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Originally Posted by TracerHawk
I went through the same exact thing, buy a new or slightly used E46 M3, or hold off for the 335i. I went back and forth for a few months, researching as much as a I could and debating the pluses and minuses. Ultimately after a few months, I finally decided in March to wait another month or two for the 335i official pics to come out. When they came out in late April along with the specs, I knew I had made the right choice; it definitely was a hard decision, but the right one.
I went for the 335i, newer design, newer technology, newly designed engine, more torque, twin turbo so easily to mod, brand new 4 year warranty, new options like comfort access and integrated ipod. I like that it's 4" longer too. Thats not a lot, but enough that this will help out a little with leg room and space in the backseat. Plus, a lot of people already view the E46 M3 as the "old M3", its been out since 2001 and was designed in the late 90's. The design and technology and engine are all at least 8 years old. I think it's still a gorgeous car and it was all I could do not to pull the trigger on a 2005 ZCP M3 in Interlagos Blue.... but still, it IS a dated car by now, and there have been VERY little revisions to it since released in 2001. Imagine it now if you only keep your car 3 more years.
Topping it off, the 0-1000 times look like this (both manual):
0-1000m for 2006 E46 M3: 24.2 seconds
0-1000m for 2007 E92 335i: 24.5 seconds
Most reports are saying the real world times for the 335i in daily, usable situations will equal or just barely beat the E46 M3 (such as 30-50, 50-70 acceleration, etc.)
Now imagine buying an ECU chip.
All that, for about 15k less than the E46 M3 (comparing fully loaded vs fully loaded).
I would never tell someone that buying the E46 M3 is a bad decision at all. Its a great decision. For me though, after weighing everything, the 335i twin turbo was just an even BETTER decision.
Aija, you should add "warranty/no expensive repairs" to the + section of the 335i, and a - to the M3 side for the drop in value due to not only the 335i coming out, but also the E92 M3 due out in probably 12-15 months.
Now of course, when the E92 M3 comes out, this will be a whole new ballgame. 
If you decide to go with the E46 M3 anyway, make sure you use any and all arguments you can find to get a solid 10% off if not more. They should give you a decent deal with the E46 M3 design being antiquated and this model design of the M3 being phased out. |
I will respectfully disagree with you on a couple of things, but I do agree with most of your posting.
1) The warranty/no expensive repairs is plus for both sides, not just the 335. Remember what I'm looking at is a brand new 2006 with the same new warranty as any new BMW.
2) The M3 will drop in value slightly when the new M3 model hits the world, but BMW is not selling the 335 as an M replacement so the impact of the 335 on the M's resale will be minimal at best. The M class is dear to BMW and they will always protect it in terms of the way their other car lines impact it. The current M3 is viewed by many to be the perfect performance coupe (in terms of the overall package, performance, body styling, etc.) and will always have a huge market for it in terms of being able to resell it.
3) In terms of being able to upgrade performance the M3 is ready now. That is the plus side to the fact is it an older style. I could go out the next day and get hard-core upgrades if my wallet could support it. The 335 will be a different story. Just use my current E90 330i as an example. It's been a year since I got it and there are no true engine performance upgrades (chips, etc) yet and there's nothing coming for the forseeable future based on comments on the progress of said upgrades. Despite the fact that the 335 will be a turbo, it will be no different because of the newness of the computer control system.
4) The fact that the engine is 8 years old is a non-issue because of the comments in #3. As stated in other posts, the fact that the current M3 engine is still being used in new models (Z4 M for example) tells us about the level of respect that BMW has for it. The age of an engine doesn't matter if the design is solid. The combustion engine is 100 years old but it's still the best game in town, for now. Look at GM, they're been using the same basic small-block V8 design for many years with great success. The fact that a new model has the same basic engine as a vehicle from 20-30 years ago hasn't mattered.
For me, getting a 335 will be like getting a 2 door version of the car I already own. Getting the M3 will be like, well like nothing else I've ever owned. It's no contest between the two.