For those who purchased an m4... why?

[Stuno1]

This is a genuine question and I ammgeen to get ex isf and rcf owner views. Not looking for an argument at all with this post. 

 

Pros of the m4 from what I have read:

- Quicker than f cars around a track and to 60 but marginally!

- More tunable so easy to get extra power for not a lot of money. 

- More affordable aftermarket options for parts. 

- More entertaining and characterful drive. 

 

Cons of the m4 from what I have read. 

- Struggles to lay down the power in damp/wet conditions. I use the car all year so may get annoying on winter blats and wet track days.

- Heavier depreciation than f cars bought used.

- Less special as more common on the roads. (Lack of exclusivity)

- Subjective but interior and exterior styling not as striking. 

- I’d be very surprised if it was as reliable as the f cars. 

- Extended warranty is a lot more expensive than f cars. 

- More options from factory so harder to find had examples with spec a person would want whereas the f cars are pretty much fully loaded. 

- The m4 engine exhaust bite doesn’t feel special. Even with aftermarket systems installed. 

Stu

[Flytvr]

Interesting post.

@Warrington guy is your man to answer all these questions.

 The things I think you have missed off the list are -

 

RCF Advantages

Sound - M4 can’t compete

Exclusivity

Build quality 

Refinement 

Dealer service

Public interest - RCF wins

 

BMW Advantages

Steering 

Torque

[Stuno1]

I am keen to understand as I will be looking to buy an rcf next year and wonder if I am missing something....

 

Also, can the weight difference actually be felt between the 2 cars under braking and cornering? 

[Warrington guy]

 . I had a 13 plate isf . Love the car . Now running a M4 . Absolutely love the m4 . I probably agree with some things that have been said regarding wet conditions. All I can say is test drive one . You might be very surprised.

[Stuno1]

3 minutes ago, Warrington guy said:

 . I had a 13 plate isf . Love the car . Now running a M4 . Absolutely love the m4 . I probably agree with some things that have been said regarding wet conditions. All I can say is test drive one . You might be very surprised.

What swayed you over an rcf chap?

[Warrington guy]

Stuno1 was after a orange carbon RCF . Nearly did a deal ,just didn’t work out . Glad I got the m4 . Like I said mate just test drive them both . 

[Flytvr]

You could get a comparison of the GS-F and the M4 from @Mark G

[Guest]

Public interest - RCF wins

Not when separating public from their cash


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[d3ron]

Re: public interest

A lot of people don't even know what an RCF is. They all love it when I show them a pic of one. 

As they're so rare I bet an RCF would stand out a lot more though. 

[Flytvr]

41 minutes ago, Comedian said:

 

 

Not when separating public from their cash


Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk
 

 

True. Always been true of all Fs (excluding LFA).

If you end up buying an F car, chances are you’ve put a lot of thought into it.

ISF / GSF / RCF - few people stumble on a purchase

 

[Ben01]

Stuart, I may suggest before compare m4 and RCF (or any alternative option like this) and a year long discuss and doubts, sit with glass of something tasteful and think long and hard, and write down YOUR true and valid preferences and expectations of. Next probably you don't need to bother with questions on forums, or even a test drive maybe. "Know yourself", before "know cars", this is the clue.

[Flytvr]

Here’s a pessimistic thought. Whatever you buy, if you’re like me and many others, you’ll get itchy feet after a year or so! 🤪

[Stuno1]

1 hour ago, Warrington guy said:

Stuno1 was after a orange carbon RCF . Nearly did a deal ,just didn’t work out . Glad I got the m4 . Like I said mate just test drive them both . 

Understand, I was just keen to know peoples thought process when choosing one over the other. Given my points in my first post I see no point driving one and was hoping people’s reasoning may sway me to drive one to see if I was missing something. 

[Big Rat]

I've been fortunate enough to have owned various M3/M5 over the years but not the current turbo cars, I have driven them a number of times including an extended test of an M4 Competition.

I am not going to state my views on the Rcf/M4 as it is a very much personal choice which you go for and ultimately most of us do not track these cars and what does what to 60 and so on when using public roads is pretty academic.

The M4 is quick a very quick car in the dry it is enormous fun and driven correctly you can make good safe progress, for me it sounds great with or without an exhaust alteration the straight six is a classic layout for a smooth performance engine and has its own character.

In the wet there were various well known issues of the power delivery being a little spikey but suspension and software alterations have been made and the 14plate competion I had exhibited none of this unless provoked, just a matter of altering your driving style to match the conditions.

The build quality is good and aggressive style is up there and yes there are loads out there but there is so much quality kit to go the personalisation route should you want to.

There are to my eye some fantastic colour choices to be had as well.

For those of us that have the financial ability to dip in and out of these type of cars every year or two not considering one of these or an M5 for that matter is making a mistake.

Big Rat

 

 

[Stuno1]

Agree with all being said. I guess I’m just after what swayed folk the m4 way. I like doing my own research (which I have done) but also getting people’s views who have been in the same boat as I may have overlooked something. That is the beauty of forums. 

[DAW]

Having sat in @Warrington guy Dave’s M4, iwhich is a cracking colour scheme inside out and travelling to Goodwood this year in a friends 2017 competition M3 I can totally see the appeal. I like how they sound, was really impressed by the ride quality with the adaptive dampers over my past BMW’s, and the instant pickup.

Not driven one as yet but if the C63s I drove around a track is anything to go by these current turbo charged generation of cars have certainly moved things on a step. They have a  linear power delivery with no discernible lag and didn’t really feel that different to drive than a NA car with the advantage of loads more torque. They certainly require a smoother right foot given all that torque and I’m sure extra care in the wet, but that said I was really impressed  TBO.

M’s are a common sight where I live to the point of almost being invisisble, which a shame for such a great car. I love the fact that the RCF doesn’t look like any other car and that clearly resonates with other people as I’ve never had so much positive attention and interest in any other car I have owned.  It’s not quite as quick as an M4, but that will make little difference on our roads in most situations and I will never use it on a track. I seem to spend most of my time these days sitting in traffic with the window down listening to the QS exhaust burble and when I get the opportunity - wow what a car, I just love it. The M sounds good but not quite as good a V8 IMO. Still each to their own and there are always pros & cons to all cars have you have pointed out..

The biggest issue for me with owning a BMW is not the car it’s the dealers. I have had bad experiences with my local dealer and do not trust them. I also dislike the way they treat customers as if owning a BMW is a privilege, which therefore means poor customer service and quality control is somehow acceptable.  

I would personally now only ever consider owning a BMW within its 1st  3 years of the manufactures warranty then moving on before you start having to pay for the issues which may arise.  It’s this paranoia which tends to ruin the experience for me. But if you have the spare money available to offset this there is no doubting they are a great car.

[Ben01]

3 minutes ago, DAW said:

M’s are a common sight where I live to the point of almost being invisisble, which a shame for such a great car.

And, for example, for me, this is THE point. Like - why I am in lexus GS V8, not in audi S6 or bmw M5, with 100HP more etc? First and mostly, because there is a lot of S6 nd M5 here and a thousand of "same" A6 and 5 series in the area. How many GS V8 there is in Greater Glasgow? A few? I meet common GS300 once a year. And far far next there is a price, reliability, style, etc. And IMHO real differences in performance between M4 or RCF, or GS V8 and S6 or M5, etc. on the public roads, average all year, are marginal.

But this is example, of course. For another guy, performace would be everything. Or style. Or price. Or interior. Or anything. So, think deeply about your priorites first, and about previous experiences (what made you deeply happy with previous cars - trackday? passer-by's admiration? superb interior? reliability? etc), and choice could be pretty easy.

[Guest]

I would go for alpha if not the lexus. Just to confuse the issue.

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[Stuno1]

20 minutes ago, Ben01 said:

And, for example, for me, this is THE point. Like - why I am in lexus GS V8, not in audi S6 or bmw M5, with 100HP more etc? First and mostly, because there is a lot of S6 nd M5 here and a thousand of "same" A6 and 5 series in the area. How many GS V8 there is in Greater Glasgow? A few? I meet common GS300 once a year. And far far next there is a price, reliability, style, etc. And IMHO real differences in performance between M4 or RCF, or GS V8 and S6 or M5, etc. on the public roads, average all year, are marginal.

But this is example, of course. For another guy, performace would be everything. Or style. Or price. Or interior. Or anything. So, think deeply about your priorites first, and about previous experiences (what made you deeply happy with previous cars - trackday? passer-by's admiration? superb interior? reliability? etc), and choice could be pretty easy.

Agree with all of that and the rcf is too for me just wondering why other like minded folk went for the m4 instead. 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Stuno1 said:

Agree with all of that and the rcf is too for me just wondering why other like minded folk went for the m4 instead. 

I think you might be asking on the wrong forum as only Dave was swayed M4 route and is here. The rest of us either didn't consider them or chose F.

 

Have you tried a beemer forum? Mind you probably never considered an F there ........

 

Dave's boiled down to wanting to try something different as I guess going from 5ltr v8 to 5ltr v8 was less interesting than for me going v6 to v8 ??

 

If you'd had an F before maybe it will feel a little familiar?

[Stuno1]

No point asking on a bmw forum I’ll just get, it’s a bit lighter and faster to 60 🤪

I was thinking it may be too similar but the change from my 2008 isf is night and day. Far superior interior and totally different looks. 

 

I guess the reason to get the m4 is to get something different but different isn’t always better. Not in my situation anyway. 

 

I think this thread has simply confirmed my thought process which is no bad thing. Just want next year to be here so I can ‘f’ing buy one.... see what I did there? 

[Stazza80]

I had one of the best drives home from work I’ve ever had this week playing for a good 10 miles with an M4. I had no issues keeping up in my 2008 ISF which surprised me a little and probably surprised him more! It’s made me love the F just that little bit more. I love the M cars (had one) and I think I expected it to leave me for dead. Very pleased it didn’t!

[talaipwros]

If we are talking about new cars, the M4 is a no-brainer.

Much cheaper to buy on a PCP, free services, three years unlimited miles warranty

 

then on the 35th month, you give it back to the BMW finance and look for the next model and so on and so forth

[Ben01]

On 8/4/2018 at 2:26 PM, Comedian said:

I would go for alpha if not the lexus. Just to confuse the issue.

Pshaw. I once got an brilliant idea to buy broken beautiful alfa 159 and drop in lexus IS/GS powerpack and whole new electrics. Only problem were: it is easy to find broken alfa 159, but not AWD; and this is transverse [censored], not longitudinal setup. And next I was "Ben, people think you are grown man, let's keep this way...".

[Stuno1]

Also... track reviews like this are perplexing when so many ravaged the rcf at launch. Maybe due to testing in isolation but even so....like the isf which seems to be much loved now I think the rcf is a slow burner with the masses.