Impression of an M3 for a weekend.

It's the best car I have ever owned...better than my Carrera and Ferrari 360.

It has more impact and feeling of "speed" than either of the more expensive cars. Take off the traction control for wheel spin, put it in "sport mode" to unleash the power band, and look out. Excellent steering, and steering wheel. Control interface is perfect. Handles intuitively, and track times have confirmed that.


Niceties? Great sound system. Confortable well put together interior with real frickin' cup holders. Seat warmers that help with back pain. In the coupe, rear seat folds down. Cab? Buy a 330CiC...the M3 is sprung stiffer..the 330CiC suspension is the best I have ridden in for comfort with performance.

BWM are dependable. I have zero fear with mine. I don't see wearing out a clutch in 19K miles like Italian cars.

If I sneeze, there is a BMW rep there to check the sneeze, and see if the car is effected by it.

I feel at times finding the name of a head dude at BMW to tell them how good it is...and that I hope they don't screw up in the future. I was to sasy to them that the novelty and newness has never worn off. My old 325is did not get into a "groove" until 60K miles.

 

Do not be afraid of what appears to be techno overkill.

Why?

The cars based on the E38 electronic systems were all pretty good, despite having more gizmos then most anything you can imagine. This includes the E46 3 series, X5, and E39 among others, including the current Range Rover HSE MKIII.

Before this series of cars, all BMW used E31 derived electronics, the E32, E34, E36, etc.

Today the only car still made of this type is the E46 3 series (including ///M3).

All the bangle cars use variants of E65/66 tech and have proven to still be a little problematic...given time though that should pan out, as even the old E31 had electric issues when they first came out.

 

Although subjective, IMO there is no way the M3 is better than the Carrera and the 360 can hardly be considered a viable daily driver. My 996 6spd with factory sport suspension and 18" rims had vastly superior steering feel and handling "communication" than an M3. Build quality of the Porsche is also better, have a close look at a 4 year old Porsche and M3 side by side.
My wife just ordered a fully loaded carbon black, spirit nappa M3 SMG with 19's etc on Friday, trading our 330ci convertible. I tried talking her into a Porsche, but she loves her black BMW's. As to track times, a Cayanne Turbo has been shown to be faster on the race track in a number of well publicised tests!
The BMW is a great car for it's price, but not the "ultimate" car that many M3 owners seem to think.

 

Uro--I have had a '03 M3 Cab as a daily driver for 14 months now. It replaced is Maser Spyder, which had replaced a '97 M3 sedan. I have had two mechanical issues, both related to the drivers door (lock mechanism failed--couldn't exit through the driver's door, then the window position sensor failed--which ruined some weatherstripping and moulding).

Pros: Interior to me is nicely executed. Everything works consistently well. Comfortable seats, good stereo, nice gauges, very effective climate control. Car is quite enough with the top up. In very rainy Oregon, I have yet to detect a leak, and the car sits uncovered all day at work. Power is good, but the engine needs to be wound out to appreciate it. (Engaging the sport mode, which changes the electronic throttle map, helps this.) Handling, in sporty street driving situations is good. Power top works well.

Cons: The cab is hundreds of pounds heavier than the coupe, and this seems to make everything feel a bit sluggish. I have tracked the car twice, and it is just left me with a "blah" feeling. (Though I was able to pass 360's, 550's, etc. at a recent Ferrari track day--but that could be due to the other drivers not running their cars as hard.) Car understeers badly at the limit, and the brakes will fade a bit. The suspension is very stiff, making rough roads unpleasant.

On paper, this car would seem to be excellent. In reality, I wouldn't buy another, and I'm not sure how much longer I will keep the one I have. For less money, the 330CiC may be a better choice--less at the limit performance, but maybe more liveable in town (better torque, mildier suspension).

 

Do you think the lighter weight of coupe (necessitating less stiff springs) would mitigate the harsh ride?

 

For what its worth, the interior of my 2004 M3 Cabrio (which stickered at 55k or so, with SMG and some options) puts the interior of my 185k plus Porsche GT-2 to shame. The quality of the leather, the gauges, the trim, the carpeting, and everything else on the inside of the can is just higher, better finished, and better looking. The Porsche has a dashboard and center console that only a plastics saleman could love.

On to the drive. The BMW is fairly involving, for an upright, comfortable, boxy-style car; i just returned from a 600 mile round trip to Vermont, on some lovely backroads with plenty of dotted lines; despite the myth of its power, the car is not that fast, to me, at passing speeds, at least compared with a worldbeater like the GT-2; granted, the latter suffers from turbo-lag, but after a brief lull, you are FLYING; the BMW just doesn't power up like that.

Its pretty good on the squirrelies; its predictable, but doesn't hug the road like the Porsche; on the other hand, its a much more comfortable ride, roomier, easier to see out of, get in and out of, and i find it about as reliable as the Porsche, which is to say that its extremely reliable. To me, for the money, its more car for less than 60k new than alot of cars that are double or more the price; granted, you will get more performance, more exotica and more old world corinthian leather if you spend the bucks for a ferrari, an Aston- Martin or the like (along with commensurate bragging rights), but as a relatively high performance car in the real world, its hard to beat its combination of quality and relatively high performance (unless, like me, you want to do a pass and go from 65 to triple digits in less time than it took to type this parenthetical).

 

I agree. I think the suspension on the 330ci is the best I have ever driven for comfort and handling. The M3 is bouncy a smidge. That is why you could find M3 cabs in stock and coupes were harder to find. The guy that buys an M3 wants an M3 and the performance.

I had a 330ci...one of the first. I picked it up at the factory in Munich Euro Delivery. The steering felt funny. As it turned out....they had changed the power steering boost when they went from 328 to 330. I called BMW and voiced my opinion. After a bit.. they retrofitted the steering to less boost...which was fairly extensive work. No charge. This is the steering in production models now. All done to make the car feel right.

 

The engine drone seems annoying to me......enough so that I wouldn't buy the car. And the sport mode button...etc...is just soooooo silly.

I delivered one last month and spent a few days in it before I sold it. I am glad to be back in a 996.

 

You need sport mode in an M3.

It makes it much easier to drive in traffic. In sport mode it is so pipey off the line it would be a pain in the ass around town otherwise.

 

I drove an 02 M3 SMG for two years before trading in for a Maserati Spyder, Overall I thought it was a fun car with excellent build quality and was deceivingly fast. Was just to dam plain looking and looked to much like all the other 3 series on the road. Biggest complaint was the sound, Did not like that raspy weed wacker out of control exhaust note and it was still there after going aftermarket exhaust, One last thing about buying a 2002 is check build date, Up until a certain month they had a high number of motor's go boom. BMW gave 2002 owners an extra 2 years of warranty on motor's because of this

 

I have an e46 M3 as my daily driver. It is a nice car. No problems with it to date, I've had it for nearly three years. It has enough power for a daily driver and sounds pretty nice as well. BMW has a good maint. deal too. I was debating between the 911 and M3. The M3 won out on room, interior quality and it was 25k cheaper. Although I regret not getting the navigation system, the standard radio setup looks good. Like the gentleman above, get a GT2 for the weekend, you will be a happy camper.

 

I am on my second M3 convertible(01 and 03). Mine have been very reliable and alot of fun to drive. It is 95% the car my 355 spider is at half the price. Incredible car. I love them.

 

Not that many...and they stepped up to the plate and extended the warranty...which is fabulous. FWIW I don't know a single person (personally) that had an M3 engine go boom.

Porsche 996 had a problem with the rear engine seal leaking oil. and the hole for the seal was not in spec, so they had to replace engines if it was too far out of alignment.

My own 996 had the seal problem, but could be fixed. I have two friends that could not, and their engines replaced. Porsche offered me zero in warranty extension.

My friend Mel, who had his new 996 get an engine transplant at 1,000 miles...said "They gave me a free Porsche coffee cup!" . I was thinking...yea...I bet they did!

 

I am surprised someone felt that a porsche has better interior quality than the BMW. It isn't even close. The 996/boxster have incredibly poor interior bits. You can move the entire dash with your finger tips, and sometimes I feel than my 3 year old could pull out the center console if they yanked on it hard enough.

The BMW's interior is exponentially better, it harkens back to the interior quality of the 993's. Even the base BMW interior feels well assembled and solid. Either you had an exeptionally good 996, or an exceptionally bad BMW, for that conclusion to be drawn.

Bo

 

2 out 4 used M3's (over 12 months) that we sold at the last place I worked had engine failures. It's very common.........but BMW did the right thing..........after intense owner pressure I should add.

That sport mode button.....why didn't they just leave it like that in the first place......and the interior quality thing about the 996.....no kidding.....I've got a 1999 right now and it is Hyundai like quality.

But for the overall driving experience.....they're both great cars......

 

Gas Mileage. In sport mode as you know it holds the revs up much much more then Adaptive mode.

 

He is looking for a 4-seater - so the 996 is out

ABS, DSC, HPS, rev limiters, etc. These electronic gizmos are your guardian angel. They are there to make the car safer. All modern cars must have it. There's no way around it.

The M3 is a great car. If you are still undecided, consider looking at the competition: Audi S4 or Merc AMG C32.

Good luck,

 

I was not referring to the design, only the quality of the materials used and their longevity. As I said before, look at a four year old 40K mile M3 and Porsche side by side. The Porsche looks almost like a new car, while the BMW is very tired in comparison. A good friend of mine restores leather interiors for a living, if you love M3's you don't want to hear what he says about them.
Lastly, take them both to a track day yourself, then tell me that the M3 handles better than a 996. As I said IMO the M3 is a great car for the price, but definately not a better car than 996. I don't want to get drawn into an M3/Porsche argument, but the only real advantages of the M3 are marginaly more interior room, "sexier" interior and lastly the cruncher, much cheaper price.
I just lost this same argument with my wife, who wanted an M3, because she prefers the interior, liked the novelty of SMG and has had a 3 series since the launch of the E46, so it is a personal decision, but I consider my argument as objective as such a subjective issue can be.
Personally I would buy a low mileage 996 over an M3 any day. That said with the discounts now being offered on M3's, it isn't even worth buying second hand. The list price for our car was $169,582 (aussie dollars) on road. We paid $148,000 which is about what they are asking for a low mileage car.

 

Stephens, I can't comment on how the M3 handles compared to a 996, as I have only owned the latter. I do, though, currently have a 3 series 04 sedan. The interior quality of the 996 is crap compared to the BMW. Im talking about the quality of materials, not design. My 996 was a 99, so I am sure things got better. I still have a 2000 Boxters S, still has crappy interior construction.

1) On the BMW the door closes with a thud, the Porsche sounds tinny/loose.
2) The dash on the porsche is the ugliest/cheapest material I have seen, looks like my kids tonka trucks were melted down to make it. BMW has a nice rich feel/texture to it.
3) Porsche seats feel cheap...
4) Porsche controls/audio/ac/ feel cheap. My mustang had nicer controls.
5) The steering wheel stalks/turn signal/etc on the porsche are so cheap, I can't believe it. Very sloppy controls.
6) The interior door handles on my 996 and Boxster were very worn within 30k miles.

It sin't even close. I love porsches, and have owned quite a few. This is my first BMW, and I am surprised how nice it is. If I had to chose one, I would keep the beemer and dump the Boxster S. Dont get me wrong, I may still own another 996 in the future (they are dirt cheap now), but I can't believe that someone loves the cheap interior...

 

Wouldnt trade mine for the world.

Almost three years (built 01 - 02 model) and zero issues at all (other
then weatherstripping). BMW has always given excellent service, and always
made sure I was taken care of.
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