[P-Bass]

Originally Posted by Number

A lot of good replies. I noticed that several people mentioned that they have no intention of tracking thus, no reason to get an M3. I guess my feeling is the opposite. I do intend on tracking but definitely not with a F80. All of my buddy's that track their cars say the same thing... Things break on the track. You need to have a budget to fix those things and replace tires. BMW is just too damn expensive. Other than mechanical parts, you get tons of dings and scratches from debris and dirt runoffs. I know there are some diehards here who don't believe in owning an M3 if you can't use it to its potential, but I'm perfectly fine taking an M car to the grocery store and canyon roads while keeping it off the track.

I think when it comes down to it, I will get the F80. There comes a time when you've wasted enough time and energy just thinking about the issue. And that time and energy exceeds the monetary worth of the F80.

Exactly how i feel, the time has come, life is short. When this lease is up, it's onto an M3, I've earned it...

[SamS]

Originally Posted by Philritter21

Have you driven an M car? Its so much better feeling a car than the numbers on paper would have you think. I had a tuned e92 335i and upgraded to an e90 M3. My 335i had close to the same power, the M3 was vastly supperior and much more enjoyable to drive. Its hard to describe, but it is just a much better car. Far more rewarding to drive... especially as a daily driver. They are easily worth the extra money. Maybe its not the same this time around, but other than the F80 and 1M, I've driven the vanilla and M version of every BMW since the e39 M5 and I can say the same about all of them. I'm sure the F80 is the same.

This. An ///M car is not just a faster 335i. And when you drive one, it is hard to forget that feeling, even taking a corner at 20mph on your commute.

[Cyberdemon]

Money and budgets are relative to your personal situation.

We'd all like an M3. In fact most of us would like an M5. How about a Ferrari, even better!

At the end of the day you can pick how to spend your money. Most people who buy Lamborghini's don't take them to the track, they drive them out to show off then park them in a garage and drive an SUV the rest of the time.

For those of us not as financially well to do, you hit a point at which the extra $10-20k could go towards a few nice vacations or a new kitchen. So for us it's "would I rather have better suspension tuning and more horsepower that I'll rarely use?" or "New Cabinets", and thus compromises are born.

If you can afford it, go for it. Personally I drive my 335i daily and think "I really never get to use 95% of this power I probably should've gotten a 328".

[puma1552]

The F80 would be a great car to own for sure, but echoing the post above, you can do a lot with $70k, +/-. The pricing has gotten a bit ridiculous IMO, we aren't that far off from a $100,000 M3. Even with a relatively high dual income household and no kids, I have a really, really hard time justifying that kind of money for a car. If I were leasing, maybe I'd feel differently, but I always like to buy, personally.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by PSA955

Exactly how i feel, the time has come, life is short. When this lease is up, it's onto an M3, I've earned it...

All of this. Don't even look back bro, fly away in the F80/2. Never in my life have I been so impressed by a car from the minute I saw it in pictures to the live thing. I am hoping my dealer can invite me for a test drive.

In any case if you love the N55, the S55 is the sexier version of that N for not sexy and S for sexy

Unfortunately I will have to wait until that time comes when I feel I have earned it. I am not yet there

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Not when you consider the $10-20K price difference. Would I like an F80? Sure...but without tracking it, it's not going to serve any different purpose than my 335i does. I'm not interested in tracking the car, so unless I just had money to burn, I'm not considering one.

Now, what I REALLY would consider is moving from an F30 335i to a 435 GC...they weren't available when I bought the 335i 18 months ago, and I'd have bought one for sure.

+1. I feel almost every time I drive my 335, it's already overkill for where I live (not enough wide open spaces). Felt the same way with an S5 I had 2 cars before it, so much so I didn't miss the S5 as much as I thought I would when my next car was a much slower C300. I grew to hate the C300 due to its body roll and awful seats, but the power was sufficient for the driving I could actually do.

[ando]

Originally Posted by Number

So I noticed a lot of forum members here are jumping ship to get into a new F80/F82. I am really considering this as well. The only thing that is holding me back is the notion that an M3 will not benefit my life in the least bit other than my desire to have one. Is anyone else torn about getting into an F80/F82?

Jumped ship on June 23 ED for M3. US redelivery on August 23. I always wanted a M3. I did it for myself. Keeping the F30 for another winter because I bought snows last year. They are both great vehicles. Go and test drive a M3 if you get the chance.

[Mobster1983]

Originally Posted by Philritter21

Have you driven an M car? Its so much better feeling a car than the numbers on paper would have you think. I had a tuned e92 335i and upgraded to an e90 M3. My 335i had close to the same power, the M3 was vastly supperior and much more enjoyable to drive. Its hard to describe, but it is just a much better car. Far more rewarding to drive... especially as a daily driver. They are easily worth the extra money. Maybe its not the same this time around, but other than the F80 and 1M, I've driven the vanilla and M version of every BMW since the e39 M5 and I can say the same about all of them. I'm sure the F80 is the same.

I completely agree. I sold my e63 M6 to get my 2014 335i because it was far more practical. I love my F30, but that M6 was just amazing. Maybe one day I can have both (or an i8)

[James550i6spd]

If I could afford an M3/M4 I'do it in a heartbeat. No questions asked. But anything over $50k for me is just not financially practical based on my income. Maybe if my wife didn't have the same taste in cars, we could possibly splurge but she likes her cars as well

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by Philritter21

Have you driven an M car? Its so much better feeling a car than the numbers on paper would have you think. I had a tuned e92 335i and upgraded to an e90 M3. My 335i had close to the same power, the M3 was vastly supperior and much more enjoyable to drive. Its hard to describe, but it is just a much better car. Far more rewarding to drive... especially as a daily driver. They are easily worth the extra money. Maybe its not the same this time around, but other than the F80 and 1M, I've driven the vanilla and M version of every BMW since the e39 M5 and I can say the same about all of them. I'm sure the F80 is the same.

Yes, I've driven many M cars...they're far too track-oriented for me. I'm way past the stage where every trip to the store is an opportunity to carve corners and out-accelerate anything nearby. Your perspective of "enjoyable to drive" and mine (along with a very large majority) are extremely different. To suggest that an M3 is a "better" daily driver than a 335i at a $20,000 premium is purely subjective from a rather narrow viewpoint. That's not to say that the M cars are not great cars - it's only saying that they're not necessarily for everyone, particularly with their higher price point and resulting increase in insurance premiums.

[alienranch]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Money and budgets are relative to your personal situation.

We'd all like an M3. In fact most of us would like an M5. How about a Ferrari, even better!

At the end of the day you can pick how to spend your money. Most people who buy Lamborghini's don't take them to the track, they drive them out to show off then park them in a garage and drive an SUV the rest of the time.

For those of us not as financially well to do, you hit a point at which the extra $10-20k could go towards a few nice vacations or a new kitchen. So for us it's "would I rather have better suspension tuning and more horsepower that I'll rarely use?" or "New Cabinets", and thus compromises are born.

If you can afford it, go for it. Personally I drive my 335i daily and think "I really never get to use 95% of this power I probably should've gotten a 328".

I must be getting old - I agree 100%