no theyr not they are very reliable my friend has 1 he takes it 2 the strip and runs nos all the time for 3 years now never any problems the car is beast im geting me 1 wen i get out of college but stil keepin the S tho

 

Reliability is good on the M3, Maintaining it is a whole different story. M cars have all these inspections, I think a big one is at 60k miles, might be $3,000. Brakes, tires, oil changes, etc..much more costly than the S2000.

 

they're definitely nice cars, but as far as the fun factor, S>E46.

 

I have also contemplated the choice, around here the M3's are coming down in price as the newer cars become available used.

I would love to get into a convertible with 6 sp with nav if i could find one....but I have also found the cost to maintain, not a reliability issue, but just normal maintenance is astounding compared to the Honda ownership experience.

Yes the M3 is a beautiful car, it has lots of lux features, it has wonderful performance....and paying for all that is just not worth it....so, is it worth it to you?

Then again what if you waited for a couple of years and found a nice i35i coming off lease? how is the maintenance on that car compared to the older m3? sure it is not an m car...or the 330i of that vintage with the z package or sport package? just some alternatives for that bmw fix....nice cars, the older they get the more it costs to use!!!

then there is depreciation....in 2003 i looked at a loaded new m3 convertible for about 57,000 with tax and instead bought a year old 04 acura tl w/6speed and nav and a new 04 honda S2000, i am thousands ahead on that deal and have two cars! with the tl i have more room and superior features and electrics and the cost to maintain both cars is way less than an M. your mileage may vary.

 

Audi RS4/S4?

 

[QUOTE=Woodson,Sep 23 2008, 09:21 AM] Really?

 

i would get an m3 cause i love the car, but for new car purposes id settle for the s2. i shall own a m3 one day though.

 

More like half that. And it doesn't have to be changed as often as on an S2000.

 

I have 3 kids and have thought about the E46 as well. the repair costs are enough to keep me away though.

For example, I can have my dealer replace my S2000 diff oil, trans oil, engine oil, oil filter, get a brake fluid flush, plus change the pollen filter and air filter myself for about the same price as one oil change on a E46.

With BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, etc... it isn't buying the car that is the problem, it's keeping it.

 

According to the E46 forums you can expect services to be needed every 9-15K depending upon driving style.

service 1: $1200
service 2: $1450
service 3: $1800
Service 4: $2000

After service 4, go back to service 1 and repeat.

I love my Honda

check this thread out...

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.ph...639&mode=linear