If you ever had to replace your e46 M3

[RoyalFlushness]

2007 Lotus Exige S

[S3diment]

The new GT3 is absolutely amazing (or at least what I can tell from all the YT videos) but that six figure price tag is absolutely disturbing.

[lapoune]

What I couldn’t get over was the driver’s position and view in the mustang. Do you enjoy it or find that aspect just part of the deal when owning a mustang or similarly a camaro (camaro is worse however)?

I don't have an issue with the driving position personally, I'm pretty short so I can easily get the seat low enough and they fit me very well. Everything else is absolutely wonderful about the physical controls, like the small steering wheel or the shifter feel (I would say easily on par with the porsches for that, wish I could get my Ms like that). Never been in a Camaro.

Awesome! I'd love to get R but prices are outrageous. I really don't think I can be disappointed with it either, I am fairly open minded to other cars and enjoying their good attributes. I do have a hard time believing its a boat too, just not possible. I think what really did me in on the M3 is covid and the shutdowns. The roads were wide open for a long time and I had some extra time on my hands and absolutely had a riot with the M, destroying a set of Michelins in the process. Every on ramp was WOT, I could stretch its legs, carve up some canyons, drift a little on abandoned roads and generally put the car through its paces regularly and no one was around to spoil it! Now i'm bored with it and want to try something new but not new.

I wouldn't worry about a non-R, the important differences would be easy to replicate and closer to non-R might be better for your use anyway.

I think the boat comments are mainly because these cars are now designed with much much higher capabilities than something like the M3 once was. The speed at which the cars feel enjoyable and nimble moves up. I see a lot of comments about lusting for gt3's but they're in the same boat, at street speeds they kind of drive like trucks (exaggerating of course), and the speed limit comes up entirely too fast.

So much depends on your particular use and the roads you drive I would try to evaluate exactly what your looking for in this car and go from there.

[pawa_k2001]

I sold my E46 M3 twice now. I went to different cars just to learn that I missed the E46 M3, on my 3rd one and it isn't being sold. If I wreck the M3, I doubt I would pay the premium they are going for. I can't think of a replacement for the M3, probably would walk away from the car hobby for a while and travel more.

What the M3 does these days. Tail of the Dragon is less than 2 hours way from me, it took me close to 10 hours with stops, hikes, breweries, winery, pictures, etc. The M3 is the perfect combination of looks, quick enough, tossable and oh the glorious carbon box noise.

[01SG]

For what it's worth, my father's friend owns a GT350R. He has driven every car under the sun, from the F40 to the Carrera GT, literally everything you can imagine, and absolutely loves that 350R.

[oceansize]

Don't be too worried, IMO these things are absolute bargains. I have a GT350R and in terms of driving experience its almost as good as 991.2 manual GT3 (I use them both on\off track). I don't see what else can touch it anywhere near the price. R might be a bit much for road use, but just goes to show that suspension\tire setup is everything when you're judging a car's handling. A boat is the last word I would use to describe that car.

I think a nicely setup standard GT350 with backseats would make an awesome daily, I could go on forever about how great these things are...

It is very different from a E46 of course...depends what you're goals are

What I couldn’t get over was the driver’s position and view in the mustang. Do you enjoy it or find that aspect just part of the deal when owning a mustang or similarly a camaro (camaro is worse however)?

[Icecream]

Don't be too worried, IMO these things are absolute bargains. I have a GT350R and in terms of driving experience its almost as good as 991.2 manual GT3 (I use them both on\off track). I don't see what else can touch it anywhere near the price. R might be a bit much for road use, but just goes to show that suspension\tire setup is everything when you're judging a car's handling. A boat is the last word I would use to describe that car.

I think a nicely setup standard GT350 with backseats would make an awesome daily, I could go on forever about how great these things are...

It is very different from a E46 of course...depends what you're goals are

Awesome! I'd love to get R but prices are outrageous. I really don't think I can be disappointed with it either, I am fairly open minded to other cars and enjoying their good attributes. I do have a hard time believing its a boat too, just not possible. I think what really did me in on the M3 is covid and the shutdowns. The roads were wide open for a long time and I had some extra time on my hands and absolutely had a riot with the M, destroying a set of Michelins in the process. Every on ramp was WOT, I could stretch its legs, carve up some canyons, drift a little on abandoned roads and generally put the car through its paces regularly and no one was around to spoil it! Now i'm bored with it and want to try something new but not new.

[lapoune]

Oh boy, lotta hate for the GT350. Ugh. Maybe I'm rushing into this. Last thing I need is to buy a GT350 only to come back to M3's in the 60k range. Wish I could find one out here I could drive first.

Don't be too worried, IMO these things are absolute bargains. I have a GT350R and in terms of driving experience its almost as good as 991.2 manual GT3 (I use them both on\off track). I don't see what else can touch it anywhere near the price. R might be a bit much for road use, but just goes to show that suspension\tire setup is everything when you're judging a car's handling. A boat is the last word I would use to describe that car.

I think a nicely setup standard GT350 with backseats would make an awesome daily, I could go on forever about how great these things are...

It is very different from a E46 of course...depends what you're goals are

[Icecream]

Oh boy, lotta hate for the GT350. Ugh. Maybe I'm rushing into this. Last thing I need is to buy a GT350 only to come back to M3's in the 60k range. Wish I could find one out here I could drive first.

[umichchris]

my buddy bought one....we took that and my E46 M3 to Laguna Seca.


I HATED DRIVING the GT350. the front end seems like it goes on forever. its really floaty on the stock suspension (compared to my KWV3s), the steering was uninspiring and i abhor the interior quality, materials, fit & finish. it was fast af though and the engine sounds amazing. whenever he'd offer to let me drive it again i politely declined. just wasn't for me. he sold it pretty soon after though. went into Merc AMG cars after that...

I did buy the car without test driven it (bought it when they first came out). To me it just felt like a boat, electric steering sucked, cheap interior and just felt i was not connected to the road. It did sound great though.

[umichchris]

i agree. i hate sh!t posters like the guy about 'id only buy a vert to part it out' the funny thing about it is...i own a E60 M5 and a E39 M5 but i bought the E46 convertible purposefully because it was exactly what i wanted. i hope this forum keeps its specialness. lord knows when i had my multiple E36 M3s the E36 related forums were full of idiots with more bad takes and unwanted opinions than brains...

I'm in a convertible and on the old forum I noticed in some of the early years (I wasn't a member then) there was definitely a group of dummies who just couldn't help but chime in at every opportunity (see like poster just above who just had to throw in I would only buy vert to part it out, ugh, ok thanks). It seems most everyone on this forum is an actual adult who can have civil conversation and disagreements. Plus the reality is that many of us own, or have access to, multiple sports cars, so it isn't as if we don't know what we have. I love the coupe and convertible body styles and they share an overwhelming number of mechanical parts so at this juncture we all know the rigidity, weight, and therefore handling differences but if it bothered us we wouldn't have bought a vert.

I've said it many times but this forum is special. This is a community where the guys who run it aren't simply looking to make a buck and we are all lucky to have each other to bounce ideas off of. Everyone here has something to offer and that is a cool thing.

[bmw]

That's too bad. ~$50K for a low miles 2016 GT350 has made me think about picking one up.

[COVID-19]

So, you're gonna have to elaborate on that one. I can't find a good GT350 to drive out here so some input would be nice. Another member on the old forum didn't care for the GT350 either and I just can't wrap my head around how it could be a bad car.

I did buy the car without test driven it (bought it when they first came out). To me it just felt like a boat, electric steering sucked, cheap interior and just felt i was not connected to the road. It did sound great though.

[Icecream]

I tried to replace my previous m3 with a GT350. Worse decision ever. 6months later end up trading the GT350 for my current M3.

So, you're gonna have to elaborate on that one. I can't find a good GT350 to drive out here so some input would be nice. Another member on the old forum didn't care for the GT350 either and I just can't wrap my head around how it could be a bad car.

[COVID-19]

I tried to replace my previous m3 with a GT350. Worse decision ever. 6months later end up trading the GT350 for my current M3.