BMW M Roadster

So I bought a BMW M Roadster

Yep, after an extensive search for a used rocket, our new benchmark sports car is a 2000 BMW M Roadster. In buying it, we broke all the sensible rules of buying a used car and took the plunge into high-maintenance exotic car ownership. With 321 hp calling, who can resist?

That’s right; the S50 inline-six engine lifted straight out of the late-90s M3 Evolution clocks in with 321 hp at 7400 rpm and 349 Nm at 3250 rpm from only 3.2 litres, all in a body that weighs around 1410 kg. The engine features Double VANOS (BMW’s high-tech version of iVTEC), a standard cold-air intake and even lightened pistons, polished head and other cool engine parts — stuff tuners dream about. In fact, the “M Power” motor is so rare that all the technicians at the RTA’s Tasjeel governmental car-testing centre crowded around the open engine bay to stare at it for a few minutes as we watched from some distance away.

We picked up the car for a bargain at Dhs 45,000. Even sweeter was that we pay the same 3rd-party insurance rates as the owner of a 1.9-litre Z3. Add to that the fact that our car came with the expensive removable hardtop, which reinforces the body and improves the handling, as well as an Alpine aftermarket stereo unit, which pumps up the entertainment factor.

But the car was a bargain because it had a lot of minor defects. However, none of these defects affects the drive, but we wouldn’t recommend buying a car on a whim as we did because we knew what we were getting into. But more on that later in a detailed article on how not to buy a used car.

For now, we’ll revel in the fact that we purchased a Porsche killer for the price of a Honda Jazz.

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Comments

  1. hey hot car!!!
    very good choice 😀 😀
    just put up a vid of you shredding the tires in this beast.

  2. and where did you get it from??

  3. hehe i was close…nice car

  4. Author

    cibling, you probably had some hints from here and there and MSN and Facebook. 😉

    Saad, I got it from an Emirati guy in Abu Dhabi. Headache going to see the car again and again from Dubai.

  5. hehe rarely use msn anymore and didnt know u put it up in facebook. 😆

  6. wow, wow. M roadster for 45k AED?? how much fuel does it drink? :mrgreen:

  7. Author

    The official fuel economy numbers are about the same as that of a G35. The car needs a bit of work, but is mechanically solid.

  8. congrats! great choice….hey is it gonna be too expensive to maintain this in future?

  9. For the same money you bought the beemer , i got myself a 2002 FPV GT ( its an aussie car ) with a 5.7lt v8 and over 280kw of power . what do you think . Would you change ur mind if u were actually here in sydney .

    http://www.sweetauto.net/gallery/files/1/2008-Ford-FPV-GT-Cobra-Cobra-1280×960.jpg

    http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2008/def/2008-Ford-FPV-GT-Cobra-Rear-And-Side-1280×960.jpg

    Of course thats not my car . mine is silver with orange stripes and should be delivered within a week.

  10. hey mash r u gona test drive an accord or an altima any time soon

  11. Author

    I was looking for a focussed sports car, and I bought this one.

    I’ll get back to reviewing cars in February.

  12. Congratulations on excellent choice!!!

  13. you were right in saying Z3 is nothing in 1.9 ltr engine, I owned it for quite some time but sold caz it lacks in power.

    I thinking of getting mustang, do you recommend this ? its model is 2000 with automatic transmission

  14. Author

    The automatic Mustang GT V8 is fine as a fast daily driver, although the V6 isn’t anything special.

  15. And how much you think i should pay for the same Mustang auto transmission model 2000? and its V6 engine

  16. Request !!!Mashfique can u do a review for Nissan Altima 2008?

  17. Author

    Soon, my friend.

  18. nice, but as i know this Z3 is made in USA not in Germany, is that ok for you?

  19. Author

    No problem really. The cars are assembled in USA, but the main parts are brought in from Germany, including the M engine and gearbox. That’s not to say that the car does not have problems. But those same problems are also found in the German-built 3-Series all the way up to 2005.

    Funnily enough, my “American” Jeep is built in Austria.

  20. hey guys, i bought a 2008 V8 Land Cruiser by 202000 AED. 😎

    mash, do i have to drive it slowly at the first 1000km as the dealer told me to? i cant wait this long period time, i wanna test my own land cruiser power.

  21. Author

    Of course drive it slowly for now. But read the manual. There might also be other things you have to do, like rev it a bit once in a while.

  22. hey thatsit mohammed, where are you? I’m sure that you are studying right now 😆 and i miss fighting with you baby. 😥
    let’s start, i have a 2008 V8 GX-R of course you know what GX-R means, i wanna say it is faster than FX45, G37 and Cayenne Turbo.

    yalla get angry and write a story that shown how do you hate land cruiser, toyota brand, Emaratis and tell us more about altima.

  23. WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY :mrgreen:

  24. What actually is better and more powerfull than a gx-r is this v6 bruiser here in australia . read at

    http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/30/fpv-f6x-launches-in-australia/

  25. not to mention , heaps more expensive

  26. hi to everyone
    really i was not in the country in the last week and i was busy….business man 😆 😆 😆
    hi assassin how are you 🙂
    congrats for your new car and (ye3teeke 5eerha w yekfeeeke sharha) 😉
    and really the car is perfect from inside and it become very lux. but the problem is with the exterior style(i really tried to look at it many times in the road trying to swallow the shape but i couldnt) 😥
    but in general its a very nice car.
    i have a good news about the coming nissan patrol 😛
    karlos ‘3oson called mohamad bin sulaiem the professional driver to meet the team that is going to be resposible for building it. of course the good thing that he was a rally driver and he knows alot of stuff related to rally things. i also knew that the coming patrol is going to have a bigger engine than the armada(5.7 L). to compite with the new 5.7 land cruiser engine. and you remember how the gtr killed many cars when they lunched it. you know who shared the testing of the GTR with other drivers!!! (it was mohamad bin sulaiem also :mrgreen: ) i read this in nissan arabia web site. so lets hope that the coming nissan will have a nicer look than the new land cruiser. actually if they keep the shape like this and change the engine its enough for us.

    OH, mash a question for you
    did you see the GTR V-SPEC in world car fans web site. they are saying
    it will be lighter by about 100 KG(the thing that will be interesting is that it will be build from carbon fiber). and it will have a 512 HP. thay also modified the suspension(although there is no need) and there are extra things (find out yourself). also look at the comments of the readers 😉 loooooool 😀
    salaaaaaaam

  27. this is the link for those who are interested

  28. as a correction (5.6 litters not 5.7)
    i was thinking of the american 5.7l engine

  29. 5.7 nissan patrol, 😯 dont worry we’re not gonna have it here.

  30. hehehehehe
    lets hope not 😉

  31. The comments about the gt-r spec-v is about the gearbox not about the car.hilarious.

  32. i like the car mash.. this one is much better than you jeep… even thought i dont think its fair to compare this M coupe with a G35, and if so.. then the G35 is better because with the same fuel economy i can get a bigger car… also you cant compare BMW with Infinity even about the fuel economy….

    good choice though..!!

  33. @gladiator: Next you will say a corolla is better than a ferrari because it has 5 seats, better resale value and better fuel economy. That is the problem with you cheap desis. You give all of us a bad name, acting cheap whether u are a labourer or a businessman. Of course, if you turn out to be arab, that’s even more of an insult.
    If u cant afford to run a cool car, dont whine about it and say it is bad. Go back to your mallu favorites 🙄

  34. @Dr. Ankesh… its clearly that I was comparing two sports car… i would never compare a corolla with a ferrari because (as i think you know that) corollas and ferraris are in compeletly two different segments…. also i didnt say any of the G or the M is bad…

    by the way, I like this site very much Yet i incourage the visitors and everybody who put a comments to watch thier language!!! I mean we all represent our nationalities and backgrounds by how we act and talk…

    for the record Im a fan of the Ferrari 599 GTB fiorano…
    http://www.599gtbfiorano.com

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