OT: Crazy, stupid fun in a car: 2003 M3

[dpdan93]

Originally Posted by CDollarsign

My dad just went from an E60 M5 to the F90. Needless to say, I really miss the E60...

While the F90 has endless creature comforts and feels WAY faster, the sound from that V10 trumps all. I also really miss the SMG and throttle blips associated with it on the E60. The F90 also feels a lot bigger than the E60...

not sure I've ever heard someone say they miss SMG...

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by tuxbailey

Reading this thread makes me miss my e36. Don't miss the maintenance, even the DIY ones.

It’s not all that bad

[CDollarsign]

The car lost its mechanical feel. The new gearbox is really fast and smooth but the car loses the raw feel of the E60.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by Ozz

At least he had the good taste to only stick on course decals of where he has driven.....(Portland Int'l and Pacific Raceways)......I assume.

You don't believe the 'Ring sticker on the tuner car at the stoplight?

Oregon east of the mountains is our preferred route to and from Bend. We cross at Biggs Junction and head for Chinook Pass if it's open. There are good stretches of road to balance out a little boredom, and it's not I-5.

[cgates66]

Originally Posted by dpdan93

not sure I've ever heard someone say they miss SMG...

Never an owner but I drove the SMG - it's not an automatic gearbox, and that put some people off. You have to "drive" it, not exactly like a manual, but it is not a full-auto (DSG, torque converter etc.). Personally, I really liked the feel for spirited driving but it was a little tricky if you weren't used to it in stop-and-go. I always felt that the SMG matched the BMW-ness of the E46 and E60.

However, my opinion may be invalid because I didn't care much for the e36, which I only ever thought was "okay" - about like a B5 S4, maybe a little sharper and little slower (U.S. model only - no opportunity with Euro engine for either, which was allegedly much, much better esp. for BMW).

[2000m2]

Originally Posted by grateful

Don't forget the 1M. A friend of mine owns a very small, used car dealersphip and he has a 1M on his lot. I had just about convinced my wife that the car is unique (which it is) and that it won't depreciate (which is a longshot, but) when Covid hit. Car is still there. Truly an "M" if there ever was one.

QUOTE=cgates66;2731951]E46 M3 may be one of the best cars BMW has ever made. It was and is a fantastic car. Very direct. That and the similar-vintage E60 M5 may be the recent zenith of BMW. I haven't driven the latest, but I know the early F10 and related generation was a pretty significant departure.

[/QUOTE]

All great cars!
Do you Have a link to this 1M or more details?

[grateful]

Here you go.

https://www.suttonmotorsports.com/ve...6509a406c07fe6

All great cars!
Do you Have a link to this 1M or more details?[/QUOTE]

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by grateful

Don't forget the 1M. A friend of mine owns a very small, used car dealersphip and he has a 1M on his lot. I had just about convinced my wife that the car is unique (which it is) and that it won't depreciate (which is a longshot, but) when Covid hit. Car is still there. Truly an "M" if there ever was one.

When the 1M was sold back in the day, I actually found one at a dealer in Rockford, IL who was willing to sell it at MSRP.
Chicago market was already completely sold out and nationwide there was a premium between $7K and $15K.
This was supposed to be a daily driver for my wife, she liked the car a lot but was worried about RWD in winter so we passed, one of the biggest mistakes I ever made car wise

[grateful]

As long as we are talking cars here is my current sled. Need to mount my bike rack as I just found out that my bike build is complete and she is ready to pick up.

[RacerJRP]

The E46 is a great chassis, and well kept examples are coming up off the bottom of the pricing curve. If this car is in overall "good" condition, and its kept that way, you can likely enjoy for a few years, and then pull you entire (initial) investment out of it.

Have driven a bunch of them. both stock-ish on the street and fully caged and prepped race cars on track. They are SO easy to drive at the limit, and lap times are always faster than they feel.

I do find fault in the OP's statement about $$ in the bank being more important than a fun car/ race car....or something like that

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

It’s not all that bad

I know. I enjoyed the 10 years I owned the car, including all the DIY projects (shocks, struts, radiator, trailing arm bushing, ECU update, etc....) I had gotten good at taking the trunk liner apart to access the shock tower for service...

Still miss the driving dynamic of the car, but there is something to be said in driving maintenance free vehicle (Acura) outside of routine stuff.

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by tuxbailey

I know. I enjoyed the 10 years I owned the car, including all the DIY projects (shocks, struts, radiator, trailing arm bushing, ECU update, etc....) I had gotten good at taking the trunk liner apart to access the shock tower for service...

Still miss the driving dynamic of the car, but there is something to be said in driving maintenance free vehicle (Acura) outside of routine stuff.

I'll be willing to take my statement back after I change the cabin filter today though.

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

I'll be willing to take my statement back after I change the cabin filter today though.

I forgot about that piece of gem.

For the E36, I had to drop the whole glove box to do it. Then I found an "easier" way where I had to contour myself to lie across the floor and remove just the cardboard bottom panel of the glove box, then use hand only to pull the old filter through the wires, etc.

Not missing that after changing cabin filters in modern Japanese cars.

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by tuxbailey

I forgot about that piece of gem.

For the E36, I had to drop the whole glove box to do it. Then I found an "easier" way where I had to contour myself to lie across the floor and remove just the cardboard bottom panel of the glove box, then use hand only to pull the old filter through the wires, etc.

Not missing that after changing cabin filters in modern Japanese cars.

Yeah I’ll be using the rip it out from the bottom method again

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by grateful

As long as we are talking cars here is my current sled. Need to mount my bike rack as I just found out that my bike build is complete and she is ready to pick up.

Sweet Cayman!