E36 M3 or 330CI - Decisions, Decisions

KryptidE · #1 (**permalink**) 05-07-2008, 12:26 PM

Gents, How's it going.
As a former owner of a '97 328is that was quickly sold once i realized the Marine Corps had no use for me in the States, I have been a long time fan of BMW's. Coming on 5 years now, having been deployed/stationed overseas the entire time, I have saved for myself a comfortable pot for me to throw into my new obsession when I separate from the Corps and return to the States.

This is where your opinions would be helpful. with a budget of 20k in mind, my dilema occurs when i try to decide if want to purchse an E36 M3 or a newer 330CI. I've been gone a bit and am a little behind the time.

What can you guys help me out with?
What are your opinions considering my budget?

M3-Zero · #2 (**permalink**) 05-07-2008, 01:12 PM

First off, Semper Fi and thank you for your service to our country. My oldest son is a Marine who, after 2 tours to Iraq, is now stationed at Camp Pendleton. As for the car, you'll find lots of opinions here and I'll offer mine as well: Go for the E36 M3. For $20G you can get a nice low mileage one and still have plenty for reasonable mods. The 330CI was a nice ride but the E46 styling was never my favorite. Good luck and thanks again for the sacrifice you have made so the rest of us can sit back and talk about cars!

KryptidE · #3 (**permalink**) 05-07-2008, 01:39 PM

Just looking around, i've seen e46 m3's going for 20k. however they come with high mileage (100k) ...opinions?

also, does anyone have any good source material i can review? other than trusty ol' google that is!

92318is · #4 (**permalink**) 05-07-2008, 06:21 PM

Quick question, are you looking to pay for the car outright, or could you stomach a ~$10,000 car loan? If you can handle it, you could get a newer (e46) m3 with anywhere between 30,000 miles to 60,000 miles for around $30,000.
If getting a loan isn't something you want to do, go for the e36 m3

As far as source material goes...I don't know of anything off hand, but if you do a search on the forum here, I'm sure you'll find plenty of material

And I'm also sure you will find that [almost] everyone else will say get the e36 m3 over the e46 330ci. The 330ci may be less of a hassle and cost less in maintenance, but I believe the m will come out ahead in the all around driving experience, not to mention it is a faster car.
Good luck with your decision