'09 335xi vs '04 M3

Recently came across a '04 M3 and weighing the factors versus my '09 335xi. While I absolutely love the E92 how could my driving life be enriched with an M3?

The E92 does everything I need and w/ style. Feels like this car was made for me and I actually prefer driving it over my S197 5-speed. For lack of a better descriptor I'd call it a gentleman's sport coupe. To a degree, being a 300 hp twin turbo sleeper isn't bad either. I drive w/ in limits and only use the pedal when needed, glad it's there then. With 62K miles it's had the water pump replaced, brakes, fluids etc so good to go. It's a DD and does mild snow/ winter duty in SW Pa. so driven year round. Realize AWD does not necessarily make it a snow car but glad it's there, grown accustomed to it now.

My research of the '04 M3 consisted of various online reviews and about one hour of YouTube vids. Verdict: holy E36 M3, need to own one in my lifetime. Revs and raucous exhaust FTMFW. Time to be rational though.

E92 is factory rated 300 hp which might be a little light IMO, tunes can bump that up accordingly to the M3's 333 advertised hp. Both cars are paddle shift, which I really don't use that much btw but glad it's there when needed. What I would miss from the E92 is SAT radio, Bluetooth phone and AWD.

This M3 has 40K w/ the SMG-auto, Cold Weather Package except heated wheel (which I would miss), appears nicely kept. I would DD this as well on mild winter/ light snow days, basically year round. Maintenance/ repair costs are an accepted fact of BMW ownership. Currently the HPFP and turbos are the only thing on the E92 radar. Does the M3 have it's own maintenance specific watch list? Is the M3 not a winter car at all and should be garaged?

Am I berkeleying nuts to even consider this?

I drove an E36 M3 through a few winters in the Midwest on snow tires. It was a blast! It will be a lot more raw than your car with a totally different powerband. Depending on your commute this may not be an improvement. I drive a lot in the city but rarely during rush hour so I've enjoyed daily driving my M3, S2000, and now Z06. In Pittsburgh tunnel traffic, uhh...no.

I love my E46 M

You get so many little details and extra things in the M cars that don't come in the plebian cars.

fasted58 wrote: My research of the '04 M3 consisted of various online reviews and about one hour of YouTube vids. Verdict: holy E36 M3, need to own one in my lifetime. Revs and raucous exhaust FTMFW.

Amusingly, I met two E46 M3 owners last night - both are having the SMG swapped out for standard manuals...

A friend of mine's husband is a long time E46 M3 owner. Shortly after they were married, they got a E90 wagon (manual trans) for her. They are currently replacing it with a S54/6spd swapped E46 wagon. After owning the car for awhile, the newer BMW is proving (in his not so humble opinion) less maintenance-friendly than the older cars. When the dust settles, all of their cars will be M-powered (they also have an E39 M5).

I would avoid flappy paddle E46 M3s, personally. Apparently they work okay on the track, but I've only ever driven them on the street, and they're really not great at that. Kind of made it a lot of work to drive. I can't comment firsthand on reliability.

Ian F wrote: Amusingly, I met two E46 M3 owners last night - both are having the SMG swapped out for standard manuals... A friend of mine's husband is a long time E46 M3 owner. Shortly after they were married, they got a E90 wagon (manual trans) for her. They are currently replacing it with a S54/6spd swapped E46 wagon. After owning the car for awhile, the newer BMW is proving (in his not so humble opinion) less maintenance-friendly than the older cars. When the dust settles, all of their cars will be M-powered (they also have an E39 M5).

Is it a red wagon that came out of California?

In reply to Slippery:

Yep. They drove it from CA back home to SE PA.