keep M3? or 435/M4

[templarklimek]

Gents,

My owners choice "lease" is up in end of july. So BMW could refi car for me or I could geet a new 435i custom build from Germany. I'm tempted to a degree. The S65 is the king but I admit having something new is a temptation. The interior being the biggest issue.

Also, i'm thinking the 435 with intake/exhaust/tune will yield 400 hp.

Timing is making the switch enticing.

Thoughts?

[quiksi]

it's all speculation at this time, but the '35i cars on the road are probably 95% of the M3 at 75% of the price - it's really a matter of what you'll use it for

[SubzeroVR4]

Originally Posted by templarklimek

Gents,

My owners choice "lease" is up in end of july. So BMW could refi car for me or I could geet a new 435i custom build from Germany. I'm tempted to a degree. The S65 is the king but I admit having something new is a temptation. The interior being the biggest issue.

Also, i'm thinking the 435 with intake/exhaust/tune will yield 400 hp.

Timing is making the switch enticing.

Thoughts?

I love the M3 but if you're entertaining the idea of getting something new that tells me you'd regret refinancing and paying on essentailly the same car you've been paying on for X amount of years. If you're starting over and looking for something fresh and different then go with the 4. Like the other poster said, it all boils down to what you want to do with it.

[Chriskm3]

Originally Posted by quiksi

it's all speculation at this time, but the '35i cars on the road are probably 95% of the M3 at 75% of the price - it's really a matter of what you'll use it for

It's actually 30 percent. What 3 series shares with the m3

[jeff4598]

335=0xm3 I mean not even slightly similar. In any way. Whatsoever.

[Ezio]

I love that new M4 look or what it appears to be. I would have waited for a M4/435, but i wanted to experience this M3 and its V8 engine. If i already "experienced" this car i would for sure move on to something else.

[Dave07997S]

First off I would say keep the M3. I am in the same boat as you are. My lease on my M3 is up in June. Drove an F30 335i for 3 days as a loaner from SouthBay BMW, it wasn't even close to the M3 as far as a visceral driving experience. The F32 won't be that much different than the F30 I drove. Also, how can a M4 be in the mix when this car won't see US shores for at least another 12-18mos? With the latter more of a reality.

I am actually considering a new E92 M3 and just ride out another 3 years, the F32 M4 will be out for some time as well as the new S55 2015 Mustang. Normally aspirated V8 with modern IRS and a 6MT in the new Mustang platform could be sweet for the money.

Dave

[Rk-d]

Originally Posted by templarklimek

Gents,

My owners choice "lease" is up in end of july. So BMW could refi car for me or I could geet a new 435i custom build from Germany. I'm tempted to a degree. The S65 is the king but I admit having something new is a temptation. The interior being the biggest issue.

Also, i'm thinking the 435 with intake/exhaust/tune will yield 400 hp.

Timing is making the switch enticing.

Thoughts?

I would not go from an m3 to a regular 3/4 series. Regardless of power, it will not drive the same.

I'd go to a Cayman S, or 911 personally. Unless you put down a big downpayment, it probably wouldn't make financial sense to pay out/finance the balloon.

[sensi09]

I think the M3 is a better car and would prefer a M3 a few years down the road, but right now, I think I'd opt for a 435. Always nice getting a car when it first comes out and if you typically lease, change is good.

I agree that even if performance is similar, it will not drive like a M car. And also disappointed that it has essentially the same engine that has been out for awhile.

I like the suggestion above, go for the cayman or boxster if you don't need the space.

[Ashley Schaeffer BMW]

lol at a 335i being 95% of an M3..... Wow, just wow.

[MKE_M3]

I expect a power increase is in the near future for the _35i cars. I'm not sure what the power rating is for the 435i. Still 300? You do not want to get one just to fine out next year they have 350 from the factory.

[Blindside_137]

Originally Posted by MKE_M3

I expect a power increase is in the near future for the _35i cars. I'm not sure what the power rating is for the 435i. Still 300? You do not want to get one just to fine out next year they have 350 from the factory.

This

Either keep the current M or lease a new one which will end once the new M is out and possibly LCI form.

[quiksi]

Originally Posted by JAM3S

lol at a 335i being 95% of an M3..... Wow, just wow.

outside of a track environment? I'd say so. Don't be crass.

[NAV8TT]

Keep the M3. My wife is already giving me hard time about it. She wants me to give the coupe up when we have a baby. She thinks the M3 is too unsafe for a baby and the coupe is small for that matter but I think its the safest car there is. I kinda understand though, if the family is getting bigger why drive a coupe but I keep going back and forth between keeping it or getting the new M3 (not M4) so it would be a "4 door car" but I am thinking seriously about keeping the current M3 E92 and getting the new M3 in 3 years. I love the V8 NA and the car as a whole. Its the best car I've ever owned and I am keeping it.

[templarklimek]

Thank you for the input gents. I think the part that tempts me the most is the interior. The E92 has never had a very well done interior IMHO. good materials but sterile.

Of course drving a 435i and finding it a very undynamic experience will keep me in the M3 right away. And depending on what BMW will offer as far as interior options will matter quite a lot.

But I've got a few months to think it over.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by templarklimek

Thank you for the input gents. I think the part that tempts me the most is the interior. The E92 has never had a very well done interior IMHO. good materials but sterile.

Of course drving a 435i and finding it a very undynamic experience will keep me in the M3 right away. And depending on what BMW will offer as far as interior options will matter quite a lot.

But I've got a few months to think it over.

I don't know if you'll find the quality of interior you're looking for with the new 3 or 4 series. If that's the priority, why not look more toward the luxury end of the spectrum? Other marques perhaps.

Some speculation at this point, but if you really value all of the dynamic traits of the M3, I doubt you'll find a satisfactory replacement in the new 3/4 series.

My mother (a grandmother and no Sabine Schmitz) has driven her E90 335xi almost 100k miles now. Had it in the shop the other day and they gave her a F30 loaner. She couldn't stop bitching about the indirectness of the steering, the general aloofness of the car, how it was driving her instead of her controlling it, etc. So how an M3 driver happily transitions to something like that, I don't know. The updated interior probably won't be enough.

[xftcyrpz]

I love that new M4 look or what it appears to be.

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by BMWFB02

Keep the M3. My wife is already giving me hard time about it. She wants me to give the coupe up when we have a baby. She thinks the M3 is too unsafe for a baby and the coupe is small for that matter but I think its the safest car there is. I kinda understand though, if the family is getting bigger why drive a coupe but I keep going back and forth between keeping it or getting the new M3 (not M4) so it would be a "4 door car" but I am thinking seriously about keeping the current M3 E92 and getting the new M3 in 3 years. I love the V8 NA and the car as a whole. Its the best car I've ever owned and I am keeping it.

Keep the E92, they have a real usable trunk and the backseat access is not all that bad. Thats what her car is for anyway...

I had a 997S when my boys were 3 and 5...the M3 is much more kid friendly.

Dave

[glockperfect]

Originally Posted by BMWFB02

Keep the M3. My wife is already giving me hard time about it. She wants me to give the coupe up when we have a baby. She thinks the M3 is too unsafe for a baby and the coupe is small for that matter but I think its the safest car there is. I kinda understand though, if the family is getting bigger why drive a coupe but I keep going back and forth between keeping it or getting the new M3 (not M4) so it would be a "4 door car" but I am thinking seriously about keeping the current M3 E92 and getting the new M3 in 3 years. I love the V8 NA and the car as a whole. Its the best car I've ever owned and I am keeping it.

Divorce is always an option.

[Jbook]

Originally Posted by glockperfect

Divorce is always an option.

HA!

[Vanmarsenille]

Originally Posted by quiksi

outside of a track environment? I'd say so.

I wouldn't say so; I am currently fortunate enough to own both, and the M car is just in an altogether different class than the 335i. Before I owned the M3, I wouldn't have believed it, or wanted to believe it, but it is undeniable.

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by Vanmarsenille

I wouldn't say so; I am currently fortunate enough to own both, and the M car is just in an altogether different class than the 335i. Before I owned the M3, I wouldn't have believed it, or wanted to believe it, but it is undeniable.

+1

Former N55 335i owner here. Wait for the LCI 440i or M4. If there ever was a transition model, it's the N55 435i.