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I sold my 2001 Imola Red M3 for a s2000 and I can honestly say I do not regret it. Infact I have had much more fun modifying and enjoying my s2000 than I id with the M3. Besides s2000 owners are just more down to earth and not as pretentious as BMW owners!!
i am an ex-'95 e36 m3 owner. sold it a couple of years ago with about 75K miles on it. i went without a 'sports car" for a couple of years waiting for something i really wanted... porsche? third gen M3?
I test drove the s2000 last november and bought one in december (a month ago)... the s2000 is true sports car. it is light, raw, and pure -- performance and fun.
i still like bmw's. their great cars. my wife drives a 2001 bmw 540i sports wagon (w sports package), which i thoroughly enjoy driving when i can get my hands on it. the 540 is a smooth, comfortable, torque-laden, good handling, cruiser... but not tossable like the s2000.
i also agree that the people who own s2000's are a blast. they are down to earth and real fanatics. the s2000 attracts a certain breed of owner. folks who can live with the impracticalities and idiosyncracies of a pure sports car for the privledge of a minimalist sports car experience. bmw owners (even m3 owners) represent a broader cross section of the population and buy their cars for a whole host of reasons... there isn't the brotherhood (sisterhood?) that s2000 owners enjoy.
if you are worried about exclusivity, the s2000 is way less common and as a result gets way more looks than my e36 ever did. m3's are for sure more common than s2000's, but add all the look alike 3-series models and (at least here in the sf bay area) bmws are about as common as civics.
I had a 97 M3. THe m3 is a nice car, but after dirving this s2000 for a while, i felt like i was in a boat and driving a boat in the bmw. I now just have ths s2000. The s2000 is just much more fun to drive in my opinion. It also feels like you are going faster as a few girls who have ridden in both have said. Get rid of the bimmer! Get the S2K...BMW's suck! Or not, i dont know, i just could be saying that since im kinda drunk right now. Gotta love late night s2ki!!!
Hmmm, I've owned lots of Bimmers, 3.0CS, 728, 735, 325, M3 and several Porsches, 356, 914, 911 Carrera 2.4 RS, and a ton of Triumphs. The closest thing I ahve had to the S2000 is a Mini Cooper S. Like others have said, you can rip around like Aryton Senna or Paddy Hopkirk without getting in a huge amount of trouble, but if you want to risk trouble, that's there too.
If I could have had a droptop Mini Cooper S I guess I'd still be in that camp, but I'm just a serious roadster guy, and the S2000 works for me. Bring on spring!
First off, if any "girly" can slam gears door-to door with me in her own S2000 then that's the girl for me!! (any out there? ) I don't think the car is girly looking at all other then in the new light blue(sorry for stepping on a couple dozen toes).
Second, though I don't have an M3 to compare with my garage does contain three Corvettes (64 coupe, 70 coupe, 02 Coupe respectively) and up until recently a 97' Porsche 911S2 coupe (02 Vette replaced it. ) My point is that I have had clear access to these cars and I can honestly say that my S2000 can keep up with them. Coral Doc is most certainly right, the quality of the drive depends completely on the merit of the pilot. It is your decision of course, but if your not a badge hound ditch the propeller and come ride with "H". We'd love to have you!!!
P.S. Upon rereading my post I realize the dribble above my sound boastful. This is not my intention at all. I was trying to justify my attempt at persuasion for the S. Also, I did buy my own car and I am still paying dearly for it.
After driving a new s2000,I just did not think the extra $25,000. I paid for the 2001 M3 was worth the little performance gain. So I sold the M3 and used the $5,000. profit I made to bring down the cost of my s2000 purchase. This also left me more $ for s2000 modifications!!!
01-25-2002 | 07:20 PM
) I don't think the car is girly looking at all other then in the new light blue(sorry for stepping on a couple dozen toes). 
) My point is that I have had clear access to these cars and I can honestly say that my S2000 can keep up with them. Coral Doc is most certainly right, the quality of the drive depends completely on the merit of the pilot. It is your decision of course, but if your not a badge hound ditch the propeller and come ride with "H". We'd love to have you!!!
