.

It's absolutely bland. I can't wait to get rid of it. It gives me no joy whatsoever. I'm stuck with it for the next 2 1/2 years by which time my daughter will be 5 and hopefully I can get something else. I can't see how this version will be any better.

They're not even close to being M cars imo. Completely soulless regardless of it being a rear wheel drive, 6 cylinder manual.

[daemon]

Funk said:

daemon said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

To all the people banging on about the price and the cost of options, they're irrelevant. 99% of cars sold will be on PCP so all that matters is the monthly outlay.

There are numerous threads running if you want to feel aggrieved about PCP deals for the masses however for info discount available and cost of options will heavily influence PCP payments.

Wouldn't options, in this case, also push it up into the higher rate of first year VED (over £40k) which is based on list not sold price?

It would. I think the trick with these would be to keep the list price including options to under £40K, then aim to pay in the low £30's after discount

[GregK2]

RedTrident said:

I pcp'd the m140i. Have a young daughter and needed 5 doors with a baby seat, boot for pram etc.

I specced it as much as I could to make it a driver's car. Manual etc etc.

It's absolutely bland. I can't wait to get rid of it. It gives me no joy whatsoever. I'm stuck with it for the next 2 1/2 years by which time my daughter will be 5 and hopefully I can get something else. I can't see how this version will be any better.

They're not even close to being M cars imo. Completely soulless regardless of it being a rear wheel drive, 6 cylinder manual.

What do you wish you chose instead out of interest?

[daemon]

xjay1337 said:

They are nice - but 43k?! (As tested).

Can pick up an early M2 for that no?

Half those options arent required and you can get £6,500 off the price. With a reasonable amount of options you could stay be £40K list and get it for around £33,500 discounted.

[BFleming]

RobM77 said:

I don't have the LSD because it's only a 320d ED

Another reason will be that they don't offer a LSD with the correct 1:2.79 ratio for your car. You mess around with the ratios on the modern BMWs (diesels at least) & the car has no clue what gear its in, will hold back on the power (even if it is 163PS) & things like cruise control & gearshift indicator won't work. Birds will say they've never come across the issue, but take it from me it all happens!

[Selmer Mk6]

RedTrident said:

I pcp'd the m140i. Have a young daughter and needed 5 doors with a baby seat, boot for pram etc.

I specced it as much as I could to make it a driver's car. Manual etc etc.

It's absolutely bland. I can't wait to get rid of it. It gives me no joy whatsoever. I'm stuck with it for the next 2 1/2 years by which time my daughter will be 5 and hopefully I can get something else. I can't see how this version will be any better.

They're not even close to being M cars imo. Completely soulless regardless of it being a rear wheel drive, 6 cylinder manual.

I tend to agree with you. However, I think the engine and the auto box make the car. I sold mine after 7 months. As with your comments I was also not happy with the high speed stability. It is a good size though and the engine is very smooth. I changed mine for an M3. Maybe I should considered a an M2!

[RedTrident]

GregK2 said:

What do you wish you chose instead out of interest?

My daughter's mother drove the a45 amg for a while. It was in a different league.

It was the pcp that sold it for me in the end on the bmw. That and the dealer discount meant it was only a couple of hundred pounds a month and for safely carrying my daughter around its more than adequate. But not once have I just gone for a drive. I've never not done that before in a car I've enjoyed owning.

The steering really lacks feel, the exhaust remains flat sounding regardless of what you do and dynamically whilst it's nimble it's just not very good.

As for what else, maybe an s3 or an alfa equivalent. I looked at the golf but it looked too chavvy for my taste. Pistonheads should do a group test for people like me, I'm sure there's loads of us ex Lotus, TVR types that have to go sensible for a while.

These 1 and 2 series bmw's below the real M cars. If i had to go back and buy one, I'd just get the cheapest and be done with it. I really don't think I'd be missing out.

Edited by RedTrident on Monday 14th August 21:57

[Limpet]

RedTrident said:

Pistonheads should do a group test for people like me, I'm sure there's loads of us ex Lotus, TVR types that have to go sensible for a while.

Edited by RedTrident on Monday 14th August 21:57

I can't think of anything even close to the same money that wouldn't disappoint looking at your car history.

At the very least, you should have gone for a full M-Car if you were expecting even a fraction of the driving experience. Even then you'd have some expectation management to do.

[n4aat]

A rear end that only its mother could love.

[diehardbenzfan]

Yipper said:

It's a good-looking car. But the handling is terrible in the wet, and the social stigma of not being able to afford an M2 is quite high, which make it a tough sell.

That's absolutely ridiculous, social stigma of not being able to afford an M2.....That's a scary thought, to think somebody would be judged on that, only instance I could think of what you're saying is people saying a boxter is a poor mans 911 and I can't remember the last time I heard that. I see loads of m235is/m240is on the road and the only thought I have is to hope they boot it so I can hear the engine.

Also, I'm not sure if you're a track driver/expert whatever but I doubt any of us can really tell if a car handles well in the wet or not as it's dangerous to push a car to the limit when it's raining on public roads, especially a 300+ bhp rwd small coupe without an lsd, well I know I haven't anyway!

[Wills2]

xjay1337 said:

They are nice - but 43k?! (As tested).

Can pick up an early M2 for that no?

You can't be that obtuse, surely?

[kambites]

diehardbenzfan said:

That's absolutely ridiculous, social stigma of not being able to afford an M2.....

Sadly, quite a lot of people (on here at least, I've never encountered it in the real world) do seem to think like that.

Not that people buy something like this because they can't afford (or justify which isn't quite the same thing) the cost of an M2 but that there's anything wrong with that. Pretty much every car is bought at least partly because the buyer can't afford and/or justify the cost of something better. Would I have bought an Octavia as a family car if I could justifying buying and running an M3 touring? Of course I wouldn't!

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 15th August 08:39

[anonymous-user]

Just traded in a 4 month old m140 for an M3. Nothing at all wrong with the 140- in many respects it's a nicer car to drive- just wanted an M3 and should have bought it instead of the 140.

The 140/240 engine is an absolute gem, flexible, refined and powerful pretty much whenever you want it. The slightly old-school rear end is not as frightening as some people make out and you need to be fairly hamfisted to make it break traction (certainly in the dry). Don't really need to say much about the gearbox, other than it's well calibrated and predictable.

[JackReacher]

Regarding the looks, if people find them a bit tame then there are plenty of options from the M performance range, but they are expensive and if overdone can look a bit Halfords. Some subtle changes can look good. It's a well proportioned car IMO.

[Ares]

rtz62 said:

And here we are again, adding circa 25% of the base price because the BMW sales reps tell us that they are needed to ensure that the car sells in 3yrs time. Then, on some of the models, they bring out a stripped-back version and charge 25% more.
Call me a philistine, but I'll sit back and wait for Mr Depreciation to take a huge bite out of the headline price in 3yrs time, and smile at the stupidity of it all.

All relevant points, but is that different from any other mainstream car on the market?

[Ares]

limpsfield said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

daemon said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

To all the people banging on about the price and the cost of options, they're irrelevant. 99% of cars sold will be on PCP so all that matters is the monthly outlay.

There are numerous threads running if you want to feel aggrieved about PCP deals for the masses however for info discount available and cost of options will heavily influence PCP payments.

I have no issue with people buying cars on PCP. Whatever works for them.

I looked at the PCP deal which was heavily but politely pushed, .I would have got an extra couple of thousand quid off the price but over three years, using their future value, I reckoned I would still have been around £100 worse off per month rather than just a straight cash purchase - although this does mean the cash is in the car so I can't do the usual PH approach and invest it for a steady 15% a month return. Perhaps I should have taken it and cancelled it, but as usual when it comes to cars my head wasn't doing too much thinking.

Depends how you did it. Dealer finance, yes. Go through a broker and you will usually be better off (in the current climate) on finance. Staggering deals around at the moment, and have been for a few years.

[MrBarry123]

kambites said:

Sadly, quite a lot of people (on here at least, I've never encountered it in the real world) do seem to think like that.

Not that people buy something like this because they can't afford (or justify which isn't quite the same thing) the cost of an M2 but that there's anything wrong with that. Pretty much every car is bought at least partly because the buyer can't afford and/or justify the cost of something better. Would I have bought an Octavia as a family car if I could justifying buying and running an M3 touring? Of course I wouldn't!

This.

My bother has a M235i and I really like it - it's a fantastic package.

As such, and even though I bhed about the seats before, I will seriously consider a M2 in a year or so. If however I cannot afford and/or justify the expense of a M2, I'd obviously consider a M240i as an alternative. Plus, I'd be more willing to lightly modify the M240i which appeals.

[cerb4.5lee]

JackReacher said:

Regarding the looks, if people find them a bit tame then there are plenty of options from the M performance range, but they are expensive and if overdone can look a bit Halfords. Some subtle changes can look good. It's a well proportioned car IMO.

I agree and I really like it's size and it reminds me of the E36 3 series, I struggle with the rear end looks and whenever I've seen one out on the road to me they just don't stand out and blend in too much, so something like the Mustang appeals more because that has road presence and it stands out.

It's still one of my favourite Bmw's on sale at the moment though, and I know the epas is crap but most new cars have crappy electric steering now anyway.