I used to own an E46 M3 before I bought a C350 coupe. I was folling around with with some pictures I had of both cars and layered one over the other. It is amazing how close they are in both design and dimension. I am putting 3 pictures. one of the M3, one of the C350 and the one where they are combined.

 

The real question is which one do you like more after having the e46?

 

yes, what he asked! I almost got a 135i but at the last minute changed to. C350 coupe. I really like the MB until I start driving hard or consider taking it to the track for HPDES.

 

Intersting comparison and I too once had an E46 M3 (convertible though)and it's one thing I love about this new C Class coupe, ie. it's o\a dimensions (proportions aside) which for me is just perfect, both the Audi A5 and BMW E92 Coupe were a little to large for my liking

I too was a stones throw away about 3 years ago from buying a 135i, all things considered right here and now comparing the 2 I'm happier with the choice of the C Class coupe

 

I had an enormously long answer typed but my battery died and have to start over, which is probably good for you.

Maintenace cost goes to the c350. Even though it appears high, the 60k mile maintenance for the m3 was $2k. If you had to buy an engine from bmw the cost was $22k. I had an smg and if it needed repair it would be between $4k and $8k depending on what had to be replaced.
If it matters to youI actually get more attention with the c350 than the M3. Probably because i have the only one around, maybe even the only on in Nh. The inspection station had to enter year and model for the first time in 20 years.
Driving impression goes to the c350 after i learned how t drive it better. Cornering hard in any car takes practice on when to downshift and accelerate. The m3 took less practice because it was built for the track and the c350 will never be "as good" but it good enough 99% of the time.
Acceleration off the line goes to tne c350 but once you got out of first in the m3 and kept it over 3500 rpm, the m3 wins.
The m3 had a small advantage in that undefinable fun factor, but very small. To give an example of this, i took a 335 out for a test drive and at first was not totally impressed but after i got used to the lag i thought it was pretty close to the m3. Tht s until i got back to he dealer and back into the m3 and realized they weren't even close. The moment i drove the c350 i was in love. Even after i got back into the m3.
as for day to day driving, the c350 wins hands down. I only got my wife into the m3 4 times in 4 years. This is good and bad but if you wanted to go for a weekend trip or to a friends cookout the m3 was staying at home. She has been in the c350 4 times in the first month.
the only comment is that she thinks it is a little loud. That is mainly because we have a lot of country roads so i us the paddles a lot. Plus i am used to using them on the m3.
this even ended up being a bit long but wanted to give different aspects.
as for the person who almost bought the 135, this has come in close to the bottom in about 3 different comparison tests i read. One of them had a mustang beat it in overall testing. I have read a few comparison tests on the c350 and some of them think it is the first car to bezt the 3 series which has never had a serious challenge. Another compared the new c63 coupe to the m3 and the m3 beat it by one point and that was because the m3 warned you sooner if the back tires were going to come around on you. It sounded more like they couldn't bring themselves to put it over the m3.
yes i like the c350 more than the m3. Now i just have to wait for my plates to expire so i am not driving a c350 with license plates that say E46-SMG.

 

You had no interest in getting an e96?

 

I dont like any bmw made after the e46. Bangle destroyed the looks and the price of them is insane. I looked at a new 335 and it had a sticker of $57k. The interiors are very odd in design. One of the packages has rippled wood that imho is UGLY. I just like everything mercedes is doing with the c class. My wife owns a 2009 c300 we bought used. Keep in mind that my wife is happy with a pinto. She has never cared what she drove. I bought her a lexus es350 and she drove it but never cared about it. We went to an infiniti m35x and again it was ok. I brought a c300 home for her to drive and she appeared to really like it. I left the house and she called me on my cell and said she wanted that car period. That speaks volumes. She doesnt even like driving and could not wait to get th car and drive it. Sometimes she finds excuses to drive it. Like i said, they have done wonders with the c class.

 

It is best to have both e46 and C350. Even though I only have 330i instead of M3, I still love my bimmer. The C350 is my wife car and I can drive both hahahah!

 

I didn't elaborate on that one, but that was the reason I didn't end up buying, as good as it was in some respects, I chose something else

Absolutely agree with your other point there, the only reason why I've purchased a new C Coupe is because it's the 1st MB in this class I've ever considered and won me over because of how good a job MB have done with it and how well it compares to its direct competition

 

When you think about it, when MB gives BMW a run for it money, the car buyer wins. A perfect example of this is the 2010 E class. It is a better car with much better styling yet cost $3500 less than the previous version it replaced. I cant help but wonder if the price of the new C Class would have been higher if they weren't going after the 3 series so hard. I do know a I got an extra discount because I was a BMW owner.

 

When I bought my C350 I got an extra discount for owning a BMW. I didn't have to trade it, just show the current registration. It was not advertised to the public and MB of Boston was the nly dealer that mentioned it. It was one of the reasons I ended up buying new instead of preowned. With the extra discount, I only paid $8k more for a 2012 coupe than a 2010 c350 sedan. When you consider the base price of the coupe is over $2k more than the sedan, I probably could have bought a 2012 sedan for $6 more than the 2010. It might have been a smaller delta when you consider the lack of availability of the coupe. The coupe I ended up with was located at a dealer 500 miles away, which was the closest one that a dealer would give up.

 

Here is the link.

https://mbworld.org/forums/groups/c350-coupe-club.html