Alpina as an everyday driver

Rav · Post by **Rav** » Mon May 14, 2018 9:37 am

Greetings all.

I am hoping to make my first Alpina purchase shortly, in the form of a B3 3.3.

I plan to use this daily in rotation with my Porsche Boxster S. My drive is 25 miles a day round trip.

Does anyone else use their Alpina as a daily? Would this detract from it value?

Are they pleasant cars to sit in traffic in?

Many thanks
R

Ashok · Post by **Ashok** » Mon May 14, 2018 9:58 am

I've done over 50,000 miles on my XD3 and I love it as a daily driver. Being a diesel I get decent mileage which was always an issue with my M5's. Even though I drive it every day it still feels special every time. Unless you have a rare "garage queen" or are worried about big mileage/depreciation just get out there and enjoy!

WJD · Post by **WJD** » Mon May 14, 2018 11:50 am

I use my D3bt Coupe daily and have now done 65000 miles and still get the goosebumps driving it. It poodles along in traffic and really gets down the road.
Just prepping it for its 5th trip abroad a month long jaunt island hopping in Croatia back through Hungary and Danube valley . Just enjoy

Hector's Dad · Post by **Hector's Dad** » Mon May 14, 2018 12:23 pm

I enjoyed my E92 (D3BT CoupÃ©) so much that I swapped it for an F32 (D4BT CoupÃ©). Even after 150,000 miles it was still a joy to drive.

Post by **Charles** » Mon May 14, 2018 1:13 pm

Cars are meant to be driven regularly, in my opinion.

I have owned mine for 15 years from new, have covered 316,000 miles in that time and drive it every day. My current commute is 40 miles each way.

Despite the mileage, my car is appreciating in value in line with the other seven B3S Tourings in the UK, but this is mainly due to an almost obsessive approach to maintenance as well as ensuring the bodywork (in and out) is properly looked after).

This is where you might struggle as, unless you can find a car with a completely documented history of appropriate servicing/maintenance, it will be difficult to demonstrate in the future that the car has been well looked after for its whole life.

That said, the E46 is very well put together and whilst it suffers from a number of known problems - rusty front wings and rear arches to name but two - these are treatable if caught early. A B3 3.3 will serve you extremely well as a daily driver and still put a smile on your face when you have an opportunity at weekends to make full use of its potential

skyetripper · Post by **skyetripper** » Mon May 14, 2018 2:10 pm

I use my B10 v8 as my daily driver - 60 mile round trip to the office and frequent journeys to other offices around the country. Last 2 years I've averaged 22k miles per year and it's never let me down.

I do keep her very well maintained and to be fair, I deliberately didn't buy a 'garage queen' standard of car, it was always bought to be used. I've logged every penny I've spent on fuel, servicing and repairs and whilst it would have been easier buying a modern, it probably wouldn't have been any cheaper overall...

Can't specifically comment on the B3 as I've never had one, but I did have a B10 3.3 and it wasn't much slower than the v8 and averaged a few mpg more (26 vs 22). Both are great engines IMHO.

As Charles says - cars are meant to be used. I've had too many precious cars (still have got one...) that end up doing no more than trips to the MoT station and back every year and I'm much happier now putting miles on this old beast

rc944 · Post by **rc944** » Mon May 14, 2018 5:09 pm

Another daily here and like anything else in life, look after it and it will look after you

E24man · Post by **E24man** » Mon May 14, 2018 8:35 pm

Rav · Post by **Rav** » Mon May 14, 2018 10:05 pm

Thanks all. Your comments have made me feel a whole lot more confident as i approach the purchase of my first Alpina.

Its just that its a 2000 car - so 18 years old, but i guess it is not a common 318d and has been looked after.

Chap with the 316k mile Alpina - I salute you sir!!!

MichaelC · Post by **MichaelC** » Mon May 14, 2018 11:13 pm

Cars are to be driven. A number of mechanics over the hears have told me a regular driver will always be more reliable than the garage queen.

I drive mine regularly, several times a week.

I also have a 20 year old XK8 which is regularly driven.

Before I entered the world of Alpina I put on over 100,000 miles on my E46 M3 and that was a reliable car (just the one breakdown when the alternator gave up with little warning). I thought I would make it to the garage - I didn't!

rattusM3 · Post by **rattusM3** » Wed May 16, 2018 9:32 pm

Yep, my B3 3.3 has been a daily drive for the last couple of years.