Hopeful Newbie

[Gary687]

Hi Matt and welcome back to the fold...potentially anyway!! I hope the transition back to Old Blighty went as well as could be hoped for and the family are settled once again.

You'll be pleased to hear 'our' 4200 has behaved impeccably and cost me nothing mechanically (a little in paintwork but then we both knew that was coming!) in the time I've owned it from you - she has been absolutely nothing but a pleasure to own and run and I am constantly loving every drive, which for me is a daily thing!! She has literally just thrown it's first light and it turns out a Lambda sensor has failed but at 88 quid, hardly a costly part all things considered so overall thank you!!

As a bit of input re your quandary of 3200 vs 4200, in my opinion (and I stress this is my opinion only based only on my feelings rather than anything tangible but I have driven both recently) is that the 2 cars have very different characters. Look similar but behave very differently. The 3200 is very 'on/off' with it's power delivery and fairly frantic - I can imagine that'd be intoxicating on some occasions for sure but for me, the downside is you don't really get that choice as it's like that all the time whereas the 4200 has a much more controlled and even power delivery and that makes for a much more relaxing drive....as long as that is what you're after of course!!! Also, I love the cc!!! I've driven manuals, autos, semi autos etc from many different manufacturers but really love this gearbox and also I found the clutch fairly arduous on the 3200 so if you spend a lot of time in traffic this could be tiresome after a while. The reliability issues will open a whole new can of worms I'm sure and I have no experience of 3200 reliability but all I can say is after close to 18months of 4200 ownership it's cost me nothing until the lambda sensor last week. Not even a drop of oil so I have been very impressed with mine thus far....

Not sure if any of that helps but there you go!!!

Good luck and please keep us all informed how the search goes.

G

 

[Almichie]

I speak for (some of) the 3200 owners; the throttle response can indeed be very "knife edge" to begin with, but once you have become accustomed it is in fact very usable to your advantage. The turbos are are large and have a high inertia and that comes over with turbo lag; again once your aware of this you can adopt your driving style to suit and once you know how to keep them spooling the fun never stops (as it were).

If you are after subtle the 3200 probably isn't for you; I love it, and the more I use it the more I like it.

I have the manual version; the clutch is no different to my 2013 320d. Although the throttle response is! It handles very well for such a large car and the earlier ones ( I'm led to believe) are lighter. I've had a few check engine lights; brake pedal switch, air temp sensor. The early cars are non-odb so you need software (easily available) to read and clear fault codes. Without it you'll need to visit an Indy or MD and the costs will add up (especially if your like me and like to know what they are).

The auto is supposed to be a better all round car and it may be best to drive one of each before stepping into a decision.

To put the car in perspective I had a play with a 2013 "13" plate RS4 (444bhp) on Friday and he could not shake me (150+) which actually is astounding considering its 14 years old and really is a sports GT.

Out of sport mode it's a pleasure to drive (the missus loves it too). And the best bits; the boomerangs, the turbos, the noise and the full leather interior.