Re: E36 M3 vs E46 330i (archive)

Of course test driving will make the final decision easy, but there aren't used E36 M3's just sitting on the lot which makes things a bit more complicated.

So I'm definitely leaning towards the M3 at this point, especially after hearing that the insurance is only about 10% more. Warranty is another issue, although it seems that a CPO car could help with that quite a bit. Any comments on the CPO program/warranty?

I threw the S4 in there because I do think it is a more luxurious car, but with a simple chip, can put out 300hp with AWD & a 6 speed transmission to help harness it. On paper it sounds great, and it even beat the M3 in a Car & Driver comparo a little while back, but I still have a thing for the M3.

The M Roadster was thrown in there because a friend of mine used to have one and we always had a blast zipping around in that thing during spring/summer. Whatever I get will be my daily driver, so that's a big minus for the roadster. It definitely handles worse than the regular M3 because of that OLD OLD (E30-based) trailing-arm rear suspension. But it was SOOO much fun with the top down ;)

So I guess what I've got to do now is go test driving. Maybe I'll ask on the E46 and Audiworld S4 forums for the other side of the story too ;)

Thanks again guys!

Mike

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