Hello M3 crew! I wanted to gather your thoughts and get a sanity check on my planned purchase of a 2020 M3 SR+ inventory car and trade-in of a 2014 MS85 without AP (late September 2014 build - one week prior to AP1 roll out).
I am a big fan of the interior layout of the MS and the overall sleekness of its design (although I am not a big fan of the pre-face-lift grill). I also at times enjoy the space within the cabin, although we have a full size SUV in the household and hardly ever use the MS to haul anything. I've been toying around with the idea of swapping out the MS for a modern Tesla with AP, full warranty coverage, and a current generation MCU that can handle software updates/upgrades for years to come. While the MCU1 MS has bore the benefit of OTA software upgrades over the years, it is starting to show its 6+ year old age both aesthetically and mechanically.
I was browsing local new Tesla inventory cars this past weekend and came across a nicely discounted 2020 M3 SR+ with 1,200 miles (being sold as new). The deal seemed strong and I figured it was worth the $100 deposit, which I could move to another Tesla should I decide against the M3. The car order sheet is attached here for reference - the configured price was $41,490 and had a $3,130 discount to bring the pre-destination and doc fee price to $38,360. Tesla is also offering sub-3% 72-month financing for new cars as well. Tesla is also offering what I find to be a fair trade-in value of $31k for my MS with just under 50k miles. Also, for whatever its worth, a Tesla rep I spoke with said that Tesla corporate recently sent an email stating that their trade-in values are soon to be slashed given the current economic climate.
Having never driven a M3, I rented a 2019 SR+ M3 (Turo) and spent some time behind the wheel over the weekend. First impressions were that the M3 definitely feels tighter in the cabin - the yacht-floor laden MS feels cavernous in comparison. The single-screen interface of the M3 also is something that will take some getting used to - the fixed 1/3 of the screen makes the relatively large display feel a bit cramped at times. The MCU itself is however way snappier and more responsive than my MCU1 unit. I did find the M3 seats to be way more comfortable than my first-gen MS seats, the noticeable smaller steering wheel felt better in-hand, and the car itself had significantly less road noise/wind noise and road feel than my MS (19" rims) - from what I gather, the newer MS's are a lot more refined than the first generation models. I also found that the M3 looked more modern, especially from the front, than my pre-facelift MS. Even though the rate 0-60 of the SR+ is a bit quicker than the MS85, the car didn't feel as quick - the MS might feel a bit quick because of the mass being moved under hard acceleration.
Overall, I have chalked up a fair amount more items in the "Pro" column for the M3 and think I will finalize purchase in the coming days, although I would love to get a sanity check from this forum - particularly from those who moved from a pre-AP MS to a M3. Thank you all in advance for any thoughts you might share!
SR+ Order Agreement:
I am a big fan of the interior layout of the MS and the overall sleekness of its design (although I am not a big fan of the pre-face-lift grill). I also at times enjoy the space within the cabin, although we have a full size SUV in the household and hardly ever use the MS to haul anything. I've been toying around with the idea of swapping out the MS for a modern Tesla with AP, full warranty coverage, and a current generation MCU that can handle software updates/upgrades for years to come. While the MCU1 MS has bore the benefit of OTA software upgrades over the years, it is starting to show its 6+ year old age both aesthetically and mechanically.
I was browsing local new Tesla inventory cars this past weekend and came across a nicely discounted 2020 M3 SR+ with 1,200 miles (being sold as new). The deal seemed strong and I figured it was worth the $100 deposit, which I could move to another Tesla should I decide against the M3. The car order sheet is attached here for reference - the configured price was $41,490 and had a $3,130 discount to bring the pre-destination and doc fee price to $38,360. Tesla is also offering sub-3% 72-month financing for new cars as well. Tesla is also offering what I find to be a fair trade-in value of $31k for my MS with just under 50k miles. Also, for whatever its worth, a Tesla rep I spoke with said that Tesla corporate recently sent an email stating that their trade-in values are soon to be slashed given the current economic climate.
Having never driven a M3, I rented a 2019 SR+ M3 (Turo) and spent some time behind the wheel over the weekend. First impressions were that the M3 definitely feels tighter in the cabin - the yacht-floor laden MS feels cavernous in comparison. The single-screen interface of the M3 also is something that will take some getting used to - the fixed 1/3 of the screen makes the relatively large display feel a bit cramped at times. The MCU itself is however way snappier and more responsive than my MCU1 unit. I did find the M3 seats to be way more comfortable than my first-gen MS seats, the noticeable smaller steering wheel felt better in-hand, and the car itself had significantly less road noise/wind noise and road feel than my MS (19" rims) - from what I gather, the newer MS's are a lot more refined than the first generation models. I also found that the M3 looked more modern, especially from the front, than my pre-facelift MS. Even though the rate 0-60 of the SR+ is a bit quicker than the MS85, the car didn't feel as quick - the MS might feel a bit quick because of the mass being moved under hard acceleration.
Overall, I have chalked up a fair amount more items in the "Pro" column for the M3 and think I will finalize purchase in the coming days, although I would love to get a sanity check from this forum - particularly from those who moved from a pre-AP MS to a M3. Thank you all in advance for any thoughts you might share!
SR+ Order Agreement:
