Funny this has been brought up. I am trading my 02 C32 in on a 02 M3 on Saturday (if it is still there). This car has been the most unreliable car I have ever owned, even worse than American made cars. Since last May when I bought it, it has been in to the dealership 11 times. From steering wheel issues, to the a/c breaking 3 times, constant lights burning out, stalling out on the road, leaking foglights, left window would not go up. When I asked if this was common I was told some are much worse. I guess all the Chrysler components going into the car are taking there tole. I won't be able to afford this car after the warranty expires at the end of this year. Buying an extended warranty is not cheap either especially for any AMG car which few warranty companies offer policies. The M3 for one looks sportier, comes with an extended 100,000k mile full warranty and with 22k miles it is like new. I only purchased the C32 because there were fewer of them around and I thought 4 drs would be nice. While all my repairs were under warranty it has cost me plenty in terms of time and missed work not to mention grief. The one thing I did love about the C32 was it's smooth power and the drive was sporty yet comfortable even with coilovers and larger wheels. Anyway enough rambling but I hope I will be better off in the BMW...

 

I have both too. My M3 is a SMGII. They are two different animals IMO. The only similarity is perhaps power, although C32 has a slight edge over M3.

C32 for:

1) Comfort
2) Daily driver
3) Ease of driving
4) Convenience
5) Reliability (May not be top notch but definitely better than M3)
6) Highway performer


M3 for:

1) Look
2) Engaging drive
3) Handling
4) Twisty country road performer

 

Well, from a pure looks perspective, the M3 wins in my book. I still think it's one of the best looking beemerz ever made.

 

Yes I agree. But C32 is the car I like to jump in to every morning when I go to work. M3 is a pain to drive in city traffic where I live.

 

Not the hijack the thread, but how does your C32 compare to the M Coupe, 1313? Because my wonderful local BMW dealer wrecked my 2001 M Coupe (and because of a baby on the way), I'm looking at a C32 as a replacement. Is it at least close to being as "tossable" as the M Coupe? I know the acceleration numbers are similar, but I want something that's fun on the twisties as well.

 

Not sure if you refer to stock or not but there is no way my C55 could ever be as tossable as my '00 M-Coupe. However the C55 has other attributes I like.

Rgds,
Norm

 

Where have you heard the S54 engine is maxed out?There are 3 tuners out there that can get over 420 hp out of that car staying NA

Delage motorsport has an NA kit that gets you 365 RWHP and spins the engine to 8,800 rpm.

Theres a guy on the m5 board with a m3 csl making over 390 hp and is NA.

Not to mention AA tuning with the supercharger kit and evo sport with there 500 rwhp kit.

These engines are alot stronger than you people think.FIND ME A BLOWN S54 with the latest rods and bearings.

BMW put 328i bearings in these engines at first and has fixed the problems now.

you can read about Mpilots delage m3 here

It ran a 12.2 and 0-60 in 3.9 and spins to almost 9k and is all NA power.

 

#2 for me NO....E46 M# iver C55 if you want a sports car, the biggest issue is they are not a valid comparison...compare to the S4

 

M Coupe had not traction control and it was a pure beast, the C32 is nothing like that, it is supercharged and can not be tossed very easily as well the ESP kicks on like a Mothe**Fu****...

 

My advice was strictly against buying a used M3 secondary to the fact that a consumer may not know if he is getting a re-engineered extended warranty M3 or an extended warranty E46 on a Deathstar motor without the inherent flaws being repaired. BMW dealers are not retrofitting the re-designed motors into all E46's as a recall effort, right? Throwing a rod or bearing high revving on a mountain pass could be fatal. I am glad the motor is not maxed out with the factory "fixes"; but I'll stand by my original advice.

 

Yes your right on the first engines but 90% of the cars out there have had the recall redone.

All the cars with the extended 100k are the ones that have the recal done(or need to have the recall done).If you get a new m3 now you only get a 3 year 36k mile or 50k warenty on the engine.

Your best bet is to get an early 2002 m3 so that you will have the 100k plan.late 02's and 03's don't have that option.

edit-I was looking at a 02 and an 03 m3 at BMW of peabody.The 03 was covered by them till 2006 or 36k miles the 02 was covered till 2008 and 100k miles.

 

I really don't know where to begin. M coupe and C32 are totally different. It's difficult to compare them. M Coupe is a raw sports car (Even more raw than M3) whereas C32 is very smooth. So much so that some call it characterless, especially with the conservative MB ESP setting.

If you are looking for a car to toss around, C32 ain't going to suit you. The ESP will not allow you to do it, even when you switched it off. I would say M3 will probably suits you better based on your needs. In fact I find M3 handles better than the M coupe.

I was torn between a M3 and C32. So I think the best solution is to have both of them. But if I had to choose between one of them now. The answer is C32.

 

Thanks for the clarification.