mtl Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 I was wondering if anyone out there has any personal experience with Elms BMW (in Gt. Shelford, near Cambridge) and can comment on the quality and efficiency of customer service offered. I had a company 323i serviced there once about 4 years ago, back when the franchise was owned by Scotthall, but have not dealt with them since they've become Elms. I'm thinking about buying a used M3 through them and would appreciate your opinions on whether this is a wise move. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAYDR32 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Mark Given you are on the look out for an M3, might be worth you checking out www.bm3w.co.uk as its totally focused on M cars!! Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyD Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I was wondering if anyone out there has any personal experience with Elms BMW (in Gt. Shelford, near Cambridge) and can comment on the quality and efficiency of customer service offered. I had a company 323i serviced there once about 4 years ago, back when the franchise was owned by Scotthall, but have not dealt with them since they've become Elms. I'm thinking about buying a used M3 through them and would appreciate your opinions on whether this is a wise move. Thanks [/ QUOTE ] Mark, welcome to TSN. I know Elms fairly well and a good friend of mine works there who has sold me a car before. He is a Salesman and works with new and used I believe. Are you dealing with anyone in particular? If you need any advice drop me a line and I'll put you in touch with him. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Tony, thanks for the welcome and information I've been speaking to James, the used car sales manager. He seems to be a decent bloke - I've driven a couple of manual 53 plates there recently and am currently waiting for him to get back to me about a test drive in an SMGII-equipped car. I'll PM you about this contact of yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Cheers Jason, I'll look into that Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Mark Given you are on the look out for an M3, might be worth you checking out www.bm3w.co.uk as its totally focused on M cars!! Jason [/ QUOTE ] good call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil330 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 I have bought 2 cars from Elms, service was always very good and they always came up trumps with a deal! Unfortunately they couldnt match Sewells (of Bishop Stortford) on the deal, so they got the business this time round. Something that might be worth mentioning, is that they gave me the new Z4M for a whole afternoon when other garages either didnt have one or werent offering a test drive! It felt unfair taking the business elsewhere, but i made the other dealers aware that my decision had been made after the 3 hours i had behind the wheel, and that if this hadn't been offered i may have not changed at all! This doesnt mean Elms are perfect though! I had a problem with service department when they fitted the wrong Ipod adaptor and received the car back with a filthy interior (light beige mats with grubby footprints and finger prints everywhere), needless to say i wasn't best pleased, but nothing major! Hope this info is of some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Phil Thanks for the feedback - it all helps! It looks like decent E46 M3s have been a little thin on the ground at Elms of late. Apparently they're about to buy in a load for the summer... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Good M3's are scarce full stop right now. People are aware that the E46 M3 has ceased production and there is a long wait for the E92 model in late '07, early '08. Also it's clear that there is still no real competition for the M3 package, unless you maybe consider the £50k new RS4. There is a real genuine shortage in the retail trade right now but that's not reflected (yet) in the trade values. Right now - with the best cars - it's a sellers market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Good M3's are scarce full stop right now. People are aware that the E46 M3 has ceased production and there is a long wait for the E92 model in late '07, early '08. Also it's clear that there is still no real competition for the M3 package, unless you maybe consider the £50k new RS4. There is a real genuine shortage in the retail trade right now but that's not reflected (yet) in the trade values. Right now - with the best cars - it's a sellers market. [/ QUOTE ] I take your point, although my approved used national searches still seem to be bringing up at least 15-20 cars that would suit both my budget and required spec list. I suppose I'd call that scarce, considering the relatively large number of E46 M3s around in the UK at the moment. At the serious risk of turning this into an M3 vs RS4 discussion, I'll simply say: is a 60:40 split really a true match (in terms of driving pleasure, on or off the track, in less-than-pissing-it-down conditions) for RWD and the M-diff? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 please..let's not turn this into another M3 vs RS4 "debate" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Absolutely PM me for further information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Yeah we defiantly wouldn’t want to hear peoples opinions on this matter, we wouldn’t want this turning in to an informative thread would we... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Hmm, I can't help but feel as though I'm in the middle of something here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Hmm, I can't help but feel as though I'm in the middle of something here... [/ QUOTE ] wouldn't worry about it Mark...I think your point about it not decending into an "M3 v RS4" was fair and appropriate in the context of the thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Hmm, I can't help but feel as though I'm in the middle of something here... [/ QUOTE ] wouldn't worry about it Mark...I think your point about it not decending into an "M3 v RS4" was fair and appropriate in the context of the thread [/ QUOTE ] Yep I apologize in arrear, people are throwing work at me today when there are loads of people sitting about doing feck all. Im twitching with agitation. My comment was totally uncalled for an I apologize Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Right, none of which is to say that we couldn't have a full and balanced debate on the relative merits of two of the finest pieces of germanic automotive technology ever to grace the planet, in another thread. Just not here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 It'll get locked, that chat is forbidden round here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 And so ends the lesson Now, who wants to talk about the B7 RS4 and E46 M3...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Well there was some debate here, before it got locked if you are intrested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtl Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Well there was some debate here, before it got locked if you are intrested [/ QUOTE ] A deft piece of damage limitation by your friendly neighbourhood mods there too. But I prefer this thread Woppum. Still, every car is beautiful, in its own way... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akira Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Or we could start an RS4 v M5 debate just to be different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 Naaah. They are common as muck. There has been one going on at BM3W for a while if your intrested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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