Yes, I'm having the M3 versus the S2000 dilema. I can afford either one (I recently received 100k inhertance) I decided to be iresponsible with part of it and get a car than I couldn't afford otherwise. I make decent money (I'm an RN, and yes I've heard the male nurse jokes) and I could probably afford an S2000 either way being single with no debt. I started raising the bar a bit by looking at some BMW's and perusing the various BMW boards.

First I thought about 325, but soon realised I would never be happy with that, then came the 330 convertable with all the options. I realised the 330 was nice, but I could never be happy knowing I could have been in an M3 for 10-15k more. I started playing around on the bmwusa website with the M3 convertable (my new car must be a drop top) and soon realized BMW is crooked,

Oh you want metalic paint? add on 475$
Oh you want an interior other then black? tack on 1000$
You want the heated seats you always hear about, you might as well get the cold weather package. 700$
You want lumbar adjustment too? are you nuts 400$
You don't want to ding your new baby do you? Park distance control 350$
You absolutely have to get the HID's. 700
Whats a bling bling ride without a navigation system? 1800

I can do without the upgraded stereo system (I always add my own anyways), I can do without the 19 inch wheels, since I'm probably going to get custom wheels anyways. The SMG tranny is not my style I definately don't need the hardtop.

So now we have a 60k vehicle add some sales tax and licensing fees 65k were approaching Porsche area here.

Hmm, lets trod on over to the honda website.
S2000, no options avaiable comes with HID, you are not charged for different paint or interior schemes. Who needs heated freaken seats anyways?
I can get OTD for around 32k

Is the //M twice the performer the S2000 is ? ? ? I don't think so, when it comes down to handling I think I'll take the S2k, the M does have more power, but is it more fun to drive (Not in my opinion). So I would be basically paying twice as much for a car for the dick swinging factor, do most girls drop their panties quicker for a BMW driver ... probably.

The battle in my mind is all but over, 30k for the S2k and I'm upgrading my living space, going to get a loft downtown and buy a bling bling home theatre system lol.

 

Just get the S2000 and supercharge it. Have you driven both cars? I have, and I'd still take a stock S2000 over an M3. However, if the M3 was priced $10,000 cheaper, then I'd get it

 

Yes, I've driven both. One of the physcians I work with has an M3 he is the one that is trying to talk me in to buying BMW, I test drove a used S2k at my local dealer, although I couldn't get too jiggy with it since the service manager wanted to ride shotgun lol.

Mmmh Plasma TV

 

Not to mention that the difference speed-wise between a convertible M3 and an S2000 is going to be less significant than the difference between the M3 coupe and an S2000. I realize speed is not the only factor here, but just a thought. Additional $30k+ for the convertible which isn't THAT much faster than the S2000. That's a lot of DVD players, speakers, big screens, furniture, you name it (or even performance mods).

 

Well, those are very different cars! I guess it depends on what you are looking for in your vehicle. It kind of sounds to me like with the inheritance, this will be a fun car, maybe a second weekend vehicle? In that case, get the S2000. If you are looking to upgrade the daily driver, the M3 could certainly be a lot more practical, but will never be as sporty/hardcore as the S2000.

Personally, I'd love to have both: M3 daily driver and S2000 weekend car.

 

Yes... the answer is definitely yes. Not that it should impact your decision at all. Having owned both I can tell you that both are very different cars. If it's your only car (ie. daily driver) then I would definitely go for the M3 as it offers much more along the lines of comfort and civility. The S2000 is a fantastic automobile but a little 'high strung' to be your only car in my opinion. The ride of the M3 is much less rigid and you don't have to search for the power... it's always there... lurking. You will find that it's not at all uncommon for higher end cars to have 'options' that are standard on much less expensive cars. If you're looking for a car that's well optioned for the price then go look at the Acura TL/CL, I don't think you'll find much that offers what they do for the money. I wouldn't trade my M3 for anything but I will be buying another S2000 soon because it is an awesome car.

 

The consideration of a back seat is how I ended up with the Cobra instead of the s2k. If you don't need it, the choice gets easier.

 

I am looking for a "fun" car, not a daily driver, although I can't imagine choosing to drive my anemic RAV4 to work versus the S2k for quite some time lol.

I will probably get rid of my toyota and get a grocery getter with some more balls

 

Your post reads to me like you are trying to rationalize the S2000 over the M and using us as your sounding board. What I find is that rationalizing any car beyond a Kia can be a futile task. You don't really "need" an S2000 any more than you do a base model Kia, just like you don't really "need" the M more than the S2000. All three provide the same thing, transportation from point A to B, and driving 20 miles is a hell of a lot better than walking, no matter what your driving.

With regards to the BMW options; BMW creates a basic car and allows the customers to build a semi-custom car to their specifications off of that basic platform. Porsche does this to an even higher degree, to the extent that you can even have non turbo 911 parts grafted onto your base 911 or Boxster.

In terms of which car is better for you, that's a decision only you can make and a myriad of decision points must be weighed and factored. While I don't think I will ever buy an M3 as I don't need the space nor do I like the hefty weight of the vehicle, I do have respect for what it is capable of and what it offers to those who have different priorities and opinions.

Lastly, always remember that you do not have to hate and / or bash one vehicle in order to like another.

 

The M3 convertible is a little of an oxymoron. I mean if you want the ultimate driving machine the M3 coupe is great(but a little heavy). You don't want to chop off the top of an M3 and add 350lbs. The convertible M3 is a pig at 3781 lbs (more with options) so it's 900 lbs heavier than the S2000. You'll feel that in the corners.