10-16-2017, 09:46 PM | #1 |
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E46 or e90/92?
I'm sure this has been done ad nauseam but I'll put it out there again... I'm having trouble deciding between the e46 and the e9x. I want the most bang for the buck, with the least amount of headaches. I might do 1 or 2 track days/ hpde's annually. No smg if i get an e46 but i don't mind the dct in the e9x. Not Gonna lie, i love straight line speed too, after all, it's what we get to use most. So let me know your thoughts, this car will be my dd.
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10-17-2017, 06:18 AM | #2 | |
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This topic pretty much just happened here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424338 M3post is an e9X M3 forum, so expect answers to be biased that way here. If you go to M3forum, instead (e46 m3 forum), answers will be biased the other way. If you want low headaches on the e46, you're going to be looking for one in the $25-35,000 range. Or you could get a cheaper one and spend a couple days locking down the wear items yourself. But a cheap one ignored will not be headache free, now that they're 10-15 years old.
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12-29-2017, 09:11 PM | #3 |
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Ive owned both and i would say i like driving the e46 better. I also like more of a raw feeling car when i drive spiritedly. E90 was fun don't get me wrong. But at the end of the day e46 is my pick.
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12-29-2017, 10:04 PM | #4 |
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I’ve owned both...obviously both great cars but really different. The E9X is leaps and bounds a better DD due to added tech and comfort. The E46 I had was strictly for weekend rides and it was perfect for that...don’t think I could have daily driven that.
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12-31-2017, 01:48 PM | #7 |
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I'm a former Z4M owner, current '09 E90 M3 6MT owner (shameless plug: it's currently for sale @22k miles), and have driven the E46 M3
If you're going to use the car as a daily-driver, I would recommend the E90 M3 hands down. It's more comfortable, faster, more refined, and has more tech amenities than the E46 M3. The E46 M3 is more focused and "raw" but is an older car that may need more maintenance over time. But, if you're not driving it much, then it's probably a wash. Both cars will hold their own on a track. I haven't tracked my M3, but have driven both E90 M3 and E46 M3 on back mountain roads and the handling was very impressive. If BMW made an M3 with the E46 chassis and the E9X M3's V8, that would be the one to get! The S65 motor is a masterpiece. |
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01-01-2018, 07:03 AM | #8 |
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Thanks for the feedback and input fellas! i should mention that i ended up buying a nice clean e90 m3 in mid December. A few days later, i was offered a very nice e46 m3 by a close friend. honestly, i think my next move is to buy that e46 as well and see which one i prefer. I'll update this thread in a couple of weeks and let you guys know how things shake out.
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01-06-2018, 11:41 PM | #10 | |
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edit: i'm bad at reading threads
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01-13-2018, 11:58 AM | #11 |
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Before I bought my E9x, I desperately looked for a clean E46. But after searching for 2 years without any luck (Toronto area) I gave up. A lot of them have raked up high mileage and pretty beat up without any Subframe reinforcement / VANOS failure prevention. A lot of them also had skipped Inspection II Service, so valve adjustments were due. The things that added up to have the car the way I wanted was just too much. I wasn't THAT attached to the E46 M3, so I ended up with a very clean E92 M3. SMG is cancer by the way, the shifts are terribly slow and the SMG pump is made out of recycled egg cartons just like the HPFP found in the N54.
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01-28-2018, 08:03 PM | #12 |
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02-10-2018, 08:33 PM | #15 | |
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So I bought my e90 M3 back in early December, after hounding my best friend to sell to me his Mystic e46 M3 for the past 5 years. He'd told me unequivocally that he was keeping it forever since he bought it brand new back in 2004. When I texted him the pic of my "new to me" 2008 M3, he apologized and said that the e46 was at the shop getting some maintenance done so he could sell it to me!!! Imagine my dilemma lol. Believe it or not, my wife told me to just go ahead and buy it. Use the e46 as the daily, and the e90, which is freaking MINT as the garage queen. So there they are as of January 5th, cohabitating, at least for now. I love them both to tell you the truth. The E90 feels so much more refined, modern and heavier of course, but also so much more powerful. It feels like a muscle car compared to the smaller, lighter more nimble e46. The E46 however is an absolute fucking blast to drive. You simply cannot drive it without smiling. the sound the engine makes is incredible. Rowing the gears is a pleasure. anything beyond 4k rpm and you're going to have a great time lol. The e90 is simply a beast. It is to be highly respected. Too much fun in the e90 and you're going to jail. It's a rabid snarling beast (especially with all the mods) in sheeps clothing. Look at the pic below...the e90 looks so "ho hum" compared the the e46. The e46 clearly likes to party, while the e90 falls asleep by 9pm...but do not fuck with the e90 as it will put you on the wrong side of a 120mph very very quickly. Jokes aside, maybe I have the daily driver wrong here. The e46 is a blast to drive around town, plus I keep the miles off my e90 (only 72k on the clock). Perhaps in another life, the e90 would be the daily as its much more comfortable, refined, grown up even. The E46 is probably the better track/weekend car. For now though, I'm enjoying both...dreading the day when my wife says "Pick one".
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02-10-2018, 10:40 PM | #16 | |
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Thanks for the reply. i was refering to which one you are going to end up keeping haha. based on your description, i feel that i should go with the e46. or perhaps the true answer is both. its funny, im looking at s50 swapped e30s as well. god, only if i had resources for all three... i def could swing both e30 and e46 on a nice e90 budget tho, lol. i was joking around with my buddy of buying a old warehouse to house all the cars between him and i. lol. |
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02-28-2018, 09:19 PM | #17 | |
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I have a very low millage E46 M3 and I really love it. It's only a summer/week end car. I'm looking for a E9x as a daily, but i'm afraid about maintenance of that car as a daily. I'm no way rich, but only a fanatic and that V8 is calling me .... |
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03-09-2018, 01:57 PM | #18 |
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I daily drove an E46 M3 for 50,000 miles. I'd do it again, though I'd definitely replace the suspension components sooner the next time.
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03-10-2018, 08:37 AM | #19 |
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Ok, so here we are about 2 months in to e46/e90 ownership...
I pretty much drive the e46 at least 3-4 days a week, the e90 gets driven once a week and when I go out w/ the Family, we usually take the Prius lol. Both M's are garage kept, which I really think helps preserve things and keep wear down (captain obvious, I know). I only drive the e90 if the weather is decent and I'm not going to a huge parking lot; i.e. a restaurant, walmart etc. Both cars get around 19-21 mpg mixed; but the e46 can get up to 25-28 on the highway if I really try. The two door thing is a bit of a pain in the e46 when dropping my daughter off at school but we make it work... Not a huge deal. It's only been 2 months w/ the e46 and about 4.5 months w/ the M3 but, knock on wood, no issues to report. No squeaks, sounds, rattles or anything out of the ordinary. Both very solid, well kept cars. My thoughts about each one... I simply love the e90. The lines, the engine, the sound, all of it. It's more comfortable, it's more "dual purpose", and it's so much more modern than the e46. It still does retain some of that raw, direct involvement, of the e46, but not quite as much and in return, you get a more comfortable refined experience. It truly is the best of both worlds and for around $25-30k, you can't find a better value out there. It does everything I need it to do and does it all very well. I like the e46 a lot. I'm 40 years old so for me, this is what "an M3 is". This is what started it all. I was never a huge fan of the e36 and really didn't get into BMW's until the e46 platform (my first was a 2003 ZHP). With that said, it's just a bit too old for my taste, a little too unrefined, maybe even a bit too "spastic" for lack of a better term. You simply can't drive it like a normal human being; You have to put on your white helmet and piloti's and be the stig. To be quite honest, the e46 m3 is likely the better track car. It feels more nimble, more athletic (albeit slower) and more "rewarding" at it's limits, although I have to be honest, I haven't pushed either car too hard other than some spirited driving on back roads so I can't really speak too much about "limits". Still, this is the feeling I get after having owned both for a few months now. The e46 just feels too archaic for me at this stage of my life. It's not a bad DD and if there was the promise of something better down the line, say an F80 M3 or F10 M5, I'd drive the e46 for a few years, maintain it, maybe even mod it a bit, and be perfectly happy. Overall, I feel a little "bad" that the e90 sits in the garage most of the time. I do drive it, get it up to temp and let her stretch her legs a bit, but It's almost stressful to take her out and park her in public. Even if you park far a way by yourself, some jerk will inevitably park right next to you thinking they're funny. So in closing, not sure what I'm going to do at this point. The E90 is near mint. With 73k on the clock, a perfect blackstone report at 71k (and a history of clean bills of health from blackstone) it's one of those cars that doesn't come along very often. It's a notch or two, at most, below an EAG car, and it's almost full bolt on, save for headers. It's pretty darn fast. The e46 has been a daily driver for 140k miles and it shows. It's been exceptionally well maintained and always garaged, however it just feels that much older than the e90. Of course, the e90 still smells like a new car inside (that's one of the first comments when people get in). There's a part of me that wants to really make the e46 perfect and drive/enjoy it, but I know the e90 is one of those rare specimens and from what I can tell, slicktop, manual, e90's aren't a dime a dozen. I paid a premium for the e90 but I don't think It'll lose too much value over time, based on what it is and it's condition. I will say this - every time I drive e90, I feel like the choice is clear....then it goes in the garage and for the next few weekdays, I'm perfectly happy driving the e46... One of them is going to have to go soon as I really don't want to be doing maintenance on two M's for a prolonged period of time.
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03-13-2018, 12:42 AM | #20 | |
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