Hey all, my daily is a BMW M850i. But I just test drove an M8 Competition and it's NEXT level. I can't get it out of my mind. Thinking of making the upgrade. The whole experience is below:
Daily driver update: considering the M8 Competition after this test drive!
Tupper
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Yep, I might go test drive one of those (and make another video).
Absolutely! But I'm not shopping the M8 to replace my R8, of course. The R8 is the halo of the garage and ain't going anywhere (unless I get a Lambo or a Ferrari or something). I'm looking to see if there's anything out there to replace my daily driver, which is actually a great car in its own right.
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I'd keep the daily you have and put the money towards a ferrari or a lambo. You seem to enjoy different cars and why not spend the money on trying a Ferrari.? Or a lambo. It does not seem like you put a ton of miles on the r8 so the reliability and cost and daily driveability (the 3 main points in favor of an r8 in my opinion) don't appear to be your priorities.
Actually the heritage of the r8 is another huge point. The hurucan is just another lambo that will be forgotten and ferraris entire lineup these days is not historically significant in my opinion. The r8, especially gen 1, is a historic car.
Actually the heritage of the r8 is another huge point. The hurucan is just another lambo that will be forgotten and ferraris entire lineup these days is not historically significant in my opinion. The r8, especially gen 1, is a historic car.
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agreed and i'm not convinced its even all that fast... it got beat out by a nissan Z (granted in Nismo form) at VIR:
^ Great advice, I'm having similar thoughts
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I've driven BMWs exclusively (as my DD) for about 23 years now. My daily has been a 650xi Gran Coupe for the past 7 years now. Yes, 7 years... because (a) I think it's one of the most beautiful cars BMW produced in the last 20 years, (b) it still only has 16k miles on it (working from home), and (c) there's been nothing in the BMW line-up that's enticed me to move on... and that's just never happened to me before.
I've been holding out hope that something would come along, but it just hasn't. Every new car BMW puts out seemingly gets uglier than the last. I was thinking the new 5 series might work (as I had an F10 550xi before my current car and loved it)... but then the design emerged. Barf. I just don't know what this brand is thinking any longer. But, I can't bring myself to give up what I feel is a beautiful car for one that would make me sick looking at it.
Now, I will say that the M8 Competition is a big exception. I don't think it looks as elegant as the 6 series it replaced (especially in GC guise), but it's much more aggressive and the luxury and performance (for a GT car) is fantastic. It's the only car in BMW's line-up at the moment that I'd consider... and did about 6 months back. But, I ultimately decided I wouldn't be getting enough bang for my buck on that move.
I'm not sure what the next move will be... but it may be that I just need to leave the brand. I think the next 8 series is due out in 2025, so perhaps I'll wait around to see what it looks like... just not holding out a lot of hope.
@Tupper I'd be comfortable getting the M8 if you really love it. My guess - this will be the very last BMW model with a TT V8. There are already rumors that the next 8 will be "all electric" - I'm somewhat doubting that, but it's possible. I expect it's also a pretty rare model - the 8 is already rare, but the M8... you just don't see them, and that's a plus in my book. If you want the ultimate GT, the M8 is definitely among a very small pool of contenders.
I've been holding out hope that something would come along, but it just hasn't. Every new car BMW puts out seemingly gets uglier than the last. I was thinking the new 5 series might work (as I had an F10 550xi before my current car and loved it)... but then the design emerged. Barf. I just don't know what this brand is thinking any longer. But, I can't bring myself to give up what I feel is a beautiful car for one that would make me sick looking at it.
Now, I will say that the M8 Competition is a big exception. I don't think it looks as elegant as the 6 series it replaced (especially in GC guise), but it's much more aggressive and the luxury and performance (for a GT car) is fantastic. It's the only car in BMW's line-up at the moment that I'd consider... and did about 6 months back. But, I ultimately decided I wouldn't be getting enough bang for my buck on that move.
I'm not sure what the next move will be... but it may be that I just need to leave the brand. I think the next 8 series is due out in 2025, so perhaps I'll wait around to see what it looks like... just not holding out a lot of hope.
@Tupper I'd be comfortable getting the M8 if you really love it. My guess - this will be the very last BMW model with a TT V8. There are already rumors that the next 8 will be "all electric" - I'm somewhat doubting that, but it's possible. I expect it's also a pretty rare model - the 8 is already rare, but the M8... you just don't see them, and that's a plus in my book. If you want the ultimate GT, the M8 is definitely among a very small pool of contenders.
OP I feel your pain. I have an M850i vert (with Racechip) that my wife and I like a lot, but a couple years ago when the B8 came out, I bit on it. It's a 200+ MPH Land Yacht, and Alpina absolutely did magic on it. You'd probably experience something similar with the M8 Comp.
The current 8's and 2's are the only Bimmers whose looks I can tolerate today. Shame...
The current 8's and 2's are the only Bimmers whose looks I can tolerate today. Shame...
🤣 Thanks for that Judd. I needed a good laugh. I can’t remember the last time I literally laughed out loud reading something. Nice work!
Totally agree. I’ve owned multiple Z8’s, numerous earlier M3/M5’s, i8, X5’s, Z4’s and today’s BMW’S both look like 🤮 and have similar reliability. My son is a 20+ year BMW Mstr Tech and he totally concurs. Says BMW has lost its way in so many ways. Although, he does say their continuous parade of unreliable engines sure keeps him busy and in the money, from a Service perspective! Thus, I go Audi, Porsche and Lexus these days.
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Speaking of service, I just picked up my 650 today. ~$8,700 service. Keep in mind this is a car with 16k miles.
- Oil Change, filters, etc. (OK, normal service)
- Spark plugs (OK, normal service due to age but not mileage)
- Brakes (not normal at 16k miles; strange scoring and wear patterns, so I didn't want to take chances)
- Tires (OK, not due to mileage but decided to change them due to age)
- Rear glass (not normal; defrost wires delaminating)
- Battery (OK, due to age)
The service I turned down? Well, there's a very small area at the front of the dash where the leather is starting to pull - $8k. Skipped that one.
Expensive cars come with expensive bills, so I'm not complaining about that much. BUT, probably around half the bill is due to items that shouldn't have gone bad the way they did - namely the brakes and rear glass. I won't cut corners, so it'll get what it needs. But sheesh. If I sprung for the dash replacement, that would have been nearly a $17k service.
Funny enough, my sales advisor (really nice guy) comes up to me as I'm paying the bill, "Shouldn't you be in an M8 by now?" Haha - ironic timing with this thread.
After reading that I am so glad I work on my own cars. Yikes. Shop labor these days is spendy, and I’m a cheap ***** in comparison. I don’t work Fridays anyway so good reason to upgrade parts and tinker in the garage if it’s too shitty out to golf.
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So...I spoke to a BMW certified mechanic buddy of mine yeeeears back when I was looking to move into a BMW M car. My mindset at the time was built on Japanese cars (1997 Supra Turbo), so I was asking him about the maintenance and reliability. He said to me, "If you are going to get a BMW or Mercedes, know how to wrench on your car. You will save a **** ton of money. Otherwise, stay with Japanese cars."
So I promised myself (more like promised my wife so I could convince her to get an e46 M3) that I would do everything I could to learn the in's and out's of the car so I could work on it myself. No joke. I saved 10s of thousands of dollars to include four separate mechanical valve adjustments on two different e46 M3 (req every 15-20K miles). The only thing I didn't do was the rod bearings on my e92. That was too much of a heavy lift for me.
That said, I loved driving them...especially my e92 M3. I started wavering on the brand when the F80 M3 platform came out. Too big and too expensive for what it was. I hit the eject button when BMW didn't reverse course with the G80 M3 and its beaver teeth grills.
The only BMW I could see myself in today, is the M8...but honestly? I would get into a Lexus LC500 way before an M8.
So I promised myself (more like promised my wife so I could convince her to get an e46 M3) that I would do everything I could to learn the in's and out's of the car so I could work on it myself. No joke. I saved 10s of thousands of dollars to include four separate mechanical valve adjustments on two different e46 M3 (req every 15-20K miles). The only thing I didn't do was the rod bearings on my e92. That was too much of a heavy lift for me.
That said, I loved driving them...especially my e92 M3. I started wavering on the brand when the F80 M3 platform came out. Too big and too expensive for what it was. I hit the eject button when BMW didn't reverse course with the G80 M3 and its beaver teeth grills.
The only BMW I could see myself in today, is the M8...but honestly? I would get into a Lexus LC500 way before an M8.
2023
BMW USA - 362k vehicles sold
MB USA - 351k sold
Audi USA - 228k
Dont believe the gibberish. I currently have two BMWs, a 23 X5M50 (had two X5M50s and an X5M) and a 24 M4 (had 3 M4s including a CSL and an M5 before this one) and love them.
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Ya, I'm skeptical of BMW feedback in an Audi r8 forum. But many of them do look ugly lately. Perhaps thats why I'm an audi and Mercedes owner.
But are the trend lines down? I'd be curious for someone to dig into this. I don't have the time this week as I'm trying to have some success at work after getting kicked in the teeth for months on end.
On the positive side, the motorcycles have been out of the barn this week and I just went for a nice ride around town enjoying the warm weather.
But are the trend lines down? I'd be curious for someone to dig into this. I don't have the time this week as I'm trying to have some success at work after getting kicked in the teeth for months on end.
On the positive side, the motorcycles have been out of the barn this week and I just went for a nice ride around town enjoying the warm weather.
BMW up 9% year over year
MB up 0.2%
variety is the spice of life! Brand loyalty is for suckers.
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It's not "gibberish".
www.forbes.com
If you think that it is just this forum, go to some BMW forums for a real show. Reviewers across the board are saying the same thing. It is just some are willing to overlook the polarizing aesthetics for the driving experience. The keyword here is polarizing. Nobody is "in the middle" when it comes to BMWs current design language. Either they like it (enough) or they hate it (completely).
Sales numbers do not tell the entire story here, especially when compared to Audi which is part of VW group and has sales cannibalized by VW, Skoda, Cupra, and Porsche. BMW just sells BMW.
In the end, I am of the notion of "whatever lights your rocket". It is not for me to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like. If someone likes or is willing to accept the polarizing designs for BMW, I am truly happy for them. I wish I could get there. I simply couldn't do it. I don't think that makes it a "failing" on the part of anyone.
Controversial BMW Design Is Punking You, And Won’t Stop, CEO Says.
“If we don’t have controversy (in the early design process), I already know it’s too easy. “In the early design if you do not have controversy, that’s the mistake you make."
www.forbes.com
If you think that it is just this forum, go to some BMW forums for a real show. Reviewers across the board are saying the same thing. It is just some are willing to overlook the polarizing aesthetics for the driving experience. The keyword here is polarizing. Nobody is "in the middle" when it comes to BMWs current design language. Either they like it (enough) or they hate it (completely).
Sales numbers do not tell the entire story here, especially when compared to Audi which is part of VW group and has sales cannibalized by VW, Skoda, Cupra, and Porsche. BMW just sells BMW.
In the end, I am of the notion of "whatever lights your rocket". It is not for me to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like. If someone likes or is willing to accept the polarizing designs for BMW, I am truly happy for them. I wish I could get there. I simply couldn't do it. I don't think that makes it a "failing" on the part of anyone.
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