[bri1042]

Three+ weeks in with the tires broken in and most of my 6MT reflexes back, I am absolutely loving this car. My M2C was my first M, and I still can't bring myself to compare them in a "which one do I like better overall" way, but I am really loving this car.

[02M3ForMe]

Originally Posted by bri1042

Three+ weeks in with the tires broken in and most of my 6MT reflexes back, I am absolutely loving this car. My M2C was my first M, and I still can't bring myself to compare them in a "which one do I like better overall" way, but I am really loving this car.

Same. Just picked up a G82 6MT and I go back and forth. The G8x is such an obviously well-engineered driving machine; the M2C, with its size, overall simplicity, and largely fixed/less customizable driving experience, is one of the most charming cars I've ever driven. I love both.

Speaking aesthetics, the grilles are tied with the large exhaust tips for my favorite part of this car's design. Everything about the car's looks works much better when viewed in person.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by 02M3ForMe

Same. Just picked up a G82 6MT and I go back and forth. The G8x is such an obviously well-engineered driving machine; the M2C, with its size, overall simplicity, and largely fixed/less customizable driving experience, is one of the most charming cars I've ever driven. I love both.

Speaking aesthetics, the grilles are tied with the large exhaust tips for my favorite part of this car's design. Everything about the car's looks works much better when viewed in person.

That looks menacing. Sweet!

[02M3ForMe]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

That looks menacing. Sweet!

I loved the M2C’s compact, boxy widebody footprint, but there was always a nagging desire for even more size and aggression. The G82 fits the bill perfectly, especially in “stormtrooper” spec. I spent nearly an hour assessing the car’s design in different lighting conditions and from different angles, and realized that the pleasure part of my brain really lights up when I see the car from the front and front 3/4. It is mean looking - if “Move B*tch” was a performance car ...

I secretly hope everyone hates it and doesn’t buy it and I’m one of the few on the road with one for a while. 😉

[DvidzM3G80]

Originally Posted by scoale

Read your review with much interest as I own an M2 Comp w/ DCT . Your DCT experience mirrors my own; I love the DCT when I'm pushing it (more than my 6 speed, in fact), but it is less involving than the manual when driving around town. I also agree that the DCT pairs up better with the S55 than the manual does.
Fortunately, I have an F80 manual when I need to scratch that itch.

I think your 5 series comparison is spot on; the car is now the size of a five series AND has the power and more upscale interior to go with it. In fact, it is a better 5 series.

I've not had the opportunity to drive the new G80 yet, but I am sure it outperforms the M2c in most ways - the possible exceptions being brakes and transmission (DCT v Auto). And there is no doubt it would make a better daily for most people. i would be very surprised, however, if it was funner to drive on tight backroads/canyons simply because of the size difference. I definitely notice the size difference when driving the F80 in those scenarios, and the G80 is larger still.

Congratulations on your upgrade!

BTW - many are saying that the grill looks smaller & better in person - your picture seems to illustrate that for me. Like the color too!

The grille does look smaller in person. Also, I ordered mine in Black Sapphire Metallic, which all but makes the oversized grille blend into the rest of the car.

[scoale]

Originally Posted by DvidzM3G80

The grille does look smaller in person. Also, I ordered mine in Black Sapphire Metallic, which all but makes the oversized grille blend into the rest of the car.

Looks good

[snareman]

Originally Posted by DvidzM3G80

The grille does look smaller in person. Also, I ordered mine in Black Sapphire Metallic, which all but makes the oversized grille blend into the rest of the car.

Hopefully yours doesn't get stuck at the port for too long. Several of us have been there for awhile and apparently BMW is having delays in shipping.

[bri1042]

Small update: I installed the BMS clutch stop yesterday. I get why these clutch pedals are set up the way they are. Anecdote to illustrate:

A friend of mine and his wife drove manuals exclusively until relatively recently. They left manuals behind after a series of early clutch deaths in two different Mazda 3's. Talking about cars with him, it was clear that he's killed a lot of clutches in his driving life. He's only around 5'7" and his wife is shorter. Near the end of his time with his last manual, I sat in his driver's seat and it was so far back that I, with 4" of extra height, couldn't get the clutch all the way to the floor based on where his seat was. I also didn't have good control of the steering wheel, it wasn't telescoping and I was too far away.

He and his wife were burning clutches for decades by sitting too far back to actuate the pedal fully. I didn't tell him what I'd figured out, they were waiting for their replacement automatic cars to show up anyway.

The long travel on the clutch on my Frog is VERY different from the Japanese cars (mostly Hondas and Acuras) that I spent most of my life driving. They were on-off switches compared to how long the pedal travel on the frog is. All that extra travel feels like it's intended to make up for people not positioning themselves correctly for the clutch. It's a wise move, hardware longevity-wise, with so many people positioning their seats "low and back" because that's how they like the chair instead of setting their position correctly for the controls and mirrors.

The clutch now feels correctly setup for someone who does not need a safeguard of that sort. Great use of ten bucks plus shipping!

One warning - I saw a video of a guy installing one in his F80, and his whole reason for doing so was wanting to push his seat further back. He also wasn't a tall human. I feel bad for his clutch. If you install these things, make sure you're actually getting the pedal all the way down on each shift after you do...there isn't enough play left in the pedal travel and engagement point to not clutch properly.

[j23]

I'm in the same boat. I picked up a brand new 2021 M2C 6MT and drive it for several months. Eventually, I got bored of it. Turns out what I wanted all along was a 4-door M car, which is why I got rid of my e46 M3 in the first place.

I played with the idea of getting an e39 M5, but ultimately I knew I couldn't own such an old car because I'm too anal about cars. Old cars are just that: old. They require constant maintenance, they squeak, they rattle, etc. Not to mention low mileage e39 M5's are selling for astronomical prices, which is absurd in my world, since I can buy a loaded G80 for less.

I toyed with the idea of buying an F80 for a while, but it also doesn't make much financial sense. I see low mileage F80's (low in my book is under 10k miles) listed everywhere for $60-65k, which is even more ridiculous than the e39 M5 pricing, considering that the new M3 starts at 69.9k.

People have absolutely lost their minds. Old M cars cost as much as new ones. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and never will. Yes, I get it, "raw", "nimble", "because race car", "lightweight", "small", blah blah blah... I don't care. It's pure and utter fanboism that is driving these prices.

If people stopped modifying their M cars, this ridiculousness would end overnight. The majority of M cars are destroyed by horrendous modifications that result in them looking and driving like shit. If I had a dollar every time I saw a FS post with so-called "tasteful" mods. Tasteful my ass.

[CanuckM]

Originally Posted by j23

People have absolutely lost their minds. Old M cars cost as much as new ones. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and never will.

This was a deciding factor for me. Low mileage unmodified F80 M3s in our market here are way too close to G8x prices.

[Scorp!on]

Originally Posted by j23

People have absolutely lost their minds. Old M cars cost as much as new ones. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and never will. Yes, I get it, "raw", "nimble", "because race car", "lightweight", "small", blah blah blah... I don't care. It's pure and utter fanboism that is driving these prices.

If people stopped modifying their M cars, this ridiculousness would end overnight. The majority of M cars are destroyed by horrendous modifications that result in them looking and driving like shit. If I had a dollar every time I saw a FS post with so-called "tasteful" mods. Tasteful my ass.

Man, I couldn't have written it better.
Nice to see that this issue is not only in my country...
I was looking like an idiot for an F80, its impossible to find one in good conditions (especially because I want MT and they are anyway pretty rare).

I did find one or another with low KM but the Warranty was already through and the prices are astronomical like you say. At this point I said fu** off I just get the new one, screw the 15k more at least I'm the first one planting my ass in it and I have the complete service/warranty.

People are nuts who pay these prices...

and like 90% are modified like colossal BS. What the hell are people thinking??
It's NOT nice to set the car with 50$ springs so low that you can't go over anything on the street without destroying the complete front.
It's NOT nice to change the camber.
It's NOT nice to tune it with a cheap crap software upgrade just to get ridicolous numbers and the reliability is gone.

I just don't get what the hell people are thinking.
There are beautiful modified M cars but they are rare. And I want mine original and if something is modified then with M Performance Parts. End of story.

[bri1042]

Reminds me of an interaction I had two weeks ago at the local grocery store.

A couple of kids (well, probably young adults) were in the parking lot putting water into the radiator of one of the two junkers they were driving, a Jetta, when I pulled in.

They got very excited by my Frog and asked a few questions on my way into the store:

"What year M3 is that?"
"2021"
"Wow! Never seen one in that color!"
"Yep, it's a new color"
"What kind of M3 is it" (wasn't quite sure what he was asking here)
"Just a normal M3 Manual"
"They still make those?"
"Yep."
"Are you going to lower it soon?"
"No, I have steep driveway" (unspoken - "and it's fine the way it is")
"You should straight-pipe it!"
"Hah, probably not" (absolutely not)
"How much did it cost!" (kids...actual adults wouldn't ask such a thing)
"Too much!" (well, I think the price was fine)
"Hahahahaha"

There's certainly the assumption that folk with "fast cars" will modify them. I don't generally do so unless the audio is really unhappy or there's something inherently wrong with the stock setup (and if it's TOO wrong, I probably wouldn't buy the car rather than buy it and modify it). I did the exhaust on my M2C for a specific reason, and because I'd never really done an aftermarket exhaust before. I probably won't do so again in the future.

[dgm3]

Originally Posted by j23

I'm in the same boat. I picked up a brand new 2021 M2C 6MT and drive it for several months. Eventually, I got bored of it. Turns out what I wanted all along was a 4-door M car, which is why I got rid of my e46 M3 in the first place.

I played with the idea of getting an e39 M5, but ultimately I knew I couldn't own such an old car because I'm too anal about cars. Old cars are just that: old. They require constant maintenance, they squeak, they rattle, etc. Not to mention low mileage e39 M5's are selling for astronomical prices, which is absurd in my world, since I can buy a loaded G80 for less.

I toyed with the idea of buying an F80 for a while, but it also doesn't make much financial sense. I see low mileage F80's (low in my book is under 10k miles) listed everywhere for $60-65k, which is even more ridiculous than the e39 M5 pricing, considering that the new M3 starts at 69.9k.

People have absolutely lost their minds. Old M cars cost as much as new ones. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and never will. Yes, I get it, "raw", "nimble", "because race car", "lightweight", "small", blah blah blah... I don't care. It's pure and utter fanboism that is driving these prices.

If people stopped modifying their M cars, this ridiculousness would end overnight. The majority of M cars are destroyed by horrendous modifications that result in them looking and driving like shit. If I had a dollar every time I saw a FS post with so-called "tasteful" mods. Tasteful my ass.

So you got rid of your M3 E46 because it's a 2 doors, then got a M2C which is also 2 doors .
If you can't figure out which M car has the right number of doors for your usage ... it's very unlikely that you will ever understand what an old M model has to offer.

[EXE46]

Originally Posted by CanuckM

This was a deciding factor for me. Low mileage unmodified F80 M3s in our market here are way too close to G8x prices.

And yet some claim the G80/G82 are priced too high even with the added equipment now standard on these cars.

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by EXE46

And yet some claim the G80/G82 are priced too high even with the added equipment now standard on these cars.

Some people compare prices from 25 years ago without Googling "Inflation Calculator".

[OSee]

Originally Posted by dgm3

So you got rid of your M3 E46 because it's a 2 doors, then got a M2C which is also 2 doors .
If you can't figure out which M car has the right number of doors for your usage ... it's very unlikely that you will ever understand what an old M model has to offer.

You can appreciate and respect what old M models have to offer but still decide to go new. I'd kill for a e30 M3 but not at the expense of just being able to drive relatively worry free for the next 3 years. And not everyone can store 3 cars.

[OSee]

Originally Posted by CanuckM

This was a deciding factor for me. Low mileage unmodified F80 M3s in our market here are way too close to G8x prices.

'Enthusiast' communities like /r/BMW on Reddit are propping up these prices.

I'm not complaining though. My N55 M2 sold for what was essentially 80% residual after 3 years. A $300 a month rental.

[scoale]

Originally Posted by j23

I toyed with the idea of buying an F80 for a while, but it also doesn't make much financial sense. I see low mileage F80's (low in my book is under 10k miles) listed everywhere for $60-65k, which is even more ridiculous than the e39 M5 pricing, considering that the new M3 starts at 69.9k.

Not just cars...where I live, homes are up 15% YOY And have you checked out the stock market lately ...

[veenut28]

Originally Posted by bri1042

Small update: I installed the BMS clutch stop yesterday. I get why these clutch pedals are set up the way they are. Anecdote to illustrate:

A friend of mine and his wife drove manuals exclusively until relatively recently. They left manuals behind after a series of early clutch deaths in two different Mazda 3's. Talking about cars with him, it was clear that he's killed a lot of clutches in his driving life. He's only around 5'7" and his wife is shorter. Near the end of his time with his last manual, I sat in his driver's seat and it was so far back that I, with 4" of extra height, couldn't get the clutch all the way to the floor based on where his seat was. I also didn't have good control of the steering wheel, it wasn't telescoping and I was too far away.

He and his wife were burning clutches for decades by sitting too far back to actuate the pedal fully. I didn't tell him what I'd figured out, they were waiting for their replacement automatic cars to show up anyway.

The long travel on the clutch on my Frog is VERY different from the Japanese cars (mostly Hondas and Acuras) that I spent most of my life driving. They were on-off switches compared to how long the pedal travel on the frog is. All that extra travel feels like it's intended to make up for people not positioning themselves correctly for the clutch. It's a wise move, hardware longevity-wise, with so many people positioning their seats "low and back" because that's how they like the chair instead of setting their position correctly for the controls and mirrors.

The clutch now feels correctly setup for someone who does not need a safeguard of that sort. Great use of ten bucks plus shipping!

One warning - I saw a video of a guy installing one in his F80, and his whole reason for doing so was wanting to push his seat further back. He also wasn't a tall human. I feel bad for his clutch. If you install these things, make sure you're actually getting the pedal all the way down on each shift after you do...there isn't enough play left in the pedal travel and engagement point to not clutch properly.

I've also had the experience of getting into a friend's car (similar height) and literally being able to barely reach the throttle/brake with the tips of my toes. I think most people just have no idea how to drive. Maybe the self-driving/Autopilot is the right idea for everyone other than enthusiasts...

[j23]

Originally Posted by dgm3

So you got rid of your M3 E46 because it's a 2 doors, then got a M2C which is also 2 doors .
If you can't figure out which M car has the right number of doors for your usage ... it's very unlikely that you will ever understand what an old M model has to offer.

Thank you for completely missing the point and reading between the lines.

I cleared stated that I wanted to get rid of my e46 M3 for a 4-door M car, but persuaded myself that I don't really need one and opted for the M2C instead. In hindsight, it was not a good move because I desired a 4-door all along.

As far as old M cars go, I probably have more experience driving old M cars than most people on this board.

I owned an e36 M3 and e46 M3 simultaneously for over a decade. I jumped ship to M2C, which in my book was a better car in every single way compared to the other two. Frankly, I don't understand the fascination with old M cars. New M cars are just better. Better handling, better looking, more refined, more powerful, etc. are all pluses in my world. The 200-400 lbs difference in weight between my M2C and my old M cars is something I never felt. In fact, despite the added weight, the M2C handling was in a league of its own.

I know it's not a popular thing to say around here and most people hate to admit it, but new M cars are better than old M cars in many ways. Period. I have no doubt the G80 is better in every way vs the F80. Fanboys will disagree and that's ok.

At the end of the day, low mileage F80's should be $50k tops. I see way too many of them sitting at $60k+ for months now. Anybody crazy enough to buy one for that price instead of a new G80 probably deserves one.

[dgm3]

Originally Posted by j23

Thank you for completely missing the point and reading between the lines.

I cleared stated that I wanted to get rid of my e46 M3 for a 4-door M car, but persuaded myself that I don't really need one and opted for the M2C instead. In hindsight, it was not a good move because I desired a 4-door all along.

As far as old M cars go, I probably have more experience driving old M cars than most people on this board.

I owned an e36 M3 and e46 M3 simultaneously for over a decade. I jumped ship to M2C, which in my book was a better car in every single way compared to the other two. Frankly, I don't understand the fascination with old M cars. New M cars are just better. Better handling, better looking, more refined, more powerful, etc. are all pluses in my world. The 200-400 lbs difference in weight between my M2C and my old M cars is something I never felt. In fact, despite the added weight, the M2C handling was in a league of its own.

I know it's not a popular thing to say around here and most people hate to admit it, but new M cars are better than old M cars in many ways. Period. I have no doubt the G80 is better in every way vs the F80. Fanboys will disagree and that's ok.

At the end of the day, low mileage F80's should be $50k tops. I see way too many of them sitting at $60k+ for months now. Anybody crazy enough to buy one for that price instead of a new G80 probably deserves one.

New M cars better looking... really ? G80/G82 better looking than E46 M3 ?
Steering feel, connection to the road, engine soul and eventually driver engagement are much better in the old M cars. They are key elements in the fun factor especially on open roads.
I still own, all from new, 1996 E36 M3(Euro version ie with the real M engine), 2005 E46 M3 and 2018 M2C. From time to time on Sunday I drive the 3 cars one after the other on the same twisty roads ...The M2C is obviously the fastest and has a great chassis but it's the 2 others who are putting the biggest smile on my face .
...but yes I get maintenance and repair costs on old M cars can be a nightmare

[j23]

Originally Posted by dgm3

New M cars better looking... really ? G80/G82 better looking than E46 M3 ?
Steering feel, connection to the road, engine soul and eventually driver engagement are much better in the old M cars. They are key elements in the fun factor especially on open roads.
I still own, all from new, 1996 E36 M3(Euro version ie with the real M engine), 2005 E46 M3 and 2018 M2C. From time to time on Sunday I drive the 3 cars one after the other on the same twisty roads ...The M2C is obviously the fastest and has a great chassis but it's the 2 others who are putting the biggest smile on my face .
...but yes I get maintenance and repair costs on old M cars can be a nightmare

Old M cars look exactly that: old and outdated.

And yes, I found that my M2C was superior looking to my e46 M3 and also much more fun.

To me, new M cars are better. End of story.