[14] Bmw M3 2010 Making This Week Picture

The entry point to ownership is with an early E92 M3 coupe; 2007 examples start at a whisker under £17,000. When you can’t even buy a new Mini Cooper S for that, it’s a hugely tempting proposition. Mileage will be 80,000-plus and, given DCT wasn’t introduced at the car’s launch, you’ll be looking at a manual, too.

Up your budget to £20,000 and the full choice of body styles and gearboxes presents itself; DCT cars and convertibles will likely still have a big mileage, but manual coupes will be dropping below the 60,000-mile mark. Another £2,000 opens up a wealth of immaculate, low-mileage cars, and there are plenty of those about, so exercise patience, and shop around.

At £25,000, you’ll have a rich vein of M3s to choose from, including the Competition Pack upgrade (10mm lower suspension, nice 19in alloys and retuned ESP), post-facelift cars (changes were just cosmetic) and with nearly all of them having covered 50,000 miles or below.

Cars which approach £30,000 tend to have very low mileages, or come with individual colour schemes and high specs which previous owners have no doubt spent big money on. Make sure you’re not paying for someone else’s taste deficiency, and prioritise buying a car that’s been mechanically mollycoddled over one that’s an obscure colour.

Oh, and if you want an M3 GT3 or M3 CRT (essentially a four-door version of the GTS), then you’ll need as much patience as you do money. Both exchange hands for £120,000 or more, and fantastic though they both are, they are not six times as good as a tidy, cared for 2007 M3 manual. Our dream garage still has a vacant space for either, though…