To M3 or not to M3.. that is the question

[qube 3570]

With prices dropping on the E9x M3's I toyed with the idea of owning one..

I currently have my F20 M135i for everything and also a E36 318ti for runabout if I feel like it.

If I were to change to the M3 that would mean bye bye to the F20 and probably means I will rely on the 318i for most of the work daily drive and M3 will be for weekends and long trips.

Not too worried about maintenance costs etc but thinking is it worth to sacrifice the comfort and overall much newer platform of the F20 solely for a "better" weekend driver?

The F20 is awesome and it is suitable for everything and fits my lifestyle quite well as it is. 

Someone please tell me I should stop looking before I move on to BMW #28 or whatever it is..

 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2958]

Just do it...

[BozzaFC 300]

You’d be mad not to

[M3_Power 636]

Your girlfriend would not like it!

She’ll miss all that quality romantic time where she is all dressed up for a night out just so she can help you move car parts in and out of the F series!

Don’t do it! Wait for the F80 M3 to come down and buy that ... much better car.

[M3AN 4016]

Realistically you're not going to have much more fun in the M over the 135 (unless perhaps you're Scott McLaughlin) and it's going to cost way, way more. There are very few environments where and E9x M will be better than a F20 135i (although in those environments the gap will be vast) so you really don't gain much.

However, it would look good at the coffee meets and we'd all love to see it and it's your money not ours so...

To be honest, you'd be far better off getting an E46 M3 and pocketing the change if you're looking for a weekend driving experience (but again, it's not going to be leaps and bounds better than your current car).

IMHO.

 

 

[Olaf 3318]

you sold the Mini?! ?  Honestly Kyu, one can't keep up.  You change cars almost as often as you change wheels.

 

Better life stories.  In retirement, on your rocking chair, you won't be wishing you'd kept the 135i instead.

[qube 3570]

3 hours ago, M3_Power said:

Your girlfriend would not like it!

She’ll miss all that quality romantic time where she is all dressed up for a night out just so she can help you move car parts in and out of the F series!

Don’t do it! Wait for the F80 M3 to come down and buy that ... much better car.

Shes got her own F20

1 hour ago, M3AN said:

Realistically you're not going to have much more fun in the M over the 135 (unless perhaps you're Scott McLaughlin) and it's going to cost way, way more. There are very few environments where and E9x M will be better than a F20 135i (although in those environments the gap will be vast) so you really don't gain much.

However, it would look good at the coffee meets and we'd all love to see it and it's your money not ours so...

To be honest, you'd be far better off getting an E46 M3 and pocketing the change if you're looking for a weekend driving experience (but again, it's not going to be leaps and bounds better than your current car).

IMHO.

Absolutely right Dave. Not a huge amount of gain except in certain very specific situations and environments but a huge loss in every other respect. 

The E46 M3 is a no from me now. prices have gone way too high for the good ones and the cheap ones are just ticking bombs especially with the subframe issue. Also its slightly too old and familar to me now after so many E46's that Ive owned even though you cant really compare it to the full fledged M. The V8 is just very tempting especially at the current prices.

13 minutes ago, Olaf said:

you sold the Mini?! ?  Honestly Kyu, one can't keep up.  You change cars almost as often as you change wheels.

 

Better life stories.  In retirement, on your rocking chair, you won't be wishing you'd kept the 135i instead.

Yep, JCW Mini and the E46 clubsport were both sold in order to make room for the M135i which was supposed to fulfil both duties as DD and fun car (which it has very very well)

 

[GorGasm 563]

Yeah I don't think it would be worth it.  Sell the 318 and buy some mods for the 135i.

 

[qube 3570]

Dont need to sell the 318 to do that. And the M135i is already plenty for me already as it is with a stage 1 tune and M Performance exhaust its all good as it is. 

Just had a few thousand dollars thrown at it for maintenance. Next items on the list would be to replace the charge, boost and intake pipes but thats about it really.

[M3_Power 636]

2 hours ago, qube said:

Shes got her own F20

Kyu “babe, can I borrow your F20 tonight to go and pick up a big box of parts from Tom? And you come and help me load it also?”

oh wait ??

Seriously, she’s a keeper! My wife would slap me around senseless if I asked her to do the same ???

Edited November 28, 2018 by M3_Power

[Contrails 317]

E39 M5?

Or a C63 AMG? 

[qube 3570]

not interested in an E39 M5 because 1. almost impossible to find a good one for a good price 2. doesnt really suit my lifestyle needs 3. im not the kind of person to keep a car forever which I think is what the E39 M5 deserves from an owner - a lot of love and money to keep it tip top condition.

C63 AMG - too many idiots hooning in them making a loud noise, high running costs in fuel and tyres etc, again not too many good ones around anymore and a bit too old styling imo.

 

btw decided to keep the M135i for now mainly because the M3 I was looking at is no longer available. It was asking around $26k for a quick sale which would have been a great deal but I wasnt ready to pull the trigger on it in time anyway.

[M3AN 4016]

Keeping in mind that your 135 is pretty ace I think that's a good decision Kyu... reevaluate when you're bored of the 1'er.

 

[sobanoodle 45]

6 hours ago, qube said:

C63 AMG - too many idiots hooning in them making a loud noise, high running costs in fuel and tyres etc, again not too many good ones around anymore and a bit too old styling imo

Yep... Was following one through Ponsonby today. "Carbon” wrapped bonnet and no mufflers. I mean no mufflers at all, not even muffler deletes. Looked extremely dumb imho.

[M3AN 4016]

They actually sound pretty cool with the stock exhaust, not sure why you'd want to change that.

Arguably up there with the sound of a Ferrari or Lambo in terms of audible car porn pleasure.

 

[qube 3570]

still keeping an eye out for a manual E92 M3 

 

[///MPROVD 131]

Come take mine for a drive, see what you think. 

[NakiTouring 54]

Thread resurrection... Contemplating trading my E91 335i for a M3, probably the E90, as ideally want that 5th seat... Decisions... The 335i has sone minor mods, catless diwnpipes, silicon intakes, MHD stage 1, fatter anti sway bars, lowered a little over a standard M-sport, LSD diff and Alpina trans flash. Awesome car in it's own right. But the M3 is proper special and I just want one ;-) The main problem will be softening the wife up to the concept... Have my Polo GTI as a daily. Try talk me out of it lol.

[qube 3570]

Ive sold my dd 318ti because i never used it as much as I thought I would. My M135i was fulfilling all the duties very well - something your 335i wagon probably does for you also.

Ive also thought about the idea of an M3 and my thoughts now are - I want a car, 1 car, to drive to do everything. I dont want to mess around with 2 regos 2 wofs 2 maintenance. etc. 

so for now I am sticking with what I have and putting aside the M3 dream for another day.

 

[GorGasm 563]

Yeah I don't think the uplift from 335i to M3 would be worth the extra coin, I wouldn't call it proper special relative to the 335i...

[Navin 180]

Especially a 335i with the mods above. Lsd and upgraded sway bars on the 335i will bridge the gap in handling significantly 

[shuey 61]

On 11/28/2018 at 1:05 PM, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

Just do it...

What Rag Top said.  Did it recently after two years of research and searching.  Very pleased I did.

[Matth5 471]

On 4/23/2019 at 12:32 PM, qube said:

Ive sold my dd 318ti because i never used it as much as I thought I would. My M135i was fulfilling all the duties very well - something your 335i wagon probably does for you also.

Ive also thought about the idea of an M3 and my thoughts now are - I want a car, 1 car, to drive to do everything. I dont want to mess around with 2 regos 2 wofs 2 maintenance. etc. 

so for now I am sticking with what I have and putting aside the M3 dream for another day.

 

I've always though an M3 paired with something to handle the daily/commute stuff would be ideal.

But kinda like you, I have the 335i that does both jobs. If I have to start over (due to moving country, or crashing the 335i and getting an insurance payout), then I might look at getting 2 cars. 
But when I have the 335i, and I won't get back what I've invested when I sell it, and driving hard it still puts a smile on my face... yeah I can't justify an M3 ?
A tuned 135i/335i still provides plenty of fun... and uses much less fuel!

[NakiTouring 54]

10 hours ago, Matth5 said:

I've always though an M3 paired with something to handle the daily/commute stuff would be ideal.

But kinda like you, I have the 335i that does both jobs. If I have to start over (due to moving country, or crashing the 335i and getting an insurance payout), then I might look at getting 2 cars. 
But when I have the 335i, and I won't get back what I've invested when I sell it, and driving hard it still puts a smile on my face... yeah I can't justify an M3 ?
A tuned 135i/335i still provides plenty of fun... and uses much less fuel!

Yep, plenty of countering opinions on the subject it seems. At the end of the day, it comes down to the individual, what they're looking for in a car and where they see the value I guess. Really enjoy my 335i when I actually drive it properly, but as I'm only 2kms from work, I tend to use the Polo most of the time...the N54 wouldn't even get warmed up properly.

I've had the 335i for 3 years and, me being me, I'm itching to move on to something else. The idea of an M car with that lovely atmo v8 holds a lot of appeal.

Re fuel economy, it's not a major issue as the Polo does most of the miles, and I can't imagine the M3 would be vastly different to the 335i, which i struggle to get better than circa 10 litres per 100k on a big trip, much worse when on it.

[Matth5 471]

11 hours ago, NakiTouring said:

Re fuel economy, it's not a major issue as the Polo does most of the miles, and I can't imagine the M3 would be vastly different to the 335i, which i struggle to get better than circa 10 litres per 100k on a big trip, much worse when on it.

Oh the V8 is much worse, I think you'd be looking at something like 15l/km, so for daily that's not great. But if you aren't using it for your daily commute then that probably isn't a big deal.