[lethbridge]

I ran remapped 35ds since the engine came out when I was doing 30k miles/year. When my miles dropped I wanted to go back to petrol. I didn't really consider the 40i as the performance is fundamentally the same but with a great soundtrack - I wanted a significant difference. I went M3CP and I can confirm it is not in any way close to the performance of a remapped 35d/40i and the handling is unbelievable until you exploit it. I don't think you can appreciate all the work that has been done to lower the centre of gravity and the suspension fettling until you are in it on your own on some back roads you know well. I thought I might miss the huge torque I'd been used to and what that meant for safe overtakes but the M3CP obliterated that notion and the MPE just makes you grin the whole while - my son, who is a bit of a petrolhead, thinks it is one of the best sounding cars out there. So, if you have that itch, and the finances to scratch it (don't forget they depreciate as hard as any other high cost car bar certain Porches etc.), then get an extended test on your own if you have any doubts (I didn't), and go scratch that itch...

[ZeroFx]

I think BMW would sell more if they made the warranty and servicing costs more realistic.

America currently gets longer warranties and better servicing plans as well as cheaper leases.

VW offers 7 year warranties now since dieselgate in USA.

I fail to see where a grand goes on the major service. The EU should step in and say that dealers cannot devalue a car if it's been serviced outside its network. The trade in value should be no different if it's been serviced by any other company. This is what they were trying to say to me the other day about risks of going to indi for servicing work

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

The EU should step in and say that dealers cannot devalue a car if it's been serviced outside its network.

Oh the irony...

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

I think BMW would sell more if they made the warranty and servicing costs more realistic.

America currently gets longer warranties and better servicing plans as well as cheaper leases.

VW offers 7 year warranties now since dieselgate in USA.

I fail to see where a grand goes on the major service. The EU should step in and say that dealers cannot devalue a car if it's been serviced outside its network. The trade in value should be no different if it's been serviced by any other company. This is what they were trying to say to me the other day about risks of going to indi for servicing work

Erm, it's not dealers that devalue cars serviced by independents, it's buyers. Who wants a high end car that was wiped down with an oily rag by some backstreet mechanic?

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

Erm, it's not dealers that devalue cars serviced by independents, it's buyers. Who wants a high end car that was wiped down with an oily rag by some backstreet mechanic?

To be fair there's plenty of independent garages that exceed main dealers standards when it comes to servicing.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Hooded

To be fair there's plenty of independent garages that exceed main dealers standards when it comes to servicing.

Yes there is, but there's plenty that don't, so the market values a car differently because of that I guess.

[ZeroFx]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

Erm, it's not dealers that devalue cars serviced by independents, it's buyers. Who wants a high end car that was wiped down with an oily rag by some backstreet mechanic?

You realise that servicing a modern car is basically plug and play? There is more to servicing a dirt bike than a car now.

You can watch a youtube video and it shows you how basic a job it is. They even get the low paid trainees doing your M car to increase profit margins while the techs do the warranty work. They turn off your dash cam so you cant record how little work they do.

This myth that main dealer servicing is propagated by dealers to scare you in to paying their crazy rates.

Every part made for BMW is sold without the * on the open market at about half the price. Because BMW doesnt make shit so they put a * on everything so they can make a cut for doing nothing. Those same OEM's dont stop the machines running making parts so they sell them on the market like every other part.

They have already cut the service pack now to a crappy 36k 3 years which saves nothing. Its clear that BMW wants to offset poor car sales with more service revenue.

[KCH1984]

It's a perception thing though - I'm sorry but if you're contemplating a £60k+ M car and then looking to save £200-300 on it's major service by going outside the main dealer network, you've got it arse backwards.

If I was in the market for a secondhand car, I wouldn't touch one without full main dealer history (especially if less than 2/3 years old). Not because I don't doubt quality of a good independent but IF something does go wrong and standards have slipped, you're in a much better position if it's always been in the main dealer network.

That, and you also look like a cheap b@stard

[ZeroFx]

Originally Posted by KCH1984

It's a perception thing though - I'm sorry but if you're contemplating a £60k+ M car and then looking to save £200-300 on it's major service by going outside the main dealer network, you've got it arse backwards.

If I was in the market for a secondhand car, I wouldn't touch one without full main dealer history (especially if less than 2/3 years old). Not because I don't doubt quality of a good independent but IF something does go wrong and standards have slipped, you're in a much better position if it's always been in the main dealer network.

That, and you also look like a cheap b@stard

That's a dumb way to look at anything.

For a start most M cars don't do any miles because they are owned by people who put them on the drive and never use them. So that means tyres fuel and servicing are very cheap for 2 years of ownership( if they ignored depreciation which they always do)

If you are going to do 20k a year then running costs are an issue. Especially if you run it for business. I will have 2 of those expensive services and 2 of the small ones as well as 4 sets of rear tyres and 2 fronts minimum as well as one set of front and back brakes.

So that's 3k in services, 1500 in brakes, 3000 in tyres, about 2k in warranty.

£197 a month not including fuel.

I think I could cut that in half by being a bit clever over 80k miles. Which is no small sum

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

That's a dumb way to look at anything.

For a start most M cars don't do any miles because they are owned by people who put them on the drive and never use them. So that means tyres fuel and servicing are very cheap for 2 years of ownership( if they ignored depreciation which they always do)

If you are going to do 20k a year then running costs are an issue. Especially if you run it for business. I will have 2 of those expensive services and 2 of the small ones as well as 4 sets of rear tyres and 2 fronts minimum as well as one set of front and back brakes.

So that's 3k in services, 1500 in brakes, 3000 in tyres, about 2k in warranty.

£197 a month not including fuel.

I think I could cut that in half by being a bit clever over 80k miles. Which is no small sum

Doing 20K a year, services and tyres etc... are the least of your worries. Do you realise 20K a year in an M3 will cost you around £5K a year in fuel alone?!

I know there are a few on here that do that kind of mileage in an M3/4, fair enough, but it would grind me if I had to put in like £400+ a month in fuel alone. That's before you have to think about more regular servicing, £450 a year road tax etc..... all adds up to a heck of a lot of cash.

[NISFAN]

£3000 in servicing on 80k Miles is 3.75pence per mile.

Compared to 31pence per mile depreciation and probably 25pence per mile fuel, is M4 affordability really be going to hinge on independents vs dealer service cost?

[KCH1984]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

That's a dumb way to look at anything.

For a start most M cars don't do any miles because they are owned by people who put them on the drive and never use them. So that means tyres fuel and servicing are very cheap for 2 years of ownership( if they ignored depreciation which they always do)

If you are going to do 20k a year then running costs are an issue. Especially if you run it for business. I will have 2 of those expensive services and 2 of the small ones as well as 4 sets of rear tyres and 2 fronts minimum as well as one set of front and back brakes.

So that's 3k in services, 1500 in brakes, 3000 in tyres, about 2k in warranty.

£197 a month not including fuel.

I think I could cut that in half by being a bit clever over 80k miles. Which is no small sum

I rest my case...worrying about a couple of hundred quid over 80k miles, then being left with a high mileage M4 with patchy service history. Yeah that'll save you money

[blueislander]

I think OP may be best served looking at a different bracket of car to be honest.

An M4 is expensive however you slice and dice it. If you're already that worried about X cost vs Y cost I'm not sure the ownership experience will be all that fun.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

£197 a month not including fuel.

Why pamper life's complexities, when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?

-

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by DaveA

Why pamper life's complexities, when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?

-

Because you're a jumped up pantry boy?

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Doing 20K a year, services and tyres etc... are the least of your worries. Do you realise 20K a year in an M3 will cost you around £5K a year in fuel alone?!

I know there are a few on here that do that kind of mileage in an M3/4, fair enough, but it would grind me if I had to put in like £400+ a month in fuel alone. That's before you have to think about more regular servicing, £450 a year road tax etc..... all adds up to a heck of a lot of cash.

Lalalalalalalalalalalala....... I can't hear you

[ZeroFx]

Except most these costs are business miles and covered by the fuel allowance.

The reason it matters is that I put the difference.

If you did it this way you would understand that being clever how you spend your money gets you in to a better car. Most people I work with drive a piece of crap and pay through the nose for it.

Also when you put 80k on a car BMW doesn't sell the car any way. They auction it off to indi dealers to the highest bidder. At that point the car has a Gfv of 15k. Anything you get back on top of that is a bonus. Every time I traded in they didn't even check the service history before they made me an offer. They just deducted for damage. One dealer even took off the non genuine parts and sold it on auc even though it had never had a BMW service in its life.

It's a different game when you run cars for business with higher miles. A car with 90k on the clock 5 years old has a totally different buyer who is less discerning and more interested in the high end car in excellent condition less than 5 years old and under 20k.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Because you're a jumped up pantry boy?

Who never knew his place

[dawal6]

It seems we’re all dumb, don’t think smartly etc etc

Never read so many threads where you ask for advice, insult anything that doesn’t match your thoughts,

Just go stare at a mirror as that will give you the answer you want!

Another person undoubtedly put off this forum by this crap!

[ZeroFx]

Originally Posted by dawal6

It seems we’re all dumb, don’t think smartly etc etc

Never read so many threads where you ask for advice, insult anything that doesn’t match your thoughts,

Just go stare at a mirror as that will give you the answer you want!

Another person undoubtedly put off this forum by this crap!

these replies which basically say that you should not consider the price or cost of anything just because it's an M car are stupid. There is also a thread about why we shouldn't care about the new VED tax surcharge. The responses in there are the same kind of idiotic attitudes such as " it's just 320 quid a year "

They are not useful nor are they any help. You could take that attitude with everything in life from houses to holidays to any other cost. Why change energy company when its just a few hundred quid a year difference.

When you have 5 or 6 expensive hobbies you cannot take the attitude that it doesn't matter.

[blueislander]

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

these replies which basically say that you should not consider the price or cost of anything just because it's an M car are stupid. There is also a thread about why we shouldn't care about the new VED tax surcharge. The responses in there are the same kind of idiotic attitudes such as " it's just 320 quid a year "

They are not useful nor are they any help. You could take that attitude with everything in life from houses to holidays to any other cost. Why change energy company when its just a few hundred quid a year difference.

When you have 5 or 6 expensive hobbies you cannot take the attitude that it doesn't matter.

Originally Posted by ZeroFx

these replies which basically say that you should not consider the price or cost of anything just because it's an M car are stupid. There is also a thread about why we shouldn't care about the new VED tax surcharge. The responses in there are the same kind of idiotic attitudes such as " it's just 320 quid a year "

They are not useful nor are they any help. You could take that attitude with everything in life from houses to holidays to any other cost. Why change energy company when its just a few hundred quid a year difference.

When you have 5 or 6 expensive hobbies you cannot take the attitude that it doesn't matter.

Those replies aren't stupid, they are just opinions which don't match yours.

Self servicing an M4 is a) not attractive to the next owner in a sector where a FBMSH matters and b) smacks of "champagne motoring on lemonade money" i.e you're being cheap.

You've extolled the virtues of your view on the "440i 8k pcp brigade" and how we're all stupid to do it, whilst simultaneously trying to save £100 on a service on an M4 by DIY.

Maybe the difference is we can all comfortably afford the car we chose and you're aiming for something too expensive so you're trying to keep costs down so you can justttttt about run it?

Perspective.

[ZeroFx]

Originally Posted by blueislander

Those replies aren't stupid, they are just opinions which don't match yours.

Self servicing an M4 is a) not attractive to the next owner in a sector where a FBMSH matters and b) smacks of "champagne motoring on lemonade money" i.e you're being cheap.

You've extolled the virtues of your view on the "440i 8k pcp brigade" and how we're all stupid to do it, whilst simultaneously trying to save £100 on a service on an M4 by DIY.

Maybe the difference is we can all comfortably afford the car we chose and you're aiming for something too expensive so you're trying to keep costs down so you can justttttt about run it?

Perspective.

Who said anything about self service? I'm talking about using a local BMW indi who has 15 years working for BMW.

I wouldn't consider one if it was about affordability. This M car would cost me less per month than the 320d I bought when I was 21 on HP.

Even so why would anyone want to hand a grand over to a dealership for 6 spark plugs and some filters?

What is putting me off is the ability to live with it. I'm more concerned that after the initial fun wears off it will just be a chore to live with. That DCT gear box and the ride quality will be the deal breaker not the running costs.

Ive already had 2 people who got rid of theirs telling me to test drive one extended before I put money down.