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Would you trade for a e46 M3??

maxtdi

Go Kart Champion
+ 1.

As much as I love the E46 M3, I would only get it in manual.



Why are you selling yours? Problems or just want a new car?

I am going to a 1 car scenario, I don't drive enough to justify having two. And frankly the M3 isn't "fun/crazy" enough to be a weekend car. And I want something more desirable to drive daily than my golf.
 

Abbott Martin

Go Kart Champion
Sell the GTI for $18k and put the $7k in the bank. Or buy an aftermarket warranty.
 

Tk_mkv1

Go Kart Champion
I am going to a 1 car scenario, I don't drive enough to justify having two. And frankly the M3 isn't "fun/crazy" enough to be a weekend car. And I want something more desirable to drive daily than my golf.


Shouldnt have to sell your vette. I know youre into s3 as your solution for 1 car, right?
 

caffeineTX

Ready to race!
I have a friend that just bought a used 335i and the transmission took a shit on him. $3k to replace/fix it.

I wouldn't get a german car without a manual transmission anyways, takes away the purpose of a well built german sports car for me.

I would trade for a e46 or e9X with a manual pretty quickly.
 

maxtdi

Go Kart Champion
Shouldnt have to sell your vette. I know youre into s3 as your solution for 1 car, right?

Yep I should have kept my Vette/Jeep combo. But hindsight is 20/20
 

JulieDriving

Passed Driver's Ed
I am going to a 1 car scenario, I don't drive enough to justify having two. And frankly the M3 isn't "fun/crazy" enough to be a weekend car. And I want something more desirable to drive daily than my golf.

Makes sense. S3 = :thumbup:
 

UncleDaddy

Passed Driver's Ed
I've owned an e46 and an e36 M3, and i can say that the GTI is a way better DD. When I wasn't constantly replacing pulleys, bushings, sensors, guibos, etc., I would just worry about what was going to break next. Oh and don't forget about the $1200 valve adjustments every 30-40k miles. M3's are amazing cars but they aren't worth it unless you got money (and time) to burn.

Keep the GTI!
 
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McQueen77

Banned
OP, if you want a BMW, lease one or buy one CPO and sell it when the warranty runs out, rinse, repeat. The jury is out on 'reliability' but its pretty much common knowledge that owning a high end BMW out of warranty and having it be your DD is going to cost you epic money. Keep your VW or lease a Bimmer.
 

Winoman

Ready to race!
I've owned an e46 and an e36 M3, and i can say that the GTI is a way better DD. When I wasn't constantly replacing pulleys, bushings, sensors, guibos, etc., I would just worry about what was going to break next. Oh and don't forget about the $1200 valve adjustments every 30-40k miles. M3's are amazing cars but they aren't worth it unless you got money (and time) to burn.

Keep the GTI!

What he said....at least its something to consider. You have to consider what you'll mostly be doing with the car. if its driving on a track - maybe the M3 is for you. Also the type of daily driving could influence your decision. I could imagine the GTI being better to live with in stop and go traffic than an e46 M3...

I also think the GTI is a great car to drive - particularly modded a bit. My GTI drives so well - handles great - is tons of fun and is very fast. I really like the smallness of it. I also own an e46 330i ZHP (performance package). OK - its not an M3 - but it does drive very nice and I have no complaints. And while I might prefer it over a stock GTI (BMW is completely stock) - I definitely am enjoying the GTI over it at the moment and likely will continue to do so. Again - not taking away from the BMW - as it is great fun to drive (and an e46 M3 would be Moar better in almost every measurable way...though an argument could be made that the ZHP is a better daily driver and can be thrashed with less risk of a ticket etc - but still being very fun...etc). Again the small size, tossability and just plain super fun to drive of the GTI ultimately wins out IMO....(for me anyway....)
 

SayaGTI

www.meatspin.com
Meh, my SMG E46 was problem free for the 3 years I had it. I loved that thing.

My valve adjustment was only 800 bucks...If they're charging you 2k to do a valve adjustment they're either ripping you off or there were other things they did to touch that number.

Now I'm in an e90 M3 and love it.
 

MSchott

Go Kart Newbie
The E46 M3 is a great car, 3 series enthusiasts revere that car. However it's not a good DD, poor ride and expensive to fix. As said by many, the SMG is troublesome, it does not work well and is not reliable. A low mileage 6MT E46 M3 is a wonderful weekend car.
 
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