Which would you have of these M cars?

[saaron]

Let's say you had your choice of the following cars...which would you choose, if they were all about the same price and condition?  

 

E34 M5

E39 M5

 

E36 M3

E46 M3

E90/92 M3

 

Z3-Based M Roadster

Z3-Based M Coupe

 

Z4-Based M Roadster

Z4-Based M Coupe

 

Please provide your thoughts and perspective.  Of course, if you own, or have owned, any of them, would love to hear your take. 

 

Scott

[adawil2002]

Have 1997 E36 M3, best car I've ever owned, had it for 16 years.

Would like a a Z-4M Coupe.

[saaron]

1 hour ago, adawil2002 said:

Have 1997 E36 M3, best car I've ever owned, had it for 16 years.

 

That's quite the endorsement...why do you like it so much?

 

Scott

[adawil2002]

Plenty of power, great handling and practical. Love the styling and very reliable. As you know I maintain my cars very well and have proactively kept up with maintenance.

[saaron]

I see.  

 

I kind of like this one:  https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=465343912&zip=45243&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D45243%26startYear%3D1981%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceDESC%26maxPrice%3D20000%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26endYear%3D2018%26modelCodeList%3DM3%26makeCodeList%3DBMW%26searchRadius%3D200&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=20000&firstRecord=0&endYear=2018&modelCodeList=M3&makeCodeList=BMW&searchRadius=200&makeCode1=BMW&modelCode1=M3

 

WHOA sorry for that link length.  Jeez.

 

Scott

[M3M3]

On 10/5/2017 at 8:30 AM, adawil2002 said:

Have 1997 E36 M3, best car I've ever owned, had it for 16 years.

Would like a a Z-4M Coupe.

I have a 97 E36 M3/4/5.  best car i have ever owned.   had it for 20+ years (ordered and bought it new). 

 

no intention of ever selling it. it does everything well.

 

would like none of the other options.

 

M5's too big

not a fan of the Z3 or Z4 platforms

E46 a maintenance nightmare

E90 too complicated/electronic/big/HEAVY

Edited October 11, 2017 by mlytle

[jgerock]

I loved thrashing an E39 M5 at BMW's expense in 2005. What a beast. It is a little big.  I still like the e36 and e46 m3's.  Coupe not my style----not that there is anything wrong with it?.

[robspeed]

I'd do the e39M5, although I'd rather have a 530i Sport Touring ... with a blown engine...

[Brandon]

I have a 2003 e85 Z4 3.0, the car is very fun with 225hp, I can only imagine how much more fun the M version would be with 330hp!  So obviously I would recommend that car...though for the track I’d get an e46 M3 or even an e90 M3 as these are cheaper now and have a lot of power...especially the e90 (although heavier).

[irdave]

I had a Z4 M Coupe for a couple of years.  It was absolutely mega, but it was easier to drive if you grabbed it by the scruff and gave it a good shake then trying to be gentle.  And the stock dual-mass flywheel is absolutely terrible in that car, so plan on a nice single mass aluminum flywheel.  The feeling of sitting on the rear axle is very special.  While the engine electronics were ok, some of the braking control modules were rather invasive, especially at the track.  If I had kept it, I would have found a way to tell the braking module that the steering angle was always zero...

 

A car you didn't ask about...  E46 wagon with complete M3 swap.  This can actually be done for not a terrible amount of money (if you do it right, or wrong), and is a great solution. 

[bento]

On 12/27/2017 at 3:47 AM, irdave said:

 

A car you didn't ask about...  E46 wagon with complete M3 swap.  This can actually be done for not a terrible amount of money (if you do it right, or wrong), and is a great solution. 

 

I wish I had the garage space for another car. This sounds like a fun project. There’s even a nice clean sport package, M/T e46 325i for sale locally on C/L right now...

 

Back to the OP’s question, I eventually want to retire my 2002 from track use. For this, e36 or e46 would fit best for me because they’re so popular for track use and there’s no shortage of resources. E9x doesn’t do much for me in the looks department, but that v8 is probably a lot of fun.

 

I don’t really fit in the z3, and the z4 is just ugly, so those are out of the running for me.

 

For a street car, the M5’s seem like a nice option, but I haven’t spent any time in an e34 or e39. I basically own a rip-off of the e39 m5, so I can say a roomy 400hp v8 sedan is a fun package.

 

@saaron after typing the above, I realized this is a 3 month old thread. Did you pull the trigger on one of these m-cars? If so, which one?

[saaron]

22 hours ago, bento said:

after typing the above, I realized this is a 3 month old thread. Did you pull the trigger on one of these m-cars? If so, which one?

 

Ha!  I did not.  Not yet, anyway.  But you never know.  So many nice E46 M3s come up for sale around here, it isn't even funny.  One wrinkle is my wife seems to like 911s.  Life is aways a moving target.  

 

Scott

[bento]

1 minute ago, saaron said:

 

Ha!  I did not.  Not yet, anyway.  But you never know.  So many nice E46 M3s come up for sale around here, it isn't even funny.  One wrinkle is my wife seems to like 911s.  Life is aways a moving target.  

 

Scott

 

Well a 911 wouldn’t be a horrible choice either. Happy wife AND an awesome car sounds like a win/win.

[jgerock]

21 hours ago, saaron said:

 

Ha!  I did not.  Not yet, anyway.  But you never know.  So many nice E46 M3s come up for sale around here, it isn't even funny.  One wrinkle is my wife seems to like 911s.  Life is aways a moving target.  

 

Scott

The e46 m3 is one of my favorites. Too bad BMW carried over the plastic cooling components that can fail without warning.  Our e90 has had the coolant expansion tank crack and the electric water pump fail. We just received the notification from BMW about the climate control blower motor wiring harness that may cause a fire. No fix yet but their warning about pulling over immediately, shutting the car off and exiting the vehicle if you see or smell smoke from the vents is quite alarming.

 

The 911 is a vehicle everyone must experience- both good and bad.  The sounds and power from the flat six is mesmerizing, but the repair parts prices are higher than expected (thank goodness for Blunt!) and the pedal placement odd to me. I have to think when swapping from the 2002 to the targa.

 

 

[M3M3]

22 hours ago, saaron said:

 

Ha!  I did not.  Not yet, anyway.  But you never know.  So many nice E46 M3s come up for sale around here, it isn't even funny.  

 

Scott

The e46 m3's are common used because people get tired of fixing all the broken electronics and cooling systems.