As long as you have the deposit on the E46 M3, why don't you wait it out? You can get a reliable $1500 12 yr-old civc in the meantime and just sell it for almost as much a year later. I'm not saying you should get an E46, but you will have the opportunity to test that & the E36 back-to-back to see which one fits you. $35k is an awfully large investment, & you don't want to come back to this board 1 year later & rave about your recent E46 test drive. Another idea is to get the M3, but still keep the deposit. I can bet that the E36's will retain most of it's value. Best of luck whatever you do!