What car to buy out of these 2?

T

Tex

Torque Junkie
Points
65
Location
Garden of England, Kent!!!
Car
Vec CDTI SRI 180+
Well, seeing that i have driven my diesel since February, i'm getting rather bored with it and fancy a change.

Now, i want either :-

A) E46 M3 :)

or

B) Vectra VXR (always liked Vectras for some reason) :confused:

Now, i can get an older M3 with higher miles but feel it is a better car, whereas i could get a year or so old VXR for the same money with little miles, need some inspiration in my decision!!
 
It's an M3 and a BMW has the heritage that goes with that and the knowledge plus its an awesome car

Also am I correct in thinking that the BMW is RWD and the VXR FWD?
 
M3 - there is more tuning potential. They are also RWD and much more fun to drive. You get a lot more car for your money.
 
sorry but i would say neither because never liked beemers and every vauxhall my familys had always goes wrong but thats just my opinion
 
Hmm, what about an ST220? any good?

I have had many a Vauxhall and always found them to be reliable mid range cars that are quite a nice drive...

Have had an E46 M3 so know what to expect, but fancy something different, what about a S Type R Jag? :confused:
 
ST is the same mate its FWD. if you want a toy to put a smile on your face it really has to be RWD
 
It really depends on what you want mate.

do you want to be driven in comfort? if so go for the jag

If you want a bit of a modern car with all the gadgets and will put a smile on your face when you put your foot down then it is the M3 or equivalent maybe even an Audi?

Or you can go completely nuts and by a Jap import like a skyline or evo and go really mental lol
 
Have you test driven either yet ??

You'll be surprised how much better quality the bmw is than all the others.

Jag R types just go fast. Big depreciation.

The vauxhall is . . well, a vauxhall. Don't get me started on the st's !!

Only thing that would put me off the e46 m3 is the running costs.

For me I'd personally go for a 330. A bit slower but a lot cheaper to run.

Or depending on your budget, the newer 330d sport coupe is amazing !! it's fast, lovely inside and economical as well. Chips very well too.
 
paulgolding said:
Have you test driven either yet ??

You'll be surprised how much better quality the bmw is than all the others.

Jag R types just go fast. Big depreciation.

The vauxhall is . . well, a vauxhall. Don't get me started on the st's !!

Only thing that would put me off the e46 m3 is the running costs.

For me I'd personally go for a 330. A bit slower but a lot cheaper to run.

Or depending on your budget, the newer 330d sport coupe is amazing !! it's fast, lovely inside and economical as well. Chips very well too.
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Hi mate,

I have had an E46 M3 and the missus made me sell it :amazed: but this time, i'm sticking to my guns over a new car.

The M3 was ok to run actually, tyres were pricey but generally servicing costs and running costs were not out of the ordinary. Not had a bad experience with any of the 20+ Vauxhalls i have owned and do quite like the VXR Vectra, although depreciation will hit me due to the new Insignia that is due out.

Jags are great, but i'm not sure i am ready to live with the old man image!!

Agreed on the 330d, good cars that do go well with a remap, but think i must go for the M3! :D
 
out of the 2 id say BM. Personally id go for Audi, everybody hate BMW drivers in general and the parents have had Vauxualls for the last 20 years, bar 1 toyoto, and every one had something major go wrong with it. most were quick fixed and changed sharpish
 
Why would anyone want a Vauxhall with the depreciation that attract. Although if you bought one 3 years old you'd have a bargain.

Personally I'd rather have a Mondeo if we're talking mass market cars.
 
Tex said:
Well, seeing that i have driven my diesel since February, i'm getting rather bored with it and fancy a change.

Now, i want either :-

A) E46 M3 :)

or

B) Vectra VXR (always liked Vectras for some reason) :confused:

Now, i can get an older M3 with higher miles but feel it is a better car, whereas i could get a year or so old VXR for the same money with little miles, need some inspiration in my decision!!
Click to expand...
did you watch top gear???

the vectra vxr has very bad understeer
i dont like bmw, but always had a soft spot for m3

if wanting that much power, i would go with the m3
it has rear wheel drive, and thats better for getting power to the rd.
therfore, its a better drive than the vxr

and less miles dont mean jack, if a car is properley looked after
i dont see any need to look at the mileage
 
True Prince, each car is fairly unique and a bad M3 against a good Vectra would be an easy choice to make.
 
out of the 2 i would go for the m3 even though im not a fan of bmw's or rwd but if i had that sort of budget i would go jap import + awd/4wd and previously having a cossie surely you know the fun of 2.0t with 4wd :blink1:
 
You can't really pitch a VXR against an M3 as they're totally different vehicles. BMW's 'Ultimate Driving Machine' claim is a sound one, and RWD does make the most sense when dealing with serious power and torque.

The VXR is a esentially a bad car (would anyone bother with the middling models even at giveaway prices?) that has been made to go very very fast indeed for it's type. Maybe it's the crudeness of the chassis that makes it fun for some people. It's nowhere near up to the power on offer. They're popular with Police fleets up and down the country. I suspect this is largely to do with massive purchase discounts and the fact that us tax payers often resent seeing plod in a BMW, despite being a better car for the job at hand, so it's a public relations exercise, too.

An M3, despite its staggering performance is probably not overpowered and may feel tame by comparison, to some people. It's the sort of car your Granny could drive to the shops and back home in without feeling intimidated because it's so well mannered and utterly linear in its responses.

The VXR, by comparison, has far more power than common sense, and a savage throttle response profile which makes it very exciting if you like your excitement in an overcooked, hair trigger, uncontrolled kind of a way.

(I have to admit that it's the ridiculous amount of torque my remapped FWD diesel delivers that makes it fun. It's far too much for the chassis and an indiscriminate throttle prod can send it all over a wet roundabout! Channel that amount of torque to the rear wheels of a 3 or five series and it all feels very sensible. Still bloody quick, but controllably so.)

So, it's horses for courses. A used VXR is a performance bargain and fun in its own way, but for how long?

For me, the M3 has to be the sensible choice and used prices reflect this. But it will still be worth a fair sum when ten years old. A ten yr old VXR will be 'sold as seen'. Most, however, will have been smashed up long before. In my opinion that's not so bad.
 
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sorry had no idea what vxr vectra power was like just googled it if i have the right model 280bhp 262 lb ft torque even for a big heavy car thats to much really for a fwd car so go jap or german upto you
 
yeah mate, way too much power for a fwd
volvo reckon anything over 240 hp on a fwd car, despite having a good chassis or not
is maddness, its just too much power to get on to the rd, in reality = too much understeer
 
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