M340i vs X3 M Comp pre-lci vs F90 M5

[brentbmw]

SNIP

You definitely hit the nail on the head that's for sure!

I wish I had done a costing before I had come here, or at least visited, but I don't have that much life experience (I'm only in my early 30's) so a lot of my mistakes were made because of naivety/immaturity, but what I do take away from it is it was a great learning experience and has taught both my wife and I a LOT. In my defense every time I would ask my cousins something they would assure me everything is milk and honey here I will love it. When I actually got to the UK (I came before my wife and son) my cousin couldn't believe the cost of houses and kept on saying they are overcharging I must look elsewhere, but the same as your folks in Aus, they are so far removed from the reality of what it is like if you just arrive in the country with nothing. Another huge mistake I made was not watching local UK news, I relied completely on the utopia I was "sold" by my cousins.

For example I met a guy at the gym who does bricklaying and he is earning £45000 a year, another buddy who does painting as a one man band company is making over £50k a year. And this is not even to mention the variable of AI in the years to come...it's already removed lower tier white collar jobs like book keeping etc, how long till it replaces broader STEM professions that people think are safe. I don't know how it is in SA at the moment but if you want anything done you need to book weeks and sometimes MONTHS in advance because the tradesman are just so busy. Makes me think of this silly South Park episode I watched a while back where all the skilled profession workers were homeless and looking for work and the handy-men were driving limo's and wearing gold chains, it's satire but pretty true if one looks at the grand scheme of where the western world is going.

One buddy I made from Zimbabwe who also moved over around the same time as me, his wife and him also went over with the expectation they could do well here and send money home to Zim, now they are just scraping through every month and he said his quality of life has gone down several tiers since getting to the UK, but because he resigned in Harare where he was earning pretty decent in USD and gave up everything there, even though they want to return too, they are unable to, my heart goes out to them because they stuck in a country they don't like, just surviving and can't find a way home because of the cost of living.

And this is not counting the cost of citizenship...just for my wife, myself and my son it would've cost R500k+ for residency and citizenship, and they keep increasing it each year...

I do tend to agree about what you said about the riots, what we have experienced here (we were about 20km away from some of the riots) although it didn't affect us directly, it is still unnerving. The feeling on the ground is really just one of unease, uncertainty and dissatisfaction and I will say today that it will boil over far worse than it did, and this is not in the distant future either, it's a boiling pot that is going to overflow soon. Rather the devil you know than the devil you don't as the saying goes.

It does have it's positives though, ppl drive amazingly well compared to SA, infrastructure sort of works, courtesy is ingrained in them, people are very polite but not warm though, and it's safe and whatnot, but no way are these few things worth staying here for.

 

[brentbmw]

What I keep gravitating to in this ballpark is per below. It could be that I really like the performance estate vibe and this colour combo is up my alley, the other bit is Audi freeway plan is more affordable to extend especially if you don’t do much mileage and it’s just time. Then there’s the bit that you can extend to 15 years 300 000 km.

Might be biased here - I have swapped the wifes x3 for a q7 and loving the vehicle. Also will throw in another R100k and extend the plan for another 5 years and 50 000km which makes the proposition financially viable.

Also - don’t shoot the messenger

Audi RS6 Quattro for sale in Sandton - ID: 27569825

Used 2021 Audi RS6 Quattro For Sale - R 1 679 900 - ID: 27569825

www.autotrader.co.za

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This is a very important variable to consider...but is this the warranty or just the service plan? Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[MoeM2]

This is a very important variable to consider...but is this the warranty or just the service plan? Thanks for the suggestion!

Audi freeway plan is full motorplan.


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[brentbmw]

Hey guys,

For those interested, we went for a 2020 BMW X3 M Competition. Will post some pics tomorrow.

It came with literally every option ticked by the original owner and has been incredibly well taken care of. The mileage was a tad higher than what I wanted to go for (70k km) but looking at the service history (he kept to the BMW adaptive servicing) the services (all green never yellow and late) were 22k km apart which tells me it was used quite a bit on the highway, but from hereon out I will just service every 10k km. I basically went for condition over mileage.

After 1000km I thought I would give my impressions coming from the X3 M40i

Driving Impressions

Engine - I was a bit skeptical at first by having the S58 in such a heavy body, and although the lag is noticeable at first, it is not anywhere near as bad as some people make out, you get to learn the car quickly and know where it boosts etc and how to circumvent it. By keeping the engine in sports or sports plus and having the gearbox in D2 or D3 it is always in the right spot to give you boost where you need it. Lag is literally only noticeable from a dead stop if you floor it but nowhere near as bad as some had made out.

When the boost hits it's a wild ride even in a 2 ton SUV and it doesn't fail to put a smile on your face that's for sure! In comparison to the M40i, that would boost way lower but it would all be over pretty quickly, this once the boost hits it's relentless and the faster you go the more immersive it feels, the B58 in the M40i would probably suit many's needs better as a daily, but because of our driving profile where we only need to drive when we want to the X3 M makes so much more sense. It's just MORE of everything once you're in the power band.

The engine's character has definitely grown on me over the last 1000km and the lag doesn't bother me at all because as I mentioned if the gearbox is in the right setting the car is always where it should be in the rev range to give you what you want.

Launch control was not as violent as my M40i, but I don't think I gave the car enough time to build boost (only about 1.5 sec like I would do in my M40i), and being at JHB altitude I think it also would take longer to build boost, once we get down to the Western Cape where we got a house next week I will try again. When I launched it it bogged and then went, so definitely didn't build enough boost. Any S58 owners could give me some advice here please?

Suspension, Brakes and Handling - The ride is definitely harder than the M40i, but on a flat road with no undulations it is better. The steering is also much tighter than the M40i and feels more sorted. I haven't done any cornering near the limits, but one gripe I had with the M40i was the body roll it had, you could feel that it was an SUV and physics were trying to fight you which didn't inspire much confidence in the corners. The X3 M although feeling quite heavy too, you don't feel that roll because the suspension is harder, giving you the confidence to enjoy the car.

Brakes are a step up from the M40i too, they are definitely more confidence inspiring. Once again it's just more of everything in comparison to the M40i.

Conclusion - We are really incredibly happy with our purchase, the wife's space itch has been scratched (a bone of contention with the M340i) and my power itch has been scratched so for us it is the perfect compromise at the moment. We plan to extend the Motorplan until 2027 for 3 years of worry free motoring.

Our X3 has iDrive 6 not 7, I prefer the iDrive 7 if i'm honest, but the dials on the X3 M I prefer to the iDrive 7 M40i's dials. All down to personal preference I guess.

In short to sum it up, the M40i was a great car, perfect daily and ticked many boxes, but the X3 M feels special, there's just something that make's every drive an event which is exactly what I was after, it makes you want to have an excuse to have a drive.

My heart was still with an M5 but with the ones in price being 2 years older than the X3 and not having much motorplan left made the X3 the safer choice financially/risk management wise.

 

[Eust]

Congrats, exactly what I mentioned re the X3 vs M5.

I love my X3M - such a proper car for the money. You won't get anything better IMO for that sort of cash.

The lag is only really when foot flat in first from stationary, else that engine is ridiculous!

 

[swazi85]

Hi guys,

The wife and I are packing up in the UK and coming home to SA next month. Turns out it was not the land of milk and honey we were promised...but won't say anything more about that.

We have a budget of about R1100000 for a new used car and because my business operates from home mileage per year will probably only be 6-8k km.

We have narrowed it down to a M340i, X3 M Comp pre-LCI and a F90 M5.

M5 would be a 2018 model with around 50k km on, X3 M would be a 2019/2020 and then M340i would be a 2021/22.

My head says M340i would be the right choice, reliable B58 platform, cheaper to run than X3 M or M5.

M5 - Heart says M5 as you only live once...certified pre-owned and will get rod bearings and coolant reservoir replaced with after market ones just before the warranty expires, will change oil ecedy 8000km. But for any that own F90 M5s how are the running costs etc? I plan to budget R5k a month for potential repairs/maintenance. However, the idea of running a twin turbo V8 out of warranty the following year is making me stress a bit...I could afford a catastrophic engine failure if it came down to it without going bankrupt, but it's just such a gross waste of money that could be better spent elsewhere.

X3 M - Great family car size and loads of practicality but I hear the S58 in the pre-lci X3 M is a bit turbo laggy, for those who own one is it that laggy that it's a problem or can you simply put the trans/engine in sports mode to get around this when driving around town? We currently drive an X3 M40i in the UK and it's fast, competent but it's just not fast enough to scratch that performance car itch.

M340i - Light, fast and more modern inside than the X3 M and F90 M5 with the newer iDrive. It'll have warranty left too...

Which would you guys choose and why? Any opinions would be highly appreciated.

I usually go to uk couple times a year to visit my two sisters there, both in central London.

As a Brit myself, I must say uk has lost its charm for me. The cost of living there is insane. With their new insane tax laws targeting the high net worth guys, the next year will be interesting for uk, along with all the other political issues they having right now.

So can totally see why you leaving. SA you just have to be awake to issues but not let the doom and gloom get to you, life is pretty good here.

I own a lci f90 m5, don’t plan on selling it anytime soon. At the price point nothing else excites me. Bar a super car.

Only other car I’d consider if I was you if it’s your primary is an x5 of some form. It’s on my list as my wife’s replacement in the next year.

My business partner owns a x3 m40d and the rear cabin seat and space of the x3s is a no go for me. Once drove in the rear on a 5 hour journey and it was not fun.


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[brentbmw]

I usually go to uk couple times a year to visit my two sisters there, both in central London.

As a Brit myself, I must say uk has lost its charm for me. The cost of living there is insane. With their new insane tax laws targeting the high net worth guys, the next year will be interesting for uk, along with all the other political issues they having right now.

So can totally see why you leaving. SA you just have to be awake to issues but not let the doom and gloom get to you, life is pretty good here.

I own a lci f90 m5, don’t plan on selling it anytime soon. At the price point nothing else excites me. Bar a super car.

Only other car I’d consider if I was you if it’s your primary is an x5 of some form. It’s on my list as my wife’s replacement in the next year.

My business partner owns a x3 m40d and the rear cabin seat and space of the x3s is a no go for me. Once drove in the rear on a 5 hour journey and it was not fun.


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Hey, thanks for the feedback.

Would've loved an lci M5 (I think they really nailed the look compared to pre-lci which was already beautiful), I hope you enjoy many KMs in it!

We had considered the X5 M50i as some 2019/20 ones were re right on price but the notorious N63 motor made me a bit tentative, I understand they've improved it a lot, but because I'll be keeping the car probably 3 years after Motorplan (2030) i decided against it. M50d was only an option but with our driving profile I think the emissions goodies would've become a nightmare.

The X3 just ticked all the boxes for us as we only have 1 5yo boy so it became the best compromise for the wife's "An SUV is higher off the ground so it's safer and it has more space" mentality and my performance itch haha.

I am so glad to hear that you as a Brit concur with what I was feeling, at times I thought maybe I just didn't give it enough time or this or that. And glad you're in SA!

 

[vjx]

Congrats! It's a nice choice.
I love my X3MC. It is better to get the latest ECU sw for the car.

 

[tman]

Great writeup @brentbmw. Although our personal circumstance might be different, I see a lot of similarities. I too moved to the UK in 2022 on an Ancestral visa. My 2c below.

In terms of the UK wow...where to start, let me just say thank your lucky stars you didn't come at this time! Also this is just my personal experience having come here in 2022, many others have come and made a success out of it, I take my hat off to them. It cost us over R600k to get here which we have now lost...but it is school fees and the life experience was worth it, it made us appreciate our sunny South Africa. My cousins who are all older than me (they left SA 20 years ago) painted a picture of this utopia where you can get a job so easily, buy a house so easily, grass is so green, the NHS was wonderful etc etc.

There is no magical wand to move anywhere on the planet where everything will be magically better than the place you moved from. The grass is NOT greener. Everything is a trade off. You trade one thing, for another. I learned this early on in my relocation journey. You have to constantly work hard to build a new life and its super hard.

And granted 20 years ago this was very much the case, the country had it's issues but fiscally it was in a very good spot back then and it everything was functioning excellently. Fast forward to 2008 and the global financial crisis and things started going downhill from there, wage growth stagnated and is still stagnating today, but cost of living is insanely high, as are asset prices. All of my cousins bought houses back then and could very comfortably do so, now though it is almost impossible for anyone who doesn't have generational wealth to get on the property ladder, least of all immigrants like myself who have no financial history here.

I had an opportunity to move to the UK in 2017 and looking back, I am quite bummed I didnt move sooner. What you are describing sounds very similar to whats happening in Cape Town now. The supply is too low and the demand is too high. And it will only become worse over time.

Then it's the cost of living...I do amateur bodybuilding so eat a lot of meat, it is SO expensive, chicken is a bit more expensive than SA, but red meat, you looking at R6-700/kg for rump etc. I got here at the worst possible time too with their record high inflation, we started out at around R18k/pm for groceries, we're now pulling around R27k/pm for groceries, it's bleeding us dry! And I am not exaggerating these figures...you can get away with buying from budget stores but then you getting unhealthy b-grade kak.

Is this for 2 people, and do you braai Rump everyday?
We spend about half that for 2 people, and in my experience the quality (even from budget stores such as Aldi & Lidl) is much better than the SA counterpart, and actually quite affordable. Also, as a Saffa I was quite used to food inflation so it hasn't really felt like things have gotten more expense in the last 2 years. I've spend a month in SA in the last 2 years over 2 trips and I have found the high cost of living inflation much worse in SA.

And then it's all the small quality of life things we take for granted as South African's, like being able to go and have a meal as a family, we did it once here and the bill was R4k for 4 ppl for a drink each, main and dessert, needless to say that was the first and the last time. You looking at R500-600 per pizza if you try get takeaways. We rather just made our own food. Granted my experience is skewed because my wife and I earn in US dollar, so I am constantly comparing dollars to pounds to rands and I am trapped in the mentality of "This would have cost Rxx in SA" so maybe it would have been different had we been earning local currency.

If you dont stop converting, you are not going to have a good time. I did the exact same for the 1st few months and it drove me nuts.

if you are earning £70000 a year between the 2 of you which is higher than the average, owning anything other than a tiny hovel is a dream, because one can just never save enough to get a deposit, and the asset prices inflate at such a tempo that by the time you have a deposit the goal post is moved again. If we had stayed here we would have NEVER owned a decent house. Look if you come over as a specialist doctor or something highly qualified then things would be different, but then consider one's lifestyle in SA then in comparison. £70000 sounds like a lot but once all the deductions go off there's not much left at the end of the day and that's with ZERO luxuries.

£70 000 earnings for 2 people is peanuts. Specially for immigrants that have no generational wealth or support system in place. I would highly discourage anyone from leaving SA to go and live the "middle class" life in the UK. For that matter this applies for moving anywhere else in the world. You will not be having a good time in the USA, Australia, Switzerland etc unless its a serious step up financially. This is because you are paying catch up. Most of my British friends all own houses, and are less qualified & probably earn less than I do too.

And then the healthcare...lets hope the NHI never gets implemented in SA because the NHS here is such an abortion, you can NEVER get a doctors appointment when you need one, you must call at 8am and by the time you get through you're number 95 in the queue. And when you actually do get to see a doctor it's for 15min and if you try discuss a second problem they say "no no no, you were booked for one ailment, if you want to discuss a second thing you need to make a double booking". And then referral times if you have to see a specialist.... For example my wife has kidney issues which were diagnosed here in 2022, she got a referral back then to a nephrologist...she is STILL waiting. I buggered my knee up when sprinting for cardio in 2022, I got a referral in Jan 2023 from the doc to see a physio...literally only got seen in Feb 2024. We really took our medical aid for granted in SA.

I think the NHS is quite hit miss dependant on where you live and what doctors you have access too. I have had quite a good experience overall. Im pretty certain if you live in a bigger city your experience will be worse, because there is more people. I guess I am quite lucky living in a smaller town.

My wife started suffering with depression too from being here because all her family are in SA, and the lifestyle here is very insular, you're stuck at home most of the year, we are used to being outside, braais etc etc. The culture is also SO different if you don't integrate (I always say it might as well be Japan it is that different), and with us working at home we never really had to integrate into the local communities etc. Not saying the culture difference is a good or a bad thing, just so different to what we are used to back home, i'll use an example like that unsaid respect of calling older people Uncle or Auntie out of respect in SA, here that is just absent. The kids are also just on another level...demons incarnate compared to our kids back in SA.

During my 1st year, I didn't think much of integrating, but it really caught up in the 2nd year. I have now made an active effort to make new friends through social groups, going to sporting events and basically becoming a yesman when ever there is an opportunity to socialise. I found it like dating. You meet some great people, but you also meet some real assholes.

We were going to stay until citizenship via ancestry visa (6 years) but we got to a stage between my wifes depression and me looking at the financial writing on the wall...we would never be able to own any house other than a box in our lifetime, there is no decent health care, cost of living is INSANE compared to SA, so we made the decision to head back, in SA we can buy a decent place in the next 3 to 4 years and have a much better quality of life. It makes me think of a saying someone said once can't put my finger on who...but it was "Why live like a poor person in North if you can live like a King in the South"

Please let me know if you have any other questions about the UK, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

The UK is certainly not the be all and end all. The short term plan is to secure a British passport, and then see where the road leads me. Im seeing it as a foot in the door to to even better opportunities. During my time here, Ive had 2 saffa couples move from the UK, one to Switzerland and one to the USA for career growth. Im also not discounting moving back to SA in the future.

 

[brentbmw]

Congrats! It's a nice choice.
I love my X3MC. It is better to get the latest ECU sw for the car.

Thanks! How does one do this? Do I need to ask BMW?

Thanks in advance

 

[brentbmw]

SNIP

Thanks for your feedback and good to hear from someone in a similar boat to us.

A lot of what you say is spot on, and you definitely adopted the right mindset to stay. Our situation was different because the wife had a very strong conservative Afrikaans background and a massive family back home, so it made things very depressing for her.

I really struggled with the converting because my business operates in US dollars not pound, so everything I spent it was a case of hmmm this is X in USD, I could get X back in SA. Had we been earning in local currency I think things would've been different.

You're so right about the housing situation too, it is the same with my cousins who are all far older than me, they bought houses when the economy was strong 15 years back so they pay peanuts on their bonds of they not paid back by now, so they can't look at it through the lens of playing catch up and tell me I'm a fool going home but they don't get it. For me personally this was the biggest factor in my side of our decision.

In terms of the groceries that price was at Morrisons but I eat a lot of meat to maintain my weight and size for the gym, it was the meat killing us that's for sure. It's unnecessary/obsessive but I've been training more than half my life (19 years this year and I'm only 34) so it's part of my DNA I guess one could say.

I'm really glad you could make friends, we could make "friends" but they would be buddies you chat to at the gym and that's that because both of us are extremely introverted so it wasn't the best mix haha.

One thing this whole move gave us was perspective, every country has it's pros and cons, and it's finding what is important to you and making the conscious decision to know the pros and cons of each place and make peace with where you are. For us that was back in SA, and we returned knowing all the flaws and challenges here, but it's home.

I wish you nothing but the best in your journey, and hope you find happiness wherever you go

 

[vjx]

Thanks! How does one do this? Do I need to ask BMW?

Thanks in advance

I've asked the sales person to assist to upgrade the SW to the latest level. At least, it will add Android Auto to the iDrive 6.
It depends on how the sales handle the matter.

 

[swazi85]

Hey, thanks for the feedback.

Would've loved an lci M5 (I think they really nailed the look compared to pre-lci which was already beautiful), I hope you enjoy many KMs in it!

We had considered the X5 M50i as some 2019/20 ones were re right on price but the notorious N63 motor made me a bit tentative, I understand they've improved it a lot, but because I'll be keeping the car probably 3 years after Motorplan (2030) i decided against it. M50d was only an option but with our driving profile I think the emissions goodies would've become a nightmare.

The X3 just ticked all the boxes for us as we only have 1 5yo boy so it became the best compromise for the wife's "An SUV is higher off the ground so it's safer and it has more space" mentality and my performance itch haha.

I am so glad to hear that you as a Brit concur with what I was feeling, at times I thought maybe I just didn't give it enough time or this or that. And glad you're in SA!

Glad your happy with your purchase

In regards to uk, Even just arriving in Heathrow you can feel the energy isn’t quite right, the arrival passport kiosks are manned with a skeleton staff, which according to the staff I asked is the norm. The second leg of my journey we were flying to Portugal, all my family warned me there’s a good chance our luggage will get lost.

Since when is that the norm in uk? I last live uk in 2008, that definitely wouldn’t have been the case then.

I bought a new Rolex when we were in Portugal, on returning to London, my family who stay just round the corner from south Kensington station, said you better not wear that here, as there’s a very high risk of being followed home and being robbed at knife or gun point. They actually have private security on their street so their houses don’t get robbed while they are out. Their Range Rover parked out side needs a gorilla lock, as range rovers are massively targeted & Range Rover insurance has doubled in the last year, allot of companies flat out refusing to insure them in uk.

Even teenager are being targeted and robbed & or stabbed for a Canada goose or moncler jacket.

For me the main selling point for me of living uk before was, everything just worked like clockwork and safety wasn’t even a thought, which made you over look the lousy weather and lack of lifestyle. If you had half a brain and were prepared to work you would live a decent life, with some modest career prospects.

My second sister who’s an NHS ER consultant lives very frugally, cant even scrape together the deposit to buy a home at 45 years of age.

Just jumping in a black cab in uk is a scary prospect at the cost of it. Cost me £96 pound just to get to Heathrow for a 30 minute journey.

The average Brit is very unhappy and isn’t keeping their head above water anymore. The life in uk was bearable previously if you were on the property ladder, as every few years with the guaranteed capital appreciation of your home. You would refinance and release some equity from your home and be able
to afford a few luxuries. Not the case anymore with the property market in decline.

Very sad the way my country has gone. With the latest politics I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

My gut feeling is my family will end up relocating back to CT in the near future.


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[user06]

Thanks guys, this has been extremely informative. I myself have been contemplating relocating to the UK. As a medical doctor, opportunities are very limited in terms of specializing in South Africa currently. Wondering if there are any other health professionals on this forum with any opinions? All things considered, life in SA seems to be the choice though.

Also, congrats OP on the ride! definitely the right kinda "welcome home" gift! I think the UK is one of the fewer countries with car prices worse than ours