Since I couldn’t fall back asleep, it’s time for some unnecessary car shopping. Before we get to the car in question, which should be obvious from the picture, I want to talk about another car, my M3.
I got my M3 in July of 2014 with just under 16k miles on it and I paid $49.9k for it. That was at the upper end of my budget, I really didn’t want to spend more than 45k, but I wasn’t able to find what I wanted at that price which was a 2011 E90 M3 with a manual, iDrive, leather, a color that wasn’t red or black and under 40k miles. Obviously, I was able to find that car and I purchased it, even if it took two months. I don’t have buyers remorse, but I do have a question, should I have gotten a 1M instead?
At this time in 2014, you could find a 1M for around the same price. This is where I should mention that it took me so long to find the M3 because I couldn’t find one with a manual; the majority of 2011 M3s were DCT. The manual was a requirement, so much so I started thinking about getting an E92 or even waiting a year and buying a brand new F80 because then I would be the one ticking all the options boxes. There was also another car I considered, the 1M. That would solve my manual problem as they were all manuals. I also knew that this was going to depreciate less than an E90.
Now, I eventually found an M3 that fit all my requriments and bought that, but, at times, I’ve wondered if I should’ve gotten the 1M instead. Keep that for a few years and then probably sell it for close to what I bought it for because it wouldn’t have that many miles on it, in 4.5 years I’ve managed to put 31k miles on my M3. However, the M3 was the car I always wanted, so I got that instead. I also realize to recoup the money from the 1M, I would have to sell it. Additionally, there aren’t many low mile single owner E90 M3s out there as there were in 2014.
So I guess all things considered, I was probably better off with the E90, but there is the “what if” factor.
Anyways, on to the 1M. I hadn’t actually driven one until 2017. After driving one, I’m thinking that I made the right decision to get the E90. The N54 in the 1M just doesn’t feel as special as the S65 in the M3. Yes, the 1M can be made faster, but that’s not relevant for feel.
This 1M has done 40k miles and is listed for $8k more than I paid for my M3 in 2014. It’s also one of the few 1Ms that on sale today that’s not at EAG.
This is certainly a nice example, but unfortunately, unless I come into a bunch of money, all I can do is look now. I’ll also never know if I made the right decision to get the M3 instead of one of these.