mit Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Yeah I reckon an Alpina would suit better too. Actually I'm always more inclined to have an Alpina over a M purely because they are a lot rarer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimp Choker Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 I reckon an alpina would suit the OP better Aplina FTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Yeah, that silly idiot Gaz!! :D Haha! It gets stupider. The car was in for a new set of tyres. The driver is the tyre fitter. They uploaded it to their company account and started getting some stick for doing that in a customers car (rightly so). I rehosted before they deleted it. Wash, Blair, RickyZ and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B0B Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Haha! It gets stupider. The car was in for a new set of tyres. The driver is the tyre fitter. They uploaded it to their company account and started getting some stick for doing that in a customers car (rightly so). I rehosted before they deleted it. I hope they did that before fitting the new tyres. How pissed off would you be if it was your car and you saw that on the net? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 The tyre fitter needs to lose his job for that stunt, and the owner of the tyre place should be paying some sort of fine or something. You have to wonder, if that was the one time you got them on camera, how many other times have there been that didn't go recorded? Reminds me of that story about the tyre or car wash (can't remember which) place that took someone's car for a spin and he had an onboard video camera that captured the whole thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim27 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 There was a Chevy dealership in the states earlier this year where a guy bought a nearly-new Camaro and brought it back shortly afterwards for warranty work on a rumbly 1st gear at low speed. Having had "mystery miles" added to his cars previously he left a dictaphone hidden and recording in the cabin of the car. He recorded the technicians doing high speed runs and multiple burnouts in the car, then they realise that they've fried his clutch so discuss how they can bill him for a new clutch and labour then 2 days later they'll put a warranty claim through to GM for a new pressure plate so they get the labour cost paid twice. The owner approached GM and they washed their hands of it, saying the issue was between the dealership franchise and the owner and nothing to do with them. The owner asked the dealership to buy his car back for what he'd paid but the dealer refused, offering only to take the car at book value as part-ex on the condition that the guy bought a new car off them! The recording was released on the internet and went viral, and it appears GM has launched it's lawyers into the fray and tried forcing any site hosting the recording to take it down. As for the video of that plum donuting the customers new M3 - there's no date or time stamp on the clip and no clear image of the driver so it'a highly unlikely that a prosecution could be enforced IMHO and as for a civil case - the company was replacing the tyres so in English law the customer has nothing to complain about. The law is an ass and probably won't recognise premature or abusive wear on components because unless they fail there and then you can't quantify the value of the damage done. Seeing things like this is what makes me distrust all garages, whether shiny main dealership or privately owned back street jobbies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e46 330ci vert Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Do you have any facts to back up this clearly made up fact?? Quite a wild statement to make .... no offence intended guys,was just going by what I read on here,service prices,maintenance part prices and general running costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 no offence intended guys,was just going by what I read on here,service prices,maintenance part prices and general running costs What do they have to do with reliability? That's like saying a jumbo jet is unreliable because of how much it costs to service!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Syxx Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 no offence intended guys,was just going by what I read on here,service prices,maintenance part prices and general running costs If you go by what you read on here with common faults etc and take it as gospel you would think the E46 is an unreliable car as a whole. Unreliable? Only if you don't fix things. This applies to any car. Blair 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 What do they have to do with reliability? That's like saying a jumbo jet is unreliable because of how much it costs to service!! Apparently an "inspection 2" on a 747 is £155 mit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Apparently an "inspection 2" on a 747 is £155 Probably is, and probably needs to be done every time it lands! Daz 330 Cs and Gaz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3NXN Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Thanks for the responses! As far as going to a 330 petrol is concerned, I've had 3 or 4 of them, manual and semi-auto before this diesel. I'm not wholly concerned by running costs (meaning fuel) to be honest, I just don't want to pay excessive amounts week in week out and feeling like I'm being ripped off. If I was paying around the £100 mark per week just for my commute, give or take £20-30, I would be happy with that. Weekend fuel costs wouldn't bother me at all. As far as repairs etc are concerned, I'll always pay to have my car fixed and always have, regardless of costs. I love driving my cars and cleaning them, but repairing them no, it's not my thing. Which brings me back to should I or shouldn't I?! The 330 petrol I always felt lacked something, the diesel even more so but I expected that, it was more of a 'I haven't tried one yet' kind of purchase. I think the M3 is one of those itches that will come and go until I've actually tried one, and possibly the only thing that was holding me back before was I thought my insurance would be sky high and now clearly it isn't. It doesn't help as well that the wife is currently test driving R32s left right and centre which just makes me want to ditch this dirty diesel even more. What kind of MPG could be expected on an M3 on a single file winding A road? As at the moment I think that's pretty much all that's stopping me, apart from finding a good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob- Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Unreliable? Only if you don't fix things. This applies to any car. I suppose the frequency of these fixes determines what what we regard as reliable. If you keep fixing things on an Alfa it will keep going lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 What kind of MPG could be expected on an M3 on a single file winding A road? As at the moment I think that's pretty much all that's stopping me, apart from finding a good one! If you're just going to work and on a chilled drive, 28 wouldn't be hard to average on an A road with light traffic. If you end up in stop start traffic, expect that to drop. With me, I had an M itch that needed scratching. I knew I'd have to have one at one point, and petrol's not getting any cheaper. Figured I'd get it out the way now whilst fuel is still affordable mit and Blair 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickzsingh Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Just get it out of your system and enjoy it! Or try and go for a 335d remapped if they are affordable soon lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 I suppose the frequency of these fixes determines what what we regard as reliable. If you keep fixing things on an Alfa it will keep going lol No, Alfas will unexpectedly blow up even if you kept them meticulously maintained. A bit like my ex girlfriend... Blair, LukeD and RickyZ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim27 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Trust me Mit it's better to have them blow up than repeatedly breakdown... Back on-topic, as for fuel costs to use an M3 - if you've had a 330 and done the same commute then I'd suggest you increase your fuel cost by roughly 30% for an M3 over a 330. Like I said before - logic goes out the window. Stop faffing around trying to justify it logically and just go buy the fappin car, run it and then if the shoe doesn't fit sell it on for something else. The itch will never go away until you scratch it... LukeD and mit 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1monove Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 I had to scratch that itch, and i'm bloody glad i did! Its a fantastic car. On my daily commute to work it's actually running at more mpg than my 330 auto did at 24mpg. I dont do massive mileage (probably 7-8k p/a max). Test drive a few to see how you get on, as there are a lot of dogs out there which wont give you a true picture of what these cars are like. You never know, you may not like it! (unlikely though!! ) . Good luck, mate mit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3NXN Posted December 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Well I've had a change of plan. The itch is most certainly going to be scratched, but the plan now is to keep the M3 as weekend/pleasure car and keep the dirty diesel for commute. If I get offered a good price for the touring on a part ex if I get the M3 from a dealer, then I'll get myself a 320D or something similar for the commute. Gaz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Good luck getting a decent part ex offer from the dealer lol, you'll only get that if it's a late model car and they can resell it approved used, otherwise they'll offer practically scrap value :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Good choice. You definitely wont regret it. M3NXN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3NXN Posted December 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Good luck getting a decent part ex offer from the dealer lol, you'll only get that if it's a late model car and they can resell it approved used, otherwise they'll offer practically scrap value :/ Looks like I'll be having both then damn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Mark Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 This forum can make you want to be part of the 'M3 too' brigade. It used to be the clubsport brigade actually, but they all got M3s... Personally I've said no to 2 M3s already because they don't suit my requirements as well as a non-M. I'd say a lot of your decision should depend on what your drive to work is like. If it's heavy traffic or even annoying cars in front of you the whole way you're not going to derive much pleasure from the M3. I'd argue you'll actually find it frustrating. I say that but I own a motorbike that I ride about 1000 miles a year and I justified the cost of the bike for that 1000 miles lol, so if you get 1000 miles of pleasure out of the M3 in addition to your commute I guess it's worth it anyway lol, talk about making your mind up, that has to be most open ended double barrelled answer I ever saw you write Mit Keith 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 lol, talk about making your mind up, that has to be most open ended double barrelled answer I ever saw you write Mit You could sum it up as "it depends how nice your drive to work is and what value you place on being able to drive a M3 hard occasionally" It's down to the OP's personal requirements as to what suits him best. Personally I can't justify a M3 as my only car as most of my driving is in town, but I've justified a motorbike that costs significantly more than a good E46 M3 for about 1200 miles of summer weekend riding in the countryside every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 M3 Vs 330d. In a nutshell. In my experience the M3 fuel bills will be twice as much for the journey the OP states. Annual costs in maintenance/servicing will be (give or take a little) double too - servicing is often twice the price and intervals are much shorter compared to the dervs. Tyres are more expensive and you get through them quicker, brakes are considerably more expensive etc. mit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
