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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 10:32 AM
  #1  
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Any one know of someone who will be receiving theres soon ??

I am looking for opinions on it!!

Test drove one yesterday at my local dealership and i was astoinsded by the quality of the car along with the shear pace. I never thought that a rear wheel drive car could do wet corners like the M3 does!! Truelly amazing!

any oppinions???

Thanks

Denz

(still love my scoob)!!!

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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 11:04 AM
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I've taken one out as well and was very impressed.

not impressed by the delivery time they quoted tho!

two years !
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 11:16 AM
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I was told if you go for an ex-demo model [who would want one] this time is greatly reduced.
But the price isn't.
19in alloys will not be available.
Titanium interior is not yet ready.
Anything you do invalidates your warranty.
What prices were you quoted?
42k is a tad high I think.
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 11:42 AM
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I was quoted 18 Mounths - > 2 years del and £38500

i love it!! 2 years is perfect for me as thats when i will probably be movin on my scoob! and gives me time to save up

Any one know anything about the SMG thing! He realy rated it and reckoned i should opt for it !!! But he couldnt give me one to testdrive !!

apparantly it chenges quicker than a human?? 80 milliseconds!

Any thoughts??

Thanks

Denz
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 11:45 AM
  #5  
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I've driven the new M3 twice now, both times for about an hour in different weather conditions. I thought I was going to come away thinking WOW! What a car! and £500 lighter having paid for the deposit, but, I still have my £500. I was not convinced that it is the car that the car mags have hyped up so much. The quality is superb (compared to inside my P1) and the performance is good. You can tootle about in sixth gear at 30 mph with no problem.

The first time I drove the new M3 I also drove a 330 with Schnitzer suspension and it made me think is it worth the extra £10K for the M3??

Having said all this I will probably still get one but with the SMG II paddle shift

UK dealers wont budge on list price, but prices for imports can vary considerably, cheapest I've been quoted is £33,500 inc VAT (basic car price) extras are cheaper than a UK supplied car. One price I had from BMW Frankfurt with a load of extras was £37,200 inc UK VAT which is a saving of about £4,800 over the equivalent UK supplied car. They could also deliver the car in April 2002 guaranteed but they wanted DEM 20,000 as an initial deposit, could still be worth it to save almost £5,000

You did ask for opinions so this is mine

Edited cos I got the year wrong

[This message has been edited by Andrew O'Hara (edited 18 April 2001).]
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 02:13 PM
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Have a look at this month's copy of EVO magazine - it has a nice comparison (quite a few tests) between the new M3, 911, a TVR and the Audi RS4.
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 03:32 PM
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And the Skyline R34.
You know which one should go in the garage ...
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 03:37 PM
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mmmm... Skyline
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 05:42 PM
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Mine's due in 7 months. I'm sorry but the Skyline is shown to be way overpriced when compared to the M3. Also look at the depreciation of a UK Skyline. Even my ISA didnt lose as much as that car does in a year, and it looks like an early 90's car inside.

Still need to drive it and compare it to my old P1. Will do that in next couple of weeks.
The looks and interior score big points, but the real reason for a car like this is the driving experience. Will I keep my M3 on order ?

Jonathan
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Old Apr 16, 2001 | 05:59 PM
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Go for it - finest car they have managed to produce for a long while. New smg will be steering wheel mounted paddle shift twice as fast as the one currently seen on the ferrari 360 .

19" wheel pretty pointless "it was designed with 18" wheels in mind 19" just means faster lap times at nurburgring"

The engine is now in about as high a state of tune as it can be - they cannot bore it out anymore cos its just about on max tollerance but 8k redline aint bad and 340bhp from just over 3.2l says it all really.



ps looking at the M5 , M roadster and M Coupe reliability etc over the last couple of years is spot on M division has really pulled its finger out these days - no reason why new M3 should be any different

[This message has been edited by DMB (edited 16 April 2001).]
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Old Apr 17, 2001 | 12:58 AM
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The new M3 also needs SUL to reach it's optimum performance levels according to some magazine articles and we all know how hard that can be to find when you most need it.

If the warranty is a bit 'iffy' in terms of what you can and can't do then perhaps they would query any engine damage from using none SUL petrol?

Only my twopenneth....my SLK32 AMG arrives in September so I'll be looking for an M3 for "comparitive" purposes when it is run in properly.

Yex
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Old Apr 17, 2001 | 08:09 AM
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Denz:
<B>

Any one know anything about the SMG thing! He realy rated it and reckoned i should opt for it !!! But he couldnt give me one to testdrive !!
[/quote]


I had an E36 M3 SMG for a week, and it was crap. The gear change was jerky and seemed to take forever, then caused whiplash when it engaged the gear BUT the new (E46) system is supposed to be greatly improved, and a 'beaut. Would still try before buying though

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Old Apr 17, 2001 | 02:34 PM
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try iain litchfield at litchfield imports
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Old Apr 17, 2001 | 03:41 PM
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Just been quoted £37000 with 9 mounths delivery,

That includes Tv Teletext uprated stereo!

£2500 worth of extras

not bad !!!

Thanks

Denz
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 01:48 PM
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Saw a black one on the M25 this morning just leaving the Clacket Lane road works. Couldnt believe it when I heard myself thinking..." I like that!!" Just had a presence about it... shame I wasnt in my scoob tho
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 02:18 PM
  #16  
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Just been quoted £35500 for a £42500 M3!

Snag is that i drive around with German plates for six months then reregister in the UK..

Seems good for the money !!

Any one think of bad points as i cant??

thanks

Denz

P.S.
Thanks for all the replys so far!
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 03:39 PM
  #17  
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Andy.... don't do it !!!!
You know if you get a BMW people wont let you out at junctions, and people what phtograph your car.....
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 04:34 PM
  #18  
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When did the M3 come out, because just on Tuesady I saw 3 in the space of 3 miles, 2 red and one very nice black!

Nearly as many as Scoobs!

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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 05:03 PM
  #19  
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BMW manuals have said use SUL for quite a while now, and when i asked about the salesman about it (which is pretty pointless) he said normal ul SHOULD be ok, but he would not drive it hard with it in, only as a last resort.

A friends girlfriend has a 94 325 that quotes SUL, she uses UL all the time and has blown it up twice.

Scarily even my wifes new 5 series says SUL.
and its a diesel !!
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 05:06 PM
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I saw a silver one on the M4 yesterday morning.
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 06:49 PM
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Denz:
[B]Just been quoted £35500 for a £42500 M3!

Snag is that i drive around with German plates for six months then reregister in the UK..

Denz,

I may be wrong, but unless you are based in the country of obtaining the car i.e. Germany for six months (and you can prove residency or you are in the forces) and you drive it over there for six months, you do not have to pay UK VAT, but if you bring the car over to the UK immediately after you have bought the car you are liable to UK VAT and HMC&E have to be informed within 7 days of you arriving back in the UK, you will then be sent a VAT demand which is payable within 30 days.

Or the only other way is to get a German resident to buy the car and keep it for 6 months, but they will probably be subject to German VAT, this may be recoverable if they export the car, I'm not sure as I'm no expert on German VAT, and you will also be the second owner.

Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure what I've said is correct.
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 07:25 PM
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Andrew


your correct, i got it wrong!!!

The agency are saying that i dont register it in any country but register it "internationally".
Then after six mounths register it in the UK.

In the mean time i drive arround with German plates for six mounths, than register it in england!

The thing is i am a little concerned about the "international" registration. He said its all done only on paper work and there is such a thing. But i have never heard of this

Also how will he get german plates on it without registering it???


Happy with the price but dubious about the methods!!

any coments ???

Thanks

Denz
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 07:35 PM
  #23  
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Denz,

I've also never heard of registering the car internationally!! seems very dubious. I know about the VAT aspect because I imported my wife's Golf from Holland two years ago. What they are saying seems bizarre

If I were you I'd go direct to dealers in Europe and cut out the Broker, this is what I have done and I have beaten the brokers prices. Why pay someone what you can do by using the net. Have a look on the German
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 09:00 PM
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My next door neighbour took delivery of his a couple of weeks ago .... the only thing I would say that for something with four exhausts it sounds crap (looks good though)
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 09:09 PM
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Guys,

the petrol issue sounds like bull to me.

My //M says 98 octane should be used for best performance, but 95 can be used also.

Thanks

Sonu
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Old Apr 18, 2001 | 10:41 PM
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The warranty will be fine if you use normal UL petrol.

They recommend SUL but that doesn't mean that you have to use it. I remember checking this with a BMW dealer a few years back (and they have always recomemnded using SUL in their M cars so the situation with the car, type of petrol and warranty is the same now).

BMW warranties are pretty good - so they won't screw you over for using normal UL - the only thing is that you won't get all of the potential performance of the car.

The warranty will be fine unless you go and put diesel or something else really stupid into the car.
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