A nice S is far cheaper to buy and own than a nice M3... the M3 will become a hassle and a heartbreak if you don't have the time + money to take care of it.

I'm 20 and I love my S2000. Seriously, for a 20 year old single college student, it's the perfect car. Reliable, sexy, INCREDIBLE to drive slow and fast, relatively comfortable, able to put the top down...

Trust me on this: if you live in Huntington, you'll have FAR more fun driving an S than an M. Having the top down is an incredible driving experience. The car truly has two different personalities for different situations.

I'd go for a low mileage AP1, that's what I did. Well worth it, too.

 

First off, i lve my S, i have a 500 hp mustang, and an audi a4, so i almost have 3 completely different cars, i have the american muscle, the euro handling and comfort, and then the S. Neither of my other cars is like my S, the handling is amazing, in stock form. Although it doesnt have the tq or hp my stang does, its still quick as hell. I didnt even look around when i bought mine, i just saw it and pulled the trigger, occasionally ill regret it thinkin i shoulda got the a cobra, but for a dd the S is great, nothing beats cruzing with the top down, and with a perfect weight ratio, its truly superb, i guarantee if you go with the S you wont be sorry.

 

The M3 and s2000 are completely different cars. Drive both and see which one you prefer/like. Like others said, of course the bimmer will cost more maintenance wise. I'm not sure if the m3's are significantly different, but I drove an '06 3 series and was disappointed with the car (had terrible throttle response), which killed the deal for me.

Like others said, I'd first focus on school as your top priority. I personally think it's nuts seeing kids making car payments via their student loan checks, but to each his own (not saying you're doing this, but knew quite a few folks who did this).

 

Sounds like you would be good with either.

Being a college student, I would buy the least expensive (to own and maintain). Another option would be '95-'99 M3's (I love those). Pay it off on your own, save some money, finish college and then, once you get a nice job, shop arround for your next car. At that point you might be able to keep the S as a fun car and have something else for the extra space. See Ckit list above.

 

I have DD'd an s2000 for 2+ years now, and I love it.

I considered selling my s2k for an e46 m3 a couple times, for practicality reasons, but I realized it would have been a poor decision on my part. I really don't need more than 2 seats right now in my life.

I am 23 btw, and had an s2000 for 1 year of my college career. Graduated and working now, SCing the S soon and picking up a beater civic in autumn

 

LOLz!

I was going to say something similar.

Unless you have a free ride through college if you are going to graduate with college loans to pay off it's positively stupid to waste money on any car right, just get a 99 Accord or something for cheap to get you through college. The job market for college grads is TERRIBLE and won't get much better for quite a few more years. Bad time to be graduated with huge debt!

Just my 2 cents since I've been there done that (college and car buying)

 

Oh man I don't know how to chain quote on this forum, I'll try my best to address everyone's post.


Well first off, thanks for the responses!


I say have a ~$18k to spend on the car. Something you should know about me is I split my money into many many categories. I have quite a bit more, but that's how much I was planning on spending for the actual car. I can dip into other stashes (insurance/gas/recreation), but that's not the kind of thing I usually do. I have them in separate stashes for a reason.


I am not necessarily 'questioning the car'. Just trying to think it through. Thousands of dollars is not something you just randomly throw around.


Both S2000's I've driven were friends of friends, so I wasn't really comfortable taking it any higher than what I claimed. Even if I go to a dealer, there isn't really any 'twisties' to fully experience the S2000 on. I've only driven one M3 and it was SMG and SC'd, so that wouldn't really be a good comparison. I haven't really been eager to test drive a manual because many people have already said it's pretty much the same as a 3series besides the extra umph you get when your right foot goes down lol.


I will not be making payments on the S2000 if it is within ~$18k. I have all of it ready to go. If it was the M3, I would need ~$5k. I could pay that off in 10 months since my dad isn't going to charge me interest. I am very fortunate that my parents are paying my college tuition.


All you guys who are saying I'm leaning towards the M3 are right, but also wrong. I'm leaning towards it because I'm thinking of the future and practicality, but for the 'now', I'd much prefer the S2000. I'll look into more test drives .

 

I agree with some of the others. Test drive the S, get into VTEC, swing around a corner or two with the top down.

I've had my S for about a month now and I love it.

 

Well I guess the decision has been made for me.


The ZCP I was looking at got sold. Black 06 with ~40k miles for $22k . Can't find anything else that even comes close to that deal. I wanted the sexy alcantara steering wheel so bad lol.