I went through this (sort of) a few months ago. I compared many cars including 370Z, M3, and the car I ended up with, Z4M.

The 370Z exterior is beautiful, IMO. Much fresher compared to the 350z, and a more usable hatch area due to better placement of the rear brace. Interior was nice (i test drove one with leather), and decent visibility (better than S2k with the top up). Shift feel was fine; a little rubbery but short enough. Engine was slightly sluggish to rev, but made gobs of power. Strange thing for me was that the car felt heavy to me, even with the supposed weight loss compared to a 350z. Perhaps it was the way the wheel is weighted, but I didn't like the feel.

On to the M3, I shouldn't really compare this as I took a look at perhaps one of the worst kept cars I've looked at. Paint was tattered and the interior was in shambles. I did drive this car for a bit around the block, but other than the engine sound I did not like much about this car. The shifts are very long and it felt very vague.

The Z4M was a car I had a lot of interest in for a while, and I test drove 3 before I found the right one at the right price. Great engine that likes to rev, and a shifter that is short (especially with the ZHP knob) and notchy. Sometimes a bit too notchy for me where I'm having some issues going into gear, but it's reassuring for me to "know" i'm in a gear. Interior is great, it really wraps around you, much like the S2k in feel. Unlike the S2k the visibility is a lot better compared to when the top is up. Some have complained about that long nose, but I find it an asset. The styling is great; there's not much out there that look like this vehicle. It's nice to have a car that likes to carve the backroads but also can be a muscle machine when it wants.

 

^^^ I'd pick the Z4M Coupe too. The E46 M3 is amazing but the Z4M coupe has the same great engine in a sexy two-seater package.

The 370Z is a really cool car but it's nowhere near the level of the Z4M.

 

The 370z is far better than the 350z there not even close.

 

how can a car be superior if it breaks down all the time? also take in account of the resale value of german cars is very bad too

 

It doesn't break down "all the time". It's more expensive to maintain. But that's a given. You can't buy what was originally a 5-55k car and then expect 30k car maintenance expenses.

The reason expensive cars depreciate is simply due to that.

When you buy a 25k M3, the car's price may have depreciated over time, but the maintenance expenses haven't.

Most people realize this and stick to their plebeian appliances. Hence the depreciation.
Conversely, this is why beige camrys don't depreciate as badly. Not just Camrys but cheap bottom dweller cars in general.

 

Wow...you must be getting screwed, I have owned quite a few M cars and never spent that much on the Inspections and mine have always been serviced at the dealership. There is no question that routine maintenance will cost a good bit more on the M car if done at the dealership but it's irritating when all the 'spectators' like to talk about stuff they know nothing about. While I can't speak much on SMG maintenance/repairs as neither of my SMG cars (E46 M3 and E60 M5) had any issues but I can say that my 03 M3 w/o SMG had over 100K miles on it when I sold it and at least 60K+ of those miles were pretty heavily modified and the only issues I ever had were the infamous E46 window seal (in hotter climates) and the voluntary recall related to the rod bearing failure were performed but not because I had any issues with the car. The car was flawless for over 100K miles of DD duty without 1 hiccup. That being said, I'd personally get the 370 just because I haven't owned one and I have the M3...also, a glacier white 370z would look very nice sitting next to my glacier white 91 300zx tt...especially with the Nismo wheels.

 

Bimmer

 

Its not about maintenance. Its about "oh shyt" costs. An oh shyt cost on a cheaper car will be less severe than on a bmw product. "Oh shyt" does not happen all the time but the threat of it is real and some people rather sleep at night not thinking about it. My mom owned an s-class and it was a great car but once something went wrong, it went very wrong and very expensive. Otherwise it was a good car.

 

ya has any one of you guys saying m3 had problems experienced them or are you just jumping on the band wagon and listening to popular forums? Just curiouse, ive known few BMW to last a long time under abuse, could be a fluke i guess.

 

Well said.

For most who are on these forums, you're likely handy in some respect or will at least search out competitive prices for maintenance, and won't get screwed over badly by just bringing the car to the dealer. However, the "oh shyt" costs will always be there. In the case something very bad happens, it'll be considerably more expensive on the M3.

Personally, I find the Japanese vs. European reliability debate to be a little overblown, at least before the Euros started using electronic everything (new Benzes (not sure about bimmers) don't have an engine oil dipstick, but you must rely on the oil level sensor), and of course the sensors go bad. Sadly, I think some of the newer model Euro cars ('06+) are a bit like Rube Goldberg machines. They overcomplicate things for no good reason imo, and just make things more expensive, which led me to personally shy away from a newer 3 series.

However, assuming nothing major goes wrong, European cars are very reliable (and not too expensive maintenance wise). I know plenty of people w/ bmws and mercedes and they really aren't THAT expensive to do maintenance on, especially if you do it yourself. The nice thing about European cars is that generally the drivetrains are very stout, it's just all the little annoying things that go wrong. However, doing regular maintenance like fluid changes, filter changes, etc. aren't really that much more expensive, especially for the DIYer.