Trade In Question...STI to Alpina B3 BiTurbo

[LKN624]

Hey guys, just wanted to get your guys opinion on this topic. So a little background...I've been an STI owner for the past 12 years and love them. I've had 4 of them (2004, 2005, 2005, and 2006). My car is a 2006 STI Limited Hawkeye with 88.000km. Super clean, not modified and well taken care of (understatement). I currently also own a 2005 STI, 2008 E90 M3 6 Speed and a 2012 V8 Vantage 6-Speed.

I came across a listing here for a 2009 Alpina B3 Bi-Turbo with 122.000km on it and looks to be in exquisite condition. Black over Black. Pretty rare even where I live.

What attracted me to this Alpina was because its an E90 and I adore the body styling and driving characteristics...and plus well its an Alpina. Also the idea of having an Alpina B3 parked next to my M3 would be pretty damn cool.

The fact is... driving an STI long distances can REALLY suck. The support for Subaru's here in Europe is pretty scarce and parts are insanely expensive than the US.

Both cars are pretty rare in my opinion in the fact that STI's of my generation are getting very scarce and hard to find in good, stock, low mileage condition. The Alpina is also a rare car.

I know I am asking this on a BMW forum but would you guys trade my 2006 STI in for an 2009 Alpina B3 Bi-Turbo?

Looking forward to the replies!

[Cyberdemon]

Drive what makes you happy, I am sure the Alpina will be a much, much better daily driver than an old STI but will probably disappoint you on the back roads. But if you already are living with an M3 you could probably judge what a softer 335i based variant would feel like.

My only question would be ultimately the Alpina will be a slightly more boosted version of a 335i, so you have to decide is the rarity what attracts you to it, or would you be just as well off finding a nicely sorted 335i or 335d and making that your daily. With a few cheap mods the N54 will easily make the same power but you won't have those cool Alpina bits so you have to weigh the value of those.

I'd probably trade a testicle to get a modern B3 estate here in the US, far better looking than the sedan.

[LKN624]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Drive what makes you happy, I am sure the Alpina will be a much, much better daily driver than an old STI but will probably disappoint you on the back roads. But if you already are living with an M3 you could probably judge what a softer 335i based variant would feel like.

My only question would be ultimately the Alpina will be a slightly more boosted version of a 335i, so you have to decide is the rarity what attracts you to it, or would you be just as well off finding a nicely sorted 335i or 335d and making that your daily. With a few cheap mods the N54 will easily make the same power but you won't have those cool Alpina bits so you have to weigh the value of those.

I'd probably trade a testicle to get a modern B3 estate here in the US, far better looking than the sedan.

Yeah absolutely, the E90 chassis in general is a much better car to daily drive than an old GD7 STI, but definitely I think the STI would be a lot more fun to drive up in the mountains.

And that is a very good point you make. Since it really is based on a 335i (not like the M3 is with different...pretty much everything). The Alpina here also commands quite a bit more money than a 335i. B3's here in the E90 flavor go for around 18-30k Euros. Whereas the 335i is around 10-12k Euros. Then comes the question, do I really want to subject an Alpina to the harsh winters and salt here. I would probably go for a run of the mill 335i then.