Man, I haven't posted in a minute!

So here's where Im at with my next new car purchase. '06 IS350 or an E46 M3 - probably a 2003 model.

Now, I know these cars are apples and oranges in most aspects and this is not a debate as to which car is better but rather which one would you choose and why.

I've always wanted an E46 M3, but the IS350 is an attractive option as they around the same price and typically will have less mileage and of course are newer.

I considered the G35 coupe as well but I don't think I'm going that route.

 

e46 m3 without a second hesitation

 

I agree, although I'm not going to be the one paying for maintenance

 

Depends what the car is for. If I wanted a fun car I'd get the m3. If I needed something to be comfortable during commutes I would get the IS

 

Car will be a daily driver - 50 mile commute round trip - five days a week.

 

In that case I would say the IS. If the ride on the M3 is as harsh as I remember, I don't think I'd enjoy it for 250 miles a week. My IS is great on my 60 mile roundtrip commute though

 

I would go for the IS350 for reliability reasons.

 

cost for parts and services cost way less for bmw than Lexus.

I was mighty surprised when I was charged 170 for my first oil change on the lex. Ridiculous

 

How the heck did they justify that? Did they give you the "10k" service and not just the oil change? I go in ask for an oil change only and get out for about $60. Is it more expensive than most other places? Heck yeah it is but I don't lose any sleep over it.

 

That's why I usually go to Toyota for my services on my IS.
17$ for labor for oil change with my own synthetic oil and oil filter.

BMW ,on the other hand, comes with free everything for 4 years. But the old BMW without warranty might be a different story. I will be rather cautious about buying a used BMW.

 

M3!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, that's something I've looked into. A major issue with the early M3's (mostly 01-02) were the rod bearings which were replaced by BMW on recall and then backed by a 100k mile/6yr warranty.

Another big service for these cars are Inspection I and II - Inspection II being the major one because of the valve adjustment needed, which can be costly.

 

The only way I can recommend the IS is if you want more creature comforts/reliability/service.

Otherwise the E46 is perfect and gets my vote.

 

IS350 if your priority is comfort (without necessarily very much space, especially in the back) and reliability.

M3 if your priority is fun and maybe more room in the back.

Owning a BMW out of warranty would kinda scare me.. but you gotta pay to play and the M3 is a whole different universe when it comes to driving experience. There was a modded E46 M3 out at the SCCA Solo2 autocross I was running at a couple weeks ago and it was just wicked. We were running a short tight track but it ran a best of a 32.6 second time to my best of 35.7 in my 335i. Granted he was modded and I think his driver was more experienced than me, but still...

 

5k was complimentary, 10k was the one I got, that included the $10 loaner add-on.

For my own reason, I only do services at dealers, not that I really mind the additional cost, but comparing to BMW, it is about $70 more expensive for non-synthetic oil services too.

*my old e46 coupe's rear seats/rooms are bigger than the IS, that just doesn't make sense at all.