Conor
RMS Regular
- Messages
- 7,910
Incoming long-winded ramble...
So, after a couple of years living abroad for the company I work for and generally barely being in one place long enough to sneeze, it's safe to say I haven't really been in a position to indulge in much car related activity for longer than I was happy with. I kept up with the car scene both here and in the US as closely as I could, but when you don't have something of your own to take pride in and enjoy, there's always something something missing.
I moved back home in December after the US project was finished up - a brilliant experience, but delighted to be home. Two full years out of 'nice' cars (Though I loved my F-150!) had me chomping at the bit to get back into something I loved. So the obvious choice was an E70 X5...
Somehow despite my yearning for something silly, I ended up in something comfortable/ sensible. I believe the thought process was something along the lines of having 15-20k miles a year to do, and I had the M3 in the garage for the craic. The X5 was great, but a distinctly underwhelmed/ bored feeling combined with a couple of regular but expensive maintenance issues began to leave a sour taste in my mouth about my choice. At 28 with no kids, WTF was I floating about in a Granda spec X5 for?
Trawling through the classifieds within days of buying the X5 consistently led me back to a car I still consider a bucket list car, and one I had wanted from the day they were released, an E92 M3. But their thirst and list of potential issues for what I needed booted them into touch pretty quickly. GTIs, Golf Rs, 335ds and all the usual suspects crossed my screen, but I couldn't get properly excited about any of them.
So at the beginning of March, I called in to Prentice on a complete impulse to simply have a look around the used lot. And unfortunately for my bank balance and I, in the showroom, there sat a Mineral Grey M2. The M2 has genuinely been a car I have lusted after since the day the marketing photos were released. There was something slightly ridiculous about them, awash with arches, bulges and intakes that lay somewhere between completely over the top and brilliantly and perfectly executed. It looked fast sitting still. A relatively big HP, turbo'd, RWD, slightly mental small M BMW just ticked so many boxes for me, far more so than the M3/ M4 did, though I love those cars too. I was in trouble.
At the time, I sat with Stephen in Prentice, and he quoted me a deal on it, which included trading in the X5. I refused the offer of a test drive as I was "only looking", and didn't want my head to be completely turned. I was (And still am) in the middle of buying my first house, so at the time I asked Stephen to call me back in 6 months to see what the craic was then.
I absolutely could not get the car out of my head. My OH and mates were tortured with photos of M2s and subject to a relentlessly repetitive monologue of attempted self-convincing which always led to dismissing the idea, based on the timing not being right. As my lack of luck would have it, the X5 kept feeding me a fairly constant stream of small issues which gradually ebbed away at my restraint.
I called in to Bavarian one Friday morning a few weeks to pick up a part for the X5. Without really realising how, I found myself behind the wheel of the year old Mineral Grey M2 they had in stock. It was all a bit of a blur how that happened.
Things escalated very quickly after that. A near hour long test drive thanks to Boucher traffic had me smiling like a loonbag. Then, Bavarian offered me a genuinely brilliant deal on a pre-reg car they had, and with some bargaining, ended up being a significantly better deal than the one Prentice had offered me a few weeks before. Yep, was definitely in trouble.
I called Prentice on my way home - they still had the M2 I had seen a few weeks prior in stock. I had gotten a great experience with Prentice previously, and wanted to at least give them a shot, and, if I am being really truthful, for various reasons I wanted to deal with Prentice. Stephen ended up beating Bavarian's deal fairly comprehensively - though slightly frustrated at the substantial difference in the deals offered by Prentice pre and post the Bavarian quote, I done the deal that morning after 2 hours of negotiating, and picked the car up a week later, on Good Friday. Prentice have been fantastic to date and Stephen Harkness has been extremely easy to deal with. They made what was something of a huge goal for me - to walk into a showroom and buy a new that car I really desired and wanted - a real pleasure.
To say that this car doesn't make sense to my current situation from a miles POV is a slight understatement. But frankly, the over riding feeling I have had since coming back that in the coming years I would regret not indulging in cars that I want to own, and indeed cars that I may not always be able to realistically own depending on how life goes, led me to taking the plunge. I hate cliches, but 'You only live once' is too apt to ignore here. I have worked hard and sacrificed much in terms of my personal life for my career in the last few years, about time I see some payback I reckon!
Spec (Above standard):
DCT
Heated electric memory Seats
Harmon Kardon
Folding Mirrors
Reversing camera
M-Performance Carbon Mirror caps
M-Performance black grills
With it being the LCI it also has the digital dash and updated dash layout, as well as the front and rear lights.
At the last minute I decided I wasn't going to waste a long Easter weekend looking out the window at it. I booked a trip to Sligo, literally just so I could get a good drive in it over a couple of days, in some beautiful scenery (To follow).
So, after a couple of years living abroad for the company I work for and generally barely being in one place long enough to sneeze, it's safe to say I haven't really been in a position to indulge in much car related activity for longer than I was happy with. I kept up with the car scene both here and in the US as closely as I could, but when you don't have something of your own to take pride in and enjoy, there's always something something missing.
I moved back home in December after the US project was finished up - a brilliant experience, but delighted to be home. Two full years out of 'nice' cars (Though I loved my F-150!) had me chomping at the bit to get back into something I loved. So the obvious choice was an E70 X5...
Somehow despite my yearning for something silly, I ended up in something comfortable/ sensible. I believe the thought process was something along the lines of having 15-20k miles a year to do, and I had the M3 in the garage for the craic. The X5 was great, but a distinctly underwhelmed/ bored feeling combined with a couple of regular but expensive maintenance issues began to leave a sour taste in my mouth about my choice. At 28 with no kids, WTF was I floating about in a Granda spec X5 for?
Trawling through the classifieds within days of buying the X5 consistently led me back to a car I still consider a bucket list car, and one I had wanted from the day they were released, an E92 M3. But their thirst and list of potential issues for what I needed booted them into touch pretty quickly. GTIs, Golf Rs, 335ds and all the usual suspects crossed my screen, but I couldn't get properly excited about any of them.
So at the beginning of March, I called in to Prentice on a complete impulse to simply have a look around the used lot. And unfortunately for my bank balance and I, in the showroom, there sat a Mineral Grey M2. The M2 has genuinely been a car I have lusted after since the day the marketing photos were released. There was something slightly ridiculous about them, awash with arches, bulges and intakes that lay somewhere between completely over the top and brilliantly and perfectly executed. It looked fast sitting still. A relatively big HP, turbo'd, RWD, slightly mental small M BMW just ticked so many boxes for me, far more so than the M3/ M4 did, though I love those cars too. I was in trouble.
At the time, I sat with Stephen in Prentice, and he quoted me a deal on it, which included trading in the X5. I refused the offer of a test drive as I was "only looking", and didn't want my head to be completely turned. I was (And still am
) in the middle of buying my first house, so at the time I asked Stephen to call me back in 6 months to see what the craic was then.I absolutely could not get the car out of my head. My OH and mates were tortured with photos of M2s and subject to a relentlessly repetitive monologue of attempted self-convincing which always led to dismissing the idea, based on the timing not being right. As my lack of luck would have it, the X5 kept feeding me a fairly constant stream of small issues which gradually ebbed away at my restraint.
I called in to Bavarian one Friday morning a few weeks to pick up a part for the X5. Without really realising how, I found myself behind the wheel of the year old Mineral Grey M2 they had in stock. It was all a bit of a blur how that happened.
Things escalated very quickly after that. A near hour long test drive thanks to Boucher traffic had me smiling like a loonbag. Then, Bavarian offered me a genuinely brilliant deal on a pre-reg car they had, and with some bargaining, ended up being a significantly better deal than the one Prentice had offered me a few weeks before. Yep, was definitely in trouble.
I called Prentice on my way home - they still had the M2 I had seen a few weeks prior in stock. I had gotten a great experience with Prentice previously, and wanted to at least give them a shot, and, if I am being really truthful, for various reasons I wanted to deal with Prentice. Stephen ended up beating Bavarian's deal fairly comprehensively - though slightly frustrated at the substantial difference in the deals offered by Prentice pre and post the Bavarian quote, I done the deal that morning after 2 hours of negotiating, and picked the car up a week later, on Good Friday. Prentice have been fantastic to date and Stephen Harkness has been extremely easy to deal with. They made what was something of a huge goal for me - to walk into a showroom and buy a new that car I really desired and wanted - a real pleasure.
To say that this car doesn't make sense to my current situation from a miles POV is a slight understatement. But frankly, the over riding feeling I have had since coming back that in the coming years I would regret not indulging in cars that I want to own, and indeed cars that I may not always be able to realistically own depending on how life goes, led me to taking the plunge. I hate cliches, but 'You only live once' is too apt to ignore here. I have worked hard and sacrificed much in terms of my personal life for my career in the last few years, about time I see some payback I reckon!
Spec (Above standard):
DCT
Heated electric memory Seats
Harmon Kardon
Folding Mirrors
Reversing camera
M-Performance Carbon Mirror caps
M-Performance black grills
With it being the LCI it also has the digital dash and updated dash layout, as well as the front and rear lights.
At the last minute I decided I wasn't going to waste a long Easter weekend looking out the window at it. I booked a trip to Sligo, literally just so I could get a good drive in it over a couple of days, in some beautiful scenery (To follow).
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