Car change or not?

[maff 10]

After using my 330d daily for nearly five years which has not put a foot wrong I now find myself having the use of a company vehicle, I also have the storm which I've said to myself I would never sell as I will always want to have a corrado.

 

But we now have four cars between myself and my partner so I cannot decide whether or not to either sell the 330d and storm and purchase an e46 m3, or just not bother and keep what I've got. Thing is I've just bought the misses a 330d sport touring so it seems a bit silly us having two now.

 

I could also sell the bmw and my mountain bike to rustle up the funds for the m3 and keep the storm??

 

Oh I don't know??!

[liam_raddo 0]

I'm in a similar boat to you I have 4 cars including a Storm, I have decided to sell my Storm and A5 Interested to see people's views. Had an E46 for a while remapped and it was mental sold it as I was worried I'd lose my license (note I owned a 996 previously) and IMO the E46 (manual) was special, defo a bucket list car to have.

[maff 10]

I'm in a similar boat to you I have 4 cars including a Storm, I have decided to sell my Storm and A5 Interested to see people's views. Had an E46 for a while remapped and it was mental sold it as I was worried I'd lose my license (note I owned a 996 previously) and IMO the E46 (manual) was special, defo a bucket list car to have.

 

Yep gotta be a manual, took me ages took find my manual 330d, but would like to try foot to floor gear changes with the smg 2 though :-)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

If you have roads where you can enjoy an M3, do it. Otherwise keep the 330d.

 

You must have some mountain bike if selling it will part pay for an M3!!

[maff 10]

All go with the roads! and it's a yeti sb66c 7k build brand new;-)3k second hand

[Kevin Bacon 5]

M3 then :D

 

I went out in a friend's E90 M3 recently and that's quite a machine! I think the E46 is still the best M3 overall though.

[Jim 2]

E90 M3 is on the bucket list in a couple of years I reckon :) Just need them to get a bit more affordable.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You need a lot of road to enjoy one to the full. They feel big and the rev range commands plenty of clear road ahead because not much happens below 5000rpm.

[maff 10]

I'm getting on now so i won't be going mad, but would love to do a track day. Also had a few cars as quick as an m3 but the sound they make is drawing me to one:-)

 

I don't think i can let go of the corrado though as it's harder to buy a storm than a mountain bike and to be fair the 330d with 370lbft is a lot of fun which can feel its weight but is equally a very good handling car.

 

But thats also the thing with the m3, its a good all rounder. I'd like a type r classic subaru but the image puts me off a bit, savagely fast and a right tool but i can't see myself in it popping to the shops with my lad in tow. A friend has a 420bhp classic which feels like it would destroy his not long sold v10 m5 so for pure driving weekend thrills the scooby takes some beating.

[Harrier 1]

Having sold my C recently to get a 46m I would say they are great cars & you wouldn't regret it,though keep your Corrado if you can , I certainly miss mine. Unfortunately I couldn't really have both !

Regardless of what you spend on the m3 it's worth having a couple of grand on standby for unexpected repairs,people often sell because of known expensive faults,mine had a Vanos fault soon after purchase which thankfully was covered by a warranty, there are a few other common issues with them too.

Most people would say avoid the Smg's however they are fun. The manuals are more reliable but tend to be a bit heavy & clunky ,best to have a good try of both & see which you prefer.

As regards the e90's the main reason that put me off one was the £500 annual road tax ! & they are of course still a bit pricey.

Good luck anyways

Daren.

[maff 10]

Having sold my C recently to get a 46m I would say they are great cars & you wouldn't regret it,though keep your Corrado if you can , I certainly miss mine. Unfortunately I couldn't really have both !

Regardless of what you spend on the m3 it's worth having a couple of grand on standby for unexpected repairs,people often sell because of known expensive faults,mine had a Vanos fault soon after purchase which thankfully was covered by a warranty, there are a few other common issues with them too.

Most people would say avoid the Smg's however they are fun. The manuals are more reliable but tend to be a bit heavy & clunky ,best to have a good try of both & see which you prefer.

As regards the e90's the main reason that put me off one was the £500 annual road tax ! & they are of course still a bit pricey.

Good luck anyways

Daren.

 

Thanks for the info daren, one thing I keep reading about apart from torn subframes, failed smg pumps are head gaskets? My budget would be around 7k if I did go for it and hopefully could find one with all of the above sorted and with reasonable mileage.

Still I've got some pals who are very handy with spanners so I won't be afraid of one that needs a bit of work if it's cheap enough:-)

 

Thing is though it's getting close to Christmas now so maybe a bad time to get what I want for the 330d or anything for that matter so I might hold out till early next year.

[Portent 0]

My brother has an E46 M3 manual and it is a wonderful machine. I would go with that.

[Tim@Prestige 10]

After using my 330d daily for nearly five years which has not put a foot wrong I now find myself having the use of a company vehicle, I also have the storm which I've said to myself I would never sell as I will always want to have a corrado.

 

But we now have four cars between myself and my partner so I cannot decide whether or not to either sell the 330d and storm and purchase an e46 m3, or just not bother and keep what I've got. Thing is I've just bought the misses a 330d sport touring so it seems a bit silly us having two now.

 

I could also sell the bmw and my mountain bike to rustle up the funds for the m3 and keep the storm??

 

Oh I don't know??!

 

A nice problem to have!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

As regards the e90's the main reason that put me off one was the £500 annual road tax ! & they are of course still a bit pricey.

 

I've never understood the mentality of that. The E90 is an expensive car, very low mpg, expensive insurance and expensive maintenance, and yet people quibble over £41 / month to tax it??!? :scratch: That's like spending £800,000 on a country mansion and moaning about the heating bills. "Oh I'd never by a Ferrari because it costs £1000 to tax". I've never heard anything so ridiculous.

 

Thanks for the info daren, one thing I keep reading about apart from torn subframes, failed smg pumps are head gaskets? My budget would be around 7k if I did go for it and hopefully could find one with all of the above sorted and with reasonable mileage.

Still I've got some pals who are very handy with spanners so I won't be afraid of one that needs a bit of work if it's cheap enough:-)

 

Don't read too much into what you read on the net. Treat it the same as the Daily Mail doing a front page on Cabbage causing cancer, i.e. it's highly like to be unsubstantiated nonsense. All cars have common problems and all problems are solvable and not ALL cars exhibit said problems. There's more good about and M3 than bad, and you're not getting any younger. Do it man :)

[maff 10]

I probably will go for it as i've not much use for a diesel as my weekend car now, but i have got quite attached the 330d and it's been the most reliable car i've owned to date, will be sorry to see it go for sure.

 

And it does seem that all is written is negative about the m3 and i'm not fussed if i find one that needs a bit of work, well apart from footing the rear subframe tear issue bill!

 

Might just advertise the bm and see what happens, watch this space :-)

[Harrier 1]

I probably will go for it as i've not much use for a diesel as my weekend car now, but i have got quite attached the 330d and it's been the most reliable car i've owned to date, will be sorry to see it go for sure.

 

And it does seem that all is written is negative about the m3 and i'm not fussed if i find one that needs a bit of work, well apart from footing the rear subframe tear issue bill!

 

Might just advertise the bm and see what happens, watch this space :-)

 

It's actually the boot floor, that the sub frame mounts to that can tear.Usually at the nsf mounting point.There are weld in repair/reinforcement plates available which aren't expensive, its just more about the labour to remove the sub frame etc .

Quite a few have already had the boot floor replaced by BMW under warranty or been reinforced so i wouldn't worry too much !

ATB

[Hofmiester 10]

Being really honest , I'm about to get grief for saying this..... I recently bought an audi s4 b8 and had it tuned by MRC to 485bhp and 600nm. It basically kills almost everything on the road and the 4wd means you can drive it like a total bell end and it's fine.....just fine...no drama

 

I thought this would be the case and the Corrado would fill the gap for the touchy feely go kart stuff.

 

The truth is when I drive the Corrado it now feels like an antique. Slow, harsh and the steering feel....while better, doesn't make up for the rest of it.

 

I'm seriously thinking that I might sell up if it wasn't for my love of it, for no reason other than nostalgia.

[maff 10]

Being really honest , I'm about to get grief for saying this..... I recently bought an audi s4 b8 and had it tuned by MRC to 485bhp and 600nm. It basically kills almost everything on the road and the 4wd means you can drive it like a total bell end and it's fine.....just fine...no drama

 

I thought this would be the case and the Corrado would fill the gap for the touchy feely go kart stuff.

 

The truth is when I drive the Corrado it now feels like an antique. Slow, harsh and the steering feel....while better, doesn't make up for the rest of it.

 

I'm seriously thinking that I might sell up if it wasn't for my love of it, for no reason other than nostalgia.

 

I agree with the corrado, I get in mine sometimes and think why am I still driving one of these! but then I see one pass me on the road or have a good drive in one and all is forgotten, they won't ever make cars like these anymore either even if the vr6 isn't particularly light it's definatly one of those cars I'll always want to keep tucked away:-)

 

4wd is the ultimate but I would also quite like to master a good rear drive car round a track, I sometimes turn the disc off on my 330d and with 500nm can quite easily have some fun, but the m3 would be the ultimate. After having a 300bhp 4wd 1200kg car I also would like a nice two door type r impreza for my weekend thrills but I also need a car to other things than just go fast.

 

My mates just sold his 538bhp m5 and tuned his classic impreza to 420bhp and it feels like it would have the better of the m5 under a ton easily, it's an animal. but I bet the audi goes well:-) I've owned a b5 s4 that was a great car, just didn't handle, well only in the snow:-)

[delfinis38 1]

The truth is when I drive the Corrado it now feels like an antique.

 

 

i'm with you on that my new 4series BMW coupe drive so much better than my 3 year old audi..... but the rado is staying

[seanl82 23]

The trick is to buy a sensible daily. Unless you mega tune a corrado, it'll never compete with a modern performance car, and truth be told, will never handle as well either. I've just bought a 3 year old 1 series diesel and although probably on par with the C with regard to performance, I have no faith in it in the wet. Zero steering feel and the back end feels very twitchy in the wet. At least with a FWD car, you may get a little understeer, but it's easy to gauge if your cornering too quickly. The beemer is just well, a little dull to drive. It's a good all rounder but doesn't evoke any excitement.

[maff 10]

I just enjoy my rado for what it is, when I owned my first one at 22 it was a quick little car, I wouldn't have any interest in tuning one past 220bhp so I've got the shrick under the stairs And maybe some cams and that's me.

 

I just like looking at them now to be honest and quite happy I know I have one sitting at home:-)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The truth is when I drive the Corrado it now feels like an antique. Slow, harsh and the steering feel....while better, doesn't make up for the rest of it.

 

I'm seriously thinking that I might sell up if it wasn't for my love of it, for no reason other than nostalgia.

 

Cars are advancing at such a rapid rate, even something 5 years old feels like a fossilised stegosaurus to drive.

 

I like old though. There's a certain sluggishness and weight to all the controls that I like and is masked (too much, imo) in modern cars.

 

The last time I drove an E36 M3, I wondered how anyone ever lived with the offset pedals, the recalcitrant and agricultural ZF gearbox, the lack of torque below 4000rpm, the twitchy steering and complete absence of steering feel....but.....when you open the taps, you forget all it's weaknesses. And the build quality of the 90s doesn't exist anymore. E90 and E92 M3s look and feel very cheap compared to an E36, and that was never the best M3!!

[coullstar 0]

E46 is a nice car, I suppose there at the age and price now that you need to watch as they will have fallen into some hands that will neglect them.

Regards the Corrado how much do you think you will use it? I contemplate every other day selling mine as it just sits about and I hate things not being used.

[maff 10]

E46 is a nice car, I suppose there at the age and price now that you need to watch as they will have fallen into some hands that will neglect them.

Regards the Corrado how much do you think you will use it? I contemplate every other day selling mine as it just sits about and I hate things not being used.

 

Corrado gets used around every other weekend at the mo, it needs tyres and coilovers to turn it into an enjoyable drive as the standard dampers, (strangely every other suspension component has been renewed though??) are worn and it has the worst ditch finders ever fitted which are only good for popping to the shops. I know how good a sorted one feels so part of having it is it needs a bit of work which when I get the time I enjoy doing. I really would struggle being corrado less again if it goes!!

 

Anyone ever fitted a quicker steering rack to a corrado, just sold my partners mr2 which was probably the best car for steering feel I've ever driven! always made the corrados steering feel slooow!

[Craig 0]

I've been having these exact thoughts of late. I think my Vr with the charger would trouble an m3 in a straight line but I've no doubt the m3 would run rings around the c in the corners. I'm swaying to getting Xmas out of the way, sort a bit of rust out on the c then seeing how the m3 market is. We shall see