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135 vs M3


basophil
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Hi Folks. This is my first post here. Pleased to make your collective acquaintance. 169144-ok.gif

In about a year I plan to change vehicles. (Currently driving a 130i) I've narrowed the choice down to 2. It will either be a 135, or a 3-4 year old M3.

90% of my driving is a daily commute. The remainder will be touring and the occasional track day.

I'd be interested to hear people's opinions about the best way to go. confused.gif

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Surely a 1 year old M3 CS will be about the same price as a new 135i??

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Not in my neck of the woods, unfortunately. (Melbourne.)

Estimated cost here of the 135 is about $90,000. A June 2004 E46 M3 would cost $90-100,000. A 2006 model would cost $120K +.

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Oh, right.

I think I would probably go with the 135i. How many miles do you do?? I am thinking what will be the one to have in another 2 years?? a 6 year old M3 or the 2 year old 135i??

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I do ~ 8,000 miles per year. I spend about 1.5 hours per day in my car.

Depreciation wise, I thought the M3 would be a better option. Most vehicles really take a hit in the first couple of years.

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Has Fatcat got his yet? He also used to run an E46 M3 so would be the man to ask 169144-ok.gif

Having driven the Bi Turbo 3ltr in both the 335i and B3, and owning an E46 M3 again, I think both engines are peaches, but the M3's has far more character, and M Sports will never be as focused as the M cars.

The lure of a new car vs. a 6 year old one may be the deal clincher though.

Cheers

Ben

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The lure of a new car vs. a 6 year old one may be the deal clincher though.

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That's my thinking too.

Over here you are looking at $95k for a 135i with nav and audio upgrade, and probably about the same for a 2006 M3. If it were a late E46 M3 I would go for that, but by the time it was 5 or 6 years old I am not sure.

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Surely a 1 year old M3 CS will be about the same price as a new 135i??

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This got me thinking. This is certainly not the case in Australia. As I said in the OP, here an M3 would need to be 3-4 years old to cost the same as the 135.

Then I had a look at the "M Cars" forum and I see that the price of fuel in the UK is really hurting resale values for performance cars.

Currently in Australia we pay ~ $1.40 per litre which, I think, converts to about 2.5 quid per gallon. What do you guys pay over there?

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Not sure how much values are being hit because of fuel prices, if you can afford a £50k car then a 10% increase in your fuel bill ain't really going to hurt too much as these types of cars don't do mega miles.

What it may be doing is getting people thinking about an oil burning alternative.

Or just do what I do, have one of each grin.gif

Daft thing is that road tax is £300 on the diesel X3 and £205 on my M3 smashfreakB.gif

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Daft thing is that road tax is £300 on the diesel X3 and £205 on my M3 smashfreakB.gif

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So bjacks, how would you rate the M3 as a daily commuter? I do about 200 km per week. My average speed over this period is ~ 32 km/hour.

I know the M3 is not suited to this type of driving. It's raison d'etre would be for touring and track days. But would it be bearable as a daily hack? bike.thumb.gif

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Love it as a daily commuter, much more friendly than the CSL was anyway!

SMG means no left leg ache either, heated seats, OK hi-fi, comfy leather, Bluetooth, Nav etc - what more do you need?

Fuel is the only thing that suffers, the M3 doesn't like this type of driving and I get 17ish MPG - which is pretty similar to the V8 RS4 I used to have, and worse than the 996TT.

As a place to sit, it's rather pleasant! grin.gif

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