E36 vs E46

[Tom Donnelly]

I'm looking at daily drivers and wondered if I could get some opinions of the E36 vs E46.
I race an ITS Datsun but I've been looking at some good used bimmers. Nothing new,
just some 1998 / 99 325's vs the '00 328. Anything in particular I should look for? Any
opinions? What breaks? Which is better? That kind of stuff.
Thanks,
Tom

[Andy Bettencourt]

Pricing on later E36 M3's is awesome now. I had one and they are just great cars. You might be able to get into a 97 or 98 for the price of a 00 328.

[Tom Donnelly]

Didn't think about that. I'll take a look.
Thanks.

[kthomas]

Tom-
Proly way cheaper to get into an E36, and way cheaper to hot rod. I have a 2001 E46 330ci because I love the E46 body, but parts are silly dollars compared to an old Z! Whichever way you go be sure to have Tony B at Buckhead MotorWorks do the servicing you don't do yourself. bimmerforums.com and e46fanatics.com are my two fav sites if you want to do some research.

Luuuuke, come to the daaaaaark side!.

[JeffYoung]

This is a bit of an oddball, but if you have $15k-20k, and don't need 4 seats, the 98/99/00 M Coupe is a GREAT car. I had one from 00-03, sold it to go racing....mistake!....lol.....

There's only a couple thousand in the US, so very unique. For two adults + luggage (or dog) it has a lot of room -- the hatch is huge. I used to carry my greyhound and luggage for weekend get aways. The S52 motor is AWESOME, probably a better street mill than the S54 (just as torquey, and more reliable). It does have the E30 suspension in the back as opposed to the better setup on the E36, but for non track driving, you'll be fine (and I enjoyed mine on track too).

Brakes are great. YOu have to watch the subframe mounts and shock towers.

If you need 4 seats, you can't go wrong with a late model E36 M3 though. Not as stylish maybe as the M Coupe (although some would debate that...lol..) but an incredibly competent car.

If I were looking for a 50-70k street car for $15k, the E36 M3 and S52 E36/8 M Coupe would be at the top of the list. M Coupe if I could live with 2 seats, E36 M3 if I needed four.

[JoshS]

Just have to agree w/Jeff -- I had mine from '98-'02 and even to this day regret selling it. I'm lucky to be racing its slower cousin now.

BTW, there's no such thing as a '98 M Coupe, '99 was the first year. The M Roadster did first appear as a '98.