BMW and M Power Owners

[panthro]

I’m jumping on the bandwagon with the manufacturer specific threads. We need a BMW thread, so lets use this to discuss BMW and M Power cars. I know theres plenty of you on these forums with BMW’s or who have owned them in the past.

• Everyone welcome but don’t post in this thread if you intend to trash it or BMW’s in general.
• Debate and discussion is welcome but let’s not allow it to descend into arguments.
• This thread is for all BMW’s, not just M Power cars.
• Let’s keep it clean with plenty of pictures of our cars, past and present as well as forthcoming cars from Bayerische Motoren Werke.

I’ve owned 3 BMW’s. The first was my 330Ci in Imola Red. This car really got me hooked in BMW's as I'd only owned French and Italian cars previously:

The second was my E46 M3 in Phoenix Yellow. One of the love/hatecolours for most people, but IMO a great colour for an M because you won’t see any run-of-the-mill BMW's ordered in this colour.

The latest (and soon to depart) is my E92 M3 in Space Grey, with black wheels that some of you hate .

Out of all 3 I loved the E46 M3 the most. Build quality was some of the best I’ve experienced, the looks and handling were IMO perfect and it had the right amount of power for the road. I also maintain that the S54 is the best engine built by BMW, and for me personally one of the best engines by any manufacturer

 

[panthro]

If they can have a Type R and VTEC thread we can have BMW and M Power

 

[panthro]

BTW panthro you do get run of the mill cars in phoenix yellow. One of the dealers had a 320d in it for months. Rare though as its a BMW individual colour.

I was thinking about editing my post with the clause - excluding BMW Individual specced cars. Really suprised anyone would order a 320d in Phoenix yellow. The only cars it works on for me is the E46 and Z3M.

 

[panthro]

/\/\ So much want, especially in that colour I sat in an F10 M5 at Cooper Reading. Made me want one even more. It felt massive inside, but that may be because it was inside the showroom.

 

[panthro]

IMO we should split the threads up between the genuinely sporty M cars and the non M cars such as the "sport" and SE spec cars. They are worlds apart. Do M car owners really want 118d owners polluting up their genuinely sporty based threads? I think not!

The thread is for all BMW's. We want to discuss all BMW's, not just ones with an M badge on.

 

[panthro]

Just a shame about the whole "playing an engine note through the audio system" thing.

Really lets the car down, just why?

I don't see why it does. IMO it enhances it. Its not as if they are playing a different engine note. If you want to hear the engine wind the windows down. Turbo engines are not particularly loud anyway. I would rather have more sound deadening in a car like the M5 with the amplified engine noise, however in something like a CSL you want less sound deadening and more noise.

 

[panthro]

Is that the Independent Motor Company near Reading?

 

[panthro]

Yeah. They have some serious amount of money tied up those cars. I'm based in Wokingham too.

Good spot by me then I've been there a few times, took a Clio V6 out on a drive years ago. I think they've gone downhill a bit in recent times as they don't have the sort of metal they used to a few years ago.
I need to update my location, not in Wokingham anymore unfortunately; living in Reading town centre now.

 

[panthro]

Oh and i've got a service coming up which i got quoted at £188 for Oil service and microfilter (with my supplying the oil)

and £40 for air filter change if it needs it.

Reckon i can do better than that?

Cooper Reading gave me a price of £88 to change my oil with me supplying the oil. Thats also including 4 Plus prices.

 

[panthro]

They have a Clio V6 there at the moment I guess with the current climate it's better from their side of things to have lower value cars.

I'm sorry you live in Reading! I've done that too. I work in the town centre though. Forbury Square.

Its not too bad, got a nice place by the Kennet & Avon; opposite the Bell and Dragon pub. Far enough away from the town centre crowd, but close enough that its a 10 min walk. The only problem is that my insurance has literally doubled

Most enjoyable car I have owned - 330cdi:


and my second BMW - 318i (the one at the back getting fixed ) got it for £150 made it all the way from edinburgh to rome. Would have like to keep it but was more expensive and time consuming to bring it home than it was to fly. Done us amazingly well, fully loaded with 4 ppl & luggage it never missed a beat (apart from over heating, and blowing a radiator pipe after a long afternoon racing a 2up prelude through rhone valley!)

Did you scrap the car in Italy?!

 

[panthro]

That is torquey! Smashes my paltry 295lb ft.

 

[panthro]

I didnt realise so many people on the forums owned BMW's.

FAO Simulatorman, does your M5 get anywhere near the consumption figures BMW claim?

 

[panthro]

M3 was just driven away. Almost shed a tear

 

[panthro]

So you should. A Civic diesel

Please immdiately change your sig to reflect your monumentally epic fail

You'll see; BMW M division haven't seen the last of me

 

[panthro]

New M3 on the autobahn. A 420bhp 1M coupe can barely keep up with it so its going to be pretty quick.

 

[panthro]

Thats not a bad price but I think you could get cheaper if you shopped around. Depends if you're bothered on saving £20. If your car is older than 4 years make sure you ask for the 4 Plus discount, which is 10% off parts and labour. That should bring it down below £100.
I paid £94 for mine from Cooper Reading before the 4 Plus discount.

 

[panthro]

I pay 60 quid for brake fluid changes.

Thats pretty good. Is that the total price including 4 Plus? Do the price's differ for different 3 Series models? i.e. 320d, 330i, M3 etc.

 

[panthro]

I didn't notice a massive difference between the e92 and the e46, granted the e92 was quicker, but not by much, however I was driving my e46 and I'm amazing so I'm sure that counted for a lot.

I think the E92 is a fair bit quicker than the E46.

 

[panthro]

Well the chap I went for a spirited drive with certainly didn't disappear, his was a vert but then so is mine

maybe he held back though for fear of his personal safety whereas I didn't because I'm one of the best drivers on the road

I owned both back to back for 6 months (dont ask why) and found the E92 is much easier to exploit, but both are equal when it comes to driving them on the limit. Both with a very predictable chassis with so much feedback you knew exactly what it was doing and how much you had left before it would let go, but you needed quicker reactions with the E92 when it did let go.
I miss the E46 more than the E92. IMO it had the perfect engine and chassis combination. Just ashame that early ones fall into the hands of people who cant afford to run them, or spend the money they should be using for maintenance on carbon fibre bonnets and Wanli tyres.

 

[panthro]