Comments: 1-15, 16-17
No problems as of yet.
This car has it all.
I waited for the right color combo or I would have bought a 2001.
I traveled 800 miles for this car and every mile home made me realize how great my descision was.
You have to feel pity on someone who spent 70K for a Porsche when you come up behind him, drop a gear and watch him in the rearview.
Overall I think BMW has finally got perfection in a bottle. I don't know how they improve their cars the way they do, but the M3 is the essence of driving. My other toy is a Ferrari 348 which up until now I thought was a great car for the money, but now the M3 has stolen my heart and the Ferrari sits in the garage. The M3 even does well in inclement weather (enough said for the other).
The sport package is a must, who wants woodgrain interior in a sports car? I eliminated the heated seats to save weight and the backup radar is silly. I haven't used the nav system but hear it's neat.
This car takes a beating and then gives you one. Handles better than on rails and keeps you honest at 140+.
The tires are different sizes so plan on replacing all four about every 20K if you drive easy and they aren't cheap. BMW lists the M3's times slightly slower than the M5, but I have kept up with many an M5 so I think it's done so not to put a shadow on the big brother.
For the 55K I dont think you can find a car that combines all the greatness of the M3.
If you left a 70k Porsche in your rear view mirror its because they weren't interested, after all, whats another BMW on the road.
No, he left a Porsche in the rear view because no naturally aspirated 911 on earth will hold a candle to a well-driven M3. I sell cars for a living, and we currently have both an 02 911 and an 03 M3 on our lot. I have driven both several times, and would take the M3 hands down, even if it was higher priced.
I know the BMW would leave the Porsche behind, the person who wrote the comment about the BMW's being just another car on the road obviously does not know much about BMWs being beasts and doing some seriously rubber burning! Drive it then re write your comment.Think before you disrepect the car mate.
I had both a 911 carrera 4 and a M3 and men, let me tell you the m3 eats up the 911 anytime. Yes the 911 is a bit more refined, but driving the toy that is the m3 let you forget about all the other cars in the world.
Please check the acceleration and brake time!
It's surely funny to beat a car in a drag race (I don't think that you can feel any difference between the 2 cars) but if you take both car on a track, you'll see that on the third lap the M3 will have to brake far earlier than the 911.
Those car are both great, but as always BMW forgot to optimize the brake system.
The Porsche on the other hand is capable of driving to the track, make some (a lot!) of laps and come back home.
It's the only car on the market that does it!
Well I did some research on both these cars as they were on my shortlist (2nd hand though, I couldn't afford new). The M3 is only fractionally faster than a 911 (unless it was a boxster), the difference would be negated by a good or bad driver. I did drive the 911 and it was magic on the move however the cabin felt cheap, can't explain it, but must have been the plastics etc... Didn't drive the M3 but it felt slightly nicer inside. Now, onto the reviews I read:
Car Magazine took a M3 CSL (lightweight race special) to Nurburgring (surely the Mecca for serious motorists) and raved about it's performance however they also took a 911 and summed it up by giving the win to the 911 as a purer car.
Evo Magazine also compared an M3 with a 911 and although I won't go into the test their summary was that the m3 was a performance car that, although extremely good, did show it's sedan roots and the 911 was designed as a sports car from the ground up.
There are plenty more, but they all wound up the same way, BMW - Gem of an engine, but a road car come good
Porsche - The purists choice, overpriced, but excellent.
And me?? Well I brought a 2001 M5 (read my review) and I think its superb. But please don't argue against me, I'm sure the the Porsche and M3 would be faster on winding backroads etc...
Good to see some facts instead of (err...biased?) opinions, I have to agree 100% with the last chap.
What we should all be grateful for is the opportunity to own either a M3 or 911, whichever one you think is better. For me the M3 because mainly because it was cheaper and even then it took a long time to save up. If I win the lotto (yeah right) then I'll get a 911 too and just be truly thankful I no longer have to drive that Daihatsu I still have nightmares about.
Bought an M3 today. Have driven both. Agree about the purist bit, but the M3 is a car that an every day driver can drive with confidence.
Just another BMW is it? well that just proves you know nothing about cars, the 3.2 litre straight generates 343 bhp, has 6 individual throttle butterflies for instant 120ms response from the engine, (which no porsche could match, save for the racing versions) it's faster than any 3.4 litre flat six or 3.6 litre flat six porsche's which hav at most 320 bhp.
Depends on the driver, period.
Both the M3 and 911 are extremely fine automobiles, I'd take the M3 just because I'm more of a BMW fan, and because it's a much better deal... but they both are great performance machines.
M3's are too common on the UK roads now. I'd much rather have the new RS4 with 414 BHP.
They may drive well, but their ho hum styling and bland interiors are not to my taste.
I think that BMW and Porsche are both great car makers. They are up there with the best of them for sure. BMW's are cheaper and more practical and that is why you see more of them on the road. But a Porsche would probably win against an M3 on the track.
I would definatly take the RS4 if I had the money. I would probably choose a 911 over an M3 too. But my budget is below even the cheapest second hand 911 (996 or 997 I wouldn't have any other model). Thats a pont that a lot of people are forgetting. So I am going to buy an M3 because for the price of a second hand 2001 model, nothing else car wise can come anywhere near it.