RX8's are pretty cheap in the trade and depreciate badly due to there ridiculous oil and fuel consumption.

Not sure that I would be keen on buying an RX8 outside the dealer network.

Also remember that they will be worth peanuts in a few years, but the beemer will retain it's value much better.

Audi S3 is a better option than both of the above, comes with more toys, better residuals and similar running costs.

 

Ultimately a

 

Depends what you want it for.

We had a 330i sport touring for a while, as an all round family car it was brilliant.

Found it to handle very well on back roads, mid corner bumps and all, didn't use a drop of oil and was not too hard on petrol.

As for the diesel I dont really see the point as the petrols are normally cheaper and if your going to be keeping it for a while then you've no turbo or injectors to worry about, when we bought ours I remember seeing a few advertised that had both replaced.

It obviously wont be as sharp to drive as the S or as fast, but they are much better than any similar Audi I've driven.
They tend to grow on you, the longer you have it the more you appreciate it. I've have heard from others that they can be bad for tramlining depending on which make of tyres are fitted, ours had Michelins and we had no such problems.

As for the price I would have thought you would easily get one for around

 

I've noticed that even BMW-approved alloys come in a bizarre range of offsets, which might explain why some tramline & others don't. Again, a case of too many silly options ruining a good car.

I still believe diesel throttle response & turbo surge ruins the handling of cars, so yes, a BMW without a straight six Otto is like a fish without a bicycle or something.

 

I've had a CTR and a BMW 330i .....

The CTR was great fun in the dry but I found like you that traction in anything other than dry conditions was nil ! It handled great and never missed a beat, squeaked or creaked in any way. It went because I am basically a nightmare with cars - not through any fault of it's own .....

The 330i I had was a 2002 Sport Touring model .... it was under a year old but with 18K on it so was well run in. It looked great for what it was and had all the toys. The thing was it went after only 10 months. Why ? 16mpg into work (admittedly only 4 mles each way), suspension that left me terrified after a spirited drive with it jumping and skipping everywhere and a driving position I could never get quite right despite it having loads of supposed adjustment!

Plus points for me with the BMW was a peach of an engine mated to an auto box which I thought was great (yes, really - once used to them they are the best autos I have driven!) Nice growl under acceleration and if the mood took you on smooth road it handled incredibly well for something so heavy.

As an everyday car though it wasn't one thing or the other - sporty but barge like ..... I couldn't get on with that combination and sold it for something more sporty .... an S2000

 

I drove the EP3 CTR in the wet and it was truly dreadful - wheelspin off my drive, without trying. Utterly hopeless.

That BMW thing concurs - I've been in older M3s, etc that seem perfectly tuned to UK roads, yet tick the wrong boxes & you get a springless death trap.

Silly options, again.