Thinking of an E39 M5 or an E36 M3 as a daily driver???

[leemarkadams]

Hello all, currently have an E36 330D sport as my daily driver (do about 12K per year) and for some strange reason really swaying towards changing it for either an E39 M5 or an E36 M3. Would not want to spend more than about £12K for the car.

Am I being stupid even thinking about it???? (Head says keep with diesel...)

Lee

[M5 Russ]

I have owned both and the e36 makes a great every day car. Just get a good one and be careful of the vanos on Evo's.
The e39 M5 is superb car and is a superb car but the fuel bill will hurt but its a more modern car and for all round ability there is not a lot to touch it.

[PeterNem]

The e39 M5 is an amazing car to spend time in, has great mile munching ability and is a great place to be.

I did about 20k miles in the first year I owned mine, about 75% of which was commuting/work related. Be prepared for 19-20MPG averages and a slightly frustrating tank range. Tyres and servicing aren't cheap either (but aren't terrible assuming it only needs routine stuff) but if it's mainly motorway work you should be pretty light on the car!

I'd not want to use it for a stop-start commute that involved lots of town traffic really... My previous 530iA was much better suited to that really.

[leemarkadams]

Thanks for the reply, was also looking at an Audi S4 or RS4, but the issue with an engine removal to change turbos is not good....

Lee

[leemarkadams]

The commuting I do is about 60 miles each way, so it would not be for short journeys anyway...

Lee

[PeterNem]

You'd be looking at 2 tanks of fuel a week then, assuming you weren't being too heavy footed! Given the way fuel is going at the moment...

[cosworth330]

I had an S reg M3 evo for about 2yrs, great car but only used it as a second car as far too small for a family car & poor rear leg room. Still very good cars though, not many cars with the M3's performance can match their mpg, you will see 30 mpg on the motorway & about 25mpg short trips.
I changed to an E39 M5 last July, the M5 is more modern,much more comfortable,more refined. You don't have to thrash the M5 to get it to go either as so much torque throught the whole rev range. The M5 is a lot more expensive on tyres & fuel though, expect 20mpg average.

Simon.

[leemarkadams]

Bugger, just realised I typed in e36 m3 when I meant e46 m3!!!! So, what about one of those???

[andy3781]

I had an e46 330d sport which i was using to commute between Birmingham and London on a daily basis. The company i work for were planning to relocate to Leamington spa so i decided i'd take the plunge and buy an e39 m5. Unfortunately for me the move to Leamington didn't happen for another year! I was then stuck with a 5.0 v8 to do a 240 mile round trip in 5 days a week!! The car now has 185,000 miles on it and is still as fresh as a daisy. Can highly recommend it, really does soak up the miles and really isn't that bad on fuel if you drive mainly on a motorway. Having said that i am now on first name terms with many a forecourt attendant along the M1!... All i can say is, keep it serviced and buy on condition rather than mileage as mine proves that it can take higher miles if its looked after.