BMW M3 or Alpina running costs
 

Eventually its going to be time for a bit of refinement and extra comfort. Been pondering whether to sell up and go for one of the above in an E46 shape. Has anyone had any experience with the above in regards to driving and maintaining and it really worth sending to a BMW dealer to get the servicing done?

Up cos M3's are looking good value at the minute :D

I recently had my first experience of an M3. My mate decided to buy one so we got up in the early hours of the morning and drove from Edinburgh to London to collect it and p/x his Alfa. We shared the driving and arrived fresh(ish) at around lunch time. There was a fair bit of faffing around involved so we weren't back on the road until nearly 5 and didn't get home until 1am. However, we still felt fresh as the M3 was that smooth and nice to drive. I couldn't get over how quiet and refined it was when just coasting along on the cruise control, but drop a few cogs and floor it and she pulls like a bitch at the top end and becomes a lot more vocal.

Based on just a paper exercise I have maintained for years on here across the countless M3 threads that any Subaru with less than 350bhp that claims to have hung onto an M3 from 70mph+ came across one that wasn't being thrashed right to the red-line. My last car was a 1250kg classic STI 5 with circa 310bhp and there is no way in hell it could live with the M3's top end grunt and especially not after 100-110mph (it would have been quicker 0-100mph though).

I know some people (JB) have had issues with the build quality but my mates 2003 low mileage example is simply beautiful inside and there were no creaks or niggles - a lovely cockpit and both comfortable as a driver and a passenger. In fact, at one point I fully reclined the passenger seat to have a sleep and managed to achieve a position where I was lying perfectly flat with my feet tucked up under the dash - it was excellent for a refresher kip :D

As for running costs I'm not qualified to say but my friend had his eyes opened when one of his xeon bulbs went last week and BMW wanted near £200 to replace it!!!!!!

If I had the money I'd not hesitate to have one but I personally wouldn't go poverty spec - I'd want all the toys :)

mine cost a fortune
 

major service ends up costing over a grand at BMW as usually you'll need brakes, tyres etc. There not cheap cars to run and from what I've heard my experience is common. Pretty good on fuel though considering performance and good on the motorway. Not so good on a typical bumpy uk b road, damping is appalling....unbelieveable at the ring though :)

Thorney motorsport looked after mine, in my opinion bmw dealers charge the world because its an M car yet the independents offer far better service etc.

Looking at the ads glad I got rid of mine when i did, there unbelievable value assuming you pick a straight one.

these are looking really tempting, obviously i would avoid bmw main dealer for servicing, wonder what the charges are like at an independent specialist?:wonder:

I have had mine for about 18 month now , and still love driving it , all I have had to buy in 18k miles is 2 front and 4 rear tyres , and front pads , if you drive carefully you can get 35 to the gallon out of it , I'm averaging about 25 , which I think is very good for the spec.

They are very well built , mine has just about all the toys , heated seats are nice in this weather :D Mines Estoril Blue with CSL wheels and looks awesome , and not many around this colour , they all seem to be silver or black , which seem to sell for less.

Mine is out of warantee so dont have to worry about main dealer servicing which is horrendously priced , discs are expensive for a standard part , but they are after all 2 piece discs and bells so they will cost more than normal.

There are some very well priced ones on the market at the moment , just make sure you get a good well looked after one with genuine mileage , I know someone who bought one about a year ago cheap with 80 odd k on it to find out later it was 180k and had been clocked , he said it didn't drive like a 180k car , but still not nice to find out.

100% Agree. Having been in or owned both.

I spend about £1500 on servicing on mine over roughly 15k miles a year.
Tyres about £800
BMW Warranty renewal about £800 if less than £60k miles. So far warranty has been worth it but its a pretty reliable motor.
Insurance costs me £500.
MPG is 25 in mix of driving conditions.

Great car for the money but personally would avoid SMG and go as high spec as possible.

My M3 is averaging just over 29mpg as I'm using it mainly for motorway driving. Had a lovely run up to Edinburgh for a long weekend last week and it was supremely competent.

Went to the Ring in October and again, it was comfortable on the drive over and simply stunning on track. :)

Got an inspection 2 service coming up in 2.5k miles time, so that'll be a bend over an take a shafting. However, I'll supply the oil, so thats over £100 off the service cost. Mine's still under manuf. warranty, so will keep it dealer serviced.

Matt