This F80 BMW M3 Competition Is Half The Price Of The New One

The new ‘G80’ M3 and ‘G82’ M4 Competition are both exceptionally good cars. We thoroughly enjoyed the example of the latter we sampled earlier this week, but perusing the spec sheet gave us a bit of a shock.

The Sao Paulo Yellow M4 we had a go in was optioned up to an eye-watering £87,745 from a starting price of £73,130. Even adjusting for inflation, that’s around £3500 than the opening price for the last M4 Competition in DCT form when it was launched in 2016. I believe the word you’re looking for is oof.

If that full figure or the monthly PCP/lease payments are beyond your means, there is, of course, the option of a used version of the G82’s predecessor: the F82. It’ll cost a lot less, and doesn’t have quite such a brutalistic front-end styling treatment. You could opt for a very early version for about a third of the starting price of the new one, but we’d go newer and snag a Competition. Oh, and we’d make it an F80 M3 since it (arguably) looks better and is more practical than the 4.

As with other recently revealed M products, the current M3 and M4 can only be specced in Competition form in the UK. Back when the last M3/M4 Comps were revealed, though, you had a choice, but it was such a no brainer you’d have been silly to leave the option unchecked.

The Competition pack added about £3000, for which buyers got a 19bhp power uplift to give the S55 twin-turbo six a new total of 444bhp. Complementing this was a reworked electronically-controlled locking differential and a stiffer suspension setup featuring standard-fit adaptive dampers. The finishing touch was provided with a set of ‘666M’ 20-inch wheels wearing wider Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

By this point, it’s widely thought that BMW had been tweaking various things behind the scenes, as all versions of the M3/4 didn’t feel quite so damn spikey. They were still a handful, but in a much more manageable way than the early cars. Another reason to spend more and go for a later one.

Our pick is this 2018 M3 Comp which is listed on BuyaCar.co.uk for £39,000, way less than half the price of an optioned G80 M3. It’s finished in Sakhir Orange II, one of the best M3 hues. Options include a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (a six-speed manual came as standard, but few bothered with it), a rear parking camera and a carbon fibre interior trim pack.

First registered late July and having covered just under 22,000 miles, it should have about 16 months and 28,000 miles left on its original BMW warranty.

Tempted?