lol the lack of bmw knowledge in the first couple pages was hilarious.

to the OP,

e36 M3s are amazing cars. yes they are ~12 years old, but when you find the right one, it will seem as if your rolling it off the showroom floor. i waited 11 months to find my perfect m3, and i went with a 1996 (96+ have a bigger engine and more torque) with 90k miles, garaged its entire life, serviced at the same bmw dealership its entire life, and it was in mint condition. ive had it for about a year and have only had to change the oil every 4-5k miles. these cars are quick, sporty, can handle twisties like no other, and look amazing. i originally wanted a z, but then i came across the e36 M3 and fell in love.

and a few people have emphasized how "old" it is and called it a "grampa", it really isnt. ive gotten numerous compliments on the car, and some people straight up just staring at it. its a head turner, what can i say. people have asked " what year is it? 03 04?" ROFL. these cars, if taken care of, look CLEAN and amazing. my heart starts beating harder everytime i get in it.

and for the nay sayers, yes i have test driven a 350z, and sure theyve got some speed, and they look great if modded tastefully, but e36 m3s look amazing stock, and every mod just makes it 1000x better. if you want to see some nice cars, and meet some great people that know a lot about these cars, (instead of all the z people here that just bash the m3 cuz they have their "newer" z, which i guess to them newer=better, check out bimmerforums.com

 

I'm big on the older M3s... but go for the Z. It rocks, period.

Now if it was a 1990 M3 in mint condition.... I'd say go for that if you have money to keep it up. My friend recently acquired a white '90 in near perfect condition, and I have to say as boxy as it is, it's beautiful. And its also one of the best handlers on the road.

 

I have to agree, the e36 m3 is a great car, i really wanted one for a while but have decided i'm not going to spend that kind of money (15-20k) on a 8-12 year old car. Its harder and harder to find a good one and the Z is a great car just beginning its' life as a car for an auto enthusiast/tuner/auto x'er, etc. There are so many parts and so many companies offering different parts, the Z is a great bargain and can be tastefully modded to compete with the best on the road.

I must say after being a bmw enthusiast and member of bimmerforums.com and dtmpower.net, there are some very knowledgable people on those boards and they aren't all ****** like most people like to make bmw owners out to be. Just like how there are many young "ricers" that give Z owners a bad name on this board. It all comes down to personal preference and how much money you want to spend on a car. Not everyone can afford a e46 m3 after all. The 350Z is a great car for the money.

 

The 01-04 M3s have engine issues. BMW never had a recall on the engines but extended the powertrain warranty.

 

I also get nice remarks on my "old" 95 C36 AMG.

 

pictures can be more persuasive than words

 

My old M...





Digital climate controls in the 97. The 96 has ***** for temp and fan, I think.

 

naw mine was a 96 and had digital.

how come you dont have twistie side skirts? im pretty sure all m3s came with em...

 

Really? Where do you autocross at?


edited: I see your in San Antonio, are you a member of Spokes?

 

best m3 to date so far has been the 80's 4 cylinder M's. ..i love that old style was mean and aggressive and was faster then. .than a honda s2k of today. .
hmm. .truthfully 2 owner's kinda gets me. .why is this owner getting rid of it?
and does he have records on what was done. ex TUNEUPS- OIL CHANGES-TIMING BELTS (LESS CHAIN)-DIFF/TRANZ FLUD CHANGES ~although bmw's say they are lifetime fluids. .i'd change them no matter what.
bmw's going to be more $ to maintain specially an M series. .

!!flip a coin!!!

 

LOL, I used to get that all the time... not always so politely though.

I used to hear people snicker in the parking lot and tell their buddy, "That's not a real M3". Presumably because the sides and front were slightly different.


I had the luxury edition M3. It was a ~$5k option in 97.

It came with:

- less aggressive "Subdued" sides and front grille (Slats in front versus mesh)
- No front lip spoiler - which I added
- wood interior treatments (I hated the wood center console - too much glare from the sun - so I replaced it with a leather-wrapped piece from Germany - notice the stitching on the sides above the OBC. Regular M3's have sorta cheap-looking plastic on the center console.)
- Pleated leather door inserts - and pleated leather rear side arm-rests
- chrome inside door release handles
- Napa leather seats - not vader style, and the NAPA leather seriously outlasts the regular leather and they are more comfy for long trips.
- Center arm-rest
- Countour II Wheels (pictured)
- Power 8-way seats (driver and passesnger)

Cops never, ever looked at me twice, followed me, nor pulled me over for the tinted windows in that car.

Here are some pics of the details - when it was at 227k miles I might add...

(Guess we need a bandwidth warning now!):

 

The pics you posted above are of a 95, no? So that's not your personal car? still very nice though.

 

oh yea, i thought urs might have been the luxury pack when i saw the wood shift ****, but i noticed the center console wasnt wood, so i wasnt sure.


and yes the pics i posted are of my 96.

 

z forum everyone gonna say z...goto bmw forum see what they say...

 

Oh. For some reason I thought the inset front kidney grilles and the larger side markers with the black plastic pieces are signs of a 95.

So the 96 had the same body style as a 95, but the engine was bumped to 3.2L and you got digital climate control versus *****?

Silver is the best color for that car. Oh, and Avus blue, if you could find one.

OK, I changed my mind - 96 is cool too

 

I agree.. any car vs any other car here = Z win.
The Z is God's Chariot! You didn't know that?!

 

I think you meant E36.

EDIT: I didn't realize you were hypothetically speaking, NM.

 

nice m3!! the one i am trying to buy is exactly like yours, 96 arctic/mulberry/lux... i hate lux package, but for the condition this car is in ill deal with it. i made an offer and i am waiting for him to get back to me....pins and needles over here

 

z hands down the old bmws are getting too unreliable.

 

I have owned all the of the cars:
92 zxtt
96 e36 M3
03 350Z

The 92 was the most fun, hands down.
The 96 was fun too but felt like a dog after the zxtt; still a great car. It was easy to work on too; dont let the rumors fool you. The cost of ownership is high too ie: insurance, parts
The 03 Z is faster but not quicker than the M3 but I liked the car much better. I guess that's 7 years of technology between the two.
My fave, the zxtt of course. Sure it was heavy, but you can get 400hp out of it and not even begin to stress that lower end.