Review of Dinan 135 S3

[surfbimmer]

Hey All,

Story is in the Aug issue of Auto Eclectic Magazine: http://autoeclectic.com/august

A good read and a awesome car. Story starts on page 49. Also there is a story on Steve Dinan right before it.

Other stories, interview with Tanner Foust X Games Rally Champion, 620hp Widebody M3, Track Shootout, 996 Turbo converted to GT2, 1500mile road trip in an Evo X, Works Ralliart Rally Car, and more!

Feedback is wanted, so fire away....

[surfbimmer]

103 views, no one has anything to say?

[Giles0369]

Good article. Succinct and factual. Think I'll go with the Dinan S3 when I purchase my 135 at the end of my lease, though I doubt I'll have $12k saved in less than 2 years.Thanks for the post, paisano.

[ptack]

$12k is a boat load of money. At this point you'll probably be beyond 1M pricing. The big difference for most people is that they can finance the extra money on a 1m and then look at more reasonable modding. As much as I love my 1, there's no way I'm throwing another $14k or more at it (and I have to have wheels and other upgrades).

[jkp1187]

$12k is cheaper than $50k for a new 1M, for those of us who already have a 135i.

[Cuz5150]

Originally Posted by surfbimmer

103 views, no one has anything to say?

Um...........$12k ----> goes and sits in the corner & keeps quiet.

[michifan]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

$12k is cheaper than $50k for a new 1M, for those of us who already have a 135i.

There is no way that I'd spend an extra $12k on my 135i, and I absolutely love the car. It's like having the most expensive house in your neighborhood, it might give you a sense of importance - but you won't ever get it back in resale.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by michifan

There is no way that I'd spend an extra $12k on my 135i, and I absolutely love the car. It's like having the most expensive house in your neighborhood, it might give you a sense of importance - but you won't ever get it back in resale.

Dude, cars are an expense, not an investment....

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

Dude, cars are an expense, not an investment....

Unless you buy a limited run Ferrari

[michifan]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

Dude, cars are an expense, not an investment....

Cars are a depreciating asset - like my house...Very few people buy a car and never sell it.

For an extra $12K, I could have bought a M3.

For half of that you can get the exact same performance without the Dinan nameplate and have enough money to pay for whatever could possibly be refused under the BMW warranty.

[jpd]

Trading these Dinan prepared cars into the dealership is a real crap shoot. Don't expect any return on your car. Wait for the 1M. You get the best of both worlds.

[surfbimmer]

Originally Posted by michifan

Cars are a depreciating asset - like my house...Very few people buy a car and never sell it.

For an extra $12K, I could have bought a M3.

For half of that you can get the exact same performance without the Dinan nameplate and have enough money to pay for whatever could possibly be refused under the BMW warranty.

M3 Coupe base MSRP 58k

135 Built to my Standards 38.5k + 12k in Dinan is 50.5k

8k short of a base M3 all still with warranty.

I'll take the Dinan all day long, if you find a used 135 you come out even better.

[ptack]

The real issue is paying for it. How many people have and extra $12k laying around to throw at their car? That's money up front too, I don't believe anyone is going to finance your modding. I can seriously consider an extra $12k when it's part of the overall purchase and I'm financing the balance after putting X$ down. The ony other way is the multi-year plan, but then by the time you're done you may be ready to move on anyway.

[fancyfl1ght]

Originally Posted by surfbimmer

Hey All,

Story is in the Aug issue of Auto Eclectic Magazine: http://autoeclectic.com/august

A good read and a awesome car. Story starts on page 49. Also there is a story on Steve Dinan right before it.

Other stories, interview with Tanner Foust X Games Rally Champion, 620hp Widebody M3, Track Shootout, 996 Turbo converted to GT2, 1500mile road trip in an Evo X, Works Ralliart Rally Car, and more!

Feedback is wanted, so fire away....

If you bought the car with the mods, but doing it for 12K, that won't work at all. Most people will trade in their 135i for the M1. It's easier to do.

I sometimes wonder the value proposition in a M1 since the engine seems to be a N54 engine with a tweeked ECU. . .

[surfbimmer]

Can't you buy a Dinan S3 as a complete car brand new from any authorized Dinan BMW dealer? You should be able to finance it then, correct?

Also if you purchased a used 135 from said dealer you should be able to finance the S3 package as part of the purchase. If you already own one well it is quite a bit of money in one lump sum...

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by ptack

The real issue is paying for it. How many people have and extra $12k laying around to throw at their car? That's money up front too, I don't believe anyone is going to finance your modding. I can seriously consider an extra $12k when it's part of the overall purchase and I'm financing the balance after putting X$ down. The ony other way is the multi-year plan, but then by the time you're done you may be ready to move on anyway.

If you don't have the extra $12k cash on hand to purchase and install Dinan mods for your 135i, that does NOT mean that buying the M3 is a smarter purchase just because you are more likely to be able to get financing.

If that's your financial situation, admit to yourself that you don't have the money to buy what you want right now, and either save more money, or buy a car that costs less.

[michifan]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

If you don't have the extra $12k cash on hand to purchase and install Dinan mods for your 135i, that does NOT mean that buying the M3 is a smarter purchase just because you are more likely to be able to get financing.

If that's your financial situation, admit to yourself that you don't have the money to buy what you want right now, and either save more money, or buy a car that costs less.

An M3 will have a much better resale than a Dinan 135. Same will be said for a 1-M. Dinans just don't hold their resale value, most mods don't. For one thing, BMW will not CPO a Dinan car. Talk to anyone on this board that has tried to sell their car with Mods, you are almost always better off selling the car stock and trying to get what you can piece-by-piece for the mods.

M Cars aren't value plays, but they do hold their residuals better than stock at times.

[michifan]

Originally Posted by surfbimmer

Can't you buy a Dinan S3 as a complete car brand new from any authorized Dinan BMW dealer? You should be able to finance it then, correct?

Also if you purchased a used 135 from said dealer you should be able to finance the S3 package as part of the purchase. If you already own one well it is quite a bit of money in one lump sum...

I don't believe that BMW will finance Dinan, most financing companies will only finance so much % over sticker (car stereos, mods, etc...). The Dinan $12k package might stretch it.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by michifan

An M3 will have a much better resale than a Dinan 135. Same will be said for a 1-M. Dinans just don't hold their resale value, most mods don't. For one thing, BMW will not CPO a Dinan car. Talk to anyone on this board that has tried to sell their car with Mods, you are almost always better off selling the car stock and trying to get what you can piece-by-piece for the mods.

M Cars aren't value plays, but they do hold their residuals better than stock at times.

If you're going to purchase a car then trade it in sufficiently soon so that it qualifies for CPO (60k miles), is it actually a smart financial decision to buy that car in the first place?

[michifan]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

If you're going to purchase a car then trade it in sufficiently soon so that it qualifies for CPO (60k miles), is it actually a smart financial decision to buy that car in the first place?

If you have a lease and want to buy it from BMW, you can opt for a CPO. Dealers will charge you a couple of grand for the pleasure, but sometimes are successful in lowering the purchase price from BMW as part of the deal. It makes sense when you trust your car better than others on the lot.

I got a great deal on my lease, low money factor and a pretty good residual. If the residual is higher than market, I'll do what i can to negotiate the price down and get the CPO. If I cannot, I guess I turn in the car and look into a 1-M or M3.

[Atropos]

It's pretty simple.

If you plan on keeping and modding a 1 series, this entire package makes a lot of sense, especially when you factor in the idea that they've done just about all the homework for you.

And while 12k seems like a lot in one lump sum, there are folks who, over time, spend much more than that trying to get the right 'mix' of things to make them happy. (it should also be noted that the 12k price tag likely doesn't include the labor to put a lot of these parts in)

And as stated above, add 12k to the roughly 39-40k a 135 costs new, and you're still well under the price of the M3 with pretty much the equivalent performance.

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by michifan

If you have a lease and want to buy it from BMW, you can opt for a CPO. Dealers will charge you a couple of grand for the pleasure, but sometimes are successful in lowering the purchase price from BMW as part of the deal. It makes sense when you trust your car better than others on the lot.

I got a great deal on my lease, low money factor and a pretty good residual. If the residual is higher than market, I'll do what i can to negotiate the price down and get the CPO. If I cannot, I guess I turn in the car and look into a 1-M or M3.

Yeah, I wouldn't mod a car I don't own.

I'm generally skeptical about the financial wisdom of leasing, but that's a debate for a different thread.