What, if anything, after an e92 m3?

[cerb4.5lee]

jon- said:

cerb4.5lee said:

julians said:

If it was a car for weekends, I dont think I'd be looking at any BMW, they're too ordinary (which is a good thing when you want one car to do everything, but not when you want a weekend more special car).

You make a very valid point regards a BMW as a weekend car and I ran my old Z4M as a weekender and I couldn't agree more because they just lack soul and overall specialness, BMW do make mostly very good daily drivers but for a weekend car you need a manufacturer that offers thrills and excitement and something that makes you want to jump in and drive it just for the sake of it and a BMW just doesn't do that for me.

+1 this. I've just sold my e46 M3, a few months after taking a M135i on. The e46 m3 has always been a second car, but it's just not special enough to make me want to drive it over the M135i most of the time.

Before my main car was a Ford KA, so the M3 felt like an occasion.

I might end up in a westy or an Atom. Once the M135i is off lease, I'll probably go for a new M3 or 997 911 as an only car.

I understand totally where you are coming from and I did struggle with my E92 M3 as a do it all car and it made me want a weekender again, I would have liked a M135i as my daily too so I can see why the E46 M3 would lack some specialness, I would love a caterham or equivalent as a weekender as they would be such an occasion to drive that's for sure and I would also imagine that the new M3 would make a pretty good daily...looking forward to the M2 in the future also.

[JsyM3]

E46 M3 CSL

[irish boy]

cerb4.5lee said:

jon- said:

cerb4.5lee said:

julians said:

If it was a car for weekends, I dont think I'd be looking at any BMW, they're too ordinary (which is a good thing when you want one car to do everything, but not when you want a weekend more special car).

You make a very valid point regards a BMW as a weekend car and I ran my old Z4M as a weekender and I couldn't agree more because they just lack soul and overall specialness, BMW do make mostly very good daily drivers but for a weekend car you need a manufacturer that offers thrills and excitement and something that makes you want to jump in and drive it just for the sake of it and a BMW just doesn't do that for me.

+1 this. I've just sold my e46 M3, a few months after taking a M135i on. The e46 m3 has always been a second car, but it's just not special enough to make me want to drive it over the M135i most of the time.

Before my main car was a Ford KA, so the M3 felt like an occasion.

I might end up in a westy or an Atom. Once the M135i is off lease, I'll probably go for a new M3 or 997 911 as an only car.

I understand totally where you are coming from and I did struggle with my E92 M3 as a do it all car and it made me want a weekender again, I would have liked a M135i as my daily too so I can see why the E46 M3 would lack some specialness, I would love a caterham or equivalent as a weekender as they would be such an occasion to drive that's for sure and I would also imagine that the new M3 would make a pretty good daily...looking forward to the M2 in the future also.

m135i is out. Bought an ex demo one in 2012, sold it in 3 months as was bored, totally different car to an e92 m3 in my opinion. A great all rounder yes but not the same feeling about it at all.

Going for a drive in an exige today…..

http://www.hollybrooksportscars.com/2014/03/26/lot...

[cerb4.5lee]

irish boy said:

Going for a drive in an exige today…..

http://www.hollybrooksportscars.com/2014/03/26/lot...

I love the exige and at one stage it was on my list to replace my old Cerbera and I am sure it will be a thrilling drive and someone I know replaced his Cerbera with one and he really likes it, enjoy the drive and let us know how you get on.

[Leins]

JsyM3 said:

E46 M3 CSL

OP, if you haven't already then go drive one of these before buying anything else

[dufflecoat]

Leins said:

OP, if you haven't already then go drive one of these before buying anything else

Just dont expect to use it as a daily. ever.

[Leins]

dufflecoat said:

Just dont expect to use it as a daily. ever.

I'd have no interest in using it as a daily, although if I had a more interesting commute with less traffic I might. OP has another daily though, which is why I think a CSL is a good bet as a weekend / epic trip sort of car

[Carlton Banks]

Leins said:

dufflecoat said:

Just dont expect to use it as a daily. ever.

I'd have no interest in using it as a daily, although if I had a more interesting commute with less traffic I might. OP has another daily though, which is why I think a CSL is a good bet as a weekend / epic trip sort of car

I actually used my CSL 5 days a week to drive to work when I owned mine.

It is this that probably prompted me to sell it!

[Herbs]

Go book yourself a test drive in an Evora - I have a feeling it's just what you are looking for.

You can pick up a NA for what you can get for yours or add to the pot and get a supercharged one

[dufflecoat]

Carlton Banks said:

I actually used my CSL 5 days a week to drive to work when I owned mine.

It is this that probably prompted me to sell it!

Ditto. It was my only car at the time, I hated it.

Give me one as a second car though, polar opposite I imagine.

[turboman786]

I had a similar dilemma the OP is facing when I owned my m3

I absolutely loved it, but sold it and thought I'd try other cars

Since then I've owned

C63....great car but not quite as sublime as a drivers car as the m3

Nissan gtr - with stage 4. 650r.....bonkers car but just too fast for the road, too big, too heavy to enjoy on the tight country lanes where I live.......just too fast to be possible to enjoy legally

E60 m5.... Loved the engine, hated the dated dimwitted smg box

Porsche 997......just felt dated and wasn't really my thing

Now......back in an m3.....and absolutely love it!

For me the m3 really is as close to the perfect car, particularly when combined with the mandatory oem exhaust mod

[Baz Tench]

E30M3SE said:

irish boy said:

Tempted to get my annual service done, a couple of tyres and run it another year.

Sounds like a plan to me. Change when you find something worth changing for, not just for the sake of changing. All IMO of course.

That's the thing with these cars. Put new boots on them and let them breathe as intended again, and you fall in love with them all over again (that's what I find anyway).

[dufflecoat]

turboman786 said:

Now......back in an m3.....and absolutely love it!

For me the m3 really is as close to the perfect car, particularly when combined with the mandatory oem exhaust mod

Feel I am going the same way..

What spec now? DCT & Comp? 2 pipe mod? or more.

I had the Eisenmann Race on my old E92, would buy again in a shot. Made the car.

Here she is....

[AndrewO]

I went SMG E46 M3 to DCT E92 M3 to Manual 997GT3. There was a bit of overlap where I had both the E92/GT3 and I'd say this would have been the ideal combination. GT3 isn't really a daily driver, I ran it with the motorbike which worked okay but really need a hack/winter car as well.

Plan is to go back to a E92 M3, ideally a frozen silver, comp pack with the carbon goodies.

[cerb4.5lee]

There is some serious love for the E92 M3 on this thread and I do read about a lot of people who go back to one even after in my mind anyway far more exciting cars R35 GTR/997 GT3 just as two examples so the E92 M3 must have some sort of sweet spot that owners like so much.

[dufflecoat]

cerb4.5lee said:

There is some serious love for the E92 M3 on this thread and I do read about a lot of people who go back to one even after in my mind anyway far more exciting cars R35 GTR/997 GT3 just as two examples so the E92 M3 must have some sort of sweet spot that owners like so much.

Perfect one car garage.

If you have the means to run two, you would choose something harder for weekends and track.

As a daily to eat miles in comfort and then turn up at a track and entertain, there isn't anything better.

[cerb4.5lee]

dufflecoat said:

Perfect one car garage.

If you have the means to run two, you would choose something harder for weekends and track.

As a daily to eat miles in comfort and then turn up at a track and entertain, there isn't anything better.

I swapped a daily and a weekender for my E92 M3 to be my only car and it didn't work for me personally and it was far from the perfect one car set up but I do get why most love them for how you describe them, don't get me wrong if I had the means to run a E92 M3 as a daily and then have something like a Caterham in the garage then that would do me very nicely indeed!

[irish boy]

dufflecoat said:

turboman786 said:

Now......back in an m3.....and absolutely love it!

For me the m3 really is as close to the perfect car, particularly when combined with the mandatory oem exhaust mod

Feel I am going the same way..

What spec now? DCT & Comp? 2 pipe mod? or more.

I had the Eisenmann Race on my old E92, would buy again in a shot. Made the car.

Here she is....

Mines dct, initially had a remus race exhaust, sounded good but was too loud on start up for the neighbours and had a bit of drone so splashed out on a proper m performance exhaust. Perfect. Not loud on start up but sounds stunning as the revs climb. No drone at all. I see where the money is in them now.


Drove the lotus, liked it, incredibly small inside, build quality probably better than I expected. Evora could be worth a look but none over here unfortunately. CSL good shout too but I'd want the best low mile I can find and that would be very expensive, not to mention out of warranty/boot floor etc etc. Should have bought one 6 or 7 years ago, not sure I'll go there now.


Made an offer on the corvette grand sport, just my type of car, they're priced too expensive tho and were £3500 out. If there's no deal to be had I've decided to keep mine for another year. All you other e92 m3 owners, enjoy your cars, only when you start looking about do you realise what a peach of a car they really are.

[cerb4.5lee]

irish boy said:

Mines dct, initially had a remus race exhaust, sounded good but was too loud on start up for the neighbours and had a bit of drone so splashed out on a proper m performance exhaust. Perfect. Not loud on start up but sounds stunning as the revs climb. No drone at all. I see where the money is in them now.


Drove the lotus, liked it, incredibly small inside, build quality probably better than I expected. Evora could be worth a look but none over here unfortunately. CSL good shout too but I'd want the best low mile I can find and that would be very expensive, not to mention out of warranty/boot floor etc etc. Should have bought one 6 or 7 years ago, not sure I'll go there now.


Made an offer on the corvette grand sport, just my type of car, they're priced too expensive tho and were £3500 out. If there's no deal to be had I've decided to keep mine for another year. All you other e92 m3 owners, enjoy your cars, only when you start looking about do you realise what a peach of a car they really are.

Pleased you enjoyed the test drive and as you have described with the E92 M3 like the E46 M3 before it that when owners do decide to change it does cause plenty of head scratching and that can only mean a massive compliment to the M3.

[Schermerhorn]

After I move on from my M6, I'm deliberating between these 3

M5 F10 on lease

E92 M3 with DCT, EDC and the latest spec I can get. Even though the V10 is quicker, these things are so much more chuckable.

or....

build a Porsche 964 with "modern" bits and run that as my daily. (Why? I have no idea!)

Edited by Schermerhorn on Wednesday 10th September 12:10