First off, I want to say thanks to this forum. It has been very informative thus far and it seems like the BMW community is very friendly and helpful.
I am in a debate right now and was hoping if some of you guys/gals who are more familiar with BMW's could chime in to help me with my decision.
I have always been a huge fan of the 1M ever since it was released, but relocating to Hong Kong from Canada after university as well not having enough funds for a brand new car at the time, the 1M ownership seemed rather difficult. Fast forward a few years (had a R56 Mini cooper S during this period as a first car in HK), I am finally in a position to upgrade to my next car. Obviously, I looked at a few pre-owned 1M's here in HK, but some were not in the best of conditions, while others were asking for ridiculous amounts of $ (surprisingly all of these cars still sold) . After reading the forums and educating myself with the M235I, I put down a deposit for a 6sp EB M235i with HK and Alcantara a week ago. The delivery date is expected to be in August.
Long story short, a few days ago 2 VO 1m's popped up for sale on the local car classified site. There is one that caught my eye as it only has 5800km on it. His current asking price is a little high (698,000 HKD which is about $90,000 USD compared to my M235i which comes out to 671,000HKD or $86,000 USD. Yes 100% tax on cars SUCK
). My deposit for the M235i is non-refundable as well
Regardless, I will go check out the car this weekend. Assuming everything is fine, I guess my question is would you guys go with the M235I or the 1M. I have test driven the auto M235i and it definitely satisfies my needs as a car. In Hong Kong, I can only drive the car on weekends and the commute to each location is quite short anyways. No such things as track days and even long stretches of spirited driving is difficult to find. I love everything about the M235i especially the interior compared to the dated 1M's interior. The fact of owning a brand new car with warranty gives me that piece of mind as well. The 1M is out of warranty (2 years factory warranty only in Hong Kong), so I am worried that if there are problems with the car, it will get quite costly. As mentioned, I've never owned a BMW before, but coming from a S2000 (canada) and a Mini (hong kong), I would imagine going into the stearlership will cost an arm and a leg compared to what I'm used to.
Yet, to me the 1M just seems more special to own even though I have never driven one before. Test driving in HK is extremely difficulty even from the dealer, never mind a private sale. I realize this a 2 series forum so opinions maybe bias which is fine. I just need some opinions, both positive and negative. The practical adult side of me tells me to go for the brand new car, but the fun, car enthusiast side of me tells me to go for the ///M car.
Please help and thanks for your replies!