Impressions of e92 M3?
 

Hey guys, I have an opportunity to pick up a leftover '11 e92 M3 at an awesome price. The car isn't loaded by any means, but does have the CF roof and Aluminum interior trim. What do you guys think of the car? Do you think I should jump on this while I can?

I think you should test drive it and see what you think. If it's worth the extra $$$ over your Z to you. I def would not want to own one outside of the warrantee period. That said, they're nice cars for sure. If you plan on doing a lot of modding, maybe not the best way to go since parts for taht car are $$, but it's good sporty car with some luxury to boot.

Car's a beast. I say go for it.

those cars actually look pretty good too, unlike the 335icoupes.

EXACTLY THIS!!!! Can't stand boring 335's. Even if you can chip 'em and get another 100 hp.

um, other than the hood bump, and side vents on the front fender, and rear view mirrors, how exactly do they look any different?

Do they have reliability issues? An M3 is one of the cars I might buy to replace my totaled Z, but if I do it'll be used, and possibly with little to no warranty left.

They look nice, are built pretty well, handle great, and are pretty quick. I like them a lot. As long as it is within my budget and comes with a full warranty I would definitely consider one. No way in hell would I own it outside of warranty, though... I have a Mercedes CLK 500 outside of warranty that I get to deal with (gf's car)... *sigh*

They're pretty reliable, but outside of warranty, any repairs are very pricey.

Go for it.

I loved my M3. It was an amazing car! But Transport trucks don't seem to like it :shakes head:

I don't mean to sound rude however after owning both I would say the M3 is an upgrade is every way from the Z. Power, Handling etc. ALSO price....

I will say though, one thing I did not like about the M3 is that it fits into the crowd. When I had my Blue Z people would stop and look at it. In the M3 you would get the odd person who would know what an M3 is and look at it for a bit. I more got douche bags on the highway in a normal 3 or 5 series trying to get me to race them....

It's very unfortunate but the major majority of BMW owners are douches. The community was just not the same as with the Z. With the Z you get more down to earth people. Because of the price tag you are getting people that respect the car but don't have the since of entitlement most of the BMW guys had.

Again I know everyone you meet is going to be different but there is a reason I am still on the Z forum and not on the M3 forums…..

Thanks for the comments so far guys. This would be a "new" 2011, so maintenance shouldn't be an issue (at least for the first 4 years). The V8 also seems to be pretty bulletproof from what I've been reading.

/\ repairs are extremely costly and iirc, that v8 is DI, and most if not all german cars that have come out recently with DI, (audi and vw for sure, and most likely the P cars as well) have had horrible problems with deposits on the heads which require frequent (as much as every 20K miles) cleaining which is a lot of money in labor.

I think it'd be exciting to use such a high revving motor and listen to the sound in mountain tunnels. .

With the money you'd spend on the M3, you could make your Z pretty special & unique; but, it wouldn't be a BMW (!)

Well guys, I ended up pulling the trigger on the M3. Let me say this, the car is nothing short of amazing. I'll post some pics and a full comparison to the Z as soon as I have a chance.

Congrats! Glad you're happy with it. :tup:

I looked at M3's. I don't think it can be compared to the 370Z, though. It's a family car with some power and a heavily tuned suspension.

umm...... :pics:

No brainier, m3 all day! I love my z but if I could afford a m3 I would get one

So, have you cranked it up on a cold morning and flipped out yet? Most people do NOT expect what they hear.

I just traded in my M3 for my Z. The M3 and the Z can not be compared. Good luck finding things you don't like about your M3. You'll enjoy it too much to find much wrong with it other than the NAV software. If you don't have NAV, you're set.
I am enjoying my Z, but like most of the owners on this site, I'm doing a lot of mods to make it work for me. Back-up camera and changing out the hideous amber LED's are my current projects with sound deadening mat coming in soon.

so you went from e 92 to z? what made you make such a surprising switch? something most people would consider a "downgrade"

why? what happens if you start an m3 on a cold morning?

A downgrade it was, but a sports car fits my needs better than a luxury sports car. If I lived closer to the Autobahn than the DFW freeways, the M3 would be a keeper.

an m3 is one of the cars on my short list to replace my wrecked z. how would you rate the driving experience and handling of both cars? have you done any track driving with either of them? how are the steering, brakes, engine, gearbox, cornering ability, etc? also, the m3 is quite a heavy one, i believe it weighs a whole 3800lbs. is the excess weight noticeable? and lastly, what about reliability? is it a very bad idea to buy a used m3 with little to no warranty left?

M3 is closer to 3600 lbs.

It sounds harsher than a VQ at redline with no oil, lol

do it, you will never regret it. except when you go in for maintenance.

ouch! why would that be the case?

It was explained to me right before they cranked the NEW one on the show-room floor for me at the dealership. I begged them not to, literally, because I know how new cars smell. They did it anyway. Loud as hell when the guy revved it, and blasted new-car baking off exhaust odor throughout the entire BMW dealership. I was astounded that they would do that for someone who had point-blank told them they would NOT buy the car.

Anyway, I forgot the entire reasoning behind it, but it's normal and okay, however, it does cause quite a few calls/visits to the service dept. they claim. The best way to describe it is think of a push-rod V8 with all 16 rockers being loose a few turns.

i won't be going in for maintenance. I should be able to do most of the basic stuff myself. Would parts be expensive? My main concern is really about reliability. Would stuff start breaking down at random?

Is it due to hydraulic lifters? I had an old intrepid that came with hydraulic lifters. It was normal to get a tapping sound from the valvetrain for a few seconds after starting up, until the oil pressure built up enough in the lifters to harden them up.

No, it does it for a good minute or two.