vicrc

I agree! I picked one up with similar miles for that price, looks and runs great 5 months ago with no accidents. A quarter panel repair is a salvage title IMO and they sell at least 3-4k less.

Chibo

The 04-05 did not fix the RACP issues, and plates delay the inevitable. You need to do something like the Vince bar if you plan to keep the car long term or track it.

I moved to Honda after I got tired of little things needing to be fixed every month on my BMWs... I've owned more than a handful of E46es.

Deckoz

e36 with an m52 swap

xxyion

I would pickup the LGP with 28k miles asking for 25k. That is a steal. But I'm also in CA so we pay a premium over here. The car at that point literally has just broken in and will feel brand new. If I had that option I would go with that.

My friend tracks his E46. Good car and he's had it since 100k miles on the engine. So far so good.

nodoze

I currently have both an 05 e460 m3 ZCP and a 02 S2000. The S2000 is a better car, and definitely a better daily despite the size limitations. The cost of ownership difference, especially when you factor in the wear and tear of driving it every day, are tremendous. Rod bearings are a wear item, there is no permanent fix for the subframe or vanos issues. Plus a bunch of other stuff, that is important but much less expensive. They are great cars, but you need to manage them well and stay on top of everything. The nice thing is they are appreciating in value like the S2000, and a clean one that is taken care of is worth a lot to the right person.

edit: E9x are ok cars, but the e46 is the last real drivers car from bmw. e9x are also very expensive to maintain and suffer from new car getting huge and numb syndrome. I'd never pick one over an 36 or 46

runnyeggsham

Good to know. Yeah that makes sense. Quarter panel repairs usually are salvaged by the insurance company.

runnyeggsham

Didnt know there was a ZCP M3 package. E9x are bigger and doesnt come alive until you go 30+. Slow speed it hesitates to move like a clumsy giant. The sound and feel are awesome when the V8 growls. I'll search for a decent S replacement. The AP1 was harder to live with as a daily for me. I went for the AP2. For AP1, my favorite year is the 03. 06-07 AP2 for me.

Popeye

Get a V6 Camaro convertible

ragtophardtop

Hold out for a cheaper S2000. I'm always surprised why people make decision trees on such drastically different cars. Daily driving a bmw, especially a performance BMW, means a tight relationship with a bmw mechanic and being prepared to spend $3k+/year on maintenance and consumables, plus having and unreliable ride. If you wanna do all the work yourself you can make this cheaper, but then you spend more time working on the ride than driving.

flyins2000

I have an 02 M3 with 106k miles and 04 S2k with 209K mile (Original Clutch)

I love both of them. I do all of my own maintenance which greatly reduces my cost. With that being said, two years ago I was short on time and needed a leaking diff gasket on the M3 fixed. The "BMW specialty" shop I took it to charged me about $60 for the part and $970 for labor WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I was pissed. If you don't do your own maintenance just be prepared to pay $$$. Vanos and Subframe are costly repairs as well. I have the SMG and although I don't hate it, I don't love it. You Shall drive it in "manual" mode because it shifts at the wrong time in automatic mode. Every time it automatically shifts, if scares me and I think the car shut down on me. You can swap the SMG to a Manual for not much money (I believe 3k) so if you find a cheap SMG M3, you can switch it to a manual.

The S2000 on the hand is just great. Parts are cheap and just a joy. Can do most jobs with a simple tool box. Extremely reliable. Gas is good and it still looks good.