what happened to the sunnies?

I asked that a few months back I think they got dropped in a car park, which led to the heritage Italian estate being written off when it drove into them. Or something like that…

Anyway, yeah, buy a Porsche or similar 🙂

I wonder how you got along before the internet?

Did you just stand on top of a tall building and shout out a list of the things you’d bought that week?

There is no harm in wanting a more interesting car and if it is your only hobby there would be some merit in getting the best you can afford. However if you have other hobbies that take up a chunk of disposable income ( cycling ) you will soon be annoyed at what you cant do because of spending all the money on a car you occasionaly drive.

Think of a number you can afford divide it by 4 then pick the car accordingly.

BMW tend not to make “silly” cars…

Agree, A Caterham is what I call a silly car and I used something very similar as my sole car and daily driver for 3 years….

Alpin – if you think an M135/140i is too big for proper O’er t’moors driving then you either haven’t driven on or spend too much time on bridleways.

Get the one you really want, if you can afford it. Life’s too short to let your head rule your heart all the time.
Best thing I’ve done for ages is treat myself to a (slightly) silly car.

To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out how people afford these kind of cars. I mean, I have a job that pays reasonably well, other than your normal monthly bills I have very little outgoings, and yet I balk at the idea of paying more than £200-£250/month on a car. And I really like cars.
Looking at Ling’s Cars you’re in the region of £500+/month for a BMW 140i and then there’s insurance on top of that, and you never even own the car. How does this make sense?

As mentioned above (and ludicrous costs aside) they aren’t “silly” cars OP. Get a Lotus if you want silly. You can get bike racks for them.

[video]https://youtu.be/8uKj_ABjLis[/video]

I think sir should go Italian to match the shades.

Is…. is that a Lotus advert?

If not, it ought to be.

The new seat leon cupra with the golf r engine and more toys than you’d ever want is a good shout. You’ll get a 2 year old one for 20k. Either that or limit yourself to 3k and buy a hatch with no weight and the biggest engine you can find

BMW M5 Touring. Circa 2007? Seriously Mental!

I don’t get it either, though each to their own. Folk can’t get over how much I spend on bicycles 🙂

In my eyes, £250-500/month would surely be better invested for the future (potential early retirement) or used to fund a reduction in working hours.

what happened to the sunnies?

I left those on top of a a bog roll holder in St Lucia, and when I went back for them they were gone.

I’m rockin Maui Jim’s these days.

To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out how people afford these kind of cars. I mean, I have a job that pays reasonably well, other than your normal monthly bills I have very little outgoings, and yet I balk at the idea of paying more than £200-£250/month on a car. And I really like cars.

What’s to figure out. Sound like you could afford one if you wanted to – more about priorities that whether you can afford it or not isn’t it?
If you really like cars and want one that costs £500 a month you would get one and sacrifice something else that you didn’t like as much.

I am the same as you by the way and gave up putting money into cars years ago (even though I like them) although saying that a used Caterham would be a good purchase as they don’t depreciate anything like most other cars so that would be the only car on my silly list (they are also way more fun than a souped up hatchback or saloon)

A 140i is nowhere near £500 per month.
Go have a proper look on BabyBMW for real life costs.
TRL is the man to talk to.
In fact – here you Go just to make life easier for you….

I have a blue touring 335d, very quick and you can throw a bike and lots of stuff in the back. Highly recommended.

Does anyone buy a car like an M140i and only drive 8k miles per year?

hammyuk – Member
A 140i is nowhere near £500 per month.

You’re right, it’s considerably more!

£300 rental (and in my case over £100pcm on options)
With a £13k final payment after 4 years = £270pcm.

So, by my calculations, that’s £670pcm for 4 years or approximately £35k in total

I’m not saying it’s bad, in fact it’s pretty good, but it’s certainly not £300, which is kinda what you were hinting at win the link to the thread.

The Flying Ox

Is…. is that a Lotus advert?

If not, it ought to be.

Did someone say Lotus? Did someone say silly car?

Ferrari powered Lotus Exige.

I have an ’07 335d which is also mental but for a different reason. Put your foot to the floor, let the auto box kick down and it’s like the car has been hit with a wrecking ball.

We’ve just bought a new 435d xDrive Coupe, bloody quick and a seriously nice place to be.

So, by my calculations, that’s £670pcm for 4 years or approximately £35k in total

We went in looking for a s/h 420d xDrive Coupe but the deal they offered us on the fully specced one that’d just been brought into the showroom meant that for a bit more (than above) per month we could just buy it (+£10k discount and 1% interest).

o, by my calculations, that’s £670pcm for 4 years or approximately £35k in total

Youre assuming its worth £0 at the end of 4 years though,when it almost certainly will be worth more like 15k

You can lease a m140i for £240 inc vat.

I bought a m135 a couple of years ago,its quite a fun sensible car,but its not silly by a lomg stretch

For me a fully loaded 335d auto as above would be perfect. Plenty of shove on the Mways, comfortable cruising for work / bike events and reasonable economy.

ok its not “silly”, but as pointed out, the the roads in N London and M ways for work don’t really promote silliness these days. I think really I want a fast car that I can enjoy whilst fulfilling my bike/work duties.

I’m going to pop over and have a look at the 24k £330d thatd on my local dealers website now for kicks…

You do nothing to help the reputation of men.

Lol.

It gets worse, subject to the comments about sn me testing thr boot size for bikes this floats my boat:

http://usedcars.specialistcarsbmwstevenage.co.uk/showroom/3-Series/3.0TD-335d-xDrive-M-Sport-GT-S/S/Stevenage/3958569-606033583-3497106.aspx?srcmdc=se_ce_re_

Although I think I prefer the shape of the touring:

http://usedcars.specialistcarsbmwluton.co.uk/showroom/3-Series/2.0TD-320d-M-Sport-Touring/Luton/3648906-606056683-3497107.aspx?srcmdc=se_ce_re_

julians – Member
Youre assuming its worth £0 at the end of 4 years though,when it almost certainly will be worth more like 15k

No, I’m not. I’m telling you how much money you’ll have in it when it’s sitting on your driveway with you as the owner at the end of 4 years.

You can lease a 140i for £240 inc vat per month

With a decent deposit, and tiny mileage, of course you can. Total for 2 years will still be circa £7-8k

In contrast, I bought a 4 year old Z4M Coupe for £15.5k, ran it for 2 years and sold it for £18.5k.

OP. Why not buy an RS6 Avant? Rare, huge, fun and will likely lose less money over 2 years.

OP. Why not buy an RS6 Avant? Rare, huge, fun and will likely lose less money over 2 years.

Actually, my car j’desire.

I probably need to properly research how to get a circa 20k one of those while dumping the bmw PCP and coming out with a deposit the RS6, whilst presenting a decent image that my company car allowance demands

Theres s guy – I think he does/used to post on here – that regularly rode in Epping Forest that turned up every Sunday in a stunning dark grey example.

No, I’m not. I’m telling you how much money you’ll have in it when it’s sitting on your driveway with you as the owner at the end of 4 years

You also said it was 670 per month, but that is misleading , using that logic someone who paid all cash up front would have paid 33k per month in the first month. You only know the true cost per month when you sell, or the car is a pure lease

It is £670 per month.

If you want to own the car at the end of 4 years and don’t have £13k in savings, that means you need the money to pay the £13k that’s outstanding at the end of the term. To do that, you’d need to save £270 per month for the full 48 months. Clear? The remainder of the £400 comes from the £300 lease fee + the £100 lease fee for the options that make the car (in my mind) worth having for 4+ years. The fact that you have equity in the car is irrelevant unless you purchase another car with similar terms, thus releasing the equity into savings, but you still need £13k on top of your lease to own it.

I understand what you’re saying, but all of thsi was in reference to the first post about leasing for £300 and the thread that it linked to.

bearnecessities – Member
You do nothing to help the reputation of men.

POSTED 47 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST SHARE

Proper LOL.

Very very witty, and on point.

whilst presenting a decent image that my company car allowance demands

Ha ha, when I first got my car allowance I thought long and hard about that, and bought a Focus ST 😀

I thought about my comments above.

An RS6 won’t fit in my garage. I think I might make 2017 “Project RS4” and make that a goal for next year. Hell’s bells, I may even start and enthusiasts thread on hrere….

Hmmm, RS4 thread.
Let 100 pages of drooling commence

fifeandy – Member
Hmmm, RS4 thread.
Let 100 pages of drooling commence

Knock yourselves out, I’ll post pics of mine in said thread when it arrives. 😀

I just been through a similar school of thought OP, ordered an M2 yesterday 🙂 Dangerous business !!!

Erm… BMW have made some silly cars.. I had an M Coupe, based on the Z3, but with a boot, 321bhp rear wheel drive and no traction control. Loved it. Could even get my bike in boot, although it was better on the roof. Stupid quick.

Miss that car a lot. GTi that replaced it is dull.

This was my actual car..

There’s a 4door 2011 M3 DCT Saloon with less than 50k on it on eBay for £25k .

@phil always looked enviously at those

When you’re lying on on deathbed saying goodbye to loved ones are you thinking I’m glad I bought the sensible car with the frugal engine?

From a now 53 year old bloke, I’ve spent the last 20 year long distance (80 miles a day) commuting on the highest performance sports bikes I could afford to run. It’s not been cheap but it’s been amazing fun. Three years ago I started doing a car share, it went well using the Laguna estate I had at the time but wasn’t fun so I bought a Lotus Elise. Best car commuting ever.

Life’s too short, if you can afford it, do it.

scotroutes – Member
As an alternative could you not buy something cheaper, cut the hours you work and, you know, ride your bike instead?

That is the correct way to deal with a mid-life crisis.

Then you realise you have been suffering an early-life crisis, and have now seen the light. 🙂