discussion BMW Purchase

RyanJooste

New member
Hi fellow Fanatics

Long time member here – first time poster.

Over the last few years, I have been scrolling through the forums and admiring all the vehicles of different members.

I used to be the lucky owner of a 2019 San Marino Blue BMW M3 Competition which I sadly had to let go of to fund a property purchase in 2020. Since then, I have been driving my VW Amarok daily, however I recently received an increase at work and feel I am finally able to delve into the world of BMW’s once again.

I have been looking at various options in the BMW roster including F06 M6 Gran Coupe’s, F10 M5’s, F87 M2’s and so on…

The vehicle however would be my daily driver and would need to be somewhat usable as such.

Thus, I have narrowed down my options to the M-lite series of cars. Specifically, an F22 M240i or an F32/F36 440i.

The M240i makes more sense to me as it is a smaller, more nimble chassis that I feel would be more enjoyable to drive and hoon on the odd occasion. However, I really like the practicality aspect of a 440i Gran Coupe. Only problem is that there are almost no 440i’s on the market whereas the M240i seems to be a bit more readily available.

Options/requirements I would be looking for on both vehicles are:
  • Adaptive Headlights (They just look better to me)
  • Professional Navigation
  • Memory seats (Not super important but a nice to have)
  • 719m Wheels for the M240i or 704m for the 440i
  • M-performance exhaust
  • Less than 80 000km’s
Budget is around R500k-R600k but could be stretched for particularly nice examples.

I would appreciate any input from the forum regarding my logic in going for an M-lite instead of a fully-fledged M.

Any member that is also looking at selling any of the above-mentioned vehicles could let me know and see what deal we could possibly do. I am based in Pretoria.
 

Salt

///Member
The 440 is not an M Perf/M Lite...just saying bud. Doesn't make it a bad car, but seeing as you mentioned M Lite I thought I'd bring that to your attention. And coming from a full M car I'd probably go for an M Lite if it suits you. I personally prefer the 140 over the 240 but each to their own. The 140 does have rear doors...albeit leg space is tight back there...headroom though is cool and I'm tall. From my experience, the MPE is a relatively rare find, although not impossible to find of course. If space is not an issue for you I'd go for the M240i...they are also generally better factory spec'd vs the M140i and most of them that I've seen have electric seats. I wish I had those lol. Only reason I settle for a white car was cause I found a 140 with heated seats, HK sound, Pro Nav, MPE and lane keep assist and collision avoidance. Go test drive a 240...you'll like it I recon. HOWEVER...if youre willing to spend R600k and maybe a little more...look for an M2 rather...I should have started with that 😂
 

msm

Well-known member
The 440 is not an M Perf/M Lite...just saying bud. Doesn't make it a bad car, but seeing as you mentioned M Lite I thought I'd bring that to your attention. And coming from a full M car I'd probably go for an M Lite if it suits you. I personally prefer the 140 over the 240 but each to their own. The 140 does have rear doors...albeit leg space is tight back there...headroom though is cool and I'm tall. From my experience, the MPE is a relatively rare find, although not impossible to find of course. If space is not an issue for you I'd go for the M240i...they are also generally better factory spec'd vs the M140i and most of them that I've seen have electric seats. I wish I had those lol. Only reason I settle for a white car was cause I found a 140 with heated seats, HK sound, Pro Nav, MPE and lane keep assist and collision avoidance. Go test drive a 240...you'll like it I recon. HOWEVER...if youre willing to spend R600k and maybe a little more...look for an M2 rather...I should have started with that 😂

Agree with your sentiment, but prefer a coupe over the hatch - nothing wrong with either though as it boils down to personal preference. Whilst the "full fat M" is not much more than the "M lites", the running costs, insurance and M tax do start creeping into the equation. Ultimately, I guess it also depends what you want to use the car for - as an example, I didn't like the M's DCT in traffic, whereas the ZF was much comfier. Open road driving on a Sunday is the other way around...
 
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