[nil98]

So I bit the bullet last Sunday and bought into a G81 M3 Touring as I approach retirement this maybe my last chance to drive something this special. But that meant I have to chip in my beloved 340i with all the mods that made it something quite special (though a complete b*stard to insure). I shall miss her badly. In the end it was the APR on the finance that made the deal work. Incredible what a difference it makes to your monthly payments.

The G81 is something special I’ve done 120 miles in it today - a proper wolf in wolf’s clothing. She wasn’t to my spec, the dealer had it sitting in the showroom but the external colour was my first choice tho the black leather isn’t. It also kept me well away from the options list!

First impressions
- insurance not too bad - some change out of a grand. Cheaper than the (modified) 340i. No tracker but needs to be garaged at home
- iDrive8 is confusing but very sexy - jury’s out
- gear level left to right instead of backwards and forwards. That’ll take some getting used to
- definately has road presence loads of looks and respect on the motorway
- black interior sooo boring but hey ho a small compromise to make
- fuel economy lower than anticipated (I mainly drove like miss daisy and still only got 27th. Guess u don’t buy these for the economy and hope it will get better when she loosens up
- BMW app/profile seriously impressive ping the barcode and all / most of my settings came across from the 340
- HUD doesn’t seem configurable. Nav symbols quite small and half the screen wasted with fancy logo /design
- Nav screen doesn’t appear to do split screen (if it does I’ve not found it yet) and I miss the direction symbols
- Spotify integration better
- Radio saved list much better
- the 8 programmable buttons have gone!
- having moaned the auto headlight dipping was going to be a chargeable xtra, it suddenly burst into life this evening. Maybe my 340 subscription followed me to the new car?

I splashed out and had front half ppf’d with the self heal really good job - On Track Detailing - near Reading if anyone was wants a recommendation. Incredible attention to detail, dealer so impressed they are posting it on their web site.

Went for a tracker in the end. And had to squeeze her into a lockable garage as an insurance requirement made a bigger difference than tracker to the premium so will be spending the weekend clearing out the crap from my garage!

Fun day all in all.

As BMW didn’t want most of the mods I will be selling my ACS springs from the g21 once the dealer has switched them back to standard. Similarly ACS spacers and longer nuts available plus a set of 19 inch 791 with usable winter tyres. Ping me if interested - I will post officially in the appropriate forum section later.

[P-ToK72]

Nice work nil98
Have to say that would be my next step if i had the funds to do it.
G80 M3 /G82 M4 have never appealed to me but the Touring is the one and i have seen a few that have made the step up recently.
Enjoy the new ride, and i'd be interested to hear your thoughts again in a few months after you've had a bit more time behind the wheel.

[Bianchi Dave]

Nice move indeed - love the G81, especially in Brooklyn. Was drooling over one at my local dealership recently. Has it got the Ultimate pack with the fancy seats?

I could (almost) afford one but as I don't normally do finance its a pretty big outlay to justify, even if the insurance is cheaper than the M340i (which just seems nuts). I'd need degree level man maths to get that past the other half.

Often wondered about the real world fuel economy on these. Is that 27 mpg on a run? If so, that could become a bit galling. Is the tank smaller too, like on a few other M cars?

[nil98]

No it’s “base” spec but that’s what saved me really. I click everything on the option list usually. But base spec still has most things like HUD, electric memory drivers seat, HK sound.

The 27 mpg was motorway run cruising at a “motorway cruising speed” but not hooning it at crazy speed. It’s a run I do often and the 340 did approx 32mpg on winters and probably 35 on summers.

[alFR]

Originally Posted by nil98

- HUD doesn’t seem configurable. Nav symbols quite small and half the screen wasted with fancy logo /design

You can change the info displayed in the HUD: hit the menu button on the right side of the steering wheel, use the arrow keys to scroll across to the HUD options, scroll the wheel up/down to select. You can't configure the info within the individual HUD screens though AFAIK.

Originally Posted by nil98

- Nav screen doesn’t appear to do split screen (if it does I’ve not found it yet) and I miss the direction symbols

Do you mean on the control display or the instrument cluster?

Originally Posted by nil98

- the 8 programmable buttons have gone!

Swipe down on the control display from the top, there are 8 programmable on-screen shortcuts there.

Enjoy the car!

[nil98]

Originally Posted by alFR

Swipe down on the control display from the top, there are 8 programmable on-screen shortcuts there.

Enjoy the car!

Helpful thanks! It’s all so different!

It was The control I used to have in split screen, map on main section with the symbols alongside. I like it to tell me distance to next turn and where the services were coming up. Must be there but can’t find it!!

Mind you, it’s fun finding these things out on a new car isn’t it! Wife laughing at me sitting in the car in the garage all morning …

[srbs73]

Originally Posted by nil98

Helpful thanks! It’s all so different!

It was The control I used to have in split screen, map on main section with the symbols alongside. I like it to tell me distance to next turn and where the services were coming up. Must be there but can’t find it!!

Mind you, it’s fun finding these things out on a new car isn’t it! Wife laughing at me sitting in the car in the garage all morning …

I think you can get that, but you need to be on the home screen with the widgets. Scroll down on the widget and then across on the map one.

[bmnut]

Looks stunning nil98 I'm sure you'll have endless fun getting to know your new car!
My last four 4 series coupes have all had black leather interior but then I always spec a glass sunroof and always have the interior sunblind fully open which makes a huge difference to the light inside especially with the M Sport spec of an anthracite headlining.
Not being able to spec sunroof on an M4 is the reason I keep telling myself not to buy one!

[Rhino at Work]

nil98 you need to update your profile!

Bonkers (in a good way) car BTW.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by Rhino at Work

nil98 you need to update your profile!

Bonkers (in a good way) car BTW.

Give him a chance Rhino....he's probably still sitting in the car figuring it all out!

[nil98]

Originally Posted by bmnut

Give him a chance Rhino....he's probably still sitting in the car figuring it all out!

Actually spent all day trying to fit it back in the garage! Moved all the crap out …. Car fits in but the greenhouse is now full of …. Garage crap
It’s all about priorities I’m sure she’ll understand ….

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by nil98

Actually spent all day trying to fit it back in the garage! Moved all the crap out …. Car fits in but the greenhouse is now full of …. Garage crap
It’s all about priorities I’m sure she’ll understand ….

Of course she will.......

[supest]

Congrats on the new car! Enjoy thrashing it on the track!

[nil98]

Originally Posted by supest

Congrats on the new car! Enjoy thrashing it on the track!

Haha well it has a “drift analysis screen” wonder what that does!

My son is actually a tame racing driver so time will tell …

[Riccardog]

Well done, looks lovely and I am sure its the right decision (even if that 340i looks great in the pics).

Looking forward to updates.

Care to share the APR these days?

[nil98]

Originally Posted by Riccardog

Well done, looks lovely and I am sure its the right decision (even if that 340i looks great in the pics).

Looking forward to updates.

Care to share the APR these days?

I’m not going to publicly give my deal away but I think the apr was pretty standard for bmw you can look it up.
The comparison though is against 13% to 15% I’ve been quoted on nearly new M3T with say 5000 miles on even from a BMW forecourt. Crazy finance I just cannot bring myself to pay that rate and monthly premiums were nearly double what I’ve ended up paying.

[alFR]

Used car APRs are nuts, I'm surprised they shift any at those rates tbh.

[peelerec]

Congrats on the purchase. The G8X touring is such a beautiful vehicle.

[225]

If I were to get a cash increase that would be top of my list for still being able cart the family and dog but deliver smiles per mile.

[Stooo]

Originally Posted by nil98

I’m not going to publicly give my deal away but I think the apr was pretty standard for bmw you can look it up.
The comparison though is against 13% to 15% I’ve been quoted on nearly new M3T with say 5000 miles on even from a BMW forecourt. Crazy finance I just cannot bring myself to pay that rate and monthly premiums were nearly double what I’ve ended up paying.

Out of interest, and I’ve seen this with other people, why is your deal secret? You sign an NDA or something?
Or is it the British thing about not talking about money?

[Rhino at Work]

Saw my first M3 Touring in the wild today, of all places at the tip. Talk about a practical supercar. Must say it looked super aggressive and was very eye catching, definitely not one for shy and retiring types.

[nil98]

Update
Now got 1000 miles on the clock an update on living with the M3T. Still awaiting first service so nothing over 5k revs … ish.

First news is the wife and I decided it’s just too special to use as a 100% daily driver and park in all the dodgy car parks around town - so we are fortunate enough to be able to buy a cheap Golf with the intention of halving my 20k miles PA. I still intend to drive it whenever I can she won’t become a garage queen.

Insurance was reasonable via Admiral no requirement for a tracker and cheaper than the modded 340i but they did insist on overnight garage which had turned out to be a blessing it’s good to lock her away from the constant rain and crap that comes from the trees.

The multi car policy resulted in the golf insurance coming out at a net 150 despite zero NCB. Even my 28 yo son is on the policy for just 100 extra. How bizarre! Tho they may change their mind if they work out he’s a racing driver.

Cat 5 Tracker fitted with DiD and remote engine kill. Expensive and not an insurance requirement but essential for peace of mind. Didn’t go with immobiliser in the end but if my phone isn’t in the car when it moves they will contact me then work with the police to stop the car remotely.

Applied my own ceramic coating using Yum products - almost too easy. No idea how long it lasts but the beading is insane. I swear by Yum detail as I dry the car too.

Still not a fan of id8 the map display is mega wide but wasted as no split screen or arrow directions possible. Similarly HUD feels wasted but can’t put my finger on what’s missing. Very odd. I now have it in reduced mode as limited usefulness sadly. I would have sold my first born for the HUD in the 340.

Wireless charger just as rubbish as it was in the 340, probably more so.

Standard seats are good. Electric everything and memory. But of a moment when I reset the id8 (camera app stopped working) and the seats all moved in places I didn’t even know moved!

Still not given it the beans really. Will be next Thursday can’t wait. Mpg 25 at best so far driving like miss daisey so goodness knows how far south it will go after the first service.

Trying to resist any mods to avoid the insane insurance but can’t help looking. Would take bigger wheels, lowering a bit and spacers too. But may have to settle for interior mods like stereo and some carbon fibre bits.

But despite all that. It’s just a mega machine. Love it to bits. Turns heads everywhere. Instant power. Just feels very very special. No regrets.