OHVIV said:
Hi, Congratz on the car.
I am currently in the market for something like this, what other cars did you consider and why / why not didn't you go with something else and settle on the M.
My choices are R8, GTR, 911 Turbo ( all pre-owned) and the new M3. V8 M attractive for the going price range also. But owned 1 2 years back.
Thanks very much!
I'll go through the list of what I considered and test drove:
R8 V10 - Absolute monster of a car and still sexy. Interior is somewhat outdated (I had 2 S3's and the interiors were pretty much identical to the R8's interior), technology is outdated and with all the V8's running around I just didn't think this car was special enough to pay 1.3 bar for it second hand. The lack of 4 seats also swayed me.
911 Turbo 997.1 - My dad owned one and back in 2008 When I first drove it I loved everything about it. Over the years the car's appeal has dwindled for me. I drove one again 3 months ago for 2 weeks straight and after the 2 weeks I was confident that it was no longer the car I desired. The interior is VERY outdated, the turbo lag is extremely annoying and even though there are backseats they are practically unusable. Next to the new model it looks dated.
GTR - This car is just mind blowing. If it's outright performance you're after then there is nothing better in this price range. It's scary fast. As an overall package though it leaves much to be desired. The interior is fair (a bit too much cheap plastic for my liking)....the gearbox is clunky in normal daily driving...this car is built to be driven hard and fast, so when you're not doing that it feels a little out of place and awkward. Also the new model isn't too far away.
E92 M3 Coupe - I traded this car in on the M4...I loved my M3, but I can tell you there is nothing I miss about it after having had the M4...perhaps the only thing I will miss is thrashing it's high revving engine...the M4 feels flat at the top of the rev range whereas the E92 felt like it wanted to keep going. The sound of the V8 is awesome and I preferred it to the sound of the M4.
Cayman GTS - it's gorgeous...and on track its extremely capable...but I just couldn't live with the lack of power and again the lack of 4 seats swayed me. There is a Cayman GT4 on it's way and that will be extremely tempting and I may consider trading the M4 for it.
Ferrari 360 Modena F1 - this was the hardest choice for me to make. The Ferrari although old still oozes sexiness. The car is outdated and the gearbox is sluggish compared to what we get nowadays, but I was willing to live with all of that. What swayed me was the lack of 4 seats, the price of servicing, and ultimately the lack of clean examples on the market. From a financial perspective this would have been the best buy...it's value is holding strong now. With the M4 I'm going to take a huge knock.
Feel free to ask me any other questions...there are a few more cars I considered but the list would be long lol...