Anyone driven an M3 or M5

[jamesmark]

Edit: - Title should have driven in it, before the sad brigade pick up on it.

 

Looking at possible replacements to the Supra. Has anyone driven an M3 or an M5. What are they like, pain in the arse to live with.

 

Not interested in the "ooo it's not a Supra" monotone stuff, next car is to be a family (ish) car.

 

http://www.motorcities.com/photo/image.php/640/05ER0484107525K/1999_BMW_M3_Coupe_K.jpeg

 

http://bhpcast.com/images/3562-3529/Redm5.JPG

[Havard]

Hmm!! Going to the dark side eh?

 

In the older models I prefer the M5. We are currently on the lookout for a last model white M3 but don't tell anyone!

 

H.

[Wez]

Never been impressed by the M3, the M5 is a nice motor.

[Sandy-m2]

M6 is a great motor, not driven the others tho

[edd_t]

I've driven a '97 M3 Evo, and an E30 M3.

the E30 was a left hooker with dog leg gear shift, that thing was mental, like a proper touring car.

the '97 M3 was a bit boring, it had a bit of poke, but not as fun as the Supe.

[Snooze]

2-door M3 is not a great family car as it is still only 2-door.

 

Have you considered an Aristo instead? 2JZ engine, so guaranteed cheaper maintenance than an M-Tech. Probably cheaper to buy than a BMW too!

[jamesmark]

2-door M3 is not a great family car as it is still only 2-door.

 

Have you considered an Aristo instead? 2JZ engine, so guaranteed cheaper maintenance than an M-Tech. Probably cheaper to buy than a BMW too!

 

Driven a Mk1 Aristo and on reflection after I pulled out of sale I was not impressed, found it very lazy and uninspiring.

 

I have not driven a Mk2 Vertex (sp) So dunno if they are any better.

[michael]

Both great cars, don't discount the 328i either, throttle response is lovely.

[Seb]

Driven a 3.0 M3 - very nice, quick, economical (30+ mpg on a cruise), very roomy, far more practical than the Supra as you can actually fit 2 full sized adults in the back comfortably, boot is big, handles well too. Didn't like the offset driving position or the slightly rubbery gearshift but otherwise a very good car. 3.0 doesn't suffer from the Vanos problems that the 3.2 is famed for.

[DaveK]

I've never driven one - but I know a couple of people here who have M3s and both seem happy with it.

[R Black]

m3 & m5 both great cars, however the m3 is as common as dog muck, which puts me right off, love the m5 howz about an s4?

[hogmaw]

have you considered a soarer

[neil tt]

I driven the new M5, fantastic car, sounded really nice, and was pretty quick, very nice, but quite expensive:D

[JustGav]

I had an E36 M3 and it is a lovely car, nice and comfy. Plenty of go as well... lovely car.

[neil tt]

Not much room in the boot though:)

[suprafan72]

i had a 96 m3 which a supercharged 415hp.. was a nice car.. very quick for what it was.... and was 100 per cent reliable.

[Gazboy]

I've driven several M3 evos. Baring in mind that I was shopping for my weekend car my thoughts were that you had to work the engine very hard to get something back, it's very sterile & clinical, throttle actuation is very firm, I could imagine you'd get cramp on a 2hr M-way run.

 

My brother owns a 97evo as a daily driver, and the running costs are eye watering for the performance, the servicing costs are monstrous (his average service bill is four times that of mine).

 

I'd be tempted by a 330Ci, it's not much slower, it looks nicer and doesn't have the daft running costs.

[Suprasteve]

my mate had a M3 3.2 Evo (p reg).

 

I was very impressed with the performance and it felt quicker than mine (at the time mine was standard supra). We both went to the pod, mine turned out to be quicker but sod all in it (from memory i got 13.7 @103, he got 14.1 @ 100)

 

The power is immediate and pulls throughout the rev range (i.e. no turbo lag), they seem to rev forever. Handling felt solid and safe too.

 

The grip in the wet impressed me the most, mind you a bloody motorbike has better grip than a supra in the wet so probably nothing special.

 

I really like them but on the negative side ...

 

- can be mistaken for a standard 318i with a M-Tech - making them look common

- arm and a leg to get serviced at BMW (mate paid over £1k)

- prices dropping like flies cos of new series available

- problems with vanos unit - v.expensive to fix

 

I had a 325i and my interia was identical to his M3 (apart from a few badges) which i thought was a little let down.

 

also look into an S4 as another option

[Wez]

BMW 530D Sport is a very good car, they can be remapped to produce serious amounts of torque

[Konrad]

Had pleasure to drive BMW 735i long time ago, beautifull car, huge, you could put half of the house in boot - only disadvantage was erm ... fuel consuption - you could hear engine sucking fuel, when on sports gears

[JamieP]

E39 V8 M5 is a great car, mine has been remapped and has a AC Schnitzer exhaust and it truely stonks, im loving it:cool:

 

Jonty is come round in his new V10 M5 tonight and im taking that for a spin, cant wait:innocent:

[Homer]

I had an E36 M3 and it is a lovely car, nice and comfy. Plenty of go as well... lovely car.

 

:yeah that:

 

I used to own an E36 M3. Very nice car, cheap to run (compared to the supra), very easy to get the most out of and an nice realxing drive. I also had an E36 328i, which was a better all round car, I had it for 4 years and I only spent £80 on servicing the entire time! Its certainly not got the speed of the M3 but is the best all rounder IMO.

[Shadow Beast]

what about a volvo estate!!!!!!!!!

[Sharpie]

2-door M3 is not a great family car as it is still only 2-door.

 

M3 E36 is also in 4 door too

 

I had an M3 E36 non-evo many years ago and enjoyed it very much. If you want a family type car....I'd go for the M5 but, then again I have never driven the M5 (I like more room) for stuff.

[Guest Dominus]

Looking at possible replacements to the Supra. Has anyone driven an M3 or an M5. What are they like, pain in the arse to live with.

 

 

 

Have always been a fan of M-power cars, but I tend to dislike BMW’s as a whole due to the amount of dickheads who drive them. However..

 

For Supra-equivalent money then you are looking at either a decent E36 M3 or E34 M5. Prepare to pay £15k+ for a decent E46 M3 or E39 M5 with low miles and a FSH – a MUST with any M-power BMW. Be careful when buying, as many will have been thrashed. The VANOS units do not take kindly to this, especially if driven hard before the oil is at nominal temperature. The E36 3.0 M3 is actually a more reliable engine and less prone to such failure in comparison to the later 3.2 evo model.

 

BMW servicing costs can be seriously expensive, even more so with M-power variants, hence why there are so many independent specialists. Insurance can also be costly. 4 years ago, the cheapest I was quoted was £2400 f.c. on an E36 M3 evo (321bhp). In comparison, it cost me £750 f.c. to insure my 300zx in the same period (350bhp, mods declared).

 

It is advisable to buy second hand M-power BMW’s with a BMW warranty. The downside to this is you will need to get the car serviced at a recognized BMW agent to maintain the warranty. Although a warranty is initially expensive, it is worth the peace of mind if things do go wrong – it is not unusual for bills to hit £3k+ for repairs to engine (VANOS) problems. A BMW warranty will also help you resell the car when/if you decide to do so.

 

Non M-power versions of the 3 & 5 series (ie 328/330 or 535/540) although quick enough for some, do NOT have the same performance or offer the same driving experience. Try driving a mint M3 then afterwards drive a 328 or 330 of the same model and you will see what I mean.