yeah, I know what you mean man.
I was watching the Barret Jackson auction the other day, and a guy was driving a 2000 Ferrari F1 car, and he had the nerve to slow down for the ramp on stage. Screw Ferrari F1 cars.

 

umm honesty man... my brother has a M3 ... and i have a Evo 8
So i've driven both back to back

Honesty day to day.. the M3 is soo much nicer ... even more so if you only get teh Evo IX and not the new MR ... the 6-speed is AWESOME... highways are soo much nicer... instant TQ ... and when you hit the sports button GOD it's a whole new car like INSTANT throttle response, stiffer sheering. i mean with sports on it's new car...

but on a track i would take the Evo ... it's steering response is quicker (or the same on sports mod)... and more sensitive.. the gears have the soild feeling in every gear (or as i like to call it the fast and ferious effect) .... and AWD

Yea the M3 is more expenise to maintain but it's worth it.. you always get what you pay for... and with the M3 you pay for a Legend.... yea the Evo's got some history but nothing like the M3 ... and the warrnty thing .. you can see find an 03 with warrnty ... my brothers just put a extanted factory warrnty on his M3 .... plus the resale on a M3 is going to be better then any Evo

in the end ... i would rather be driving the M3 everyday... but if it was just going to be a toy ... Evo IX baby

 

If I were to choose an M3 or EVO, this would NOT have helped me but what u said is so true! Choosing from these two cars is definitely a tough decision.

Think of it this way.

EVO=Japanese M3
M3=German M3

Evo is easy to mod, cheap to mod, and fun to mod.
M3 is expensive to mod.

I test drove an M3 Cab and was debating on buying one. Well, back then I had s lightly modded Evo (exhaust, instake, DP, tune etc) and when I drove the M3, it did not have the response as of the EVO. The clutch IMO is not as fast as the EVO but the ride is VERY comfy.

Well, I like the M3 for its class and I'll never have to hear this:
Person A: Hey, what car is that? Looks pretty nice.
Me: A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII.
Person A: OHH!! My friend has one of those. He has that OZ (pronounced like wizard of oz) edition.

With an M3, it's a BMW. You get Business, Money, and Women!

It's such a tough choice. I can't even determine myself. I'd say get both of them!

 

The maintenance on an E46 M3 is very expensive. Just oil changes alone can set you back over $100. Luckily they don't happen that often. Tires are also expensive on the 19" or 18" wheels. It's also basically a waste of money to throw "mods" at the M3 for power. Most those guys have way more money than sense and spend a couple thousand dollars to gain 3HP or maybe even lose some. If you get the M3, track it. You'll love it.
I would have a hard decision to pick which one to drive in the morning, but my fiance always takes the M3 first so that kind of narrows my selection down.

 

It all depends on what you are really looking for out of your car.
Reasons to get the EVO IX-

1) The M3 will not be able to match the all around performance of the EVO IX. If you like to race your car, than it's really not that difficult of choice. The EVO IX is going to be flat out the better performance car.

2) The interior of the EVO IX is looking a lot better to me, and I do like the seats.

3) If you enjoy modifying cars, it really is no contest, the EVO IX will most likely continue the legacy of easily modifiable EVOs. I expect this car to be even faster, $2,000-$3,000 and you may be nipping at high 11s. To do the same in the M3 would mean a very substantial investment, it is very expense to modify the M3 and the gains are much less than the EVO for the money.

4) The EVO IX is brand new, and the M3 is used with 40K miles. Now I know Mitsubishi is not the most reliable, but don't be fooled, BMWs are not always that reliable either and it is a lot more expensive to fix. How much longer is the warranty on the M3? Hopefully it still has awhile, because once that warranty is up, watch out, you will pay an arm and a leg to fix even the most minor problems. I'm experiencing this with my Audi A4, which I'm considering selling.

5) The EVO IX will be new and fresh, and nothing uder $35K will match it's performance, you heard me nothing. The EVO is an amazing car, and people are selling their Porsches and Z06s to have one, why because they know what it can do. With upcoming release of the new V8 powered M3 (or possibly named M4) the E46 M3 will not be new and fresh.

Reasons to buy the M3-

1) The looks department. The M3 is the better looking car hands down. But seriously that does wear off. Still no argument hear, the M3 is a great looking car.

2) The M3 may be better to live with day to day. If the EVO IX ride is anything like the EVO VIII, than the M3 should be a much more comfortable ride. The interior of the M3 is very nice, and the seats are very comfortable. Their is room for 4 full size adults, just like the EVO IX. Luxury is very easy to live with.

3) The performance of the M3 might fall behind the EVO IX, but it still is a great performance vehicle. 0-60 in around 4.8 Seconds, and 1/4 mile times ranging from 13.1 to 13.5 bone stock is no slouch. The handling is also great and so are the brakes. The M3 is a great performance vehicle.

Look if you want an EVO, then your gonna really have to love it for what it does, and that is going fast in a straight line, sideways, backwards, on snow, on the pavement, in the mud, on a road corse, at the drag strip, on the freeway, and etc. If your too stuck on comfortability and looks, then the EVO is not for you. The EVO is an enthusiast car, so remember that. While the M3 may seem like a good choice in the short run, in the long run I just don't see how it would be a good investiment. I'm not saying buy an EVO because of this, but keep your options open, there are even better deals than a M3 and a better investiment.

 

How can you say the M3 has more history than the Evo? There have been NINE generations of Evos. How many generations of M3's? The history is all in Japan. The Japanese know how to build cars too...

Brent

 

What about the 996??? or 997 for that matter?

Porsches rock!

Brent

 

m3 maintenance is free up to 4yr/50K this include even brake and all the wear and tear item as well.

go for m3!!

 

^ the M3 he is looking at already has 40K miles on it, so what that leaves another 10K miles on the warranty (Cuz most warranties work with what ever comes first which will most be the miles in this case). The M3 is incredibly expensive to fix, I mean just changing the oil is pretty damn expensive. My friend has a BMW 325I, one day I told her I'd do her a favor and get the oil changed in her Beamer. I paid $55.00 for her oil change, and this is for the 325I, the M3 would be even more expensive.

 

M3 better everyday car, EVO better Track car/weekend car.

M3 will have little depreciation over the next 3 yrs compared to the EVO, (I think the new IX will kill the VIII resale value, plus BMW much better resale that Mitsu), however, M3 cost a fortune to fix if it is out of warranty. Even a CPO M3 will need expensive matainance and repairs.

Both are great cars. I had an 03 M3 and it was awesome, but it was a little boring compared to an EVO or my Z06. If you need one everyday all around car, M3 may be it, but it's up to you.

 

Let's not forget that the M3 is due for an V8 upgrade, and the re-sale value on E46 M3s will likely drop due to this. The EVO holds it's value very well, people are still selling and buying 2003 EVO VIIIs for well over $26K.

 

for what its worth I've been driving my friends 2000 audi s4 all week, and its fully loaded with all the nice interior. it has a full exhaust and its chipped making 300whp. I find the car boring, and its handling is quite frankly very ******. I find myself not enjoying driving due to the fact there is just no fun compared to driving an evo with 333whp. you dont feel connected to your car. an EVO is a very special car and driving the audi all week made me apprecaite just how raw and fun the EVO is. I used to complain about not having cruise control, but after driving the audi with cruise I actually missed just keepin the foot on the gas and at a moments notice taking off like a bat out of hell.

the reason I bring this up is only because I feel a m3 is going to be the same way. modding a german car is expensive for not alot of gain and the matience can be a pain. they are very sexy however.

I look at it like this. The EVO is a drivers car, raw, pure power, and OMG loads of fun. You can track our car, drag it, and go get groceries no matter what mother earth has in store. With the M3 sure you can drag it, or track it but I wouldnt expect to win espeically with all wheel drive floating around.

the choise is yours but I think you know how I feel

staton

 

If you want to save money, get the M3. If you want a new car, get the Evo.

1. Long-term Quality. The long-term quality of the Evo just isn't there, or in any other Japanese car for that matter (I used to own a Honda, supposedly one of the most reliable brands). BMW's start off outrageously expensive for a reason, they have quality workmanship that really lasts. With the Evo you will be dealing with squeaks and rattles, paint chips, and faded upholstery long before the BMW even begins to develop one squeak. I have a four year-old BMW and it drives like a vault, just like new.

2. Depreciation. Frankly, buying new is a waste of money because of the 30% deprecation hit within the first 2-3 years of owning the vehicle. Buying a used car gets you exactly what you pay for, and gets you a car that depreciates at a much slower rate. Also, since the BMW is a luxury brand, its previous owner most probably took it to the shop for every niggling thing that went wrong (luxury cars spend more time in service than other car categories for a reason). By 40,000 miles, most of the kinks have been worked out (unless it's a total lemon), saving you the time and hassle.

3. Maintenance Costs. The Evo and M3 are maintenance hogs. However, people who say that BMW's are ridiculously expensive to maintain are probably referring to dealer service pricing, which is outrageous. Change your own oil. Take your car to a cheaper mechanic for routine maintenance. You're almost out of warranty anyway, so you don't need to feel compelled to develop a relationship with a BMW dealer.

 

well...no mattwer who you ask, you WILL get biased answers (e.g. this car is better because its more reliable)

the BEST way IMO is to test drive yourself with obvious factors and differences of cars in mind (NOT quality/durability/etc because most of them seem to be subjective but more like warranty, depreciation, etc)

also keep in mind, EVO is rally bred, which equates into pretty rough ride (relatively stiff suspension, lowered suspension compared to others IMO, low gear ratio...but honestly, after riding Evo for 1.5 years, I've gotten really used to it, so I'm not complaining...besides, the Recaro's fit me perfectly so I haven't had trouble with rough ride or anything) but with what others may call "go-kart handling"; i'm just not assuming you're thinking about MR since price seems to be an issue for you.

also, many would suggest BMWs are more for looks/prestige/etc, but you have to remember...theres a lot of BMWs on the road but only handful of Evos on the road...would you want attention for having relatively rare car or having a dignified ride? That might be a factor you might want to consider...personally, I'm really thinking of dericing my car b/c i seem to get way too much unwanted attention, but that's just me *shrug*

to sum it up...just test drive and see what you like the best