Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Honestly, it's going to give you a better ride but it won't feel luxurious. The XC60 is taller and I imagine has a bit more tyre to arch clearance so Volvo can build in more travel into the suspension to help cushion bumps.

If you take a pic of the tyre size from the tyre sidewall we can work out which tyres you currently have and how small a wheel/big a tyre you can possibly fit.

Actually, in all seriousness check they haven't left the spring chocks in the car... I have heard of this in the past that they forget to remove them after shipping. Unlikely, but who knows?

With the established [European and Far Eastern] manufacturers now sorting their electric game there’s no excuse to have a Tesla now.

The EV6, i4 et al, even the Megane and MG4 have moved things on so much in the last year or so.

The Americans and Chinese are still ahead of the Europeans on tech (the Chinese frighteningly so) but don’t yet seem to have a grasp of what makes a car a nice thing to travel in, or don’t think it matters. The Europeans know that being able to make a window work by pointing at it and saying ‘down’ is only impressive once, where a properly sprung and damped ride and tactile interactions with controls matter every time you drive.

I have seen BMW's come in for their first service with them still in :D

Suspension design for comfort is way, way more complicated than tyre height and wheel travel.

I had a ride in a McLaren 720S over the summer. It rides better on 35 profile tyres than anything I can remember sitting in. People told me this before I got in but I still wasn’t ready for it. It’s properly luxury car smooth.

Teslas just aren’t engineered to ride well, you’re polishing a whoopsie trying to change that.

I'm not sure what is a better option than a Model-Y in that category - ideally I'd have just had an EV xc60 or spent 120k on a taycan cross turismo but neither was an option...

With the established [European and Far Eastern] manufacturers now sorting their electric game there’s no excuse to have a Tesla now.

The EV6, i4 et al, even the Megane and MG4 have moved things on so much in the last year or so.

The Americans and Chinese are still ahead of the Europeans on tech (the Chinese frighteningly so) but don’t yet seem to have a grasp of what makes a car a nice thing to travel in, or don’t think it matters. The Europeans know that being able to make a window work by pointing at it and saying ‘down’ is only impressive once, where a properly sprung and damped ride and tactile interactions with controls matter every time you drive.

Interesting developments afoot that may have a significant impact here.

Depends what you need I guess but maybe an EV6 or Enyaq would work. The Y was defo the good choice a couple of years ago (if you’re not an Ethical Consumer subscriber ;)).

I don’t drive much because WFH but if I did and needed a daily car and wasn’t afraid of upsetting my hippy credentials with the neighbours I’d be putting in the overtime shifts for a Polestar 3, but mainly because I’m a sucker for their (carefully curated) vibe.

I mean, it goes without saying, I was trying to make it as simple as possible and refer to things that could be changed.

@Tenderloin how long have you had it? Are you still in the returns window? If you're seriously not enjoying it, it's not going to get better.

The only other thing to ask is are the tyres runflats? Smaller more lightweight wheels, bigger tyres, and then non-runflats on top will make a pretty big difference.

Hive mind: Do I cash out from the M3 now (based on rarity the values haven't really changed, but I have had some wildly differing values offered up in the recent weeks), and potentially purchase when people are off-loading their surplus-to-requirements cars.

OR: Do I just keep the M3 and cash out when the value approaches six figures?

Depends entirely on whether you need the money I would say. If not, keep it. IIRC they're all LHD? So the UK economy vanishing around the U bend has less impact on you than it might otherwise.

Correct - they're all LHD. There were about half a dozen (or fewer) that were officially converted by BMW, but they rarely pop up for sale.

The money would come in handy since the house hasn't sold (the woman buying it tried chipping the agreed price by 15% on the day of exchange, so I told her to foxtrot oscar), but I've had the car almost as long as I've owned the house, so I think I should probably just weather the storm.

Best case scenario: we're in this mess for 2/3 years. Worst case scenario: we're in this mess for 4/5/6 years

Outside of returns window but tbh I could sell it for more than rrp such is the demand for them.

Got a longish drive this weekend and will see how I get on.

Serious question. Other than diplomats, who are these people being chauffeured around London in blacked out S classes? Despite the cost of living crisis I seem to see half a dozen on my 10 minute walk from train station to the office.

For example owners of successful companies employing hundreds or thousands of people. Like office/hotel cleaning companies where the owners need to visit clients and potential clients negotiating business contracts and don't want to either pay all the fines that result from not being able to leave a meeting just because their parking is running out or spend time trying to find parking in some of the most congested spots in town.

Obviously I'm not jealous at all, it's just amazing how many you see in a relatively short walk. I always thought there was something ubiquitously sinister about them but maybe I should be thankful they're financially propping the country up. Ta.

I think they're larking about while their employees suffer on minimum wages because they use a largely immigrant workforce who are not organised and in unions but that's just one way of looking at it!

In fairness it takes a lot of hard work and time to build companies like that from the ground up. Some luck too. Profit margins are tiny percentages of turnover too.

pop up for sale

What have decent ones gone for recently, and what's that price in terms of the trend?

Dunno specifically about M3s, but 911s peak at about 45 years old. The late 60s and early 70s long bonnet cars are gently sliding back now relative to the late 80s / early 90s stuff. Logic being that men in their 40s and 50s are the ones who buy the classics that were the dream cars of their youth, by the time those men get to their 60s they’ve either got one, had one or don’t want one.

You’re probably definitely hopefully safe for the 4 or 5 years you mention.

You mean there's hope yet that I'll one day own an oil-flap car?

The outrageously wealthy. I pass a lot of them parked up next to Selfridges on my way to / from doctor appointments. Teens and women going in and out with enormous amounts of shopping. It's just how they go about their day, I guess.

Yes. You can pick up a decent 2.4 T for £50k now with a bit of luck, or an E for £60-70k. There are still some that make double that, but you don’t need those to have good reliable fun. I’d say they’re back ~30% from 5 or 7 years ago, where 964s have risen maybe 60% in the same period.

But. You don’t want a 2.4. The 2.0s and 2.2s have the dog leg gearbox which is so much sexier to use. I think either a pre-69 short wheel base car or 2.2E are the sweet spots. The 2.4 feels that bit less special because you change gear like a Honda Jazz rather than like a 917.

This was a great little buy: https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1971-porsche-911-t-2-4

Wildly differing prices from £50-90k depending on specifics.

Mine’s no.270 of 500 Evo 2’s which apparently has some kudos with aficionados.

The six-cylinder Evo Sports aren’t quite the same as the earlier four pot incarnations and the one to own is the Johnny Ceccotto version which is pretty much “name your price” these days

Evo II 414 made £78k a couple of months ago with a relatively high mileage: https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/sa080-lot-18393-1988-bmw-m3-e30-evo-ii

£50k for a mega miler in May: https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1987-bmw-e30-m3-3

This one didn’t reach the £55k reserve with 36k miles in March: https://www.glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/107607

This Ceccotto made £61k last year: https://www.glenmarch.com/auction-cars/show-backup-image/92265/results

Or how about a tiny mile drop top for £120k: https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1991-bmw-e30-m3-convertible

Ready to race

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