and it would be more practical to buy an evo, way more parts and cheaper parts at that!

 

I've owned both. I like the Evo more.

The M3 is a more comfortable every day car. The M3 has a ton of space in the back when you fold down the rear seats.

The Evo has much more back seat room though.

I like the Evo because it can go anywhere, any weather, any conditions. It just keeps going.

 

if money and weather weren't as consideration i would have the e46 M3. Unfortunately, we get snow in Ohio so the Evo is terrific and i love owning it.

 

go test drive both and find out for yourself. good luck.

 

I am going to test drive m3 smg next week. However, dealers dont let me test drive evo... that sucks....


man, seriously, it is really tought to choose.... Some ppl pro, some are not. The overweight for m3 is convert. m3.......the overweight for evo is look and tune.... da@@@@@m.... still not sure...

 

Some dealers let people test drive Evo VIIIs from last year or used Evos. Thats what South Coast let me do, as did a few Subaru dealers (when I was trying to test drive the STi they let me test drive used/older models). Ask if they have any used models or older models that you can try to test drive. People looking for Evos are like people shopping for other higher end cars like Porsches sometimes, they don't want anyone else to have driven their car before them.

 

Id go Evo. The M3's are really nice and fairly fast, but when you can pay just as much and have a new evo then go that route. Ive waxed a few M3's around here with my 03' with TBE and MBC. I can only imagine how a IX would do once lightly modded. I know stock it will beat an M3, but the IX's responds to mods much better than the VIII's. Also id look at just getting a GSR w/ the SSL package. Ive just seen various things on here that the 6-speed is weaker and cant hold as much power as the 5 speed.

 

untill they discover twin turbo kits for their F-bodies and wipe the sh*t out of 90% of imports out there. stupidity still lives with imports too.

 

Once the new M3 hits the states, it's going to be an Evo killer. 400 HP V8 M3

 

This is a tough choice, can't go wrong either way. 40K miles on the M3 is kind of a lot, but it is a special car. Coming from a Mustang the M3 may fit your daily driving better. The EVO stock is a little weak down low. Still going with an EVO isn't a bad choice either, couple of mods here and there and we are talking about a car that will absolutely run away from a M3. Also it's newer with much less milage. So honestly it depends what you want most out of a car.

 

Very true. The lack of power down low might get on your nerves, but once you hit 3k the Evo is GONE! Also BMWs are a bit more reliable than Mitsus.

 

I've owned my E46 M3 for 5 years and counting and I've had my 05 EVO for a year. Hands down if you want to mod and want all out performance go for the EVO. With that said, I'd choose my M3 over my EVO if I could only have one car. I simply love the looks, interior, and balance of my M3.

But in the end it is your decision and I believe you will be happy with either car.

 

I would def say go with the evo if your looking for the all out sports car. If you wants sports car with the luxury then go with the bimmer. I have personally drove both and would prolly get the MR over the M3

 

Check my old and current cars...the current M3 is now old and overpowered...modding is $$$$$ and risky...looks is nice but is changing soon...with lux. cars new fresh looks matters.....Evos are like wine...the older the better (to me at least)...you dont want to line up against new sport cars with that M3 because if your stock (which will be the case unless ur VERY rich) u willl be smoked most of the time.

Just my opinion here

 

To follow up also, if you want the M3 I would wait until the new one hits the shores. I expect the e46's value to take a quick nose dive like the e36 did when the e46 first came out. This was another reason I traded my M3 when it did. For how long I drove it, I really did not lose too much money at all.

Edit-Modding is VERY expensive. To give you an idea.....An "axle back" which is the only way you can by a muffler for an e46 is $1000-1500 shipped. The cats are built into the headers, so there are two more sections of piping to buy. Each section is ~$500.

Now, if you want to take it to the next step, which would be headers and for these you need software. Headers with software you are looking at about $3200-$4500 depending if you want cats or not.

All these prices are for parts only, may or maynot include shipping. Exhaust is easy to install but headers you will probably want to get a shop to do. They are quite involved.

My buddy had the full headers, custom tune, intake and he couldn't even break 300 wheel horsepower. So figure $6500 for parts only and you cannot get a 333hp(to the crank) motor to break 300 to the wheels. 6500 is buying you a lot of power in an Evo.

There are supercharger kits that are about $10,000 before install. This is the VF kit which is the one to get. They offer a 3 year warranty(but on the S/C parts themselves, not if you blow up your motor). For that you are getting 480 to the crank.

I bought the M3 "thinking" I wouldn't feel I needed to go beyond exhaust and suspension mods but I wanted way more power. I got three years of great times in the M3, but now I am looking to really have some fun with some bigger numbers.