Lets not forget build quality, I have two friends that have e46 M3's, one
with 70,000 and the with 85,000 miles in them. Though both cars are well
taken care of, they are falling apart. Interior panels, electric sunroofs, suspension parts, etc. At 62,000 miles my car feels as good as the day I
bought it, maybe even better!

 

I have 22K on my M3 --so far the car is impeccable and holding up amazingly. After I had it detailed it looked better than day 1 . The only thing I have done for the car outside of the BMW free service is just replaced rear tires. My Porsches hold up well too --except the 996 cars I had .

 

yeah...tell my buddy who i instructed last year with a new m3, he fried his rotors after one day at the track (novice level) and bmw would not cover it...he has a boxster and has tracked it without problems and will stick with that..he will never buy another bmw...one point not covered is that if you opted for manual transmission, the M3's is very difficult to modulate on the track vs the smooth 911 that wins hands down in my book..I also believe that bmw has gone way too electronic for my tastes and the driving experience is much more insulated than the wonderful tactile porsche..i have driven the m3's both manual and dsg on and off the track and they feel REAL heavy..many would agree that the m3 has moved away from what it originally was intended to be. light, nimble and fun to drive....a modded 135i would be more fun...IMHO

 

C&D was favoring BMW since I can remember. I don't take it seriously, it's more for entertainment then anything else, but it can get tiresome after a while.

M3 is a GT cruiser, and shouldn't be compared to 997 which is in a different league with better brakes that don't fade after a just a few laps and better steering feel. M3 is a little numb, and also while handling is not bad the car feels heavy.

It's a nice package and great car for what it is (heck, I own one) but it's no sports car.

However, if you guys think C&D article is crazy you should have seen some C2S vs M3 discussions on M3post

 

I agree with your post, but not with this part. M3 actually doesn't have much low end torque and develops it's power (hp) in the higher rpm range which feels very strong.
C2S feels stronger overall.
What you're describing here sounds more like 335i not M3

 

I have read many of your posts on a variety of topics and you strike me as the type of person who takes EXTREMELY good care of cars, 22k on your M3 = 5k on the average guys M3.

 

I had 2 E46 M3's both of them were flawless without any issues, but then again so is the Porsche.

Dave

 

It might be that V8 noise but 1st and and 2nd pull very hard off the line for a stock car . BMW electronically places upper limits on the car and are quite tech savy to make it so the car goes fast yet still manages to fall into the 15K free maintenance guidelines .

Just as with many of thse cars .. the power is there .. the manufacturer may choose not to supply it . That's where the tuners get a change to show us how thse cars really coiuld have been built.

 

Hmmm, some serious self-loathing going on over there. I actually came away feeling depressed

Beemer guys and girls: they are great GT cars! Really nice for eating up the miles in relative comfort and providing a heck of a lot more space to carry stuff. The back seats are usable by humans. The 3 series and especially the M3's are some of the best looking cars on the planet. They offer very spirited performance at a great price and include 4 years of free 100% maintenance.

But they are not track born and bred. And not meant for 10/10ths driving "out of the box" and especially on a regular basis. And there is no shame in that! Porsche owners give up $$$$, cabin comfort (noisy), tire wear, and frequently mind numbing depreciation (in dollars if not percent) to play in this sandbox.

Both cars are so great in their own respective ways.

But for "journalists" to outright lie and spread falsehoods is something altogether different than enthusiasts discussing their cars. And in my opinion, is exactly what C&D did in that article. It was a dreadful choice of option packages on the cars to compare, and some of the statements made were pure fantasy.

 

i will put my money on the porsche anyday...

 

"Where the low-slung 911 feels more sporting, the M3 wears like a sedan"

I couldn't have said it better myself, and it belies their true feeling regardless of their attempts to convince others (or themselves) that they like the BMW better. Do you want a sports car or a sedan? Apparently they really like sedans

 

I've owned several BMWs (318is,530i,330ci)and never thought of BMW as a direct competitor to Porsche. It wasn't until after I joined BMWCCA and started receiving Roundel that I became aware of the fixation that many BMW owners have w/ Porsche. If we are only talking dollars then C&D probably got it right, but that's been true since the 2002tii.

 

Someone mentioned that C&D is the "anus of journalism" (BTW - hillarious). ..Actually, automotive writers more accurately represents the hemorrhoid on the anus. There is much less honesty in automotive journalism than in other writing space.

It comes down to advertising$ and strategy. Very likely, BMW approached C&D to write the story 6 months ago for that specific issue. They took the writers out for a round of golf in Scotland when they were resigning their long term ad space contracts with the publishing company.

(I'm close to someone that does PR & Advertisng and teaches graduate students to manipulate readers for a living. Just about everything...EVERYTHING you read was written for a reason.)

 

But...some valid points... Since the costs are so different, I would rather have seen an M3 vs an "S".

(I'm looking forward to the "Rapid" vs. "Panamera" article.)

 

Back in 2005 I test drove the older version M3 (with the 333 hp) and really liked it. However, I thought it was a little too subdued. So...wanting AWD...I bought a Cayenne S. And although I sacrificed some speed...didn't regret it.

Having never driven the new M3, I'm sure it's a blast w/ the V-8 power and sound. But honestly the Cayenne put me in love w/ Porsche, which I've always wanted anyway. So whether they think the M3 beats the 911, well, so what as far as I'm concerned. You look at the spec speed figures for a base 997.2 vs. an M3, and there really isn't much difference. 0-60 in about 4.5, etc. The great thing about 911's is there's a link to the past - and you can get AWD, Targa, more customization, etc.

In all honesty my dream 911 is probably a GT3 or a Targa 4S...and you buy one, you can keep it for 20 years.