Daily Drive/Weekend Warrior

[jonboy21t]

Evening all.....i've been running a mapped mk5 Golf GTi as my daily hack for sometime...it's fast, furious but front wheel drive...
i've got a £8k-£10k budget & am thinking of a couple of options....
1: E46 M3 (a dealer friend of mine has offered me a 2003 low miles silver M3 with good history & no mods etc for £8k)
OR
2: 996 Carerra 4 (2000 model - again with full history - no mods etc)for £9k..
Now, i've always fancied both cars....can anyone offer me an insight into daily drive useage....??
I do 40-50 miles round trip a day 7 it's a mix of A,B&C roads.......
I look forward to any comments/pointers etc.....
Thanks in advance...

jon

[V8GEE]

tbh i would steer clear of the m3.. as nice as they may look and sound their not all that fun to drive. they dont feel as powerfull as you would expect as opposed to an e36 m3 they feel much more fun..

[jonboy21t]

V8GEE said:

tbh i would steer clear of the m3.. as nice as they may look and sound their not all that fun to drive. they dont feel as powerfull as you would expect as opposed to an e36 m3 they feel much more fun..

Thanks for the advise...i'm due to visit & have a test drive so i'm sure that will answer any questions regarding the drive etc.....

To be honest the golf pulls really well but i'm bored of wheel spin - especially in the wet.....

Maybe the 996 deserves a test drive...

[Bart 124]

Will the Carerra be manual or TipTronic? I test drove a 2001 TipTronic a few months back when interested in one and I found it all a bit too relaxed shall we say... I can't comment on an E46 M3, but a friend's E36 was exciting. Always thought the 46' was labelled as a bit of a whale in comparison?

I appreciate that neither of these comments have likely been of any help - but, I guess I'm saying if you can find a manual 996-4 then that would be my decision from the two options

[notax]

I would certainly test drive the 996, the interior feels pretty dated and be prepared for big bills for servicing, brakes etc... Would you want 4wd rather than 2wd?

I used to have an E46 M3 as a daily driver, but it didn't feel special enough to me at normal speeds. It was epic on track and when hooning but day to day left me a bit cold. A very different type of car, but one that I loved for every day use was an XKR coupe... may be worth a look.

[skeeterm5]

In my view, you will be getting a very bottom of the market 911 at that price, I personally would steer clear.

S

[jonboy21t]

The 996 is a Carerra 4 - so good for the commute on B&C roads.......
I was thinking of a 996 as an entry level into 911 ownership...i'd like a 997 but can't afford one...so a low mileage 996 example with good service history would fit the bill & my wallet..
I have a local independant specialist who only works on Porsches & he's offered to go with me for a second viewing if so required..

As for the M3, i'm test driving that tomorrow....hopefully the rain will hold off enough....

[shentodj]

A friend recently bought a tidy 996 with good history, just under 100K miles.
Within 6 months it needed a complete engine rebuild (which they've just had done by specialist in Yorkshire for >£10K).
I'd look for one with a newly rebuilt (warranted) engine to be safe - there seem to be plenty going wrong/being fixed.

Regards,
Shentodj

[jonboy21t]

shentodj said:

A friend recently bought a tidy 996 with good history, just under 100K miles.
Within 6 months it needed a complete engine rebuild (which they've just had done by specialist in Yorkshire for >£10K).
I'd look for one with a newly rebuilt (warranted) engine to be safe - there seem to be plenty going wrong/being fixed.

Regards,
Shentodj

Thanks.....advise duly noted..!!!!

[Zebrs]

What did you think of the M3 or did rain stop play?

[jonboy21t]

Zebrs said:

What did you think of the M3 or did rain stop play?

The weather was shocking & rain did stop play.....
My dealer friend is a couple of hours to the north & i didn't fancy the drive there or a test drive in the rain....so we've rescheduled for this weekend....

I will report back......am now planning to drive/test the M3 before looking at 996's....

[EJ911]

I loved my 996 C2 a daily driver, no real problems except a failed water pump and rather a lot of rear tyres ;-) 4 years, 50k miles and sold at 112k for £4000 less than I paid for it and that was SOR through a garage. Not bad depreciation for a lot of fun motoring imo. My advice get to know a good independent garage and buy something that makes you smile. I upgraded in July to a 996 turbo as a daily driver, lots more smiles so if you see a woman grinning like a cheshire cat while stuck in the traffic on the M27 give me a wave.
EJ911
The old



and the new

[Garynogrip]

I know you are only looking at the 2 options but there is a wild card also at that price, if you can get over the badge thing and the cheap dash, they are possibly the most fun you will have all day, many owners have gone from m3's to these......
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
It's local too, a test drive will put all the above to the back of your mind 😉

[jonboy21t]

Bugger, the link the "wild card" has gone.........i've been off the radar for sometime.....i never did get to my buddies garage to test some cars but am heading there next weekend - he has various options in stock (M3's, Boxster & 996) & hope to decide which way to go..

so, what was the "wild card"......

[jonboy21t]

well, just got back from a weekend in Staffordshire - walking today & test driving yesterday....

The 996 had already been sold to was limited to a 2003 SMG M3, a 2004 manual M3 & a 2.7 Boxster, after test driving all 3 i went for the manual M3 - i didnt get on with SMG & Mrs Cooke said she'd prefer to drive the manaual as and when required - the Boxster was ok but only 2 seats so not really a contender..

He's taken the GTi in part-ex & i'm heading back up in two weeks to pick up the M3....& i can't wait...
i had an 1 hour test drive (A&B roads & a blast along the A38....cracking car..)

2004
Silver
100,000 miles
3 owners
BMW history
NO rust
Recent inspection 2 (5000 miles ago)
Continental sports on all 4 corners
New brakes discs/pads on all 4 corners
black leather
Harman Kardon stereo
etc......

just needs a pistonhead smiley..!!

I can't wait to pick it up...

Just need to work out how to upload a photo or two.......any pointers please...??

[jonboy21t]

[jonboy21t]

Sorted the upload....used the iPhone....happy days..!!

[Jonboy_t]

Congratulations! You won't be disappointed, cracking cars

I had one a few years ago and there's a couple of things I didn't check which bit me on the arse a bit. Keep an eye on rear springs, they snap (relatively) easily unless they've been replaced with non originals - easy to fix if they do go though. Also, would be worth a couple of quid getting the rear sub frame checked as there was a manufacturing defect in some, iirc, bmw used to replace them under a recall, but that was a couple of years ago.

You can't really go wrong with them other than that. I miss the scream above 5,000rpm . Enjoy!

[coolchris]

EJ911 said:

I loved my 996 C2 a daily driver, no real problems except a failed water pump and rather a lot of rear tyres ;-) 4 years, 50k miles and sold at 112k for £4000 less than I paid for it and that was SOR through a garage. Not bad depreciation for a lot of fun motoring imo. My advice get to know a good independent garage and buy something that makes you smile. I upgraded in July to a 996 turbo as a daily driver, lots more smiles so if you see a woman grinning like a cheshire cat while stuck in the traffic on the M27 give me a wave.
EJ911
The old



and the new

Hi Ej,

Nice new toy you have there good replacement from the 996 how are you finding it compared to your old car ?

chris