Why are there so many (ex-)BMW owners driving Porsche?
10-05-2018, 10:48 AM
#121
Instructor
I was vaguely considering an M3 V8 before I got the 9972, and I might have jumped at a 1M, or M2, if one had come up at the right time/price, but now I don't think I'll ever end up in a BMW, even though they have made some lovely cars and my old Dad was a BMW driver (we had some nice 5 series in the family for a while).
I do still have a modified and tracked MINI Cooper S though.... maybe that's enough BMW for me?
I do still have a modified and tracked MINI Cooper S though.... maybe that's enough BMW for me?
10-06-2018, 03:22 AM
#123
10-06-2018, 10:59 PM
#124
Rennlist Member
I'd love to hear about those "various reasons". Came from two E46 M3's. Also drove many of the later M variants. To me there's no comparison between the two brands and their cars. Totally different driving experience across the entire spectrum. How someone coming from any BMW to a 997 or even a 991 and deciding it was a bad move is something I can't fully understand. The only way I can begin to understand it is that these are drivers that prefer more of a sedan car along with the comfort creatures a BMW delivers compared to any 911.
-Better daily drivability / convenience
-More seats, more cargo room
-Cheaper maintenance / repairs
From what I recall, these are mainly the folks with just one car. Below is one example:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...light=from+911
10-07-2018, 12:03 AM
#125
Advanced
Because too many damn people have BMWs
This is a very timely question to for me. After a five year hiatus on having a nicer car, I finally took the plunge and bought a 2012 911 GTS Coupe. Before then, I had an E36 M3 for 13 years and and E30 M3 that I sold prematurely, leaving $10K on the table. I looked seriously into the M4 and drove both a 6MT and the DCT. Nice car, but too many fools have dealer licenses and from the auction data, people were paying retail at auction for these cars. Buy high and sell higher is not a good business model and I refused to be the greater fool these dealers were hoping to land. BMW are nice cars, but they are kids cars. Unfortunately I am not a kid anymore. With what they were trying to sell used M4s for, I could pay a "little" more and get a fly 911. More miles, but I feel there is less depreciation involved if you buy the right 911 for the right price. A BMW M4 will be a $15K car sooner than you think.
The problem is around these parts (SF Bay Area), is BMW is like a starter car for high school and college kids. Now I do not know how these kids get their parents to lease a $74K M4 for them or how crazy their insurance premium is, but the problem is with cheap leasing, EVERYONE has a BMW. There are a lot of Porsches in the Bay Area if you count Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, Cayman, and Boxster but still fewer in numbers than BMW.
Being in my early 40s, I was looking for a more classy and distinguished car. Not to be hatin, but what finally pushed me towards a 997.2 (other than a glut of M4s with optimistically high pricing and no haggle pricing) were two instances on Highway 101. Firstly I saw an Asian kid who looked like he has never shaved with the mandatory UC Berkeley Alumni license plate frame driving an M4. The final straw was when, I saw a bunch of Justin Bieber wannabes with face and sleeve tats and skewed DC skate shoes baseball caps and anodized teal blue metallic rims sticking out of the wheel wells hooning down the freeway. I have nothing against the lucky college grads working their first jobs at google for $125K or skater "lifestyle" enthusiasts with rich parents but these are two demographics I do not really want to be associated with.
Bottom line is I outgrew BMW. I find them to be too plasticky and not something to keep for the long run or not longer than 100K miles or 6 years (what the BMW factory CPO warranty will cover unless that has changed). I learned that the hard way with the E36 M3 (drove to 150K miles before giving up) and I consider myself lucky because the E36 was not a true M car so the parts were way cheaper and the car was not that technically sophisticated..
Peace out
Smug new Porsche Owner
The problem is around these parts (SF Bay Area), is BMW is like a starter car for high school and college kids. Now I do not know how these kids get their parents to lease a $74K M4 for them or how crazy their insurance premium is, but the problem is with cheap leasing, EVERYONE has a BMW. There are a lot of Porsches in the Bay Area if you count Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, Cayman, and Boxster but still fewer in numbers than BMW.
Being in my early 40s, I was looking for a more classy and distinguished car. Not to be hatin, but what finally pushed me towards a 997.2 (other than a glut of M4s with optimistically high pricing and no haggle pricing) were two instances on Highway 101. Firstly I saw an Asian kid who looked like he has never shaved with the mandatory UC Berkeley Alumni license plate frame driving an M4. The final straw was when, I saw a bunch of Justin Bieber wannabes with face and sleeve tats and skewed DC skate shoes baseball caps and anodized teal blue metallic rims sticking out of the wheel wells hooning down the freeway. I have nothing against the lucky college grads working their first jobs at google for $125K or skater "lifestyle" enthusiasts with rich parents but these are two demographics I do not really want to be associated with.
Bottom line is I outgrew BMW. I find them to be too plasticky and not something to keep for the long run or not longer than 100K miles or 6 years (what the BMW factory CPO warranty will cover unless that has changed). I learned that the hard way with the E36 M3 (drove to 150K miles before giving up) and I consider myself lucky because the E36 was not a true M car so the parts were way cheaper and the car was not that technically sophisticated..
Peace out
Smug new Porsche Owner
10-07-2018, 01:01 AM
#126
This is a very timely question to for me. After a five year hiatus on having a nicer car, I finally took the plunge and bought a 2012 911 GTS Coupe. Before then, I had an E36 M3 for 13 years and and E30 M3 that I sold prematurely, leaving $10K on the table. I looked seriously into the M4 and drove both a 6MT and the DCT. Nice car, but too many fools have dealer licenses and from the auction data, people were paying retail at auction for these cars. Buy high and sell higher is not a good business model and I refused to be the greater fool these dealers were hoping to land. BMW are nice cars, but they are kids cars. Unfortunately I am not a kid anymore. With what they were trying to sell used M4s for, I could pay a "little" more and get a fly 911. More miles, but I feel there is less depreciation involved if you buy the right 911 for the right price. A BMW M4 will be a $15K car sooner than you think.
The problem is around these parts (SF Bay Area), is BMW is like a starter car for high school and college kids. Now I do not know how these kids get their parents to lease a $74K M4 for them or how crazy their insurance premium is, but the problem is with cheap leasing, EVERYONE has a BMW. There are a lot of Porsches in the Bay Area if you count Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, Cayman, and Boxster but still fewer in numbers than BMW.
Being in my early 40s, I was looking for a more classy and distinguished car. Not to be hatin, but what finally pushed me towards a 997.2 (other than a glut of M4s with optimistically high pricing and no haggle pricing) were two instances on Highway 101. Firstly I saw an Asian kid who looked like he has never shaved with the mandatory UC Berkeley Alumni license plate frame driving an M4. The final straw was when, I saw a bunch of Justin Bieber wannabes with face and sleeve tats and skewed DC skate shoes baseball caps and anodized teal blue metallic rims sticking out of the wheel wells hooning down the freeway. I have nothing against the lucky college grads working their first jobs at google for $125K or skater "lifestyle" enthusiasts with rich parents but these are two demographics I do not really want to be associated with.
Bottom line is I outgrew BMW. I find them to be too plasticky and not something to keep for the long run or not longer than 100K miles or 6 years (what the BMW factory CPO warranty will cover unless that has changed). I learned that the hard way with the E36 M3 (drove to 150K miles before giving up) and I consider myself lucky because the E36 was not a true M car so the parts were way cheaper and the car was not that technically sophisticated..
Peace out
Smug new Porsche Owner
The problem is around these parts (SF Bay Area), is BMW is like a starter car for high school and college kids. Now I do not know how these kids get their parents to lease a $74K M4 for them or how crazy their insurance premium is, but the problem is with cheap leasing, EVERYONE has a BMW. There are a lot of Porsches in the Bay Area if you count Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, Cayman, and Boxster but still fewer in numbers than BMW.
Being in my early 40s, I was looking for a more classy and distinguished car. Not to be hatin, but what finally pushed me towards a 997.2 (other than a glut of M4s with optimistically high pricing and no haggle pricing) were two instances on Highway 101. Firstly I saw an Asian kid who looked like he has never shaved with the mandatory UC Berkeley Alumni license plate frame driving an M4. The final straw was when, I saw a bunch of Justin Bieber wannabes with face and sleeve tats and skewed DC skate shoes baseball caps and anodized teal blue metallic rims sticking out of the wheel wells hooning down the freeway. I have nothing against the lucky college grads working their first jobs at google for $125K or skater "lifestyle" enthusiasts with rich parents but these are two demographics I do not really want to be associated with.
Bottom line is I outgrew BMW. I find them to be too plasticky and not something to keep for the long run or not longer than 100K miles or 6 years (what the BMW factory CPO warranty will cover unless that has changed). I learned that the hard way with the E36 M3 (drove to 150K miles before giving up) and I consider myself lucky because the E36 was not a true M car so the parts were way cheaper and the car was not that technically sophisticated..
Peace out
Smug new Porsche Owner
Gone are the days when it was the Ultimate driving machine. Now its the ultimate leasing machine. BMW is the new Honda. Every kid has one.
I go to Youtube to watch E39 M5 vids and all I see are kids doing donuts and burnouts. They are not enthusiasts. They are kids with big V8s.
10-07-2018, 04:32 PM
#127
Rennlist Member
10-07-2018, 09:28 PM
#128
Burning Brakes
A friend has the latest generation CTS V. That V8 is awesome and the GM magnetic shocks deliver an incredible ride and handling. The 8 speed auto is extremely efficient and very quick. This would be my choice if I ever buy another car with a roof.
10-09-2018, 04:47 AM
#129
Racer
Thread Starter
But definitely not as an alternative to BMW...
10-09-2018, 07:46 PM
#130
Not sure, but I have had both at the same time and am looking to add a Porsche again to go with my existing BMW. Engineering, build quality and driving dynamics all come to mind right away.
10-09-2018, 07:55 PM
#131
10-09-2018, 08:54 PM
#132
Pro
I owned two e30s, an e36, an e36 M3, an e46 330i, an e46 ZHP and the coveted e46 ZCP Interlagos Blue M3. In my humble opinion, BMW lost their way after the e36 platform. The e30 was really really good. The e30 had insane road feel and was a joy to drive. It just devoured curves. The e36 was just so balanced, light and throwable. Then BMW wanted to sell a lot of cars and the e46 started to lose that road feel and the car was just not the driver’s driver car. I felt lost in the e46. Just wasn’t that fun. When I made my leap of faith to the 911 world, I found everything the e30 was and much much more. The 997.2 is just so right. A joy to drive.
10-10-2018, 03:55 PM
#133
Pro
As others have said, why not both? I've had my 335is for 8 years now and you couldn't pry it away from me. Couple with my .2 GTS, I'm a happy man. My wifes Macan S gets all the daily abuse so I've got a win/win/win scenario going.
10-22-2018, 05:11 PM
#134
Just picked up another BMW for a project 
