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      04-27-2014, 01:59 AM   #1
bennzwel
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Is this a dumb decision ?

I have been thinking for a while and I know this might sound silly but I am thinking to :

Sell my new F20 116i which done only 700kms and get a 2007-09 M3 ... And I have to put some money in addition for get one which done probably around 60,000kms

Would I regret it ?
I'm just so attracted to M3 that I'm being blinded by it lol love the look, power and how it drives.

What would you do ?
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      04-27-2014, 02:35 AM   #2
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That is a very personal thing, and you are the only one who can judge how much the abilities of the M3 is worth to you. For me, it would not even be close to worth it, but the M3 is extra expensive where I live. Even though I take my cars to race tracks, I tend to prefer low/moderate power. Since I like to push the cars to the limit, the M3 is simply too fast. It reaches very dangerous speeds.
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      04-27-2014, 02:52 AM   #3
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Thanks for your comment . I guess you make a valid point .
Have you driven a M3 ?
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      04-27-2014, 06:50 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bennzwel View Post
Thanks for your comment . I guess you make a valid point .
Have you driven a M3 ?
Yes, I have driven some M3s, mostly on race tracks.
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      04-28-2014, 03:13 AM   #5
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The M3 is truly awesome but is at its best when really being caned. While your 116i is way down on performance, it's still an enjoyable and really nicely-balanced package. I would think there are enough fun roads in NZ where you could really exploit the compact size of the 116i to the full - maybe a couple of sympathetic enhancements to improve feedback and handling sharpness might benefit also. Then once you've outgrown your current car, the financial impost to upgrade will be considerably less.
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      04-28-2014, 03:17 AM   #6
bennzwel
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Thanks Johnny for your comment.
I am deciding between ( extending warranty to 5 years and getting AC Schnitzer performance upgrade ) or save and add a bit more to get a M3.

But I do agree 116i is not a bad car, it's more about what heart wants and desires At the same time I want to be logical and not lose much on my 116i.
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      04-28-2014, 06:20 AM   #7
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Logical? No way

With respect, there's nothing logical about buying an M3

It has high maintenance, repair and running costs, needs fuelling twice as often as your 116i and is far faster than anyone really needs.

But your 116i will never increase your heart rate at standstill, will rarely put a huge grin on your face or have you getting up at 6.00am for the pure pleasure of driving a great car on empty roads. Your 116i is a lovely car but will never make you feel special, like an M3 will.
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      04-28-2014, 06:40 AM   #8
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Also notice that if you drive a fast car every day, you get used to it, and it will no longer feel fast. The rush comes from the transition from a slow car to a fast car. You could get a very slow car to drive during your regular commute, and the 116i will feel super fast in the weekends!
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      04-28-2014, 08:53 AM   #9
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As a M135i owner, I am realizing that if you only use your car as an everyday car,150 HP is already too much. I adore my car, and I am enjoying it as much as I can (I didn't take it to a race track yet), but I feel like the car is wasted, untapped. I don't regret having bought it, but I feel bad not being able to use it more and properly. That said, do what makes you happier

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Originally Posted by ovekvam View Post
Also notice that if you drive a fast car every day, you get used to it, and it will no longer feel fast. The rush comes from the transition from a slow car to a fast car. You could get a very slow car to drive during your regular commute, and the 116i will feel super fast in the weekends!
The more I read you, the more I admire you.
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      04-28-2014, 03:49 PM   #10
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Thank you all for your comments. Everything said here is true which is not making it easier for me to make a decision.

Will I ever take either my 116 or M3 to a racing track ? Probably not as there is no proper tracks around where I live.

Would I get up early on a weekend to go for a joy ride in the M3 . Absolutely

But all depends how well I can sell my 116 so I might give it some time.
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      04-29-2014, 04:19 PM   #11
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Absolutely no logic here. You might be scared of maintenance costs and such. You buy an M3 with pure emotion.

Want to go more sensible. Buy a 330i coupe. 272HP is a HUGE difference compared to your output. And they are very reliable.

You could always opt for the 335i. Which is cheaper than an M3 and can be faster given the proper mods.

But yeah, in my eyes.. None of the above beat the M3. It's just awesome.
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      04-29-2014, 04:46 PM   #12
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What would be an average maintenance cost and interval for M3 ?

I guess that would be something to consider as well as warranty by third party.

I wouldn't go something else beside M3 if wanted to upgrade purely based on emotional element you mentioned
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      04-29-2014, 04:58 PM   #13
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A guy I know had a slightly modified 335i Coupe. I test drove it, and found it rather boring. It feels to heavy, and it has quite a lot of turbo lag. I actually find the lighter 116i more fun to drive.

For pure driving excitement with no practical sense, an older M3 is more fun. The sharpest of them all is the E46 M3 CSL. The E30 is also great fun to drive.

The guy with with the 335i Coupe sold it and bought an E36 M3.
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      04-29-2014, 05:11 PM   #14
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I particularly like the look of e92 with the long taillights.

I found a 2007 e92 locally in a light blue/silver but done 80,000kms . I gave it a pass as to me it seemed quite a lot even with maintenance.

Wish there was a ACS demo car here with ACS performance upgrade piggyback on 116i to see the power difference, maybe I would be just happy with that
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      01-18-2015, 04:31 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bennzwel View Post
I have been thinking for a while and I know this might sound silly but I am thinking to :

Sell my new F20 116i which done only 700kms and get a 2007-09 M3 ... And I have to put some money in addition for get one which done probably around 60,000kms

Would I regret it ?
I'm just so attracted to M3 that I'm being blinded by it lol love the look, power and how it drives.

What would you do ?
Hi Bennzwel,

If you haven't already changed your mind.

Wouldn't this retune be the answer to what you want?

http://f20.1addicts.com/forums/showt...highlight=116i

If you had the MCU remapped, it would completely change the character of the car and probably bring you that smile you are seeking.
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      01-18-2015, 09:22 PM   #16
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I sold my 320D, bought a 2nd hand E92 M3 2008. It is the most fun car I ever owned. Everything is more expensive. Engine oil, tires, breaks. But all the great trips I had with it, just outweighs the extra cost.
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      01-18-2015, 11:59 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bennzwel View Post
I have been thinking for a while and I know this might sound silly but I am thinking to :

Sell my new F20 116i which done only 700kms and get a 2007-09 M3 ... And I have to put some money in addition for get one which done probably around 60,000kms

Would I regret it ?
I'm just so attracted to M3 that I'm being blinded by it lol love the look, power and how it drives.

What would you do ?
I agree with many of the replies that you have already received.
The 1er is very well balanced machine.
Yes, you have a less powerful version, however you can improve your 116i performance (tuning etc) and looks (see the advise from others on the forum's other posts).

You need to consider that if you intend buying a second hand M3 you may have to buy it though a dealer that can only give you a limited warrantee.

Also, your 'trade in' value will be lower than you expect, as it is on a secondhand M3, and then you need to evaluate the cost of services and repair costs (they will astound you) if you buy a M3.
M3 by nature is a racer.
M3 definitely have pose value, however a M3 is not happy to be confined to city commuting. Around town a 116i can be a lot of fun and is far more practical. When you think it isn't, go rent a small car of the same engine capacity for the day. When you get back into your 1er you will appreciate it.

Before you drive a M3 and get bewitched by it, you may want to enquire as to costs of maintenance and replacement components like tyres.

Just been talking to a friend of mine that I have minded his E94, He likes to take it to track days.
He thought he had a serious problem on his last outing. Turned out to be a simple fix at the track.

He was told by one of the BMW mechanics it would be somewhere around $30K if he had to have the E94's engine rebuilt.

Last edited by AusF20/F48; 01-21-2015 at 04:01 AM..
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      01-19-2015, 06:40 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AusF20 View Post
I agree with many of the replies that you have already received.
The 1er is very well balanced machine.
Yes, you have a less powerful version, however you can improve your 116i performance (tuning etc) and looks (see the advise from others on the forum's other posts).

You need to consider that if you intend buying a second hand M3 you may have to buy it though a dealer that can only give you a limited warrantee.

Also, your 'trade in' value will be lower than you expect, as it is on a secondhand M3, and then you need to evaluate the cost of services and repair costs (they will astound you) if you buy a M3.
M3 by nature is a racer.
M3 definitely have pose value, however a M3 is not happy to be confined to city commuting. Around town a 116i can be a lot of fun and is far more practical. When you think it isn't, go rent a small car of the same engine capacity for the day. When you get back into your 1er you will appreciate it.

Before you drive a M3 and get bewitched by it, you may want to enquire as to costs of maintenance and replacement components like tyres.

Just been talking to a friend of mine that I have minded his E49, He likes to take it to track days.
He thought he had a serious problem on his last outing. Turned out to be a simple fix at the track.

He was told by one of the BMW mechanics it would be somewhere around $30K if he had to have the E49's engine rebuilt.
I agree with what you are saying. When you are looking at forums about power and speed, you don't have ay concept of cost in mind. In my experience an performance car that has been well used is incredibly expensive to run, which is usually why the seller wants to get rid of them. It's not just the insurance, tax and petrol, it's think like spare parts that are unbelievably expensive.

I would expect a retune for a 116i would be great, there is a post called the fastest 114i with dynos.

That said, sometimes you just need to try something for yourself, and get the M3. I know my friends and myself all wanted the fastest cars we could afford, until we found they cost all our money to run. Then we just wanted reliable ones
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      02-05-2015, 12:47 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bennzwel View Post
I have been thinking for a while and I know this might sound silly but I am thinking to :

Sell my new F20 116i which done only 700kms and get a 2007-09 M3 ... And I have to put some money in addition for get one which done probably around 60,000kms

Would I regret it ?
I'm just so attracted to M3 that I'm being blinded by it lol love the look, power and how it drives.

What would you do ?

I don't know if you are still thinking about doing this but since we have just sold my brother's 2013 116i and bought 2008 335i (and its around 60,000 kms), i wanted to share our experiences. First of all, it took us like 6 months to make the decision and find a proper and well-used one so you really need to make a good research prior to buying any. Take it to your service and have a detailed check. We had like 10 options but only of them was worth doing this "crazy" change. So. we bought it and fixed some minor issues that any 5 year old car can have and now we have no regrets. Of course it's not as reliable as F20 in town. Especially on the catastrophic road of my country. And the efficiency of course. You might miss your F20 in terms of that. But when you see and open and curvy road, you really forget about every challenge you had when affording the car's price and the time you spent in traffic. And i have to talk about the sound of the car. It is like my favourite song these days. The weather here is insane right now but i still sometimes open the windows just to hear that straight six noise. You still need to make some sacrifices though. Like giving the car some time to warm up after you start it and also after fast driving to 'cool down' a bit before leaving it. And also, service and fixing prices would be really different than F20 as you can expect. You might even wait a month or so if the broken or damaged part is not in the stocks of your service because parts for these cars are not mass-produced anymore and when needed, BMW produces and sends it to your country. I couldn't have the chance to take it to a track yet but i will this month and i can write about it once i've done it. Finally, i don't think you will regret this decision but of course there are some drawbacks you have to consider. So, in my opinion, it is just a great car and I'm sure an M3 would be much better. If you think you can cope with the issues of having 'ready to race' car and really want to have one, it would be anything but a dumb decision bro!
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      02-05-2015, 05:08 PM   #20
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i would definetly choose m3 because it has more fun than 116i and also technology.
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      02-05-2015, 05:58 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bennzwel View Post
I have been thinking for a while and I know this might sound silly but I am thinking to :

Sell my new F20 116i which done only 700kms and get a 2007-09 M3 ... And I have to put some money in addition for get one which done probably around 60,000kms

Would I regret it ?
I'm just so attracted to M3 that I'm being blinded by it lol love the look, power and how it drives.

What would you do ?
Where are you going to drive the M with all our speed cameras and the max 40k limit over any speed. Your car & licence is gone let alone the cost to maintain this car here. The car has properly done some very hard 60,000ks.

Click sport or sport plus in your new 116i and enjoy as you get 5 years warranty and 3 years free unlimited servicing. You can also spend some cash at BMW race training days they have the latest M4.
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      02-05-2015, 06:12 PM   #22
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I drove the E46 M3 quite a bit in the rain, it's a great car with great balance.

Good experience with the E90 especially even pushed a little (not my car)

It is understandable what you want to do but M3s are expensive where I am when it comes to upkeep.

I don't know how it'd work out with 116i but putting on LSD on M135i helped, maybe that's something to consider.
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