right now i have 99 e36 m3 for a beater. over 122k miles on. very common problems are

- cooling system. thermostat, thermostat housing, radiator
- leaky power steering
- climate control unit and final stage unit

i am thinking of selling it and get a suv. even if i don't get much money for my m3 i think it's worth to sell it a bit less than fix it myself when it breaks down and spend money and time on it. it's such a sexy car but i don't need two sports cars. u wanna buy mine?

 

nice car but the maintenance sound like a b!t#$. I'm used to having car where I only have to think about pumping gas and change oil annually, until every 25k miles. The tips these guys gave help, at least u know what u getting urself into now. Good luck.

 

I was having similar thoughts because I've always wanted an m3, but I cant justify $30k+ for a used E46.

 

If you want an E46 M3, just wait a little bit until the E92 M3 comes out next spring. Prices will drop like a rock.

In fact, prices on the E46 M3 are already dropping. You can get into a nice 2002 (make sure that rod bearing recall was done!) with moderate mileage for high 20s. Mid-30s will get you into a 2004 with lower mileage.

They're everywhere out there. Sometimes I think about selling the S and getting an E46 M3 as a daily driver; then, when the E36 wears out as a track car, the E46 can step into that role.

But, then, I get distracted by Porsche 993s, Boxsters, C5Z06... ah, decisions, decisions...

 

[QUOTE=weneversleep,Nov 27 2007, 11:43 AM]I have a 99 E36 M3.

 

I can partially agree with that. In the E36 M3 forum, you do have to wade through a lot of 16 year olds who are looking at an old M3 as their first car, and who then end up in two months with pictures of it in a snowdrift saying "I hate the M3!@!@!@!"

But, there's still a lot of good knowledge on there, simply because of the immense traffic the site and especially that forum gets.

I personally prefer the racing/track forum. Much more mature and serious discussion. Usually.

 

ALMOST. the E36 is a hoot to drive, its kinda like a more torquey s2k 4 seater. but they are sensitive and known to be finicky. i would almost just look for an E30. afterall the E30 M3 was the only REAL m3 right?

e30 is 10x more fun to drive and their less maintaince intensive.

 

[QUOTE=versionJDM,Nov 30 2007, 10:13 AM] ALMOST.

 

[QUOTE=weneversleep,Nov 27 2007, 11:43 AM] I originally bought the M3 to be a daily driver, but once I took it on the track, it replaced my S2000 as the track car.

 

Interesting. I had exactly the opposite experience of the M3 on the track.

The rear of my M3 is _much_ more planted than my AP2 S2000, which even when aligned well gets loose at the limit. It's fun, but it's also a little scary, and I always felt like I was tiptoeing it around at the limit.

If anything, I (and most people) experience quite a bit of understeer with the M3, especially with the stock wheel setup (staggered) and the stock suspension (especially the antiroll bars). I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about an oversteering M3, unless it was mine after I put on my PSS9s and had the rear too firm...

Of course, there are ways to overcome this understeer, and it takes some knowledge from people experienced with the cars, as well as tuning it to your driving style. (A lot of what people experience as understeer, in my opinion, is actually driver inexperience; i.e. too much throttle too early coming out of a turn, which doesn't let the front take a set to turn the car.)

Are you sure your alignment wasn't off in your M3? Maybe running too much antiroll bar (either front or rear, it's actually counter-intuitive), or even shocks set too stiff (if adjustable), not letting the suspension do its job?

In any event, I find the M3 a superior car on the track to the S. Solely my opinion, though. Although, I think someone who drives the S on the track, and can drive it well, can hop into most any other car and be a fast driver. The M3 _is_ a much more forgiving car of mistakes on the track.