gsribhud

I cant decide!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Xristo

M3 is more of a "real" sports car. The C32 is, in my opinion more of a "luxury sports sedan".

My soon-to-be has an M3. The thing handles like a race car, and with the manual gear box, you are in full control of the vehicle.

When purchasing the M3 you are also given a 2-Day instructional course in South Carolina. You have to get there yourself, but the class is paid for by BMW.

bagwell

if you want 4 doors get the C32, if yo uonly need 2 doors, get the M3 (preferably SILVER!)

gsribhud

thats the problem, i dont know what i want

bagwell

go drive BOTH cars, then decide (good luck finding them to drive)

Accord

The C32 is infact slightly faster than an M3, however an M3 will have a slight edge on the track because it has slightly better handling than the C32.

The C32 is pretty much equal performance wise to an M3, so if a C32 and an M3 race, it will all come down to the driver. Also, if buying an M3, I wouldn't even think twice about getting manual, I would definetly get the SMG2. The only thing that the M3 has that I would like on a C32 is the SMG2 transmission.

the interior on a C32 is much nicer, it is a lot safer, much more reliable, I could go on forever.

Unless you're a diehard BMW lover, go for the C32.

FrankW

actually the only thing that would stand between the M3 and the C32 is that one has 2 doors and one has 4 doors. performance wise, the SMG II M3 should run the same number as the C32 from 0-60, but the M3 does handle much better. M3's ride is also much harsher than the C32.

the 6speed M3 can run 4.7 from 0-60, but that ONLY applys to those who know how to shift and shift well. that means unless you are the test driver from BMW, the magzine test driver, or the real race car driver, keep on dreaming.

so, in the end it is the matter of choosing a 4 door or a 2 door depend on your needs.

pocholin

Hard desicion, I'd personally for the C32, if you are going to be driving on stop and go traffic manual transmission can be exhausting. Let us know what you got

Ice 9

That's my problem, I am still "Granny clutching"

Accord

Actually, there was an article back in 2001 from a magazine called "AutoCar" or something along those lines, they reported that they tested the C32 0-60 at 4.6 seconds. The nickname they gave to the C32 was the "M Killer."

Unless your last name is Schumacher and your first name is Michael, acheiving 4.6 seconds is very unlikely, although it's nice to know the car is capable of it .

AMGDood

C32 all the way unless you want a blown engine after a few thousand miles. performance wise M3 probably has better handling and in a straight line all i can say is two m3's have fallen victim to me in the last 3 days. And lastly Mercedes is just soo much better. haha

FrankW

percentage wise both the M3 and C32 have the similar numbers. there are more story on the blown engines from the M3 because M3 has much larger volumne of production.

i just hate that when people are being stupid. get the facts right, understand the reason for the blown engine before making that kind of statement. larger number of the blown engines are cause by the drivers.

i have always been both the BMW fan and the Mercedes-Benz fan.

Norm C32

Frank, here is the skinny on M3 E46 motor, not the driver:

guess rod-bearing clearance was reduced by 3mm and encompasses a 50 day period around Nov./Dec. '01. Next time I run around an E46 M3 I'll ask for a build date. Luckily the this happened in straight away where all the Porsche driver had to do was stand on the brakes and let the ABS do the job. It looks like a 911TT as the only time the 911 driver gains is on the straight aways and a little in the braking zones.

video:
http://www.mfailure.com/mfailure02.mpg

Norm

r_1_c32

I believe there are over 60 blown M3 engine and this percentage is much much higher than 2 blown engines documented for C32. Don't get me wrong, I respect the M3 as C32's competitor.

Accord

Well, BMW does like to advertise that their Formula One performance refects upon the way they build their "ultimate" driving machines. I guess they're right .

Now JPM can blow his engine in both of his cars .

krm

I agree with Frank in that it really depends on your needs and preferences of owning a 2 or 4 door car. Either one is a great driver's machine.

Regarding the problem with blown engines, as Norm stated, this only happens to a specific group of M3s that were built in that time range. It's not too surprising that M3 owners with blown engines are not happy campers and advocate their problems widely. As of the June '02, there are approximately ~8200 M3 (coupe & convt.) in the US and about <100 or so reported problems, so the other ~8100+ folks in the US which have no blown engines are driving more and posting less.

As a car enthusiast, I am admire both brands of cars. Its typical that there is a sense of bias when you ask such a question to the MB crowd . You can go to a BMW board and get another perspective in favor of the M3. So as bagwell already said, you should go and test drive both cars if you can (be sure to test both transmissions on the M3) and see how it fairs from your perspective. my $0.02

gsribhud

im think im going with the m. I think its sportier for my taste. Racking my brains on this decision. Thanks for all your input.

pocholin

Good desicion, if you don't care about a bumpier drive the M3 is the way to go because of the manual transmission.

krm

Great to hear you have come to a decision, a tough, but fun one it is! So will it be 6-spd or SMG? Looking forward to the pics of your new ride.

gsribhud

6 spd, silver, imola red interior, october delivery

FrankW

So, that the portion of those blown engine M3s were all build within the same time frame. It's just someone in the factory screwed up i guess. don't like to admit it, but i think M3 is much more of a true sports car than the C32.

gsribhud : good decision. you couldn't gone wrong either way.

btw i had the chance to get into a 355 F1 spyder yesterday. Now, that thing was a beast. Ferrari's sequential manual tran is awesome.

Boo2

The M3 is more of a looker than the C32. If you want more attention go with the Bimmer.

FrankW

yup. C32 is WAY too much of a sleeper. only few knows what it is, and out of those people, only few has the gut to take one on.

M3 is a good way to attract young chics too.

krm

tasty :p

FrankW

i still like the phenix yellow if i got the M3 instead.