Ignore the bulk of this car for a second - as a straight line traffic light drag car / comfortable cruiser with some serious punch, surely this is a bit of a bargain in modern times?
As they were produced from 1999 it is possible to find an earlier model to take advantage of the road tax rules that haven't yet been changed! Days when you were taxed on engine size.... and anything above 1549cc is currently £185/year rising to £200/year from April 2009. If that same car was registered post March 2001 it would cost £455/year from April 2009!! This gap is only likely to widen with time.
Available from around £8,000, you should be able to find a mint condition example for around £10-12,000. 400bhp on tap, as with the current M3, although you do have to drag around 1,700 - 1,800kg which is 200kg more than the latest M3 so not quite as quick off of the line.
On top of all of this you should expect all of the toys, being a top of the range BMW, and it still remains reasonably anonymous to those not in the know.
The downsides? 20mpg if you are lucky and high insurance premiums.... nothing that someone buying a E90 M3 won't be experiencing though!
It's quite a well-known "bargain" - so used prices for good examples are actually quite strong. I'd be suspicious of anything priced too keenly.
For a real overlooked saloon powerhouse at rockbottom prices, try an Audi S8. Not as true a driver's car as an M3, but more comfortable, more understated (and therefore respected)and it certainly fulfills your brief of straight line traffic light drag car / comfortable cruiser with some serious punch.
Originally posted by Bamford: VW Phaeton W12 is the performance bargain of the century. 450 bhp, of silky 12-pot motor and every luxury imageinable, £70K of car for just £20K now.
Goes to show that Germans are not invicible to making crap cars..lol
Yesterday I saw a friend of a friends E39 530i up close - dark blue with black leather and multi-spoke alloys. It looked immaculate. To me this BMW has not really aged at all, the new 5 series was so far removed that it was almost like a totally different model, helping the E39 to keep its appeal.... in my eyes of course...
Originally posted by Sulphur Man: It's quite a well-known "bargain" - so used prices for good examples are actually quite strong. I'd be suspicious of anything priced too keenly.
For a real overlooked saloon powerhouse at rockbottom prices, try an Audi S8. Not as true a driver's car as an M3, but more comfortable, more understated (and therefore respected)and it certainly fulfills your brief of straight line traffic light drag car / comfortable cruiser with some serious punch.
just watch the gearboxes on s8..my mates just went pop the otehr week and apparently its quite a well documanted problem..beautifully made, handsome car tho with some real GO..
Originally posted by Bamford: No, the car is fantastic, as it happens.
not a fan of the pheaton....had a shot of a new one when they first came out, and i was totally underhwlemed by the experience....will be a huge bargain in around ten years or so..then they will make a bit of sense i suppose..
