BMW and M Power Owners

[Kenai]

It sounds rather silly, why does there need to be a term?

People like to have a cool label (exactly what BMW exploit with these cars, as do Audi with S cars and Merc with 43/53 AMGs) but obviously they get slapped down quickly by the M purists who refuse to acknowledge the new M Performance models as anything to do with M ownership communities.

'Baby M' just sounds dreadful, more like an infant you'd read about in the news for all the wrong reasons.

M Lite rolls off the tongue a bit easier than M Performance Model though, so it's easy to see why that's relatively popular

 

[[TW]Fox]

I have no interest in owning a proper M car but will probably get an M340 as my next car. I will then call it an M340 or a 3 Series not an 'M Lite' or whatever

 

[Brok]

If asked I drive a 3 series and if pressed it’s an m340i. It’s not an m lite or m performance or whatever. It’s a 3 series with a decent engine.

 

[ChrisD.]

People who know nothing about cars call my M140i an M1 or 1M.

 

[[TW]Fox]

How do people who know nothing about cars even know what that a 1M exists?

 

[Kenai]

I have no interest in owning a proper M car but will probably get an M340 as my next car. I will then call it an M340 or a 3 Series not an 'M Lite' or whatever

You would be buying it if it was called a 340i M Sport anyway though. (Unless maybe it was a Shadow Edition )

G20 improvements vs F30 aside, it would be interesting to see if the M340i branding resulted in significant differences to sales. I'm not sure it'll ever realistically be possible to make that assessment between models.

As @ChrisD. notes above though, I see this at work a lot - there's a lot of 'ooooh M' from people who know nothing more than there is an M in the name of the car. It helps the contractors in M3/M4s fly under the radar a bit though, as most barely perceive the difference between that and the graduates who have bought second hand M135i/M140is It's all just 'ooooh M' to them.

 

[wingman]

Surely you'd just change the conversation depending on who you're talking to?

None car person? That's my BMW.

Person who knows a few makes and models and a very, very slight passing interest in cars; then it's a 1 Series, might even say it's an M Sport although technically incorrect I guess?

If you know you're talking to a car geek then you say it's an M135/M140i/etc.

Could never say M Lite or Baby BMW to someone's face. The majority of the mass populace would know/care about "M Sport" before any of that guff.

I have no interest in owning a proper M car but will probably get an M340 as my next car.

Any reason why not the 540i G30 Fox?

 

[ChrisD.]

How do people who know nothing about cars even know what that a 1M exists?

It's bizarre, but be prepared to explain that you don't own an M3 Touring when you get the M340i.

 

[wingman]

It's bizarre, but be prepared to explain that you don't own an M3 Touring when you get the M340i.

Ha, someone referred to mine exactly the same when I had an M135i.

Tried to correct them but realised that the conversation wasn't going anywhere.

Best to just let them believe what they want sometimes

 

[[TW]Fox]

Any reason why not the 540i G30 Fox?

They just feel like a rip off - you need £30k for a good one and it'll be as much as 4 years old. No thanks. Plus it's been replaced with the 545e from the LCI which I'm not against and like the idea of but I am having difficulty with the styling of the facelift 5 Series - the pre LCI looks fantastic, but the LCI is just full of the current fads which I hoped would escape something like the 5 Series.

Meanwhile the M340i sits there looking like one of the best cars BMW have made for a very long time...

 

[IC3]

Correct term for the M140i is 'M Performance', go to BMW used cars select 1 series and package/variant 'M Performance' you'll only see M135i and M140i's.

Meanwhile the M340i sits there looking like one of the best cars BMW have made for a very long time...

Finally something I can agree with you on.

 

[ChrisD.]

Meanwhile the M340i sits there looking like one of the best cars BMW have made for a very long time...

Does the VED not put you off? I haven't fully read into it however isn't anything over £40k sold recently drastically expensive to tax?

 

[cuke2u]

Not drastic compare to £40,000 though..

 

[ChrisD.]

Not drastic compare to £40,000 though..

But you have to pay it even if you buy the it second hand IIRC? To a certain point.

 

[Maccy]

Up to 5 years it's around £500/year I think? Doesn't bother me too much

 

[ChrisD.]

Up to 5 years it's around £500/year I think? Doesn't bother me too much

Ah, I thought it was more for some reason.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Does the VED not put you off? I haven't fully read into it however isn't anything over £40k sold recently drastically expensive to tax?

Yea it's massively annoying but what can you do about it? The only way to avoid it is to buy a car that's older than 2017 or has a list price including options of under 40k. Neither of which are possible if you want something 5 Series/3 Series sized with a 6 cylinder engine sadly.

I don't have an issue with a car older than 17 but as I've currently got a 2015 car any upgrade will obviously be quite a lot newer. Every G30 5 Series for example is affected by it except a base 520d.

 

[Maccy]

Ah, I thought it was more for some reason.

The first year is a lot more, but usually covered by the dealer.

 

[Havana_UK]

The first year is a lot more, but usually covered by the dealer.

Technically not, it's part of the OTR price

/pedant mode: off

 

[Kenai]

The first year is a lot more, but usually covered by the dealer.

First year VED is included in 'On The Road' pricing, so it's not so much that it's covered by the dealer but that it's included in any advertised OTR pricing.