Well damn ....

Hey guys, I'm new to the site with my GTI but I came from a 2004 E46 M3 vert.

My 2 cents, Maintenance and other cost do get up there when they happen but thats the nature of having an M3.

Gas... you love the car so much that you don't really care.. lol, i was getting 17MPG granny footing it.

I drive mostly city, maybe 5-8 miles to work and back. so i was not enjoying the car at all, on other outings we used my girls SUV with the kids.

I decided to trade down to the GTI, which is fun but it def isnt an M3.

You want ppl to stare and compliment, while you have fun slamming your foot down = M3

you want to preserve your wallet a little not the M3...

Do I miss it, a little yes, but i have 2 kids now and had to make the mature move. Would I want one again in the future, you bet your ass.

Honestly, I am a huge M3 fan, and it was a tough choice when I was buying my GT. I was looking at it brand new however, and I just couldn't justify an extra $27k over my car, as amazing as the car is.

In a case between a used M3 and a "used" Golf R, I would go with the Golf R. You mentioned that you drive 15-20k miles a year, so if you average 17,500 miles a year, that's roughly $4,600 a year in gas you would spend with the M, and about $3100 with the R. That's a pretty big difference. Not only that, the M is out of warranty, and the coupe practicality sucks. The Golf may not be a better performance car, but it is by far the better car for every day use, especially if it's your only vehicle. You never have to worry about passenger or cargo space, you can take the car snowboarding or any kind of long road trip without worrying about changing road and weather conditions, and it's pretty much got a ton of warranty left. If you buy it pre-owned and certified, even better deal. Not only that, you're still paying 6k less for a nearly brand new car then one that's almost 6 years old. Best case scenario, even if you finance it for 4 years, it's gonna be a 10 year old car while you're still making $800 payments on it in the last year. And don't listen to whoever said that you're gonna pull more chicks in an M. I get all kinds of ass no matter what I drive. I could get ass on a trike. I am amazingly ruggedly good looking and have an amazing personality so that really helps.

Cliffs: Get the R.

maxtdi said:

Xplain

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becauseicantfindagoodassdeallikethatoverhere

In all seriousness i'll get a cpo b8.5 s4 after my wedding, but an M3 sedan with an ESS SC is also on my list..decisions, decisions haha

The M3 is one of my favorite vehicles. A White Convertible Hard top!

New R.

Coming from a previous E90 M owner. (see username)

Unless you had another car as a daily.. then it's a little tougher. I'm happy with my GTI, so imagine a NEW R :wub:

MMM.PWR said:

New R.

Coming from a previous E90 M owner. (see username)

Unless you had another car as a daily.. then it's a little tougher. I'm happy with my GTI, so imagine a NEW R :wub:

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I DD mine 60 miles a day and enjoyed every minute of it

Noize said:

Max, if by some crazy notion you'd be interested in that car, I'd be happy to check it out for you, and even put ya up for a night if you ended up flying out here to drive it cross country back West.

I bought a car once and drove from LA to Nashville in two days, and it was a friggin' blast.

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If he buys it, tell him to head up I-24 to my house on his way back

I'd drive down there and grab that, except I already have one. It's only 3 hours away from me.

Your buying a car thats in the 60k area brand new so the maintenance is going to be as such

GreasyGinzo said:

I DD mine 60 miles a day and enjoyed every minute of it

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I understand not everyone's experience will be the same. However, driving a 14mpg (city) car in rush hour traffic mon-fri was not exactly enjoyable for me. This is why I say having another DD would be ideal. Not knocking the M in any way, it sounds better than its then big brother E60's V10.

If you have a fun commute, then I suppose the M3 could be a fine daily.

MMM.PWR said:

I understand not everyone's experience will be the same. However, driving a 14mpg (city) car in rush hour traffic mon-fri was not exactly enjoyable for me. This is why I say having another DD would be ideal. Not knocking the M in any way, it sounds better than its then big brother E60's V10.

If you have a fun commute, then I suppose the M3 could be a fine daily.

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I daily'ed my E46 M3. I miss the shit out of it.

rawbdog said:

Golf R.

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Even better A3 Quattro DSG, basically the Golf R with a slightly longer body, DSG, Audi badges, and newer TSI engine.

K04 it and RASEKAR.

MMM.PWR said:

I understand not everyone's experience will be the same. However, driving a 14mpg (city) car in rush hour traffic mon-fri was not exactly enjoyable for me. This is why I say having another DD would be ideal. Not knocking the M in any way, it sounds better than its then big brother E60's V10.

If you have a fun commute, then I suppose the M3 could be a fine daily.

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It makes a perfect DD that's part of what makes M cars so special their multirole personalities. There is nothing that makes it hard or not enjoyable.

GreasyGinzo said:

It makes a perfect DD that's part of what makes M cars so special their multirole personalities. There is nothing that makes it hard or not enjoyable.

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That's the thing though, a peaky power band and piss poor gas mileage don't make a perfect daily driver.

koa789 said:

That's the thing though, a peaky power band and piss poor gas mileage don't make a perfect daily driver.

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It's not like it's slow at lower rpms and the gearing is perfect blend for easy driving and hammering the piss out of it. I understand we are arguing opinions here but I don't get how someone could say that an M3 is a shitty daily driver. It has all the creature comforts and top quality materials. The seats are comfortable and has plenty of headroom (at least my e92 without a sunroof did) if you have the power button off the gas pedal is very linear and the clutch pedal is light. If you have the M button then you can turn the weight of the steering down and with EDC on soft it rides pretty plush. I mean the car is arguably the best dual purpose car (DD and weekend track toy) ever. The only reason I can come up with that makes it not ideal for an everyday car is the gas mileage.