Right...after only 2 days with the car on autotrader and narrowing the canvassers from the interested people, the M3 is now sold.
The question now is...what to replace it with? Budget is around £20-25k and hes had a few ideas on what to buy which have included the following:
BMW M5
Porsche Boxster
Audi TT 225 Coupe (not the convertible - too "girly")
Mercedes SLK 320
BMW M Roadster/Coupe
Basically, he wants something which is a similar age to the M3 (1997) or younger, which still has the performance, can seat 2 people or more and has street cred. It should also be german as he isnt a big fan of jap vehicles.
At present, i think his favourite is the M5, but there doesnt seem to be a great selection on the market. Where is the best place to buy one of these cars? We have checked out autotrader and it hasnt given a great choice.
Thanks for your help and we look forward to receiving your advice/opinions!
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Your best selection of used BMW`s would be on their own website :-
www.bmw.co.uk/apm/index/
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330Ci or cab
540i
A4 Cab
Honda S2000 or NSX
Audi S4 2.7
Audi A3 3.2
Golf R32
SL500 (old shape)
CLK430 or 55 (just)
Merc C36
Audi S8
Audi S6 4.2
Merc E55
Plenty of choice for high powered German metal.
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VX220?? Well it does have German connections ;o)
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I noticed a few M5's for sale in the Sunday Times motoring section.
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Phew - thank goodness for that!
Was I the only one that thought the govt had privatised the M3 Motorway?
H
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If you want to see what the M5 can do, then check out this link.
intl.bmwfilms.com/clap.asp?template=archive&countr...r
Jonathan
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What about a Golf R32 - I know someone with one of these - seriously good looking car + cred + fast + german
But not with the same handling of M3/5,
so I would also suggest the Boxter :-)
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That kind of money will buy a LHD Porsche 993 of a similar age as his M3, imported from Germany. I imagine he would like that :)
This one is a bit older but you get the idea:
www.rsjsportscars.co.uk/vehicles/porsche_911_993_c...m
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Hi,
thanks for all the response. I like some of the suggestions that have come forward.
I have had a look in the back of what car and there are some excellent leasing propositions for businesses. There are particularly good rates for the Z4 and Boxster. We enquired earlier on what the lead time for a boxster would be and it is around 4 months for delivery. we are awaiting a response on the Z4.
How long do you think the lead time on a Z4 2.5/3.0 is at present?
I think that the M5 looks like a serious proposition and I tried logging onto the car auction part. Unfortunately registration looks expensive (20 searches for £7) and I think we would prefer to buy an M5 from a dealer so it includes a warranty at least.
We did have a look at the VW site and spotted the R32 - however it looks very "boy racer" with its 18" alloys and bodykit. I think we would prefer more of a "Q" car to be honest.
Anyway, keep posting and I will fill you in on how we get on in the mean time.
Thanks again
Chris
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I suppose, yes, the M5 is the 'Q car' of the ones you've mentioned and is real stormer compared to all of the above.
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Carmad
Auctionview data as of today...
BMW M5 5.0 Saloon, BLUE, 4 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 18647 Miles, Margin.
LL51AKX Registered 13-12-2001 Birmingham
24-02-2004
New: £51350
Ret: £38250
Cln: £32300
Avg: £30600
Blw: £28550
BMW M5 5.0 Saloon, BLACK, 4 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 22746 Miles, Margin.
MM51TKX Registered 31-01-2002 Birmingham
24-02-2004
New: £51350
Ret: £38000
Cln: £32000
Avg: £30400
Blw: £28450
Regards
Jonathan
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Save £24,950 and buy an F reg Nova. The put a baseball cap on back to front and (like all the gits who speed down my road) you'll think you're in a cool sportscar.
V
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lmao @ the Nova comment. I have a friend who had a Nova and has just swapped it for a rather 'tasteful' yellow Punto Sporting (old model). Hes now stuck a set of alloys on it and sits in Mcdonalds car park every night looking very sad. Why the hell does Mcdonalds attract morons with OTT cars?
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As an afterthought, I've seen a couple of Lotus Carltons up for sale recently - both with 30000 miles and for about £18K.
I think these are quite rare and have similar performance figures to the M5, and are unrestricted (but not German)....
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I tried logging onto the car auction part. Unfortunately registration looks expensive (20 searches for £7)
Que? Your budget is £20-25k and £7 is too much? You'll save £000's at auction compared to a dealer, just buy a warranty yourself afterwards.
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What did u sell the M3 for?
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Hi,
Well the M3 has been an absolutely brilliant car. However, I think the main reason was that my dad fancied a change of car. We had it for 2 years and it was just time for something different.
At first we were going to swap the car for an estate of some sort, however we have since decided to keep our business vectra estate as a work horse and run that into the ground.
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To be honest, if the old man fancies a change, won't the M5 be a little too much like what he's just got rid of? If he doesn't need 4 seats then i'd be tempted for something a little more sporty, like a boxster or similar (or a V8 Esprit???).
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Yea i can definitely see your point Owen. I think he likes the sound of either an M5 or Z4 at present. Totally different cars, i know - but he doesnt have any specific requirements that they dont forefill. Hes been quoted a delivery time of 3 weeks for a 2.5 litre Z4 and we are currently awaiting a quote for the 3.0. The 3.0 can do the 0-60mph run in 5.9 seconds which isnt far off his M3 - also, being a 2 seater, a cabriolet and therefore probably more noisey, im sure it will feel just as quick, if not faster.
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Is it possible to buy aftermarket warranties on specialist cars like the M5? This would make things much more appealing.
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Yes, but you must get BMW's own warranty which is about £600 for the M5, covers everything down to the battery. It's an extended warranty, so the car must be under manufacturers warranty then you can extend it, or if it already has the extended warranty you can extend that for up to 5 years/100,000 miles. But if the manufacurers warranty has expired and it doesn't have an extended warranty, you can't take one out. Hope that makes some sense! Don't buy an M5 without one, which is why I don't understand HJ's suggestion of buying one at auction, most likely out of warranty. Find a car and phone BMW to see if you can get the warranty. I've got 2 mates who have/have had M5's and both have had expensive problems. Both had A/C problems, one was cutting out due to fuel sender problems (between the twin tanks) the other was "missing" about 80bhp due to duff plugs and an ECU fault. It went like an absolute rocket once fixed. Oh and it's about £600 quid for 2 back tyres every 10,000 miles :o) - damn fine cars though.
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Thanks for the advice on the warranty - i think i get what you mean!
You see hes always had this soft spot for M cars, especially the M5. He saw a used one at a bmw dealer about a year ago and fell in love with it - but we had only had the M3 8 months so couldnt justify a swap.
Since then we have purchased an estate car for his business so in theory, he could go for a car less practical than his current M3. However, i have this feeling he will go for an M5.
Its nice to sell the car privately though as the BMW dealer offered us a CRAZY figure for the car 6 months ago - and the salesman even admitted that the car was stunning, needed no work, "and" he would put the car on the forecourt for at least £4,000 more than he would give us!
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Stop press....
Dont know if its a bit much but check out the new Z4 Alpina!
www.channel4.com/apps26/4car/jsp/main.jsp?lnk=211&...9
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porsche 911 or boxter
www.rsjsportscars.co.uk/vehicles/porsche_911_993_c...m (only a bit over budget)
z4 alpina got a bad review from top gear if I remember correctly.
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So how much did you sell the M3 for in the end?
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