e46 M3 or 330ci, that is the question?!

[ladybmw]

hello, im new to this forum thingy but im having a dilema!

ive recently had the pleasure of driving a couple of e46 M3s and also a couple of 330ci's, and now of course i want one of each!

however, this is a little greedy so have to decide on one

i realise the 330 is more practical blah blah blah, but the m3 is fun!!

can i have as much fun in the 330, and be a little bit more comfortable (and save a few pennies?)

please help!

[Matt UK]

Doubt you'll have as much fun in the 330i as an M3 when giving it the beans.

Key question is what role does this car play in your day-to-day and what sort of money do you have to support the running costs?

Used every day to travel 25,000 motorway miles a year? 330i
Occasional car for hooning and track days? M3

and welcome to PH as well

Edited by Matt UK on Monday 26th April 20:05

[Martyn D]

I'm sure you'll have loads of fun times in a 330...but...everytime will be a fun time in a M3 (as long as you exclude numerous visits to the filling pump)

[boobles]

M3 without any doubts.

[Heathwood]

The 330ci is a great car, but it is not particularly fast or fun. If you can afford to buy and keep an M3 (don't underestimate running costs compared witth the 330ci) then thats the one to go for without a doubt.

[ladybmw]

i walk to work! so basically just need a weekend car.....im thinking the m3, just need to find a nice one now then! Woooo!! lets go shopping!

anyone got any opinions on smg?.....a friend has told me to steer well clear?


thanks!!

[boobles]

Weekend car you say?

Elise was my only car that ALWAYS put a smile on my face every single time i drove it!
No other car has done this. I realize you have posted this on the "bmw" thread but after getting rid of my Elise for the Z3M Roadster, it took me about 1 week to realize i had made a massive mistake. I have also owned a 328ci coupe & that was boring!

Edited by boobles on Monday 26th April 20:54

[Romanymagic]

I know its only a statistic but the 0-60 between the 330 and the M3 is 1 second (roughly, 330ci being 6.5 and the M3 5.2), used right the 330ci is fairly rapid and will be more than a match for most cars out there including most of the latest "hot hatches".

Just a thought...

[fen7on]

Romanymagic said:

I know its only a statistic but the 0-60 between the 330 and the M3 is 1 second (roughly, 330ci being 6.5 and the M3 5.2), used right the 330ci is fairly rapid and will be more than a match for most cars out there including most of the latest "hot hatches".

Just a thought...

Another statistic is that the M3 has almost 50% more power!

re. SMG/Manual, I had a manual E46 M3, 2003. My wife found it difficult to get into reverse, but that was when it was new, perhaps they've loosened up by now?? I had it for 3 years from new, put 20k on the clock. Fantastic car, you have to use the revs, then you'll see the difference between 330 & M3.

[Clark]

I've a 330ci and love it, but I wouldn't recommend it as a fun weekend car, it's more of an all rounder. I've never driven an e46 M3, but I assume it would be a lot more fun.

As someone said the 330ci isn't particularly quick by today's standards and it's so smooth that it feels slower than it is.

On a related note, how much difference is there in the running costs of a 330 to and M3? Anyone have first hand experience?

Edited by Clark on Monday 26th April 23:13

[gizlaroc]

Weekend car has to be an M3.

330i is a nice motorway mile muncher, but not a fun car.
You can really enjoy it, but the M3 is a bit special.

[LeightonBuzzard]

be greedy,

e36 m3 and e46 330ci

[B3Svert]

A little different, but have you considered an Alpina? B3S based on 330 but with performance nearer the M3 (305bhp and more accessible power/torque), but with 330 servicing costs.

[Skylark]

I agree with the comments on the 330Ci great car but not that special, and you see a lot of them around. Looked at an M3 but decided to go for an Z3M Roadster - that is special (and fits in the garage).

[battenburg2009]

boobles said:

Weekend car you say?

Elise was my only car that ALWAYS put a smile on my face every single time i drove it!
No other car has done this. I realize you have posted this on the "bmw" thread but after getting rid of my Elise for the Z3M Roadster, it took me about 1 week to realize i had made a massive mistake. I have also owned a 328ci coupe & that was boring!

Edited by boobles on Monday 26th April 20:54

wow you change you mind a lot

Great Pretender said:

boobles said:

Great Pretender said:

boobles said:

Both of my Elise's & a Z4 i was driving for a while & my current car being a Leon Cupra. Yes, i really mean that the Leon is more fun & feel's more exciting & probably drives better. Ok the Z3 was 10 years old so probably comparing it to newer cars is unfair although both the Elises were around the same year.

Were your dampers filled with marshmallow?

Not at all, just my personal opinion that BMW's are not all that & considering i have owned two of them, that makes me qualified to have an opinion!

Of course it does, but your opinion is absurd! This isn't a case of BMW fanboyism; rather you suggest a car based on the Golf mkIV platform - a chassis so terminally dull, it ought to come with a warning - is better to drive than a dedicated sports car with 320bhp. Hence my question: was there perhaps something wrong with your Z3? Do remember that when it was launched, Autocar voted the Z3M Roadster as the best handling car they'd sampled that year.

Granted, an Elise is in a different league in terms of feel and communication, but it doesn't have anything like the power of the BMW.

It does rather sound like you're jumping on the BMW bandwagon of hate for the sake of it.

Gad-Westy said:

boobles said:

I have owned a Z3M Roadster & also a 328ci Coupe & neither of them excited me at all & i would also go as far as saying that the build quality is no better that anything else i have owned.

But you seem quite positive about both of them on your profile. Unless "monsters" don't excite you?

boobles said:

I have owned a Z3M Roadster & also a 328ci Coupe & neither of them excited me at all & i would also go as far as saying that the build quality is no better that anything else i have owned.

boobles said:

asuppel said:

Z3M Roadster is a bit too powerful and are very expensive, and not sure about that engine in that chassis!

I had one & it wasn't "all that". Pretty average in my opinion.

[boobles]

Where have i said anything bad about the Elise then Battenburg or are you just here brifely to pi** people of & then run away when people confront you?

Nice to see nobody can email you either! why is that i wonder. Actually, i am amazed you have kept this username for so long, you normally change it every week after pi**ing everybody off.
What was it before? Oh yes thats it boost4me2 !

Edited by boobles on Wednesday 28th April 16:26

[ladybmw]

thanks for the help everyone.....im decided on the m3

ive had 3 BMWs in the past and have two e46 318is at the moment..(soon to be replaced by the m3!!!) so ill be sticking to BMWs..i have a good independent garage nearby which i already use and ive enquired about running costs...but i reakon it will be worth it.

[okgo]

Both will be boring weekend cars, and I would imagine you'll see that in a few months of owning either.

[sjj84]

I had a 330ci sport and now have a M3. The 330 is a great car, but wouldn't set your world alight. It's quick rather than fast, as in, you can quite happily cruise and not realise how fast you are going, but it's no race car. With the power of todays hot hatches, I'm afraid to say that in the 330 you'd struggle to compete, not that there is any point in doing such things.
No matter what statistics say, they are two completely different cars, the M3 is on another level completely, not just the speed but the way it handles and the whole experiance.
For a weekend car the 330 would be pointless. I use my M3 everyday come rain or shine (and snow). It's as easy to drive round town at slow speeds as it is to go for a back road blast.

[Martyn D]

okgo said:

Both will be boring weekend cars, and I would imagine you'll see that in a few months of owning either.

I liked that post, I laughed so much I wee'd a bit.