Thinking of buying a Z.. (had: S2k, RSX, e36 M3)
12-21-2007, 11:02 AM
#21
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i would say get the 335i. Thats in the price range of the old m3's and with a little $ invested in a piggy back youll have a beast. Plus its the new design so it'll look nicer longer. I would say looks wise 33i looks better than the z but not as good as the old m3.
12-21-2007, 11:43 AM
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335i looks better than the Z?
It looks like any other BMW out there...
to me anyway. Any 335i that passes by will not turn a head...They are seen everywhere, whereas my Solar Orange Z is constantly looked at.
I guess its personal preference...
It looks like any other BMW out there...
to me anyway. Any 335i that passes by will not turn a head...They are seen everywhere, whereas my Solar Orange Z is constantly looked at.
I guess its personal preference...
12-21-2007, 02:05 PM
#23
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An e46 M3 is one of my dream cars. I had a 318ti with a 3.2 s52 m motor and i loved that car. As far as the z goes im in love with the car. Cant get more car for the money. Only other car i would consider is a FD rx-7 or a Mcoupe. E46's are just to pricey for me.
12-21-2007, 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted by SuperBlack350z
get the e46. They are getting so cheap nowadays.
it'll change once more E92 M3s start coming into the country, though
12-21-2007, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by AREITU
Late model used M3s cost the same or more than a new 335i.
it'll change once more E92 M3s start coming into the country, though
it'll change once more E92 M3s start coming into the country, though
12-22-2007, 02:16 AM
#28
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i dont get how people say the e46 motor is a time bomb. my friend was spraying a 100 shot for about a year on his e46 m3 and then went with the active stage 3 supercharger/75 shot of nitrous and is making 555whp and hasent had a problem yet and he has had that on for a little over a year.
12-22-2007, 01:51 PM
#29
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I dont know you nor do i really care about you or your decision. But you will be better of with a M3 because the Z sucks. Im selling mine this week. Its a cheap, car but comes with decent power. Its a Japanese tuner car, which imo is cheap look all together. The Euro tuner scene carries more class and prestige, and the $$ spent is well worth it if one has the means.
12-22-2007, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by AREITU
I researched M3 maintainence over on the BMW forums and tried to find out why people say it's expensive. It turns out the reason why it's "expensive" is because most BMW people don't work on their own cars, either because they don't know how (there's a writeup on E46fanatics.com on how to apply CF overlays to the kidney grills) or they are afraid to work on their own cars. They take it to the BMW dealership to get this stuff done where labor is around 100/hr. Most BMW people also tend to be squeamish about putting anything non-BMW in their cars so they'll buy maintainence items from the dealership too.
You might see something called "Inspection II" come up here and there...it's nothing more than inspecting a list of items in the car to see if they need to be replaced or not...things like fuel filter, cabin filter, etc. If you take it to a dealership for Inspection II, it's a couple hundred bucks and almost never covers any replacement items. Getting a car with Inspection II already done may add value to the purchase as well.
The only things I could think of that would make it more expensive than a normal car are the tires and brake pads (which have ~15-20k mile life expectancy in most BMWs). But otherwise, M3s don't look any more difficult to work on, or maintain, compared to a Z.
You might see something called "Inspection II" come up here and there...it's nothing more than inspecting a list of items in the car to see if they need to be replaced or not...things like fuel filter, cabin filter, etc. If you take it to a dealership for Inspection II, it's a couple hundred bucks and almost never covers any replacement items. Getting a car with Inspection II already done may add value to the purchase as well.
The only things I could think of that would make it more expensive than a normal car are the tires and brake pads (which have ~15-20k mile life expectancy in most BMWs). But otherwise, M3s don't look any more difficult to work on, or maintain, compared to a Z.
12-22-2007, 08:58 PM
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Originally Posted by blazed54
I've heard "don't quote me on this" that you can't change the engine oil on bimmers on your own because bmw uses special bolts for which you can't buy the piece for. So to change your oil you NEED to go to bmw because they're the only ones with the appropriate bit to remove the bolt for the oil drain.. can anyone verify or not?
BMW people generally know very little about the techncial aspects of their cars or how to work on them. they might have seen the hex socket instead of a bolt and thought it was some special BMW tool you had to take your car to a dealership to service. That sort of thing is why there's a misconception about how expensive M3s are to maintain.
Originally Posted by stalarman@yahoo
I dont know you nor do i really care about you or your decision. But you will be better of with a M3 because the Z sucks. Im selling mine this week. Its a cheap, car but comes with decent power. Its a Japanese tuner car, which imo is cheap look all together. The Euro tuner scene carries more class and prestige, and the $$ spent is well worth it if one has the means.
There's some really smart cats in that scene, like the guy who converted his 323i tiptronic into a 4-door E46 M3, with basically no knowledge of cars to start, but those people are very few and far inbetween.
Great suspension and great interior doesn't mean jack when your car's $600 door seals are sagging and leaking goo down your doors, rear trailing links going bad, gauge cluster not working or any number of fun little 'quirks.'
12-23-2007, 02:07 PM
#34
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Originally Posted by AREITU
The oil filter is actually a cartridge filter that sits under a cap in the engine bay. There's a weird bolt or tool you need to get this off. If you're talking about the drain bolt at the bottom of the pan, it's a hex socket instead of a bolt. http://m3.madrussian.net/diy_oil_change.shtml
BMW people generally know very little about the techncial aspects of their cars or how to work on them. they might have seen the hex socket instead of a bolt and thought it was some special BMW tool you had to take your car to a dealership to service. That sort of thing is why there's a misconception about how expensive M3s are to maintain.
No offense, but most Euro people I know are dumb as rocks when it comes to cars. They throw thousands of dollars at their cars, talk about how much they're spending, how expensive it is and constantly try to justify their car's price premiums and electrical problems, often citing things like "Nicer interior" or "better build quality." They're afraid of anything that isn't terrifyingly expensive or Non-OEM--just look at that first post about the oil drain bolt.
There's some really smart cats in that scene, like the guy who converted his 323i tiptronic into a 4-door E46 M3, with basically no knowledge of cars to start, but those people are very few and far inbetween.
Great suspension and great interior doesn't mean jack when your car's $600 door seals are sagging and leaking goo down your doors, rear trailing links going bad, gauge cluster not working or any number of fun little 'quirks.'
BMW people generally know very little about the techncial aspects of their cars or how to work on them. they might have seen the hex socket instead of a bolt and thought it was some special BMW tool you had to take your car to a dealership to service. That sort of thing is why there's a misconception about how expensive M3s are to maintain.
No offense, but most Euro people I know are dumb as rocks when it comes to cars. They throw thousands of dollars at their cars, talk about how much they're spending, how expensive it is and constantly try to justify their car's price premiums and electrical problems, often citing things like "Nicer interior" or "better build quality." They're afraid of anything that isn't terrifyingly expensive or Non-OEM--just look at that first post about the oil drain bolt.
There's some really smart cats in that scene, like the guy who converted his 323i tiptronic into a 4-door E46 M3, with basically no knowledge of cars to start, but those people are very few and far inbetween.
Great suspension and great interior doesn't mean jack when your car's $600 door seals are sagging and leaking goo down your doors, rear trailing links going bad, gauge cluster not working or any number of fun little 'quirks.'
12-23-2007, 03:01 PM
#35
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Originally Posted by stalarman@yahoo
No offense taken I believe its just a matter of preferance on what type of car you enjoy. Sagging goo down your dooors is just a bad case scenario. Some people have expensive taste, some dont.
12-23-2007, 07:56 PM
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z's are beautiful cars and i love mine so much but do to kid on the way i thought of a trade in for a e46 m3 also....go with what you like but as a word of caution,stay away from e46 m3 2002-2003 model years...the motor has a few bugs in them.A friend of mine works for a media company that delivers cars from manufacturers to media companys and he told me they have had alot of probs with them...
12-23-2007, 10:44 PM
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I've driven used BMWs... and ones that you wouldn't even try to drive fast. 1989 735iL - the roof liner was sagging and we had to soak that sh*t in superglue to fix it w/o having the dealer mess with it. Then it got into an accident and was replaced w/ a 735i... the AC never worked; wood trim was falling apart, hot air was always coming in. Finally, just driving my brother's 2003 Z4... he let me borrow it for one day and I never wanted to drive that thing again.
I've had a really good used Mercedes 1989 300E too... but after about a year or two the car would shut down at stop signs. The worst part is that the car turned off in the fast lane on the highway. Ever since then I've been riding Japanese cars. I had a 1992 SC400 that lasted much longer than those previously mentioned, before I traded it in for a Z.
Granted, those are my experiences in used cars, but ever since that scary moment on the freeway I try to avoid Teutonic alternatives. That, and the most ridiculous article I ever read in the San Diego Union-Tribune about spoiled kids "deserving" those kind of cars.
I loved the E46 M3 when it came out, and when I needed a new car I wanted one, albeit a used one. I couldn't afford one then, but after a lot of research I chose this car because it had everything I wanted.
I've had a really good used Mercedes 1989 300E too... but after about a year or two the car would shut down at stop signs. The worst part is that the car turned off in the fast lane on the highway. Ever since then I've been riding Japanese cars. I had a 1992 SC400 that lasted much longer than those previously mentioned, before I traded it in for a Z.
Granted, those are my experiences in used cars, but ever since that scary moment on the freeway I try to avoid Teutonic alternatives. That, and the most ridiculous article I ever read in the San Diego Union-Tribune about spoiled kids "deserving" those kind of cars.
I loved the E46 M3 when it came out, and when I needed a new car I wanted one, albeit a used one. I couldn't afford one then, but after a lot of research I chose this car because it had everything I wanted.
12-23-2007, 11:57 PM
#38
when you're saying e46 M3, you mean a used/second hand e46 M3, right?
if yes, i faced the same dilemma 8 months ago. I wanted either an STI/EVO, 350z/E46 M3, or pre-07 Z/e36 M3 for below 20k/10k and was gonna modify the s..... out of it. I thought little bit, and i concluded that sti/evo was not for me, due to the soaring insurance. second option was a used e46 M3- NO, did not want a used sports car( do you know how it has been driven) the same was with the pre-07 Z and e36 M3(although i was gonna modify them still i wanted the smell of the new car). so i ended up with an 07 350Z, so far no regrets.
if yes, i faced the same dilemma 8 months ago. I wanted either an STI/EVO, 350z/E46 M3, or pre-07 Z/e36 M3 for below 20k/10k and was gonna modify the s..... out of it. I thought little bit, and i concluded that sti/evo was not for me, due to the soaring insurance. second option was a used e46 M3- NO, did not want a used sports car( do you know how it has been driven) the same was with the pre-07 Z and e36 M3(although i was gonna modify them still i wanted the smell of the new car). so i ended up with an 07 350Z, so far no regrets.
12-24-2007, 12:01 AM
#39
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Originally Posted by 350Zimo
when you're saying e46 M3, you mean a used/second hand e46 M3, right? if yes, i faced the same dilemma 8 months ago. I wanted either an STI/EVO, 350z/E46 M3, or pre-07 Z/e36 M3 for below 20k/10k and was gonna modify the s..... out of it. I thought little bit, and i concluded that sti/evo was not for me, due to the soaring insurance. second option was a used e46 M3- NO, did not want a used sports car( do you know how it has been driven) the same was with the pre-07 Z and e36 M3(although i was gonna modify them still i wanted the smell of the new car). so i ended up with an 07 350Z, so far no regrets.
12-24-2007, 12:12 AM
#40
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Originally Posted by davidv
The “buying” forum is filled with new “Thinking about buying a 350Z” members. 19 out of 20 are gone in 30 days. The 350Z is not for everyone.
