Nottm_S2

He's talking Audi RS

GarethB

D'oh! Of course.

cheshire_carper

No, like Nott, I mean the Audi RS. I'm sure the RS Focus will come with similar problems. The ST will be a far more sensible bet. There is no cure all car, we all know that and we have to compromise with certain facets but the audi RS is seemingly everything on paper but when you get one, you quickly realise it doesn't really tick any box properly. Despised mine.

arsie

I don't disagree in general however my carefully driven DCT M3 turns in 23mpg (more on long runs) and double Nottm's tyre miles. But his is the manual box and he says he drives it like he stole it. The auto mode of the DCT is Dr Jeckyl, very relaxing on long drives, but the Mr Hyde in you can pop out in a flash with the paddles. edit: Actually I plan the transition with cold precision. And you did mention a gammy leg Gareth so the DCT (semi auto, no clutch) will be very good for that.

A five year old 35k miles DCT E92 coupe M3 can be had for <£25k (approved used BMW so with warranty) or manual >£2k less. Put that up to say 100k miles in three years ownership and I would think you are looking at depreciating to about half your initial outlay but I don't know about leasing. Servicing is surprisingly reasonable. Seats four in comfort and security. Doris quite likes the drive.

edit: but I guess you have scratched the big engine NA itch now so it's back to sensible motoring eh

GarethB

Not by a long shot!
Although needs are slightly different to when I bought the Passat - given the mileage I've done in my first couple of miles in the new job and what I'd expect to do in the coming years it doesn't make sense to use the Passat for that. Not because of the economy but at the end of the day it's an 11yr old car that's already covered 101,000 miles.

Ideally I'd keep it for a weekend beater / load lugger but I don't have the space (and realistically the need) for two cars.
Hence the call for something a little more sensible / newer / lower mileage.

I think the Alfa we had before has put my wife off all used cars to be honest and for me I can't have the inconvenience of something that's high maintenance. For example I work 100m from a VW dealer but they book 2-3 weeks in advance and their labour rates are £150/hour. There's a good specialist but they're near Crawley and so it's almost a day off work to go to them for relatively minor things - living in a central london flat with no garage means I've nowhere to do some even relatively minor things myself. Much as I I'd love an M3 I (perhaps mistakenly) see them as high maintenance, particularly the ones in my budget. So I think perhaps they could be out.

Having said all that the lease company called me this morning and told me the build is w/c 16th March which means end of March delivery.
They told me the dealer - where I got the April build date - was wrong. And even the March build date is a worst case scenario. Further update next Monday. I'm hoping for a significant improvement on the delivery date as that really is my preferred option.

cheshire_carper

You can be certain, that an RS focus or Audi, is not likely to be a problem for long in that scenario

Nottm_S2

I caught myself looking at newer M3s over the weekend. Grrr

I think I'm settling on a few ideas now.

An M3 would be high cost but maybe not high maint. Mine has had a recall and one fault in 18 months so fairly good but you'd be filling up constantly as if you keep around 50 miles in reserve that's every 200 miles

DCT is a must for big miles I think, the manual is a heavy box and clutch

I think the 1er is a good option if you can last out ultimately.

For me Evora S/Exige/997 is next

cheshire_carper

Gotta be Exige. Go balls out.

mikey k

Came to the same conclusion on them
New shape Mountune ST is a better bet, no warranty issue and they even do an estate!
6-12 month old one is well in your budget

Nick Graves

EFA