OldGuy

I just spent an interesting afternoon. I was flabbergasted when I found
out BMW had .9% financing for 60 months. So my wife grew tired of her Z4M and back to the 335i we go. They were able to get us a good deal that got us out of being upside down in the Z4M by 3.5K The 335i was loaded and had sat for 90 days and had incentive money.
Drove a M3 and it was nice but not much faster it seemed to me that the 335i. It looks WAY cool and they are having a hard time selling them. So if you want one even SMALL BMW dealers have them.

I stopped at the AUDI dealer and Audi has .9 % for 72 MONTHS!!! A year longer than BMW!! I looked hard at a A6 quattro but wifey said it looked too old fashioned. They had an RS4 there and WOW how it sounded when they started it up!! MUCH better sounding than a M3. there IS incentive money on the RS4!!!! The Dealer offered it to me for .9 % on the RS4 for 72 months and it was like 4500 for financing 75 K or something crazy like that. The point is there is some great financing out there right now and cars that would NEVER be discounted are with incentives behind it.

Got the 335 i home and it has a warped front rotor. The reason we got rid of the first one was it had porblems. I thought they worked them out. I thought it was the hiway (99 is terrible and so is hwy 58 for grooves ) but I figured out by the time I got on hwy 14 that we had a bad front brake rotor. wobbles like hell when you touch the brake at 80 mph like braking when a truck pulls out in front of you on a 4 lane hwy. So on a truck BACK to bakersfield it goes.

CWay27

Wow, are you having bad luck with your 335s. My friend had his since november 2006 and not a single problem and he's even tweeked it a little bit. Should of went with the S4.

One of Twenty

OG,

Why are they having so much trouble moving the M3? I remember when the E46 came out and it was impossible to get your hands on one. I would assume dealers may be discounting the M3 as well???

Cheers,

Greg

OldGuy

One,
I think its pretty much the economy.

P.J.S.

and the price point as well... correct me if I am wrong but the E46 M3 with some options was not $70K, was it?

once you crack $70K there is a lot of competition...

I am not saying that it is overpriced... well maybe I am... but if this car was base at $50K and nicely optioned in the high $50s it would be flying out the door... given that STI and Evos are now $40K stock...

M3 with the new trans and the option packages is MSRP at $70-75K, and I think a lot of people have a hard time wrapping their head around a $75K M3.

I have not driven one yet, but I have considered the 4 door as a replacement for my E39 M5... but I think the M3 is too small for my needs and I still really like my modded E39M5...

C.J. Ichiban

OG trust me the RS4 is a hoot!

OldGuy

I liked it ALOT!! Too bad we were looking for Merritt.

NJ-GT

Paul,

I have been driving the M3 and 335i quite often. Up to 5,000 rpm the M3 is slower, but more responsive (no lag), but at 6,000 rpm the 335i starts running flat (out of steam) and the M3 just explodes all the way up to 8,400rpm. It is like the 997 Carrera S and the 996 GT3 up to 5,000 rpm, and it is like the Boxster S and the 996 GT3 after 6,000 rpm.

The M3 pulls extremely hard on the high RPM range. However, the 6-speed manual doesn't have the right gear ratios (worse than the GT3). The 7-speed has very close ratios.

The 5th gear in the 335i (manual) runs 3,000 rpm at 75mph, the 7th gear in the M3 runs 3,000 rpm at 75 mph. The first gear in the M3 goes up to 50 mph, it is longer than first in the 335i.

I wish the 997 GT3 offered these same ratios.

NJ-GT

The latest E46M3 with the competition package, SMG and some goodies was close to $70k.

It has to do with the economy, Porsche is not selling cars either. Indeed, it is possible to find brand new F430 Spyders (over sticker) sitting on a dealer lot, this did not happen on the F430 lifetime. Lamborghini Gallardos are waiting in the showrooms.

The E92 M3 is the cheapest sedan with good performance available, and right now you can get them with discounts.

C.J. Ichiban

I'd love to pick up a 360 CS "cheap"

lol

NJ-GT

Unfortunately, the prices on the Scuderia are not helping the 360CS to get cheaper. Indeed, the 360CS is just going North.

The Scud is overpriced. When the 360CS came to this market, you could pay as much as $225k on the used market, with some of them under $200k, at the time a brand new Modena was $175k.

Right now a brand new F430F1 runs around $265k (if you can find one, I haven't), so the Scud should be at $340k on the used market. But Scuds are moving well north of $450k.

360CS are beautiful, and not so fast.

frayed

I came to porsche after bmw turned its back on enthusiasts with bloated, overweight cars having questionable styling, while competitors have edged ever so close to the BMW formula. IMO, BMW has lost some of the magic; the inventory, incentives and scaling down of production are not solely due to the economy.

OldGuy

Jeff
Right now things are due to the economy. My BMW salesguy just left 6 mos at Porsche Same deal
They arent selling (See GT2!)
Audi is discounting cars that have NEVER been discounted before.
There were 7-8 M3s at bakersfield in the 65K range sitting.

bprzekop

Regarding M3's sitting on dealer lots, I agree with those who have said it is the price point. Nothing wrong with the car (except for lack of great brakes, M cars deserve brakes that are at least the equal of a Boxster's, for heaven's sakes), but at 70K there is a LOT of competition. BMW themselves offer several interesting alternatives, all cheaper, including well-specc'd 550's with sports package, 535's with sports package, as well as the 335's. Then look at what 70K buys in Porsche land: some pretty good 2 year old 911's, loaded Boxter or Cayman S's. So the M3 is definitely at a tough price point. I also agree with the comments about BMW having lost their direction a bit. I have had two M cars in the past, a Z3-based M Coupe, and an E46 M3 Cabrio. The M Coupe was a true skunk works out of the factory built by enthusiasts, and it showed. But after the E30 M3, the M cars have gone from limited production, motorsports-based cars to mass production, slightly better versions of the regular models (as are the AMG products of Mercedes). The fact that people will spend the same money (mid 60's) for well equipped Boxsters, when they could get a well equipped Mercedes E Class or BMW 5 series for the same money (or an A6, or, or) shows that there is a market for true sports cars built for the track as well as the road. No one else is still doing it in Porsche's price range. Ferrari's, Lambo's, etc., all in the stratosphere. My two cents.

One of Twenty

I had an E46 M3 Cabrio and would probably be considering a new M3 had I not just bought my 993TT. IMHO - I've got a lot more car for significantly less scratch.