Man, I have been in that boat!
You ought to look at a used 335i. Its kind of in the middle, but a very nice car.
I don't know about CAD, but USD, they are about $26k for a 2007 with 36k miles on the odo.

 

I would love a 335i or xi, plug in a jb3 and you are done.

Only thing is I'm not paying new prices and I am too scared to own a bmw out of warranty. Even without the fuel pump issue they have, too expensive for parts/repairs.

 

kindve an old thread but id figure id chime in... i had a speed6, lightly bolted. it was a nice car, smooth ride, good styling and quick. until it bent a rod under part throttle light load, low boost. paid the dealership to fix it, i picked it up at mazda, drove 3 blocks down the street to mitsu, and traded it in for a new 08 GSR SSS. whoever siad the MZR is a terrible engine couldnt be more right. if you own a car with that engine i would get rid of it asap.

 

This is a great thread. I've got 2 other fellow MS3s (one of which also came from a prior history of having Subarus) and they've been reading this thread since I shared it with them.

All 3 of us are looking for something that handles like the MS3 but better,with AWD, and reliability. Like you OP, we're all having a hard time selling the MS3 and the trade in is pretty bad on it even with Carmax.

I'm at 35k miles and it runs "ok" with some hicups in the stock tune. I'm completely stock powerwise and suspension, with the only real "mod" being the motor mount which I thought would fix the horrible ropy shifting. I've got a 70k mile warranty which should keep me covered more then long enough for me to figure out what car to move to, the STI or Evo.

There are a lot of other options out there. My mother just got a CPOed 535 and loves it. It drives like a dream, handles well for it's size and has great power. Of course she's already had issues with the TMPS and idrive which was covered under her 100k warranty, but still it's a pain. She's had three 5 series BMWs, each a POS but loves them anyways, even their warranties expired, but of course she has the $$$ to fix them when she's had to.

Anyways, I believe the Evo is a more reliable car then the STI, and can take more hard driving, which is a huge plus for me.

 

damn my payments for 3 years @ 0% would be ~620 ish assuming they give me ~14-15k for my ms3 lol. so tempting right now.

 

Damn that isn't bad at all. Yeah if I can get $14-15k for my MS3 that'd be awesome.

Several friends have recommended South Coast Mitsu even though they're pretty damn far from Alabama they've apparently have been known to ship at buyer's cost and still make a good deals. The trick though is working the logistics of selling/trading the MS3.

 

it's bad considering i don't have car payments right now
and yes south coast is who i've been working with

 

I remember these days, I had a TL and although it was 6 speed with brembo brakes I wanted more performance and mod capabilities, after playing with an ms3 on the parkway that annihilated me. Although I had all the comfort in the world, I needed turbo so first I looked at the 335 and the price was just unbearable 40+ at the time so I looked at the ms6 but when I went to the javits car show in 07 and saw the evo x I had to have it! My only regret was that I didn't get the leather heated seats and blue tooth I did get nav though. I'd say do it and don't look back it's an amazing car just figure in money for a clutch and tune off the bat.
p.s. I love the evo's interior Idk why everyone hates it the bimmers interiors are awful.

 

I would keep what you have. Just me though. Everytime you trade, you lose. The evo is better yes, but not worth trading. Just stick with yours and make it faster and keep as a dd and later get an evo as well.

 

[quote=Laz;7501298]I came from a 2008 MS3.





I will say this: through thorough testing I can say with full confidence that the MS3 is just as fast as the Evo X is stock. With a CAI the MS3 will leave a stock Evo X. The Evo X needs a retune so bad it's not even funny. It's rich as hell from the factory and the power flatlines above 5K RPMs. With a retune this is fixed though. It pulls all the way to 7200 RPMs unlike the MS3 which goes to 5700 and dies like you said.

So your sayin a Mazdaspeed 3 that does 0-60 in 6.3 is just as fast as a Evo X that does it it 4.9? Interesting

 

just traded my 08 ms3 for an evo gsr sss
car feels faster, but also way heavier lol

waiting to get parts now so i can tune asap

 

ms3 can be as fast as an evo x, not from a dig but trap speed is close.

 

A neon could be as fast as a Corvette too but we're comparing cars straight up, not after 5k in mods. Off the showroom floor its not even close.

 

lol off the showroom floor an ms3 is as fast as an evo x, im not saying from a dig, but from a straight line roll on the ms3 is just as fast

3150lbs 265hp
3500lbs 295hp

 

i would agree that the older 08 EVO X and MS3 are about even from a roll....but i know for a fact the 2010 evo x is MUCH faster and will blow any MS3 (07-10 models) out of the water from a roll....