Got me. but with 400 hp, in this kids hands it won't be. Fine get a cheap, safe, reliable low HP car.

Pshhh its only 330HP, and RWD so its perfectly safe. :troll:

^ 333 to be exact :troll:

Well it's more the new situations thing. There's going to be a lot of first for you driving. How about at least cruise around in your parents car for a few months, hopefully not a different high powered sports car, during rush hour, middle of the night, through downtown, down No 3 Rd and sunday mornings when people drive slow as fuck. Maybe chauffeur your grandparents around. Try to encounter as many situations as possible before getting an M3.

I am in the market for an E46 M3 as well, just that I have almost ten years of driving experience and this will be my weekend car (pleasure use).

Even with a decent paying job, I am still a little hestitant in getting a M3. I currently drive a boring Toyota with barely 130hp, so this would be a very big upgrade in terms of performance/maintenance/insurance.

Cost:
2001-2004, local BC car, clean title, ~80-120km, cost anywhere from $18k-$25k.
SMG transmission is choppy as hell, compared to the smooth but powerful 335i. I don't know how to drive manual, so 6 speed manual is out of the question.
Maintenance is a bitch. A lot of E46 M3 for sale are at 90k because the current owners don't want to shell out $2500 for Inspection II.
Subframe, Valve adjustments, and other common problems just scares the shit out of me. I have been researching for the past 2 hours.

Benefits:
M car

Insurance Quote:
$2600, pleasure use, 2mil TPL, 300 comp/colli, -43% discount

Having test driven a 2002 and 2004 M3 SMG, and an CPO 2008 335i sedan, I would gamble with the M3.

Also test drove a 2011 328i xdrive demo special, it was a piece of crap. Felt like a Camry but with a $50k price tag.

Summary: $20,000 (M3) + $2600 (Insurance) + $??? (Maintenance) = Worth it

My question is... at the age of 25, decent income, should I save up for property or waste money on a car that I DON'T NEED?

^

98% of people will tell you to invest in property

than again, everyone is on a different page in terms of what to do in their life.


We do only live once, and the ultimate driving machine is waiting for you

once a legendary M machine with $90g price tag can now be in your hands for $20g

:smug::smug::smug::smug:

With that price tag and the fact that it will be a weekend car, there is no point in getting one. You either sell your current car and buy the E46 as a daily driver or save your pennies for a rainy day.

You'll have to set aside a good buffer of money for repairs and preventative maintenance. Spending the $20K+ for one plus the potential repairs, nevermind Inspection II, will set you back a pretty penny...and that's being conservative. And you're right. Most owners will dump these cars at 90k KM on the dash. Most of the cars you find on Craigslist usually don't have the critical repairs/maintenance done on them so be prepared to throw in an extra grand or two on that. And SMG? No thanks. The manual gearbox is much more reliable and enjoyable.

The M3 is a nice car but would I buy for the sake of a weekend car? No. It would be a daily driver. Being an M owner, albeit not an E46 M3, I'd save up my pennies instead. Driving this car in the city sucks. I would have been more than contempt with an E46 325i or 330i ZHP. I've insured two cars at once (my MR2 and Alfa Romeo) and at the end of the day, all that money you pay for insurance goes to waste because one car ends up being "a weekend car."

Is inspection II aka "service pack 2"?

The M3 can seat 4 quite comfortably.........

Im 6'1ish and can fit in the rear seats pretty nicely.

Trunk is nice and big so not bad for DD.

So to say, yes. It's a factory service regimen. Reality is that these cars are considered "old" by most people. Things will break and will have to be replaced. You can't treat these cars like your parents' Corolla or Accord. They aren't built the same way.

Take a look at this for common problems for the E46 (M and non-M) - edge motorworks - 3 Series 1999-2005 (E46 & M3)

But this will set me back 1 year for a downpayment. :okay:



That is very true about the insurance. I am currently paying $2400 for a Toyota at -25%, insuring the M3 will be another $2600. (Or $4000 at -25% and ditch the Toyota)

$5000 a year for insurance.. :suspicious:

I might just wait it out until next year. F30 will be in production starting November 2011.

That means by next year, prices for E46 M3 will drop once again, prices for E90 will also drop.

Although not the same car by any means, my E36 M3 still puts a smile on my face every time. M cars are great and I specifically wanted the E36 as opposed to the E46. The market for the E46 M3s are a little rocky and it appeals to a niche market. You have to keep that in mind that in 3 or 5 years time, that car you spent $30K on will be worth just a bit over half. I wanted the E36 M3 because the market stabilized and I wanted specifically a sedan which the E46 did not come in.

One thing I learned over the years of owning a bunch of different cars is that if you buy a car for cheap, you'll end up having to throw money into fixing it/repairing what the previous owner didn't do. The biggest lesson is that you can never recoup your money for parts and maintenance. And M car parts can sometimes cost more than your average car. Oh, and let's not forget resale value. :p

get a e36 manual car first - crash it in 2 weeks cause understeer / oversteer then go save up for e46 m3 6spd.

:lol I love how OP's sig is a reference to Bradford Chow.

It is kind of change all fluids, filters, along with a value adjustment. It will easily cost u $2000 at the dealer. However, u can buy the inspection2 kit for around $700 and find a shop do it which will be cheaper.
IIRC it is due at 80k kms, most e46 m3s on the market has beyond that mileage, so make sure the previous has done the inspection2 and have the paper work. It is pretty hard to find a good condition e46m3, especially a 6mt coupe, I sold mine about one year ago and still not forgotten. Good luck!

Pretty sure his parents are buying him the car since he said cost isn't a concern.

Too bad.

No. I am paying part of it.




















A very small part :troll:

Let's get a pool goin, how long before OP dorifto's into a ditch.

u must have never met a guy who is good with his stick....

when i don't redline at 8000 rpm or press the sport button, people always go "wait this is a manual?" after sitting in my car for 10 mins.

when i redline at 8000 rpm with the sport button pressed, my back is pressed tight against the seat while my hand shifts the gear almost half a second (especially the first few cause it redlines so quick when u floor it), with the feet on the clutch doing the same thing. Not to mention every time the gear changes, the back is pressed against the seat again. It is better than sex (well i guess u can say that for every high power manual cars).

btw i have driven m3 smg, m5 smg II and r8 r-tronic... so I have a pretty good first hand experience.

agreed,

the E46 M3 is described by some as a great engine wrapped in a boring car,

the E36 M3 is a driver's car
and the E46 M3 i see as more of a sporty luxury daily driver, although it is
a great looking car

or you can do some of the stuff yourself,
lot of people make it out to be a bigger deal than it really is..
other than valve adjustment, which you may want a shop's expertise,
the other things are really not that hard to do..
(spark plugs, oil change, filters, diff and tranny flush)

baby steps

1. pass N test
2. learn manual on a shit car
3. get your class 5
4. buy M3

don't worry you can accomplish all this in high school :troll: provided you don't fail any more road tests :troll: :troll:

SMG in S6 shifts in 0.08 seconds
i never knew half a second was faster than 8 milliseconds

it's super fast at redline, but for regular city driving it's a laggy, slow-shifting, notchy piece of shit. the one in my m6 is just as bad lol.