I need your help..I can't decide

[m3f_bmw4life13_0098c1d2b1]

I need to get a car asap...ideally in the next week. Here are my choices. tell me which car you guys would choose and why.



1)99 m3 convertable blk/blk, only 43kmiles. looks clean and is overall in good shape other than the normal wear and tear items. still needs an aftermarket water pump and thermostat. The one thing that scares me is that it has the 5th gear cold start and although there is nothing wrong with the tranny gears it would still need a new tranny. i would have to pay an extra 2k$ to get it cpo in order to take care of the tranny. however, this has been my dream car.



2)2000 m roadster blk/blk, 57k miles, good condition but it doesn't look like it was taken care of as well as the m3. However, it's crazy fun to drive but not that practical. also its so damm small..no cargo space.



3)97 m3 blk/blk, 62k miles, good condition, most major problems have already been taken care of..ie thermostat and water pump. however, it has 62k miles and its a 97...my last car was a 98 328i...i just feel like i would be going backwards a bit with a 97 model.

[m3f_Sammyzuko_f27405666b]

If the M3 vert has been your dream car then I'd go with that. That way you'd have no regrets Personally, I'd go with the '97 which is what I did. The roadster would be my last choice because I don't see much practicallity there(and I don't think they look that great).

[m3f_mazur_fc5757570e]

I wouldn't get a covertable, but thats just me.

[m3f_Drifter_23d8df4bc6]

Really what do you plan to do with this car. If you track it get the one that isn't a vert, but if you just plan to cruse, I would say get the Vert m3 because more room = more girls in the car.



The M roadster is fun and all but how long can you see your self owning that.

[m3f_bmw4life13_0098c1d2b1]

I don't plan on tracking the car so the convert makes alot of sense but it seems like the 5th gear cold start/tranny problem is a huge issue that one can't overlook. Just out of curiosity...how many of you that have the 5th gear problem have just lived with it? The m roadster would be fun until it floods and you're screwed.

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Well, that 5th gear problem seems to affect mainly the 98/99 models. I don't have a problem with my tranny.



I got a 97, love it. IMO, going from a 98 328 to a 97 m3 is no step backwards.

[m3f_romh_9db5ad5d95]

Yeah, a 97 is not a step back from a 98 328. I also had a decision to make between getting rid of my 98 M3 (92k miles at the time) for a 2001 330ci (36k miles) with sport package and all other options. Of course, the 330ci was much nicer, newer, cleaner, free maintenance at dealer, babied for 3 years, smoother ride..... but everytime I drove it, I felt that the M3 was far superior. The only thing the 330ci had better than mine was a quieter and smoother ride, but that wasn;t. And when a new Honda Accord V6 sort of kept up with me (I was driving the 330ci), I decided that I was keeping my M.

i would go with the 99. The 5th gear is not a big issue. My m3 has 108k miles, and i think its had somewhat of a sticky 5th gear for the last 80,000 miles or so and hasn;t bothered me one bit. I still have the original tranny and clutch.

[m3f_BlkBimM3R_4c5ffa766f]

if the 99 vert is your dream car then go for that..so you don't regret having a chance to.. but not choosing to fulfill your dream...



if it was me.. between the 3 choices.. I would pick the 97.... its still an M3, its probably cheaper than the other 2, not A LOT more miles, all the major/known problems w/ the E36 M3 have been taken care of, insurance will be cheaper (this can save you thousands over the years.. and your still in an M) on the 97 M3 than both the vert and probably the roadster.... lots going for the 97 IMO...



also I don't think going w/ a 97 M would be stepping back/down from a 98 328... drive it and you will see its not stepping down at all.. more like stepping up...



as for the Accord V6... I drive an 03' Accord EX V6 coupe as my daily driver... it has 240 HP.. but less torque than the M3... its not bad and is decently fast for a "average sedate family car"

[m3f_astan100_7ef66fbe89]

Here's what I would do. The CPO is great anyway, just get it ON THE PREMISE THAT IN WRITING THEY WILL REPLACE YOUR TRANNY. That way, you get a warranty, which is nice on these cars, and you get a free new tranny.



IT's not like 2k down the drain. It'll be newer too. You don't need to go changing out water pumps and stuff on a 99 unless you're just super anal. Just let it fail and send it over to get fixed under CPO.



How bad is the 5th gear problem anyway? Is it liveable? Like...does it just sorta rest there, or does the whole damn level just fall over? The latter could be a much bigger problem.

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

Eventually you will loose the gate to 5th. I am taking my car in tonight for the issue - we'll see what the dealer says. I would go for the 99 though IMO. All of the bugs have been worked out of the car (except for the tranny) in the last model year.

[m3f_bmw4life13_0098c1d2b1]

the shifter rests in the 5th gear spot when you first start shifting on a cold start. Within a couple of minutes it does rest in the proper center position. when i first started to shift to 3rd i missed the shift and went into 5th and I was like whoa....that sucked!! Unfortunately i'm very anal about my cars and i know that would drive me crazy if it became much worse.

[m3f_99DakarM3_146594ecf1]

It will become worse - until you no longer have any resistance going into 3rd & 5th, the shifter will just fly to the right. Only good thing is you'll go to 5th rather than a lower gear avoiding a 'money shift'. This can be fixed yourself or by an independent mechanic - it just requires dropping the tranny, but you don't have to open it up. All you have to do is remove a circlip from the exterior of the tranny and pull the associated cover, spring & sleeve out and replace w/ the new parts.

[m3f_bmw4life13_0098c1d2b1]

I went back to the dealer tonight and test drove the m roadster and m3 convert again. It was a no brainer...I purchased the 99 M3 convert!!!=) Plus I got it under cpo to take care of the tranny, although I had to pay extra $$. Luckily my friend works at the dealership and I purchased the car under blue book in order to compensate for the cpo fee. I will post pics once I pick up the car. Damm I'm so excited. I finally got my dream car!! Many thanks to everyone that helped me decide. BTW this forum kicks ass. I would never have known about these expensive quirks about the e36m3.