ProV1

ok i love my S2000.. i love driving her, and for a roadster it's surprisingly roomy & the trunk takes 2 golfbags to boot.

i'm sure a lot of you love the S as much as I do, and a lot of you dudes have said S is your one & only ride. However, if you found a very good deal on a 2002 BMW M3 coupe w/ SMG, xenon, no moonroof, no power seats, 30k miles, engine bearings replaced (100k mile warranty), original warranty until 03/06, would you take the M3?

keep in mind i need a daily driver, rain or snow. SMG is preferable in M3s b/c I hate manuals in Ms. M3 does offer backseats and a bigger trunk, but b/c of the cd changer & battery, i cannot even fit 1 golfbag flush side to side. so, in terms of practicality, i wonder how much i gain w/ the M.

other things to consider: warranty almost running out (do i really want to own a M3 without warranty???? ), M3 feels a lot heavier & piggy vs S2000, bmw 3er is literally everywhere these days, .. but the ///M has power S2000 can only dream of..

jwa4378

The first thing I would want to know is why the bearings were replaced? Did he over-rev the engine and have some internal damage?

Those things are HUGELY expensive to repair, as well, so I would not want to own one outta warranty.

They are kick-ass cars, though. I like the SMG as well.....best automatic in the business (IMO). There should also be a way to override the US spec SMG and get it to launch like the Euro spec version.....takes hitting things in a particular sequence, but it can be done.

John

749ara

All of the E46 M3's from that time period have had the engine bearings replaced under recall by BMW. That is why they all have a 100k engine warranty. Having owned an 02, i would say, if you like the M3, and are ready for change, go for it. I miss mine almost every day. That car does everything very well. However, once the car is out of warranty, and the service contract runs out, its gonna cost you more. I think one of my friends paid like 1200 for his 36k service.

slimjim8201

[QUOTE=jwa4378,Sep 16 2005, 11:25 AM]The first thing I would want to know is why the bearings were replaced?

Paul S

For a daily driver, the M3 is definately more practical. Tons more comfort features, plus more room. I can fit a golf bag in my friend's M3 just fine. If you can't there's a back seat. Beast on the highway. I'd take one over the S any day of the week.

For weekend/track - tough call. I'd probably take the S, since it'll be cheaper to run and maintain, plus performance is about equal on the track between the two cars.

word2218

honestly, I've been pondering that move since the summer as my commute has all of a sudden gotten much longer - 40 miles each way.. and as the winter is coming up, I'm not sure that I'd want to throw on snow tires and a hardtop because I don't want to have to deal with rock and salt being thrown up at the s2k (not that I'd want to have to deal w/that w/an m3..)

but damn, i dunno.. when I drove the m3, I test drove a traditional stick and I feel like I would like it a lot better than the SMG. and while it has the power and luxury, as well as pretty decent handling, it just doesn't have that holding onto a bare electrical wire feeling that driving the s2k has.

ideally, i would love to have a lotus elise and m3, but i need to get some sort of whack promotion for that to happen.

its been tearing me up, but I think i might just get a crappy beater for the winter and keep the s2k, because I just can't seem to bring myself to sell it and get an m3

Poindexter

ProV1 - my S2000 was my daily driver as well, and things in my life made it less practical (space wise), but I absolutely love the performance of the S.....and I miss her

I have a 2002 M3 now with Nav, Xenon, Premium, HK Sound and 6-Speed Manual. It has really helped me get over the S2000 being gone

The M is somewhat piggish compared to the S, but you have power comparable to a Super Charged S with a stock M motor - waaaay more torque in the early power band too. The car pulls much harder than any S2000 (just because the S needs to be close to/in VTEC to get power), so you've got useable power all the time......I didn't think it would make much of a difference to me, but it does now.

There are some simple suspension modifications that make the M almost as nimble as the S.......I would still prefer the S over the M on a road like the Dragon though......but for daily driving the M wins. If you want more info on the suspension mods, shoot me a PM.

As far as warranty goes, there are two ways to make it work:

Some of the benefits I've had with my M over my S:

*With all that said here is my DISCLAIMER on comparing a coupe on steroids to the best convertible go-kart ever: The S2000 and M3 are two totally different automobiles, built by two very different companies, in very different parts of the world, that are built for different purposes. These cars really aren't comparable, aside from just giving opinions. You'll never see the M up against a S in Car and Driver. For anyone to come in and try to make technical comparisons is just a waste of time. All we can compare is feelings and opinions.



The bearings have been a recall much like the S2000 spark plugs. SMG is a manual transmission without a clutch - there is an automatic overdrive, but it is jumpy. There is no true automatic tranny for the E46 M3. The M SMG's are totally different than the SMG's found in Z4's and 5-Series BMW's. The M SMG's are more reliable than those, but really need to upgraded when BMW releases uprades for them.

Emil St-Hilaire

Buy the M3,and keep the S for open top,week-end driving.!!!

achtung6

This is a tough situation. I wanted to buy a good friend's low mileage '04 SMG M3 about a month before I bought my S2K. Money was the reason I did not go for it. Even used the car was almost $20k more than my new S2K was.

The M is in a different league than the S2K. I love my S2K but at some point I'd like to have the M3 as well. Maybe the upcoming V8 model?? :-)

The SMG transmission is absolutely awesome (takes getting used to and can be jerky in city traffic) but the car can shift automatically when you run into bad traffic or feel "lazy". I think this is a good option to have. Not to mention there is no better "coolness" factor as you play F1 driver!

CosmosMpower

The obvious answer here is yes...the E46 M3 is in a whole class higher than the S starting with the 20K difference in price tag. In order to get a clean used 02+ M3 SMG you would still be in the low to mid 40's which is 10 grand more than a NEW 05 s2000. I personally wouldn't buy the SMG version of the E46 but it's definetely a cool gearbox, nothing like rev matching for you at corners.

Now if it was a trade between a S and a E36 M3 that would take a lot more consideration. I actually couldn't find myself to give up my E36 M3 sedan for a S2000 even though they are about the same approximate value money wise but that's just me