WRX STI, FQ300, M3 - Running costs?

The_Dark_Side said:
I test drove a 320 diesel (this alone tells you I don't plan to hammer it) with more options than I knew existed last year.....twice. In the end I walked away (twice :D ) because they wouldn't give me the warranty I wanted. I've wanted an S for a while now, and I have a good idea what options I'd like (keyless for starters).
Is there any way to tell when the air system is close to going wrong, or does it just go kaboom without warning?
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At the risk of properly hijacking this poor guys thread...(:D) Sorry!

S-class' tbh are in a totally different league to something like a 3-series, both in terms of equipment and ride. Its not really worth listing options as they have pretty much everything you will think of, and lots of features which i forgot to even consider now that i also have a 5-series to directly compare it to. They drive like mattresses so dynamically the bmw's blow them out of the water, but if you are looking at a 320d anyway it might not bother you as you probably dont drive fast.

The air system should raise the car instantly and uniformly when you hit the raise button. If its longer than 3-4 seconds or doesnt raise at all it probably has a leak or needs a new pump. Not ideal to do but if you can take some heavy mates with you, and sit them in the rear. The distance between the rear tyres and the arches should not move at all, if it sinks at all then there is either a leak or a weak pump. The front strut tops should have no visible cracking around the air pipe on the top of them. If they do have cracking its obvious, if you cant see anything then they arnt cracked. This is a common place for the system to leak as the heavy V8 and V12 engines put a lot of load on the front end.

Other than the suspension they are bombproof, change the engine oil every 8-15k depending on usage and the tranny every 50k and it will last to half a million miles and beyond.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
^
sorry Jez, when I said 320D I meant an S320 cdi.
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Not really a fan of those tbh, it removes the smooth and bulletproof V8 engine with a slightly problematic rough one. Faaar too slow too, a car the size of an s-class should not be allowed to only have 200bhp! :(
 
I have a White STI Hawkeye Yes it a pain to keep clean - Pic from Wales at one of the WRC stages....

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50K service was £400 at a dealer...
Pads £100 rear £130 front (mintek) fitted at a specialist.(never again through so easy to do yourself)
Set of tyres £400 18" Eagle F1
MPG about 260-280 mile to the tank of V-power or BP..car hates Tescos 99
Had it since July last year..had some troubles with sensors but been fine since

Great drivers car....bad car for passengers (but who cares....lol)
 
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fav in law on his 4th sub now :p

ive been in evo most of scoobies and m3

m3 is best but like a lot say evo is a raw track car really scoobies fun and more better for day to day.

current one fav has is silver wrx 330bhp i believe with all tweeks on.

one thing ive noticed is hes forever changing pads on em :D
 
rypt said:
Heh you know what your STi needs? The Prodrive wing :D
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The wing was on there when I got it....it deff a marmite spoiler...and I am still in to minds about keeping it or going spoilerless

MrLOL said:
looks like a Spec C ? very nice
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It actually a type UK STI..with Prodrive suspension and Prodrive 18" alloys
 
I've had an Evo, Multiple STi's and currently a M3. My experience of the running costs on the M3 are lower than the other cars, especially at the petrol pump. It's also the only car out of the three that can flip it's personality from Jekyll to Hyde. When Driving the 4wd turbo cars, you always felt like you needed to be gunning it.
 
Hard to believe I posted this thread back in 2009 - my how things can change in your life suddenly.

A few more month and I'm back in game, after driving around a 1.1 Pug 206 for a few years.

80% sure on an M3 now. I'm hitting 30 in Feb and feel a Scoob or Evo would give the wrong image. Still like the Hawkeye STIs though, if not only for the Boxer burble. Though the M3 rasp through the high revs is delightful.

I'm clued up on insurance and inspection costs. The only thing worrying me now is the talk of regular rear springs going and the potential for the subframe cracks.

Looking at;

- Carbon Black
- 19" OEM Wheels (Non-CSL, dont like 'em)
- Red / Tan / Black leather
- Harmon Kardon
- Facelift
- Budget £12-£15K

Cannot wait, going from a Type-R to an M3 would be exciting enough, but from a 1.1 206? Oh boy, cannot wait to get thrown in to the back of my seat with the powerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. /Clarkson.
 
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£15k is a fantastic budget for an E46 M3. Spend £12-13k on a nice one, bank the rest for running costs and enjoy. Nice to see somebody wanting an M3 that can actually afford it, makes a change from the 'I have £7k gonna get an M3' ideas.
 
[TW]Fox;21103329 said:
£15k is a fantastic budget for an E46 M3. Spend £12-13k on a nice one, bank the rest for running costs and enjoy. Nice to see somebody wanting an M3 that can actually afford it, makes a change from the 'I have £7k gonna get an M3' ideas.
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Being our resident expert Fox, do you know much about the subframe issues? Seems quite a severe fault inherent to the E46 - not something that can be checked easily during a private sale.
 
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