No more 1 for me...

[adc]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

I was with you until the second to last sentence...... "sedan"

Well, living with a 335i Coupe, tight parking spaces and a 5 year old hasn't been exactly easy. Besides, the sedan is substantially cheaper.

Honestly, Im not surprised though. You have consistently nit picked the 1 since I've been on here (june '08).

Truthfully, I've been nit picking at cars a lot longer than that. Even at cars that I totally loved - I guess my love isn't blind.

Mostly, I've been trying to convince myself the 1 is really the car I want. I guess it can be, but at substantial cost.

Originally Posted by Robert

Did you have a 1 and trading it in for a M3 or you were only considering a 1 but decided for the M now?

I've been driving a 335i for 2 years and ever since the 1 came out, I've considered it like an adopted son.

The M wasn't really on the radar - until I made the mistake of driving one to the edge.

Don't kid yourself the cost will be 51k though. You are a modder and it's likely you will spend 5-10k on the m3 as well. =)

Please stop. You're only amplifying my guilt.



As far as choice of cars... If I didn't need the back seats for my child I'd go for something much wilder - Elise, Exige, Z06, etc.

BMW's have won me over with their amazing blend of speed, handling and practicality. And European Delivery.

[Mark M]

I can understand the draw to the M. While I love the 135, there is just something missing that the M car has. I can't put my finger on it. Just a certain unquantifiable feel. M cars have a bit throatier roar, peakier engine, etc. The M cars just seem to fully involve the driver and overload his senses.

The 135 is great....but just a bit numb compared to the M cars.

and for the record...I own a 135, an e36M3 and an e30M3.

[Jaguar66]

Originally Posted by Mark M

While I love the 135, there is just something missing that the M car has. .

True, I had an E30 325i, that I modded with springs and bars, wheels and tires, then the E30 M3 hit, and right out of the box it felt better, tighter, more responsive, more pep, just something unquantifiably better. When the M team tunes a car, they know how to do it.

Too bad there is no M135i (the name M1 being reserved for all time)

[lambammm]

Am I the only one who thinks the e46 m3 felt better on the road? I test drove the bejeesuz out of a e92 m3 and it felt a bit disconnected. In the older m3s I felt like I was sitting on the pavement. I'm not saying the 135 feels more connected than the e92, but the premium price didn't seem worth it, at the time I was looking at 60k and up. If you can actually get it for 51k then awesome! I'm modding my 135i though.

[adc]

Originally Posted by lambammm

Am I the only one who thinks the e46 m3 felt better on the road?

I drove the E46 quite a bit and actually thought it was a little crashy. And the steering wasn't the best, too much assist and not enough feedback (E9x is just a tad better in this respect, not a huge difference).

I can probably install a set of H&R springs on the M3 if I think it's too soft. But my impression so far is that it's a better street machine, while still working brilliantly on track. We'll see...

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by adc

Wow, more than double. That's absolutely ridiculous.

Not quite as Australian $1.00 = about U.S. $0.70, but US prices are still looking better!

[adc]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Not quite as Australian $1.00 = about U.S. $0.70, but US prices are still looking better!

I meant the M3 is twice as expensive as the 135i down under.

Cannot compare actual dollar cost without knowing the cost of living and income levels...

[adc]

Forgot to say the other exciting thing - my friend is getting a 128i convertible also for Euro Delivery (we're all going together, with kids and all). So we negotiated a double delivery, for whatever that is worth...

I'll get him to register here...

[BimmerLearner]

and?

[adc]

Originally Posted by BimmerLearner

and?

So I guess it's not a total loss for the 1 community - you loose one, you win one.

[vasracer]

great original post...have just bought a 135i after going to the dealer to get an m3, i understand these feelings completely. If i was tracking the car, the m3 is the clear winner...in fact, as I am beginning to open up my 1 (only 500miles), I notice that it has less top end than even my old mcoupe...however, as a street car, the m3 is way too much for most of us to handle safely.

but it is beautiful, and if I didn't have something else to do with that 20k, I'd buy it. But at least I can still have m3 envy, and not ferrari 430 envy, which would be the next step up...

[BimmerLearner]

Originally Posted by adc

So I guess it's not a total loss for the 1 community - you loose one, you win one.

Just yankin yer chain

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

I was with you until the second to last sentence...... "sedan"

Honestly, Im not surprised though. You have consistently nit picked the 1 since I've been on here (june '08).

Your line was always "I'm not nitpicking.... I'm getting a 1!!!"
and I believe I said something to the effect of.... "Yeah Right"

So?

And what's wrong with the sedan?

[oldman]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

Not quite as Australian $1.00 = about U.S. $0.70, but US prices are still looking better!

I was'nt talking about the actual $. It was really just the difference. If I was buying a car with beads (I wish) and I had to pay 10 beads for a 135i and 20 beads for a M3 in Australia and you had to pay 5 beads for a 135i and 7 beads for a M3.... get my drift.

[crzy4135i]

Originally Posted by MOCKBA

Right choice. Anyone, I need a time machine to do the same.

Yea, but when I bought my 135i they weren't discounting M3s that much. The two M3 coupes on the local lot were around $70k with a decent amount of options. I would definitely pay $51k for a M3 vs. $46k for a 135i.

[tkbr0wn]

The problem is you will not find a coupe for 51k and I dont think many people are x-shopping a 135 coupe and a M3 sedan. If I were in the market for a sedan, the M3 would be an obvious choice.

[adc]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

The problem is you will not find a coupe for 51k and I dont think many people are x-shopping a 135 coupe and a M3 sedan. If I were in the market for a sedan, the M3 would be an obvious choice.

The number of doors never really meant much to me. I've always shopped number of seats, performance and price...

[lacrosse]

Have to say, the M3 is hard to beat. However, if you want a unique ride, the 1er is the way to go. I have seen about 20 M3 in the past year here on Long Island alone. I have seen about 10 1ers in all my travels from Baltimore to Boston.

[Mega Man]

I want one...




...but I can't afford it.

[Call]

I paid $54K for a loaded 335i when they first came out...kept it four months and traded it for and X5 4.8, and ordered my 135i paying $42K. I have put another $8K in mods. If I knew I could get an M3 with a proper handling suspension system for $51K I would have ordered it instead of the 135i. At $51K it couldn't have had any upgrades...it had to have been a stripper which is fine but my 135i wasn't a stripper in the beginning so I'm just wondering about a proper comparison of pricing to packages.

And...what in the hell are people getting for that additional $20K+ because most of the M3s I've looked at are priced around the $70K price point.

Call

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

The problem is you will not find a coupe for 51k and I dont think many people are x-shopping a 135 coupe and a M3 sedan. If I were in the market for a sedan, the M3 would be an obvious choice.

My like the e90 m3 while I dislike the E92....Im 25 and no kids. I always prefered 4 door cars. And I like the fact that its cheaper and a bit shorter than the E92 M3.

[adc]

Originally Posted by Call

At $51K it couldn't have had any upgrades...it had to have been a stripper which is fine but my 135i wasn't a stripper in the beginning so I'm just wondering about a proper comparison of pricing to packages.

Truly depends on what you want in a car, what you consider necessities - for example:
- M3 comes standard with leather/cloth seats and I REALLY wanted that. So much so that if I had ordered a 1, I would have picked a set of OEM cloth seats covers while in Europe, at around 1,200 Euros (on top of ordering leather for 1, for resale purposes).
- Would have ordered metallic paint, heated seats and iPod on both
- Had to order folding rear seats on the M (standard on 1)
- Logic 7 standard on M, optional on 1
- Power seats standard on M, optional on 1
- Got EDC on the M
- M Sport package standard on M, optional on 1

That's it, don't need NAV, changed my mind on the BT - I really don't need more stuff in my car.

And...what in the hell are people getting for that additional $20K+ because most of the M3s I've looked at are priced around the $70K price point.

What you are seeing for that price are fully loaded cars at the US MSRP.

- M3 Coupe +$3k
- Technology package +3k
- Leather +$1k, or Premium +$2k
- DCT +$3k
- 19" rims +$1k
- Premium Sound $2k
- Sat radio, PDC etc another $1k
- US delivery +$4k
- Tick the convertible box and it's another $8-9k on top of that

But I ordered my car using the Euro Delivery invoice, then adding invoice for all options and topping it with a small profit margin.