What car do you drive and why?

mrk

mrk

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Posted this on another board but I think this update is worth posting in this thread too :)

r80khn_front.jpg

2003 BMW 318Ci M Sport, 2 litre, 143bhp, 200Nm..

I do like:
- Handling
- Sports leather seats
- Sport bodykit makes it look like a current age car instead of a 2003 one
- Fuel economy (though this is now under question after changing jobs and being stuck in the rush getting sub 35MPG instead of low 40s)
- Xenon auto lights & wipers
- Quietness when cruising on the motorway and on town driving

I do not like:
- 17" alloys, they don't fill the arches as neatly as 18" ones but MV1s and MV2s are so common and they don't have a dish, which I like.
- M suspension's road feedback is immense at times especially on bumpy or badly worn roads, I only have 17" wheels but even still some small pot holes or dents in the road feel like you drove over a brick! Suppose the good side of this is that you can feel as the car loses grip on slippery road patches and can anticipate it beforehand.
- The stock headunit, even though business CD, was ass for sound quality
- The rear flap windows don't close with the remote, only open. No way to reconfig this at all on the E46, apparently a safety feature of the time.
- Single exit backbox looks weedy on the sport body, would have been nice to have a dual pipe on the Sport models like the 320i has.
- E46 Sport saloon/coupe is prone to suspension coil breaking/cracking. It's around £175 to fix at a main dealer though so not too expensive but if only 1 goes then 6 months later another goes it can be annoying...
- The key fob is undeniably annoying at times, it is the diamond key shape with the boot release button on the back of it EXACTLY where your thumb would rest so naturally as you open the door and begin to sit down you will find you often open the boot by accident or when you've gotten out at night, come to the house door, fumble to open the door to get into the house and another key presses the boot button and the boot opens so you have to go all the way back to shut it....

No denying though, E46 Sports handling has always been said to be one of the best of the 3 series models and I wouldn't mind getting another E46 coupe (330Ci) but I fear in a few years time even those will look dated like the E39 does now from the front and side (Sport E39 included!).

Next car?
DO_WANT_330imsportcoupe.jpg


Sport version as above of at least a 325i coupe with iDrive :D
 
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Soldato
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Current car1: 2006 Audi A8 4.2 TDI Quattro.
Was very pleasantly surprised at how much power this car has for a diesel.

Current car2: 1963 Porche 911.
This was an impulse buy years ago, (long before I got married)

Next car: Maserati Quattroporte.
Had one of these before the Audi, loved it to bits. But new house & other commitments forced me to sell.
Even with some of the problems I had with it, I have to say, its the best car I have ever owned.
 
Soldato
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Current car: Honda Accord 2.4 Type-S

Why: Cause I liked the colour, the gadgets and creature comforts

Next car: Been looking at getting an E46 M3 or the E60 M5 but most likely after the wifes finished moaning about the huge engines, huge servicing and running costs I'll probably end up with an E60 530.
 

mjt

mjt

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- E46 Sport saloon/coupe is prone to suspension coil breaking/cracking. It's around £175 to fix at a main dealer though so not too expensive but if only 1 goes then 6 months later another goes it can be annoying...

you'd get both replaced at the same time, so it's only half as annoying ;)
- The key fob

not sure what you're complaining about with the key, i've never had any problems keeping the boot shut..
maybe you have fat thumbs :p
 
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mrk

mrk

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I suppose it depends on how you've got it attached to your existing keyring - for me it's an issue.

As for the suspension coil. You can get it replaced a pair at a time but obviously at the extra cost. BMW said you can replace them on their own or as a pair it didn't matter. Depends on what the owner wanted.
 

mjt

mjt

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fair enough
why anyone would only replace 1 coil is beyond me though, surprised BMW doesn't have a problem with it. if anything, they'd want you to spend more money :p
 

mrk

mrk

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Well since the other coils were perfectly fine there'd be no need to replace them! If you did then the same could be said for the other pair so hey! why not replace all 4 when just one breaks :D I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from here :)

Snows Portsmouth are quite helpful at pointing out repair options on servicing stuff I find :)
 

mrk

mrk

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Is there an official page showing that? just so that next time a coil cracks and it's in for replacement I can reference it?

Reason I say is because even if both get replaced they hardly ever break in pairs at the same time, only one will break so it would be the same as just replacing just one would it not? then you'd be driving for a year or however long and then noticing after that period that another one has began to crack and needs replacing ?
 

mjt

mjt

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indeed. i replaced both front coil springs as my car came with a broken one.
unfortunately one of the dampers then failed during the MOT, leading to the suspensions being taken apart again at the dealers :mad: (i replaced both)

my advice is replace the whole lot while you're at it :o
 

mjt

mjt

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it just makes sense to replace both though. you want evenly worn parts on both side of the axle.
it's like with tyres.. i bought 2 new tyres, even though 1 was still (reasonably) good.
 
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Current car : BMW Z4 3.0i

Wanted one from the very first day I set eyes on it, I went to the open day with my uncle at my local dealer aged 15/16 and was taken out by a BMW technician.

I always told myself that I'd have one and ever since that day its been my realistic dream car.

It was Black with red leather, 5 spoke alloys, built in sat-nav and it had the upgraded 10 speaker Carver hi-fi system.

:D Fast forward a few years and I finally have it...

IMG_0090edit.jpg


I enjoy it so much that I honestly can't even start to think what I will be having next and I usually can't wait to change cars.
 
Soldato
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York
Avensis because it's comfy when covering motorway miles, has a massive boot for all my climbing/caving gear and returns 38mpg. Very reliable so far too.

Elise because it's a Lotus, handles like nothing else, looks good, does not cost an arm and a leg to run and also returns 38mpg.
 
Soldato
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Wellington, NZ
Current Car: Clio 172.

Why?: Reasonably good performance, fun, more toys than I was used to, Cheap Insurance, liked the looks, was able to finance it over my work placement.

Next Car: Depends what sort of job I get after uni. Looking at S2000 and VX220.
 
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Modified '02 "Bugeye" Impreza, currently at about 375bhp :)p to Powerstation...:D). It's ugly, the ride is, er, firm, it's group 20 insurance, and does 22mpg if I drive like your grandma. But it's about the closest you'll come to a car which performs like a car in a video game without either a) selling most of your organs to raise funds, or b) driving a car with the amenities of a roller-skate. To quote J Clarkson (talking about both the STI and the Evo 8): "It should be illegal for cars to be this much fun."


M
 
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