Alright I need Help, i ordered my G35 coupe last month and its coming in october, and its a 2004 model but since i crashed my 99 nissan Maxima i've been driving a pick up truck and my kawasaki ninja around, i saw a 98 M3 and its fast as *****, im not sure which one to get they are both black and stick so its going to be good but the G is 37,000 and the M is 20,000. SO give me your thoughts about my situation

 

IMHO if you can afford the g, get the G. They dont even compare! I have driven the e36 m3 many times and its a great car but falls short of the G in almost all categories. the e46 m3 is another story!

 

yeah but which one do u think is better for hook up and can be faster. i know the e46 is amazing my brother has it and its fast as ****. the e36 is fast too and it has so much torque.

 

the g35 is pretty damn fast itself. e36 m3 runs 5.6 0-60 and the g35c is 5.8 manual i believve. pretty close in performance, but now base it on looks, and the g35c blows it out of the water. And there are alot of performance upgrades to do on the g35c. new intake, exhaust, supercharger, etc...

 

I have faced the same delima, a fully loaded used 2001 Acura cl-s with 260 hp and 30,000 miles for $16,500 or I can step up to the "G" at $37,000. Well, I can buy the CL out right with cash or finance for the "G", well let me tell you, I like to pull up to a 2001 M3 and smile : ). Oh, nothing is wrong with the M3 but I like to have that $80,000 look of a "Super Car".

 

couldn't have said it better

 

yah ... 5.8 if your on GLUE !!

sorry man

the lowest I've seen is 5.5 from C&D and R&T

sooo ... G .... those M3 have no warranty and PLAINLY AND SIMPLY there OLD STYLE

and theres alot of rice out there regular old 325's with M3 badging

YAH KNOW?

later

 

I too faced a similar dilemma. New G35 or used E46 M3. The G35 has been around long enough that low mileage used G35's are starting to pop up on ebay and autotrader. Since they are less than a year old, you still get most of the warranty of a new car, and the price is somewhere b/n the E36 M3 and a new G35. I don't know if the dealers have come around yet, but when I was looking at the G35's, nobody wanted to talk less than MSRP.

 

DEFINITELY get the BMW M3.

I don't really mean that... but this being a G35 forum, I figured I'd play Devil's Advocate. [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

My serious answer is to look carefully at your financial situation now, and peer into your Crystal Ball about what the future looks like financially as well...job prospects? Children on the way? Getting married? Current employer losing tons of money? Buying a house soon? That kind of thing.

If you look into the Crystal Ball and all looks good, I tend to think you'll be happier in the much sportier, far more "exotic" G35 Coupe than you'd be with the M3. But both are fine cars, and the savings of getting the M3 would obviously be substantial. Personally, though I don't for a second regret getting the Coupe myself, my finances have turned a bit in the last 3 months to the point where I'm wondering why I didn't get a stupid Corolla or something instead - I'm just hoping I can work a miracle and afford to keep paying the monthly installments on my baby!

Of course I'm biased, I'm gonna say the G35 is a nicer car, since I own one... but it's not like you're deciding between it and a Corolla... it's not as if you can really go wrong, unless the M3's been beaten to death by it's current owner. There's a certain security in a new car, you know?

Either way, good luck!

2003 G35 Coupe 6MT Leather
Premium, Aero
"There is no spoon"

 

If you even consider an e36 M3 I'd get a Twin Turbo Supra instead. Not only can the car be made faster easier it's already faster to boot. I raced my friends M3 all the time and it was no comparison. Plus the Supra looks much better IMO. It's one of the BIG reasons I got my G35 Coupe. Both cars have very similar lines, styling, and grace. Ahhh I miss my Supra.

 

If you can afford a used E46, there is no comparision to the G, the E46 kills it in every aspect. period.

//G35driver wannabe//

 

Personally, I think comparing the E46 M3 to the E36 M3 is an apples-to-oranges comparison. The E36 M3 is much more driver oriented, much more true to the "sports car" nature that BMW was trying to achieve. The E46 M3 is more luxury oriented and IMO not as driver friendly, at least in a sporting sense.

The E36 is a much better handler overall IMO and its more "torquey" to boot. Much more pleasurable to drive. Sure its a bit slower than the E46 - but it handles much better and personally I think that's more important.

I can't really compare the '98 M3 to the G35 Coupe because I have never driven a G35 but I can tell you, I have nothing but praise for the E36 M3. YOu can slap on an intake, exhaust and a performance chip for relatively cheap $ and run mid to low 13s I'd imagine. I'm not sure how much more money you'd have to invest into the G, but since its a new car I have to imagine that its performance parts are fairly expensive. Granted, any performance part for BMW's are expensive.

Another thing to think about is the repair costs on each car. The G is still under warranty - the M3 is not, and let me tell you, they are expensive as hell to maintain (best friend has one). Looks are subjective of course. The G is certainly more eye-catching while the M3 spits smooth sophistication (not that the G doesn't).

I don't know, I figure they compare pretty evenly in a straight line, with a slight edge going to the M3. Handling, I can't speak on but I do know that at the time, the M3 was one of the best stock handling cars on the planet I believe. It really does handle like its on rails.

2002 NBP RSX-S
Hondata, AEM V2, DC SS adapter w/ metal bushings

 

Ive driven my friends E46 m3 and i really dont like the way the shifter is set up. The shifts are very long and the transmission is really loud. but once you push that little sport button, thats when you can wave goodbye to everyone else on the street.

 

How much are used E46 M3's going for? Can one be had for the same price as a new G coupe?

 

I was going to go for a new G35, but found a used 2002 M3 w/3,800 miles on it w/all the options I wanted for $47k. The G35 is a sweet car indeed, and the E36 M3 is probably a better handler, but I'm extremely happy with my purchase. I like the fact that usualy only car enthusiasts can really ID the car. I agree w/the comment on the last gen Toyota Supra. Those are monsters and still look nice. Another sweet ride is a 3rd Gen RX-7. Not many of them around, will handle as well as the E36 and stay up to the E46 in a sprint. Unlike the Supra, reliability was an issue w/the RX-7. I had the RX-7 and liked it a lot, but I like my M3 much better.