[E36_325i]

Man, do it. The E46M is going away, soon to be gone FOREVER. If it's been your dream car then this should be a no brainer. You were lucky enough to even find an E46 M3 still on a dealer lot with the specs you would want. Forget about the fact the new M3 is coming out. We all know it's going to be in a whole different price league. And really, do you NEED the extra 60 or 70 horses that the V8 will produce? 333 HP is plenty (IMO). The engine is a work of art. If it werent they wouldnt use the 6 year old S54 in the new Z4M coupe and roadster. And nobody disagrees the E46 M3 appears timeless and will be a classic.

OK, here's my other argument. You can get the E46 now and if you get the itch again in a year or 2, you can get the new M3. This will give the new model time to cool down and you might be able to get some money off MSRP, and the first year bugs get worked out. The new M3 will be out next year, say 08, it will be around till 2013. Thats a looong time from now!

Get it. I did. Cant wait for delivery. For the record, I had an E90 330 on order and cancelled it for the M3.

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by canucklion

sorry bro, can't help you out on this one. I'm with the "buy it" camp. Like you and Bruno said before, and I wholeheartedly agree, you can get the 335, but it's not a "M". Beside, with the new model coming pretty soon, this would be a good time to get some rebate on the outgoing model.

yeah, your wife is awesome, I'm thinking you'll have to let her buy lots of shoes later on. I can imagine th following conversation going on for years to come:
wife: "hun, I wanna buy that pair of really expensive Italian designer shoes"
you: "no way, it's 1,000 for some stinking shoes"
wife: "yeah, but I let you buy the M3"
you: "okay, let's buy that shoes"

It would be even funnier if that wasn't soooo true.....

She's no dummy. I bet it took her less than the 3 minutes she sat in the car while I drooled over the M3 to go, "Wait a sec, if he wants that, we can trade in my car so he can get it, and I can drive this!" If you drove a Yukon(albeit a nice one) and you saw a way to get rid of it so you could start driving a nice 330i, wouldn't you jump on it??

[canucklion]

haha, in all seriousness, if you can afford it, I'd say go for it, yes, I mean the new M3 will up the ante in terms of performance, but the E46 M3 is no slouch, it's still a fast mean German machine, and I still think it's one sexy looking beast. I'll look forward to you posting your new M3's pics over at the picture forum.

[DerekS]

Here's another reason to buy the M3 : it doesn't come with RUN FLAT TIRES !!!! IMO, RFTs are the biggest mistake that BMW made for the E90/91/92. Hmmm, wonder why none of the M series have RFTs ? Do you suppose it could have something to do with handling/ride characteristics ?

[poldim]

I would get the M if it had iDrive

I say stay with the E90 for now, and see what the future brings. If shes willing now, chances are she'll still be willing later.

[pander5]

I'm gonna have to pile on with the rest of them. The M3 is also my dream car and this one's black to boot - my favorite color. I would jump all over this but I'd work the deal down as low as you can get them. If you really like the new M3 after it comes out get one in it's second year. You'd be driving this for say 2-3 years. Then, get the Mrs to offer the same deal - "Look, hon, if you really want it we can unload the 330 and I'll drive the black M3!!!" I'd be all over this one.

I be surprised if it's still on the dealer's lot by the time this thread ends!!!

[Agni]

Originally Posted by matsarge

I can fix that...

One thing I've been thinking about in regards to waiting for the new M is how much better will the new M really be? Yes, the styling will be updated and it will have new goodies inside but think about this. The current M pulls 0-60 in 4.6-4.8 (depending on which mag you read) which is only .1-.2 slower than the new M5 and M6 both of which have 500HP. Do you think BMW will allow the M3 to outrun the M flagship cars that run 20-30K more? I'm not so sure. If that's the case, the old M may be closer to the new M in terms of performance then we think.

M3 is lighter and smaller, so im sure it will be faster than the M5 and M6.
besides its only 2 cyl less.

[3s-a-charm]

2 year lease

[StewtheBassman]

What do you use the Yukon for. Would you miss it? (seriously...)

[N1]

BMW Car Sales Report for February 2006

2006 2005

February 15,463 13,341
Year-to-Date 30,918 25,952


Year-to Year-to
Model February -Date February -Date
2006 2006 2005 2005

325i (E90) 3,682 7,834 0 0
325i (E46) 0 11 3,315 6,401
325Ci 311 512 317 639
325Ci convertible 294 564 463 826
325i sports wagon 0 4 75 167
325xi (E90) 1,385 2,941 0 0
325xi (E46) 0 0 706 1,554
325xi sports wagon (E90) 250 379 0 0
325xi sports wagon (E46) 0 0 83 207
330i (E90) 1,575 2,471 0 0
330i (E46) 0 2 864 1,673
330Ci 182 330 211 470
330Ci convertible 339 627 340 651
330xi (E90) 858 1,536 0 0
330xi (E46) 0 0 408 845
M3 168 289 268 527
M3 convertible 96 186 131 254
3 Series 9,140 17,686 7,181 14,214
The car is going well, they had sold 168 units in february 2006 but perhaps decreasing sales ????

[clutch09]

Sorry matsarge but I cannot talk you out of this.. if I had that option I'd take it in a heartbeat. The E46 M3 has been my fav. sub 100K dream car since it came out and I don't think anything can replace the look of this car for me, not even the new m3.

[assuck]

i agree with whoever said 2 year lease. that way you get the best of both the e90 and the current m3 now and when the new one comes out you could possibly keep the e46 and trade in the e90 for the e92.

[canucklion]

agree, I still go googoo over gaga everytime I see an E46 M3

Originally Posted by kanishkl

Sorry matsarge but I cannot talk you out of this.. if I had that option I'd take it in a heartbeat. The E46 M3 has been my fav. sub 100K dream car since it came out and I don't think anything can replace the look of this car for me, not even the new m3.

[MoreCowbell]

Originally Posted by matsarge

Right and on top of that I still keep thinking about a comment I made earlier....

"The current M pulls 0-60 in 4.6-4.8 (depending on which mag you read) which is only .1-.2 slower than the new M5 and M6 both of which have 500HP. Do you think BMW will allow the M3 to outrun the M flagship cars that run 20-30K more? I'm not so sure. If that's the case, the old M may be closer to the new M in terms of performance then we think."

Do I really want to wait for a car that will be 10-15K more than this one and could end up being only a tenth or 2 faster?

Do you only care about speed?

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by gluck75

Do you only care about speed?

Not since my early 20's.....

[LEDZEP]

I get the itch every year too! Fighting this time, because I want to keep my car 3 years if I can.

[akhbhaat]

Originally Posted by Agni

M3 is lighter and smaller, so im sure it will be faster than the M5 and M6.
besides its only 2 cyl less.

No. Not a chance. The M3 will be quick, I'm sure, but the M5 and M6 are in a different league with that V10 - these two cars trap at 115-120 mph (those are 11 second 1/4 mile traps if the car has enough traction) and only get faster as speeds increase. The M5 gets to 150 almost by accident.

The M6 is only around 3700 lbs - 150 lbs heavier than the 335i. I doubt the M3 will be significantly lighter than 3500 lbs (especially seeing as the E46 was 3415) - if not heavier. Even with the maximum speculated 420 hp, the M3 will be nearly 100 hp shy of the V10 powered cars.

[ward]

you just said a car weighs "only around 3700 lbs"

'what's the world coming to?

[shimshimhada]

I really wish BMW surprises us and makes the new M3 LIGHTER (by a pound even) than its E46 predecessor; that would be awesome. Highly unlikely though, due to that big V8...

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by StewtheBassman

What do you use the Yukon for. Would you miss it? (seriously...)

Yes and No. I won't miss the money I'm spending on gas for that damn thing. With the mileage my wife puts on it back and forth to work, I'm spending around $250 a month on gas. I spend less than 1/2 of that a month for the 330. If I was driving the M3 and she started driving my car, we'd cut our overall gas bill by a 1/3, which would make the higher (potentially) car payment on the M3 a wash.

It's nice to have the sedan/SUV combo since one or the other covers about any driving "need" we have. We bought it because we do go on long trips at least once a year and it's nice to have the room to carry the family, luggage, dogs, etc. It has a ton of room, and I would miss that, but that only comes into play 2% of the year.

Bottom line, would I miss the Yukon? Only one/two weeks a year it seems....

[Brunotheboxer]

Originally Posted by matsarge

Bottom line, would I miss the Yukon? Only one/two weeks a year it seems....

no problem, just call hertz or avis.


it goes against everything i believe to be holy to talk anybody out of an M, sorry mate.

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by Brunotheboxer

no problem, just call hertz or avis.


it goes against everything i believe to be holy to talk anybody out of an M, sorry mate.

Funny you mention the hertz/avis thing. My wife and I were just discussing that as part of the "what will we do at Christmas" part of the discussion. Problem solved.

Trust me, I can't believe I'm actually being logical about this and debating the pros and cons of it of whether or not to buy it. How many times in my life will I have the chance to buy an M3! While I have faith that there will be many more, this could be THE chance.

Screw it, I guess I'm going to the dealership 1st thing Tues and see what we can work out. If they want to deal and meet my terms then great, I'll be driving an M3 by Tuesday night. If not, I'll pull back, regroup and try again when the new ones come out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained....