E30 323i -- E36 M3 Evo -- E46 330Ci -- What next?

[clabcon]

From 2008-2010 I used to be the proud owner of an E36 M3 Evo, but foolishly sold it. Because of work I then moved to London, changed for an E46 330Ci with an autobox and found the lazy torque to be more useful for the city. I am now moving out of this City in a few months so new car time

Budget is £15-20K. I do not want an E46 M3 as the handling would not be as good as my E36 M3 was setup and still think CSL prices are too high for what they are. They were £30K 3 years ago so it’s a mystery why the cheapest are not in my budget. (I know their rarer, but still with 2007 E92 M3’s available for the same price…

I know that 2008 135i are within my budget but am not sure if they would excite me after having an E36 M3? I also they're really ugly from the back. Z4M is out of the question because of being poorly put together and notchy gearbox.

Any suggestions ?

[clabcon]

E46 330Ci 300 Nm (220 ftlb) at 3500 rpm

E92 M3 400 Nm (295 ftlb) at 3900 rpm

Hmm 25% more torque and almost twice the power with a much more revable engine. Obviously the DCT gearbox will be lightyears ahead from the steptronic in the E46 and so will the handling, but still not sure if an E92 on 19s will handle as well as an E36 on 17s...

[Seeker UK]

I'm in a similar quandry - I like the look of the Z4M but I'm thinking 645ci. Cheaper to insure, more toys and more room.

Failing that how about a low mile 840ci sport?

[CRACKIE]

Hi Clabcon. I spent ages deciding what to replace my E36 EVO with. 944T - E36 EVO 4door - E36 EVO coupe has been my sequence. The EVO is a great car ( and even better with Bilstein/Eibach shocks & springs, quicker steering rack etc etc ) but after 6 years in E36 EVOs I wanted a change. I think an E92 335i fits the bill but the engine, in standard form, doesn't have enough charisma if you're used to 'M power' and the car needs an LSD.

Cue E92 335i + £6~7k worth of intercooler, 3" downpipes, Quaife LSD, KW coilovers, BMW performance exhaust & remap. The aim is something that handles like of these http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/2082... but with extra pace. It should be at least as quick as an E92 M3 with the engine work i.e 420hp/440lb/ft. Unfortunately very little of the £6K investment in mods will be seen come resale time

Some good cars in the £16k~17k range ~ AUC machines too. The balance of your budget could be put towards the priority mods i.e. LSD, intercooler & mapping.

Edited by CRACKIE on Wednesday 13th April 14:37

[rich85uk]

130i? meant to be a hoot to drive and what i want to replace my 330ci with

or how about the alpina Z4? not quite as quick as a z4mc but i understand they are around 300bhp from a 3.4l engine, and i would imagine its better day to day car

[clabcon]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

If its in warranty though I wouldn't need to worry about the engine blowing... Did you have a particular model in mind?

[clabcon]

But a lot more costly in the long term if you have trouble selling it?

I'm thinking of doubling the budget, put off the e92 m3 by its bad quality paintwork tbh. Would rather have a R35 GTR

[clabcon]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Factory warranty doesn't get carried over to the second owner though, or does it?

What does it say about the rest of the car if the engines knackered before 100k!

[clabcon]

Engine blown up at 50k miles? I can see why it hasnt sold for a month.

[Seeker UK]

clabcon said:

Engine blown up at 50k miles? I can see why it hasnt sold for a month.

A rebuilt engine / clutch / tranny work, it should be a major selling point.

It's overpriced though.

[clabcon]

Seeker UK said:

A rebuilt engine / clutch / tranny work, it should be a major selling point.

It's overpriced though.

Tbh I dont know too much about the porsche world to make a valid judgement.

[Crackie]

Price of that 996 looks good to me ~ Autofarm's & Hartech's engine work is arguably more durable than a new factory unit. I looked a 996s a couple of years ago, when my son was short enough to cope with the rear seats, and a refurbished engine from Hartech or Autofarm was high up on my wish list.

[M3333]

Not wanting to push this topic too far away from the OP's questions but could someone tell me what they think that 996 is worth please?

These are getting seriously cheap now......very tempted to buy one for my 30th in about 3 weeks

Thanks.

[clabcon]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Do you really think a 996 3.6 will leave me impressed after a modified e36 m3 3.2? When I used it for track work it was faster than a 997 Carrera and kept up with a 997 Carrera S in the bends and maybe lost a few 1/10s on the straight in terms in straight line speed.

It sounds like the S54 unit in the Z4M is more robust and more onpar with the 3.8 litre porsche unit in terms of straight line performance. And lets face it the Carrera is no Cayman so handling isn't going to wow me after a coilovered, polybushed, x-braced m3! But Z4M is a girls car and very rattly and the gearbox is quite notchy out of the few I've driven, so that's out.

[rtv]

That's just about E60 M5 money....