tw2

I have been very keen on getting an E63 for a while now and they are becoming affordable for me. However I also enjoy throwing a car around a winding mountain road which the E63 is not really so suitable for (neither is my CLK for that matter, my old 350z certainly was). In reality most of my driving is around town and there is not a lot of hard cornering to be had on long trips.

I know a lot of people here have weekend cars, 2 seaters etc as well as their E55/63. If you had to pick one car only which would you go for? The brute force amg accelation or something a little smaller and more nimble assuming number of seats and boot space is not an issue?

Acceleration you can enjoy at every intersection and on the highway but traffic usually ruins any chance of making every round-about into a themepark and the opportunity to blast through a canyon doesn't come around very often.

dbworld4k

I don't exactly have a pure/true sports car, but I'm more of a driving enthusiast than a straight line speed guy. The E55 is the perfect commuter and daily driver, IMO. Swaths of luxury, comfort, and more power than you could possibly use.

Luckily, I have my highly modified E39 M5 to satisfy my purist needs of canyon carving, strong chassis feedback, lateral road holding, and that irreplaceable 3rd pedal

If I had to choose one, I'd keep the M by miles even though the AMG is a great car in it's own right. I'm a purist and driving enthusiast at heart, not a drag racing junkie. Thankfully I am fortunate enough to own the best of both worlds.

adl320

I'm with you. I picked up a C55 AMG last year and am considering moving to an E55. But, I'm keeping my E34 M5 stroker either way. Awesome, raw performance and the best driving car I've owned. It was my DD for two years and I love having an AMG and an M in the garage!

Exotic-metal55

If you dont need the room, then two seaters are more nimble, unless you get a big battle ship like my 2 door cl55.

Redw20855amg

I vote C63 the car is on a rail!

cij911

Very different cars and functions....For most, an e55 / 63 would be a much better daily car than say a 911TT....That said, when I was younger, single, and with no kids it was a different story...

If you don't need the 4 doors and are willing to give up a little bit of comfort, get a 911TT, a new vette, or a noble ....

Quadcammer

air cooled 911

sufyaanahmed

Get a e46 m3 to satisfy your thirst they are cheap and you will have a lot more fun than a 350z. I have e55 as a daily comfort and brutal torque monster and for the track I have my e46 m3 also very reliable

tw2

Thanks for the opinions. Unfortunately I think a porsche is a bit outside my price range as is having two cars at the moment- which I agree should definitely be an AMG and something else with 2 seats. I would be looking more at as mentioned above the e46 m3/z4, newish nissan 370z, maybe an slk55 etc. The 350z had excellent lateral handling but the acceleration was lacking terribly and it had awful power out of corners-just starts sliding as well as poor quality interior among other things.

The problem I find with most of the cars 2003+ that are in my price bracket is that they seem to be either fast or handle well but rarely both. My partner has a sensible 4 door car and we have no kids so I can get as inappropriate vehicle I want. It never has to carry anything except 1-2 people. I think I could go back to a 6 speed manual but would prefer a fast shifting 6-7 speed transmission with paddles.

AgSilver

I think my 9146GT 2.9 at 1898 lbs and around 300bhp (do the math) may just be the ultimate slot car, but also totally impractical


.

cij911

What is your budget ?

A supercharged or turbo'd Honda S2000 or Miata could be fun...both would be cheap to own, handle great, and be fun in the canyons.

Super_Jim

Try a corvette C6. You can pick one up in the $20-30K range.


I have a 2008 (436HP), it is faster than my 2011 E63 (518Hp) and handles better. The interior is cheap, the seats are not so great but the car is awesome on winding mountain roads. I would not recommend a corvette as a daily driver but as a weekend car a C6 convertible is hard to beat for cost/performance.


If something happens to the C6 I will buy a C7 (or a 2013 Z06 special addition convertible, which is the fastest convertible corvette ever made by GM). If something happens to the E63 I will not buy another.

ThroughTheEsses

You hit the nail on the head with your assessments.

I've got a 2001 (s54 motor) M roadster along side the e55 wagon.

The AMG is great for pounding pavement light to light but the M is what I reach for when I want to cut up some curves.

That said I used the M as a daily driver for 12 years. Because honestly on a daily basis it's just me and MAYBE a lunch buddy. The wagon cones out when the family is going somewhere or I need the car seat.

If I could ONLY have one car it would be the M. It's just as sick in a straight line It's rare. It's purist. It's simple (but pricy) maintenance. It's fun. And it really is practical enough unless you are constantly going to Home Depot for lumber. I did a bunch if tile work and all the stuff for in the trunk.

For those rare occasions you need more space..... Go rent a car from your local rental agency through Priceline. Realistically your friends are ALL TOO WILLING to swap cars with you for a day or two.

Oh yeah.... S52 roadsters are CHEAP... And there is a supercharger kit for them. S54 roadsters are a bit more but well worth it.

turbo97se

I have E46 M3 and E55 AMG. If I could only pick one ...
I'd probably pick the E55 AMG for a daily. My only complaint is the gas mileage, but then again, I need a retune ... pig rich right now.

The comfort and straight-line acceleration is just great.
The BMW S54 engine is a picky engine in maintenance and tuning but I love the sound of that straight 6. The M113K is pretty stout up to 600WHP

Nanook

This does it for me..

CharlyE500

E55 with Coilover conversion should be a good option for a fun car. You can mod it to high power and handle as good as M5 in less than $28K.

dbworld4k

I lol'd.

tw2

The equivalent of about US$28-35k. Some cars are relatively cheaper here than in the US, some are more expensive and some are just not available. That was the concept I was considering when I sold the 350z, I could have supercharged or turbo'd it but I have been there before with other cars. Its often heaps of fun but its usually not worth it in the end, too much work, money, downtime and variable reliability. In the case of the Z, the chassis really is not good enough to put that sort of power down. Minor mods like pulleys, tunes, intercooler etc like I did to the C32 are great. Adding FI to NA engines can be more of a headache. So many decent handling cars which are not supercars are just not fast, the new toyota 86, that thing is slow, even worse than the 350z.

I would definitely get a C6 if I could. There are some here but they are usually left hand drive (wrong side) and quite a bit more expensive than they should be due to the difficult importation/rarity.

Basically everyone is saying consider an M3. I have never really paid much attention to BMW's in general. Is the Z4 a decent car? or is the 2 door coupe the better option? More power is always fun but in reality a power:weight around the same as the CLK55 is more than enough, just needing a better chassis, suspension and transmission.

try m3

I'm the exact opposite I also have both cars and prefer driving my M3 over my E55. I've had my M3 since I was 17 and my goal with the car was to turn it into a track car that can still be daily driven. IMO no amount of horsepower can replace the fun factor and engagement of driving a proper manual. I daily drove my M3 everyday in Chicago traffic with fixed back seats, track coilovers, and poly bushings all around before I bought the E55. The E55 is a great daily driver and a rocket but I personally prefer a proper sports car. My next car will most likely be a 911 turbo it's fast in a straight line, can take turns, and be daily driven.

dbworld4k

Get a Z4M coupe in that budget if you don't mind the two seater only. Incredibly fun and engaging car, it's got the E46 M3's legendary S54 mated to a slightly smaller and lighter chassis, plus the best steering rack BMW has ever put in a M car!

ThroughTheEsses

My experience has been quite the opposite. The oil changes use fancy 10w60 oil and you have an $800ish valve shim adjustment every 30k miles but that's really about it.

The few known issues are pretty quickly easily and cheaply fixed. 330 hp in a z3 m chassis is a whole lot of performance and fun.

No it's not Japanese cheap/easy but it's not even close to Porsche territory in terms of coa.

Be warned though it IS a spartan car with almost no luxuries.

If you want more modern tech and gadgets the z4m recommendation is a great idea as well. (Obviously though I'm partial to the z3 styling )

Super_Jim

He said "sports car" not "super car".

Nanook

Ha..thanks..it gets the job done

Super_Jim

It looks brand new. Love the color, you obviously take pride in the car and maintain it. Either that or you do not drive it enough. My ’08 has 40K+ miles (all weekend and vacation), paint chips off the nose and I am ½ way through my 3rd set of tires.

My car gives an adrenalin rush; I would think a ZR1 would be 3X that.

eljefe7070

Owning a M5 and a E55 is way cool! Maybe I'll convince the wife to not chew me up about wanting to buy the M5 I really wanted. Heck, she might even like it.

I'm no wealth of knowledge but I know that driving a E55 has been amazing can't wait to test drive an M5!