Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin_The_Clean1
No sarcasm intended or needed here. Just wish some the G87 M2 cars here in CA (some with $20k markups) could actually be driven before purchased.
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It is quite variable in NorCal. I drove a new G80 M3 6-sp when it first hit dealers at BMW Marin and they were very cool about it. Let me run it around for a while and were very easy going about everything.
I think it really varies from dealer to dealer based on their M car volume and general high end volume. It probably also depends on how many allocations they have and whether they even need a customer for them.
The M3 I drove was one of their first allocations, but the guy who ordered it was waffling and they were very motivated to build interest in it - so happy to let me drive it. That same guy came back an hour or two later and bought it anyway.
I'd also argue that a test drive for most modern cars like this are not terribly helpful. Nearly every new car, especially from a maker like BMW, is very well put together with excellent ergonomics. But you can't really assess the cars personality in such a short period of time.
Nearly every BMW I'v driven of the past 8 years (since EPS) have basically felt the same with a couple of notable exceptions: the 6-sp 328i (F30) had somewhat unpleasant NVH that really pushed me to the 340i and the F80 M3 (6-sp) would consistently break traction in first and second due to the torque spike around 2500 rpms. But it is really hard to tell if a car will be fun to drive or get under your skin in just 10-15 minutes of driving. The best benefit is identifying if the car is comfortable for you.
I think that renting a car (Turo or similar) is the best way to feel confident, but it isn't available for everything.
-Nick