After my recent angina diagnosis I am now looking for a distraction. This would be a second car for me and my criteria was a four seater convertible so the wife and kids can join me. I found this and tempted to offer full asking price: It’s not an Alpina but has a lot of the nice bits and I’ve always wanted an M or Alpina. I like the low mileage and FSH as well. I’d value your honest opinions. My everyday car is my trusty F11 535d which is ruthlessly quick and efficient but lacking in noise and drama, so I want a petrol 6 or v8 with a more pleasant exhaust note! https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1375371
Well I closed the add after seeing the colour! Then I reopened and it kind of flows and looks very nice when clean, the wood on the dash is in keeping with the interior and probably best suited. It’s undeniably very nice and a balanced package I’d enquire about the history and check if there’s history of inlet manifold blasting, check the coil pack recall has been done then set about enjoying I do hope your diagnosis settles!
I’d hope the early N55 has been sorted in terms of waste gates etc. Or maybe a very late N54? I’d want a good history on that one. If you want an Alpina or an M car, for me I’d hold out until you find the right one. Life is too short to wish you’d had what you originally wanted.
Could your budget stretch to an E93 M3? Proper aural delight and a superbly built car. Check the shells have been changed, the engine mounts have been checked/changed and you would have a cracker.
Good advice here; I think I’m being rash and not my favourite colour either but I liked the Alpina touches. After researching a bit not sure about the issues with this engine either. I will hold out for my M3 I think…. I needed to be talked down
Turbocharged engines tend to be have more subdued sounds so if you are adamant about an E93 personally I'd go for the 330i with around 270 bhp. Make sure the roof works properly and doesn't leak - those hard top convertibles are extremely difficult to sort if they go wrong or leak. They are heavy too with all that weight in the boot. To be brutally honest my opinion is that is a poor coloured 335i SE with some lovely Alpina parts added. You could add those Alpina parts to an M Sport in a far better colour. Personally for some fun in a fairly modern Bimmer I'd look at Z4 soft top with the 3 litre straight six - the later 2006 to 2009 cars had the most power. Even better an Z4M
Indeed and missed that bit!! We have a four seater fun convertible (since 2013) and I can count on one hand the number of times more than two people have been in it - we have two kids albeit one has now left home. In mine you can't have people in the back seats and the wind deflector up which makes a massive difference to turbulence and longer distance journeys. I think the more modern cars have wind deflectors between the rear headrests so may not be an issue.
I went down the route of a 4 seat convertible a few years ago thinking it would be the best of both worlds. However I found for family outings the rear seat was pretty miserable with the roof down as it was very blowy and often cold. Boot space was lacking with the roof down and rear leg room was compromised too. In reality it rarely got used for family outings. I have a 2 seater 2nd car now which works better for me.
Sounds like a 4 seater ‘vert may not be the answer. I am not into the ‘vert thing at all, but I do get the mid life crisis “live for today”, which is why I bought my wife an M3 and I bought a V8 for myself. I needed to tick that box. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ditto Merc e class convertible Dire for those on the back…. Windy on the front though wind deflectors….. Not a good choice IMHO…. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for all the advice. Decided to take my time and get the car I really want. I’m even looking at auction sites and even including E46 and E36 M3 Verts in my search. I’m treading very carefully to find the right one as I know there are some ropey ones out there.
