M3 as a daily driver?

[HenryLee]

Looks good to me.. I have always loved M3's.. except dont be surpised about the grand service cost each time you take it in the Dealer.. and I would stick w/ the 6speed.. I've heard that the SMG tranmissions from the earlier years had alot of problems.. If it breaks.. then its about 3K-5K to replace it.. But its basically low miles.. 55K is like about 10K a year.. If i had the money I would go for it..

[aero]

So trying to put everyone's thoughts together collectively...

BMW out of warranty = bad
Certified BMW = good
But BMW out of warranty AND a single owner who treated it well could = good
An 02 may not necessarily be bad, but may be more risky than a newer one

I may sit on this for a few months then, and see what the 03's are looking like this spring. A certified 03 would still have some time left on the warranty too.

[///M32G35]

I think the best thing to do, whatever year you go, is get an independent pre-purchase inspection. Noone who has a quality product will refuse that, and it will give you an idea how the car was treated. Keep in mind that the M3 is a car that loves to be driven, so because it has been tracked doesn't necessarily mean it is in bad shape, as long as it was properly maintained. I have heard of cars that were tracked regularly running longer and stronger than cars that were babied to no end. Good luck!

[jawjaw]

Originally Posted by aero

Ahhhhhhh, the GM comment. They will forever be listed in my book of shame. I kid you not, the following happened over five years (on a Pontiac):

Window regulator broke not once, not twice, not thrice, but SIX times.
Alternator broke after ~20K miles.
Rotors warped after ~10K miles, then new ones warped about a year later.
Head unit broke after ~20K miles.
Intake manifold gasket blew twice.

Thank God for extended warranties.

Sounds like you could of put that under the lemon law. I don't think that is common but I can understand how you feel.

[r0csfinest]

I would get a MT... I had a friend with SMG and cost him $7k when something went wrong

[aero]

Originally Posted by jawjaw

Sounds like you could of put that under the lemon law. I don't think that is common but I can understand how you feel.

Yeah, I probably could have. It wasn't worth it though, the car was too cheap and it was moderately modded. But the rotor problem, intake manifold gaskets, and water in the headlights and tail lights (forgot to mention that) are common on a lot of GMs. Even happens on Cadillacs.