BRZ vs E46 M3
 

Go! :D

We had an E30 and E9x discussion, but the E46 M3 is a great car to compare. Lighter than the E9x, and more powerful than the E30M3 - the E46 has 333hp, and is said to be very tossable. Luxury ride with all the bells and whistles, then turn off the electronic nannies and hit the track!

Prices are around $17-22k for the coupe or vert - so cheaper than the BRZ, and available now (no waiting). Issues? Sure - maintaining a BMW out of warranty is no fun task. Buy a new BRZ, drive it 80k miles without any issues (hopefully!). Buy a used M3 with 80k miles that had no issues and see how your luck is as you approach 160k miles.

That said, a well kept E46 M3 may be a good "in between" vehicle. Buy one with 70k miles, drive it for a year or two, sell it with 85k miles for a couple thousand bucks less - then buy a BRZ when they are easy to get (dealers stocked).

once I get my hands on a FRS and will let you know ;)

Oh, 05-06 E46M3 w/ (ZCP) Comp pkg will still cost more than FRS/BRZ. :bellyroll:

You sure? Quick search: '05 Comp Pkg w/ 48k miles for $26k.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...823653912.html

BRZ pricing not announced yet, but I'm going with the Limited model - estimating $27k give or take.

Non comp pkg with 70-80k miles are going for about $20k, depending on condition, year, etc.

so get the M3? Its a faster car!! :bellyroll:

The E46 is a tank compared to the FR-S/BRZ, 700-800 lb. heavier!

Always about the weight. lol You need to drive one of these or is it still too heavy?

http://www.go-carts-guide.com/images...e-21366981.jpg

The E46 M3 came from the factory with ITBs...why would they swap that out for a K&N intake?

Any BMW M car will be very expensive to maintain compared to an in warranty Subaru.

Especially so when you are buying one from the average BMW owner since they probably only did the "free" BMW maintenance which if you ask the BMW faithful has lead to the premature failure of a lot of different parts you would expect to last a lot longer than they do.

I suggest you do some serious research into E46 M3's before taking the plunge. You do not just casually pick up a 70K mile specimen and drive it without making major repairs and/or expensive maintenance as well.

Don't get me wrong, the E46 M3 was the car I wanted more than anything in college (especially after I drove my uncle's six speed coupe...now that was awesome), but after seeing what has gone wrong with his M3, I wouldn't touch an E46 without some major coin in the bank and a service manual.

Another benefit is that Subaru borrowed heavily from the Impreza parts bin when making the BRZ.

^^^^ good post. Looks like you've seriously looked into it.

Heard early ones had a recall for rod or crank bearings. That one of your uncle's problems?

He had nagging sub-frame issues, needed to replace bushings on a yearly basis, and went through I don't know how many sets of window regulators...and I'm not sure but he may have had some oil consumption issues as well.

It just seemed like every time I talked to him, the car had been to the shop recently or was still in the shop...

I ran into the window regulator problem about 3 times in as many years along with a nagging issue with the sunroof coming off the tracks (5 times total), however that was covered by a dealer warranty (not the original ) .....last "electrical problem" i faced was a HK door tweeter that popped, but that only happened once and happened surprisingly while the car was off and parked, never figured that out.

As for the Vanos issue, that problem was solved within weeks of the discovery in the M52 world, loctite solved it, absolutely solved it..However if you wanted to 1 up and get a factory solution they fixed it a few years into the e46 M3 with a new specd set of locking bolts (could just be swapped out the same time you replaced your vanos unit)

The sub frame issue i see was brought up also..that was just the nature of the beast, it's still a problem.. You either reinforced it yourself or bought an aftermarket unit..And when you do that you run the risk of splitting steel else where. I knew a few people who's strut mounts cracked out due to a combination of bushing density and lack of reinforcement in enough locations to distribute the force on that plate. but it was all do-able..

but these were the reasons I traded out for the E36 M3..much better M all around imho, i was never a fan of the e46 generation going into it and still was not a fan coming out of it. Too soft overall, much more "woman" centric M-car...makes sense since it was bangles first debacle..