M3, 330d Touring, R53 S
Discussion
So I’ve decided to amalgamate my car posts into one, making it easier for me to update as its all on 1 and also as I don’t have an interesting or exciting life as many others on here, I can update the post as and when with a decent amount of info on 2-3 cars rather than the odd update every now and then.
For those that are interested the links to my original posts for the Honda Civic Type R (FK2) and the wife’s Audi TT 3.2 V6 (8J) are below..
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... - CTR
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... - TT
So onto the updates..
Type R
The civic had been quietly getting on with the daily slog of commuting me to and from various work locations and shipping the family round at weekends but just as we ticked over into June, an SRS fault light intermittently flicked up on the dash.
After a couple of days of this happening I decided to drop it into my local Honda dealer, thinking any fault would be covered under warranty, I would get a courtesy car and it would be fixed and all would be right in the world again.. Little did I know this little red light would set off a chain of events that quite simply put, could be the most stressful scenario since the Cuban missile crisis!
Ok, an over exaggeration on my part but still its been a rollercoaster shall we say.
First of all the dealer told me they were having system issues as it was either hacked or had somehow got itself a virus.. After I stopped myself saying to the service assistant ‘did it forget to wash its hands’ I composed myself and explained that there wasn’t an issue if they needed to keep my car longer as long as they could provide me with a courtesy car. I was told no they aren’t offering that service currently but after a little toing and throwing for a WEEK
I clearly identified to them that they were offering test drives so they must be offering courtesy cars? The decision was then made to authorise one on the Friday, unfortunately it was a very underwhelming Honda Jazz… 
Last Saturday afternoon I found myself talking to the wife about cars (it’s normally a challenging conversation
) however to my surprise it went well and discussions soon turned to, ‘is it worth looking at some this weekend’ bearing in mind it was Saturday afternoon and Father’s Day was tomorrow, I wasn’t expecting much luck, however after a few phone calls 
we had booked in some viewings for 3 cars.
After a full day of looking around at some cars at a dealership in Essex (which was very underwhelming) a deal was done
with a private seller and the car was collected Monday evening.. MORE ON THIS FURTHER DOWN..
Anyway back to the Type R.. so basically long story short.. after all the moaning around the courtesy car I ended up giving it back Monday afternoon as we had the ‘new car’ and the TT to share whilst the Type R was being fixed. Then Thursday I was called and informed that the fault is the ‘SRS Control Module’ for the airbag in the Steering Wheel and that unfortunately Honda UK have rejected my warranty claim, so this will cost …. £1137 to replace…
Once the initial shock had passed you can imagine my reaction was calm, composed but also many expletives that an extended manufacturer warranty doesn’t cover this, which after reviewing the T&Cs it states in the exceptions ‘airbags’ not covered. After some more toing and throwing Thursday and Friday between Honda UK and the Honda dealership I managed to reduce this cost to £622 in total for the part and also no labour costs from the dealer (although this only amounted to £43 in total), either way you can imagine I am still not happy with this decision as the warranty doesn’t state ‘SRS control modules’ are exempt from it, so I expect this cost to be covered.
Its kind of a watch this space on this now.. basically the Motor Ombudsmen are involved and say I’m in the right. Honda UK said that’s their final offer and Honda dealership are not budging either..
So for now the part has been ordered, I will be paying under protest for the £622 and hopefully over the next few months the motor ombudsmen can sort something out..
TT
So the TT, what can I say, I haven’t been driving it often but when I have its been great, the V6 sounds lovely and pulls well, the automatic gearbox is smooth and faultless but unfortunately the size of the rear seats for our kids is now causing issues, as a result (as I’ve previously explained) we went a bought another car..
What’s happening with the TT well I don’t really know. The car is all paid for, tax, insured and quite simply doesn’t deserve the £3,500 price tag that webuyanycar are quoting however once the Type R returns its pointless having 3 cars.. or is it
let’s watch this space and see what happens.
The New Car
If you have managed to slog your way through my gumpf above to this point then you deserve a pat on the back, I hope its been worth the wait.. anyway here is the new car..
Welcome to the family, the BMW E92 M3
It’s an Alpine Edition and is in incredible condition for its age. We are thoroughly overwhelmed with it to be honest and can’t believe you can get that much car for the price we paid!
We have just been enjoying the whole package this car offers over the last week of ownership. We brought it from a guy on M3cutters.co.uk after viewing a couple of rough examples at garages.
I’m not going to go into to much detail on the cars specs now as I’m going to do a little write up on it once I’ve had a good couple of weeks of ownership. I may even do some comparisons to the Type R when it returns. Although being back in a BMW is seriously making me consider trading it in for a daily beemer too.. but we will see..
I will also get some better pics of the M3 next week.
Hopefully I haven’t bored too many of you who have decided to read this, please feel free to ask questions about the cars, I’ll try and keep this updated as best I can, but don’t be expecting any glorious trips across Europe or track days just yet, once everything has settled I’ll definitely be getting over to the ring in the M3 and maybe a track day or two..
Watch this space..
For those that are interested the links to my original posts for the Honda Civic Type R (FK2) and the wife’s Audi TT 3.2 V6 (8J) are below..
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... - CTR
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... - TT
So onto the updates..
Type R
The civic had been quietly getting on with the daily slog of commuting me to and from various work locations and shipping the family round at weekends but just as we ticked over into June, an SRS fault light intermittently flicked up on the dash.
After a couple of days of this happening I decided to drop it into my local Honda dealer, thinking any fault would be covered under warranty, I would get a courtesy car and it would be fixed and all would be right in the world again.. Little did I know this little red light would set off a chain of events that quite simply put, could be the most stressful scenario since the Cuban missile crisis!
Ok, an over exaggeration on my part but still its been a rollercoaster shall we say.
First of all the dealer told me they were having system issues as it was either hacked or had somehow got itself a virus.. After I stopped myself saying to the service assistant ‘did it forget to wash its hands’ I composed myself and explained that there wasn’t an issue if they needed to keep my car longer as long as they could provide me with a courtesy car. I was told no they aren’t offering that service currently but after a little toing and throwing for a WEEK
I clearly identified to them that they were offering test drives so they must be offering courtesy cars? The decision was then made to authorise one on the Friday, unfortunately it was a very underwhelming Honda Jazz… Last Saturday afternoon I found myself talking to the wife about cars (it’s normally a challenging conversation
) however to my surprise it went well and discussions soon turned to, ‘is it worth looking at some this weekend’ bearing in mind it was Saturday afternoon and Father’s Day was tomorrow, I wasn’t expecting much luck, however after a few phone calls we had booked in some viewings for 3 cars.After a full day of looking around at some cars at a dealership in Essex (which was very underwhelming) a deal was done
with a private seller and the car was collected Monday evening.. MORE ON THIS FURTHER DOWN..Anyway back to the Type R.. so basically long story short.. after all the moaning around the courtesy car I ended up giving it back Monday afternoon as we had the ‘new car’ and the TT to share whilst the Type R was being fixed. Then Thursday I was called and informed that the fault is the ‘SRS Control Module’ for the airbag in the Steering Wheel and that unfortunately Honda UK have rejected my warranty claim, so this will cost …. £1137 to replace…
Once the initial shock had passed you can imagine my reaction was calm, composed but also many expletives that an extended manufacturer warranty doesn’t cover this, which after reviewing the T&Cs it states in the exceptions ‘airbags’ not covered. After some more toing and throwing Thursday and Friday between Honda UK and the Honda dealership I managed to reduce this cost to £622 in total for the part and also no labour costs from the dealer (although this only amounted to £43 in total), either way you can imagine I am still not happy with this decision as the warranty doesn’t state ‘SRS control modules’ are exempt from it, so I expect this cost to be covered.
Its kind of a watch this space on this now.. basically the Motor Ombudsmen are involved and say I’m in the right. Honda UK said that’s their final offer and Honda dealership are not budging either..
So for now the part has been ordered, I will be paying under protest for the £622 and hopefully over the next few months the motor ombudsmen can sort something out..
TT
So the TT, what can I say, I haven’t been driving it often but when I have its been great, the V6 sounds lovely and pulls well, the automatic gearbox is smooth and faultless but unfortunately the size of the rear seats for our kids is now causing issues, as a result (as I’ve previously explained) we went a bought another car..
What’s happening with the TT well I don’t really know. The car is all paid for, tax, insured and quite simply doesn’t deserve the £3,500 price tag that webuyanycar are quoting however once the Type R returns its pointless having 3 cars.. or is it
let’s watch this space and see what happens.The New Car
If you have managed to slog your way through my gumpf above to this point then you deserve a pat on the back, I hope its been worth the wait.. anyway here is the new car..
Welcome to the family, the BMW E92 M3
It’s an Alpine Edition and is in incredible condition for its age. We are thoroughly overwhelmed with it to be honest and can’t believe you can get that much car for the price we paid!
We have just been enjoying the whole package this car offers over the last week of ownership. We brought it from a guy on M3cutters.co.uk after viewing a couple of rough examples at garages.
I’m not going to go into to much detail on the cars specs now as I’m going to do a little write up on it once I’ve had a good couple of weeks of ownership. I may even do some comparisons to the Type R when it returns. Although being back in a BMW is seriously making me consider trading it in for a daily beemer too.. but we will see..
I will also get some better pics of the M3 next week.
Hopefully I haven’t bored too many of you who have decided to read this, please feel free to ask questions about the cars, I’ll try and keep this updated as best I can, but don’t be expecting any glorious trips across Europe or track days just yet, once everything has settled I’ll definitely be getting over to the ring in the M3 and maybe a track day or two..
Watch this space..
Mikebentley said:
£3.5 k for the TT. That is a lot of car to be worth so little. Love your car choices but that’s a big bill for a Honda as they have a reputation for reliability.
Thanks for the kind words. Hoping to keep the TT for now as it’s nice to drive tbh. Not sure I wanna keep the Honda now, think I’m heading over the BMW or Mercedes garage at the weekend.. R12many said:
Eastcott Lodges in the first photo?
Sure is, was last years holiday.. such a beautiful place. So a brief update..
The Type R is back and working again.. luckily I’ve remembered why I like the car so much so I may keep it, although I’m going to test the water on some others just in case.
The M3 is going well, I took it out the other evening and can confidently say that it’s quite a bit of fun once you begin to push it. As previously said I will do a full write up soon and also do a head to head Vs the Type R
The TT has been sold, was sad to see it go to be honest as it’s been good for the 20 months we owned it. Oh well onwards and upwards..
The Type R is back and working again.. luckily I’ve remembered why I like the car so much so I may keep it, although I’m going to test the water on some others just in case.
The M3 is going well, I took it out the other evening and can confidently say that it’s quite a bit of fun once you begin to push it. As previously said I will do a full write up soon and also do a head to head Vs the Type R
The TT has been sold, was sad to see it go to be honest as it’s been good for the 20 months we owned it. Oh well onwards and upwards..
5mileofdeath said:
Very poor indeed mate.. apparently Honda UK are notorious for rejecting warranty claims..
Hopefully MO can sort something for me but I’m not holding my breath.
I see they are the excluding the wheels; would they not cover the engine or the gearbox since they are connected and being driven by them? I know that I'm stretching it, but still...Hopefully MO can sort something for me but I’m not holding my breath.
So had the M3 for over a month now so may as well give a little write up of my findings.. and some comparisons to my daily FK2 ..
Exterior:
Totally different to my Type R, the Mrs constantly says that the civic gets more attention than the M3, what I explain to her is that you need to know what your looking at. The civic is bright red with extended wings, gills and a huge spoiler, the M3 is subtle but also has some trademark parts that make it different from your standard E90 series..
I think that’s what makes an M car, it doesn’t shout it’s something special.. when I drive the M3 I’m ignored by 90% of road users, I’ll get stares from other BMW drivers and nods of appreciation from other M owners.. but all in all it’s just a very muscular look on a classic coupe shape..
Interior:
As with all BMWs it’s very functional, I think that’s a German thing tbh as the TT was the same.. the seats are comfy and it’s got enough gadgets and gizmos to keep the Mrs happy but it shows it’s age compared to newer cars, for example the civic.
The main thing is despite it being a coupe it fits the 2 kids in the back with ease, so doubles up as the family car when the Type R isn’t available..
Engine:
I could probably sum this up with a one liner but that would not do it justice, the 4.0 V8 is magnificent, it sounds glorious and revving it out to the 8300rpm redline is addictive.
Being n/a it’s totally different to the Type R in the way it delivers its power, for example you can come off a roundabout in 3rd Gear in the Type R and let the torque pull you along, the M3 needs more work, it took a couple of times driving it spiritedly to really get the best out of it but once you get it hooked up right in M Mode it feels very special indeed!
Handling:
Compared to the R it’s the same logic but delivered in a totally different way; the civic is lightweight front wheel drive with a special diff helping to put the power down, the M3 is obviously rear wheel drive, also with a special diff but carrying around 300kg more weight, I can definitely feel the difference between the two and have to adapt my driving accordingly, I was astonished at how much speed the M3 can take into the corners, turn in is good, just got to learn not to get on the loud pedal too early, where as the R encourages you to bury your foot mid corner. Both are very fun to drive, it would be great to get them both onto a track to really push their limits, we will see..
Practicality:
The M3 is deceptive in this department, against the Type R it’s down a couple of doors and the ability to fold it’s rear seats, however there is more than enough room in the back for 2 adults and the boot is bigger than you would think, no golf bats here though lol..
The driving side of things is good, like the Type R it could do the daily stuff effortlessly (albeit by using a lot more fuel), it pops to the shops just as easily as the hatch too and of course the spirited driving bit it does really well, I haven’t taken the M3 on any long trips yet but reviews say it does the GT bit really well, we took the Type R to Cornwall last year and was really good tbh.
All in all I would say apart from the fuel consumption it could do just a good a job as the hot hatch can in terms of general practicality.
Overall:
So the M3 is very special in its own way, it doesn’t shout at you like some other cars do but like all M cars it is a real drivers car with a great engine.
I can’t wait to spend more time driving it but it will stay as the weekend toy for now as the Type R has the daily driver bit covered..
As stated in some previous posts though I keep looking at other M cars and am now seriously considering one as a daily. Maybe an E46 M3 or M2..
Let me know what you think, I always like to hear others thoughts..
Thanks for reading
Exterior:
Totally different to my Type R, the Mrs constantly says that the civic gets more attention than the M3, what I explain to her is that you need to know what your looking at. The civic is bright red with extended wings, gills and a huge spoiler, the M3 is subtle but also has some trademark parts that make it different from your standard E90 series..
I think that’s what makes an M car, it doesn’t shout it’s something special.. when I drive the M3 I’m ignored by 90% of road users, I’ll get stares from other BMW drivers and nods of appreciation from other M owners.. but all in all it’s just a very muscular look on a classic coupe shape..
Interior:
As with all BMWs it’s very functional, I think that’s a German thing tbh as the TT was the same.. the seats are comfy and it’s got enough gadgets and gizmos to keep the Mrs happy but it shows it’s age compared to newer cars, for example the civic.
The main thing is despite it being a coupe it fits the 2 kids in the back with ease, so doubles up as the family car when the Type R isn’t available..
Engine:
I could probably sum this up with a one liner but that would not do it justice, the 4.0 V8 is magnificent, it sounds glorious and revving it out to the 8300rpm redline is addictive.
Being n/a it’s totally different to the Type R in the way it delivers its power, for example you can come off a roundabout in 3rd Gear in the Type R and let the torque pull you along, the M3 needs more work, it took a couple of times driving it spiritedly to really get the best out of it but once you get it hooked up right in M Mode it feels very special indeed!
Handling:
Compared to the R it’s the same logic but delivered in a totally different way; the civic is lightweight front wheel drive with a special diff helping to put the power down, the M3 is obviously rear wheel drive, also with a special diff but carrying around 300kg more weight, I can definitely feel the difference between the two and have to adapt my driving accordingly, I was astonished at how much speed the M3 can take into the corners, turn in is good, just got to learn not to get on the loud pedal too early, where as the R encourages you to bury your foot mid corner. Both are very fun to drive, it would be great to get them both onto a track to really push their limits, we will see..
Practicality:
The M3 is deceptive in this department, against the Type R it’s down a couple of doors and the ability to fold it’s rear seats, however there is more than enough room in the back for 2 adults and the boot is bigger than you would think, no golf bats here though lol..
The driving side of things is good, like the Type R it could do the daily stuff effortlessly (albeit by using a lot more fuel), it pops to the shops just as easily as the hatch too and of course the spirited driving bit it does really well, I haven’t taken the M3 on any long trips yet but reviews say it does the GT bit really well, we took the Type R to Cornwall last year and was really good tbh.
All in all I would say apart from the fuel consumption it could do just a good a job as the hot hatch can in terms of general practicality.
Overall:
So the M3 is very special in its own way, it doesn’t shout at you like some other cars do but like all M cars it is a real drivers car with a great engine.
I can’t wait to spend more time driving it but it will stay as the weekend toy for now as the Type R has the daily driver bit covered..
As stated in some previous posts though I keep looking at other M cars and am now seriously considering one as a daily. Maybe an E46 M3 or M2..
Let me know what you think, I always like to hear others thoughts..
Thanks for reading
Worth getting the bearings done on the M3 for peace of mind
Looks good, awesome engine!
Mine including getting the bearings done
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Looks good, awesome engine!
Mine including getting the bearings done
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by custardkid on Thursday 6th August 21:26
Edited by custardkid on Thursday 6th August 21:27
custardkid said:
Worth getting the bearings done on the M3 for peace of mind
Looks good, awesome engine!
Mine including getting the bearings done
Yours looks good mate..Looks good, awesome engine!
Mine including getting the bearings done
Tbh in a bit of a weird situation in regards to the bearings/actuators etc, from what I can see In the paperwork, they haven’t been replaced, trouble is I’m reluctant to pay out on replacements when the car is under full BMW warranty until end of November and it says they are covered, will see what the renewal quote is, if it’s high then I will probably decline and get rod bearings done as a safety net..
5mileofdeath said:
custardkid said:
Worth getting the bearings done on the M3 for peace of mind
Looks good, awesome engine!
Mine including getting the bearings done
Yours looks good mate..Looks good, awesome engine!
Mine including getting the bearings done
Tbh in a bit of a weird situation in regards to the bearings/actuators etc, from what I can see In the paperwork, they haven’t been replaced, trouble is I’m reluctant to pay out on replacements when the car is under full BMW warranty until end of November and it says they are covered, will see what the renewal quote is, if it’s high then I will probably decline and get rod bearings done as a safety net..
TheAngryDog said:
BMW won't replace the bearings or crank under warranty, it will he a full engine minus ancillaries. Your warranty will only cover you up to the price paid for your car, minus the vat iirc. An engine I believe is north of £20k from BMW.
Car was bought in 2018 from BMW AUC with 24 month warranty, receipt says £22.5k so should be covered if something goes wrong, although I’ve been burned before by dealers so wouldn’t surprise me if it all went to s**t.Edited by 5mileofdeath on Saturday 15th August 22:20
Court_S said:
Nice M3, I’ve got a real soft sport for the E9x M3. I think they’re a good looking car and the engine is fabulous.
Surprised to hear how badly Honda have dealt with the issue on yours.
Thanks Surprised to hear how badly Honda have dealt with the issue on yours.
I had never driven one before this but they are amazing cars. Engine is fantastic not a lot better imo. Unfortunately Honda have made the whole ownership experience really poor and the more I dig the more I find Honda UK and the dealerships are a joke.
What makes me laugh is they called me up recently to ask if I wanted to renew my warranty for £300 which sounds cheap and worth it but it really isn’t, sooo many exclusions.
MOT is up Tuesday but luckily booked it in elsewhere as I don’t trust them, annoyingly I have to let them service it a further 2 times as it’s included in the package I got when I purchased. I’m worried it will come out with more faults than it goes in with!
Rant over lol
UPDATE
Started getting squeaky back brakes on the Civic a few weeks ago so decided to get them changed, especially with the MOT coming up, which was Today!
She passed!
with 2 advisories which were both front tyres nearing legal limit. Gonna get them changed soon as possible but they have lasted well to be honest.
Thing that surprised me the most was that mileage between MOTs totalled 16,100 miles!! Yikes..
Anyway service due up next Wednesday with Honda, should be interesting
Started getting squeaky back brakes on the Civic a few weeks ago so decided to get them changed, especially with the MOT coming up, which was Today!
She passed!
with 2 advisories which were both front tyres nearing legal limit. Gonna get them changed soon as possible but they have lasted well to be honest.Thing that surprised me the most was that mileage between MOTs totalled 16,100 miles!! Yikes..
Anyway service due up next Wednesday with Honda, should be interesting
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