Cross Shopping: E46 M3 and F80 M3

[exflat6]

Long time lurker but decided I'd post.

Never thought the day would come but its here. I am currently in the market for a new car and was wanting a E46 M3 however a nice one with big 3 costs roughly the same as a 2015 base F80 so now I am cross shopping. My criteria is the following:

1. It would be my only car (I live in Arizona)
2. 3-4 track weekends a year (roughly 6-8 track days)

I scoured the forms but still decided to ask here. I have driven an E46 Comp before and the things I liked were:

1. Its NA with hydraulic steering
2. It just looks really cool and unique
3. I could build it gradually and would probably be a forever car

While I haven't driven an F80 manual yet (Drove an M2 comp DCT) I do love the modern features and daily drivability. I would love to hear from people who had both at some point to help settle on one or the other. Right now my deciding factor is E46 M3 unless I find a 40k or less reasonable mile F80 manual

Thanks all!

[VECTORGRAPHICS]

i had an e46 m3 convertible before my f83 and it was great and i could tel you all day about how raw and fun the e46 was but it will never be my m4. the m4 does everything the e46 does better pretty much. turns a lot more heads, faster, newer, doesn’t have a smg that wants to die. it’s a way better daily driver and i can beat on it all day without worrying about it breaking. i’m currently stage 1 and on the cs trans, bilstein b16 coilovers, full exhaust and intake for over a year now with no crank hub and it’s doing great. it does love to go through summer tires tho. e46 felt more like a really fun toy. this car is more of something that ticks every box for me. comfort speed handling aftermarket upgradeability and reliability.

[VECTORGRAPHICS]

either way you’ll be happy with either. definitely send some pics when u get it

[Blocke]

Are you paying cash? The newest E46 is a 2006 model year. Most finance companies either won’t finance that old of a car, OR they want to charge you astronomical interest rates. That could be your deciding factor right there.

[exflat6]

Originally Posted by VECTORGRAPHICS

i had an e46 m3 convertible before my f83 and it was great and i could tel you all day about how raw and fun the e46 was but it will never be my m4. the m4 does everything the e46 does better pretty much. turns a lot more heads, faster, newer, doesn’t have a smg that wants to die. it’s a way better daily driver and i can beat on it all day without worrying about it breaking. i’m currently stage 1 and on the cs trans, bilstein b16 coilovers, full exhaust and intake for over a year now with no crank hub and it’s doing great. it does love to go through summer tires tho. e46 felt more like a really fun toy. this car is more of something that ticks every box for me. comfort speed handling aftermarket upgradeability and reliability.

Thanks! I guess now I am leaning more towards an F80 as I need a car that can be taken on road trips, driven to work, tracked a few times, and do groceries. Maybe not in the point of life yet to have a really fun toy. Appreciate it and will for sure post pics when I find one!

[exflat6]

Originally Posted by Blocke

Are you paying cash? The newest E46 is a 2006 model year. Most finance companies either won’t finance that old of a car, OR they want to charge you astronomical interest rates. That could be your deciding factor right there.

I would be paying cash. Tho it seems like well kept big 3 E46s are essentially the same price as 2015 F80s. Leaning more towards F80 now because as an only car it probably serves better than an E46

[MTiz]

I currently own both. 05 E46 M3 6MT and 2018 F80 Comp DCT. The F80 is hands down the better daily driver and no amount of cope can change that (as much as I which it could!). It's more practical, easier to drive in traffic (DCT), has all the technology you could possibly want, and more. It's the perfect do it all car.

My E46 on the other hand is my dream car, my unicorn, the one I'll never sell. I wanna pass it down to my kids and grandkids in a few decades hopefully. It's still more engaging to drive, winding the S54 all the way out to 8k rpm. It's nimble and darty still, and very easy to park due to being so small. I daily drove it for 2-3 years and enjoyed every minute of it, you can definitely do it, and it'll be a lot of fun, but the F80 makes more sense as a daily.

[N44RP]

Forget the e46

[NickyC]

Zero comparison, F80 all the way. E46 M3 was the only M car I’ve ever purchased which did zero for me. I sold it even quicker than my G82. Besides, there is no way I’d want a car with a basically 20 year old S54 in it. Money pit from hell.

[SYT_Shadow]

The E46 M3 is a fantastic car, however, we should take into account some additional factors:
1) You say this is will be your only car. I won't comment on obvious things like comfort and tech which are better in the F8X, but just plain old reliability. You can definitely daily drive a 20 year old car, but for this to be your only car? Forget it!

2) You say you want to do a few track events a year. Again, the reliability topic! You can definitely track your daily driver, but to track your daily driver that's 20 years old and your only car? Forget it!



For reference, I've taken 2 E46 330Cis to 180k miles, and also an E46 M3 to 180k miles. We do all car work at home, in fact we wrote the E46 M3 rod bearing DIY. The E46 M3 is a fantastic car and a classic, but for an only car it is an unwise idea.

[Drifter2090]

F8x is the better value for sure, especially for a daily you'll have more peace of mind with the F8x. I've owned a lot of M cars in the past and for a one car daily the F8x can't be beat Imo.

[NealfromNZ]

Had a E46 M3 for about 11 years and drove it about 100k miles. Towards the end of ownership became a bit of a love / hate relationship as things wore out and the reliability dropped. Got to the pointy end of needing time off the road and all the usual items coming up like bearings , subframe plates , potential smg pump and a re-bush.

But much of the ownership was good and the odd track day a highlight. Just the way the car turns in and feel from the chassis and steering. Also the best sounding 6 out of the BMW range.

But F80 is a great car, quite stiff , corners flat but what a drive train , torque and power ! Was following a mate in his e46 , uphill motorway on tramp. E46 changing at 7900 , me short shifting at 3500 and staying with him. That’s the difference in torque and power. F80 are great how you can dial them in to suit with the various settings for steering , gearbox , suspension and engine responsiveness. Engine note sucks though by comparison.

Either way , great cars to own and I think any M car owner should own and drive a e46 m3 at one point of M car ownership. Excellent car, buy one where the previous own has refreshed everything.

[Keca10]

I’ve had a 2005 M3 ZCP w/SMG (got it in 2008 before they were cool and expensive). And I have the F80 2018 ZCP manual now.

Here are some considerations:
Both are wonderful and amazing cars. Not really a wrong answer.
- F80 will be more reliable but E46 is easier to maintain yourself (the valve adjustments on the E46 kinda suck since it’s unique to them, has to be done on a cold engine, etc). Maintenance history trumps everything though.
- F80 is a better daily driver, I like CarPlay, E46 is built on tech from a quarter of a century ago.
- F80 has WAY more head room if you are tall. Especially with a helmet.
- F80 is way faster and communicated better from the rear
- E46 communicates better from the front. It has amazing handling and steering feel. I could tell when my front tires went over a painted line vs bare asphalt on the e46 in a turn. There is no steering feel on the F80 sadly. It’s my biggest complaint.
- I like the F80 seats better.
- Weight is similar! That’s one amazing thing about the F80 that gets overlooked for a modern car. It’s very light for a sports sedan.
- Both look amazing
- Both are wonderful track cars. F80 brakes are a little better though out of the box but on a super hot day I still melted my OEM pads.

For a forever car or a weekend toy, I’d pick the E46 (I’d need to find a super clean one).
For a daily driver or for the track, I’m picking the F80.

I’ve had my F80 for 5 years and don’t plan to sell anytime soon. I sold the E46 after 2 years for an E60 V10.

I recommend driving both before deciding, but you are on the F80 forum so you will get biased answers. My choice was F80 in the end and I love it.

[MTiz]

Originally Posted by Keca10

I’ve had my F80 for 5 years and don’t plan to sell anytime soon. I sold the E46 after 2 years for an E60 V10.

Funny enough I kept my E46 M3 and sold my E60 M5 manual transmission for the F80 M3 ZCP. Now I have the perfect weekend toy and daily.

[MTiz]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Zero comparison, F80 all the way. E46 M3 was the only M car I’ve ever purchased which did zero for me. I sold it even quicker than my G82. Besides, there is no way I’d want a car with a basically 20 year old S54 in it. Money pit from hell.

Was your E46 an SMG? If so, opinion immediately invalidated. If it was a stick, I can't comprehend how it did nothing for you.

Also I don't see how an S54 is any harder to maintain than the S55. Yes, the S55 is a great reliable engine. But if you think they're easier to work on and won't become money pits once they hit the same age you're in for a rude awakening.

[MineralWhiteF80]

Buy an F80 now, then when you get extra money you can waste, buy the e46.

I drive my e46, e92 m3, and f82 m4 back to back all the time, and at the end of the day, if I could ONLY have one of them to do everything, it would be the F82. HOWEVER, the f82 is the least exciting and engaging to drive (even though it's significantly faster). The F8x chassis does everything well (and better than e46/e92) it just lacks the soul, sounds, and feels that the previous generations have.

[bagekko]

E85 Z4M over a E46 M3 unless its a CSL, plus they are all 6spds, plus cheaper than the stupid $ the E46s are going for these days.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by MTiz

Was your E46 an SMG? If so, opinion immediately invalidated. If it was a stick, I can't comprehend how it did nothing for you.

Also I don't see how an S54 is any harder to maintain than the S55. Yes, the S55 is a great reliable engine. But if you think they're easier to work on and won't become money pits once they hit the same age you're in for a rude awakening.

Stick, and yep, nothing.

I adored my Z3M and Z4M cars however.

I'm in for no such awakening, I have had zero issues with my S55 cars over 7 years of ownership now. The S54, not so much and that was when they were still in the same age window as the S55 is now. There is no comparison between the two motors from a reliability standpoint.

[bagekko]

Buy neither when you can join the delusional ZHP club. Already puking at the price, bet some dummy pays 40k for this. Even at the low mileage this was a 12k car 10yrs ago.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...-zhp-sedan-31/

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by bagekko

Buy neither when you can join the delusional ZHP club. Already puking at the price, bet some dummy pays 40k for this. Even at the low mileage this was a 12k car 10yrs ago.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...-zhp-sedan-31/

Just ridiculous pricing for that car.

[440i6MT]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Zero comparison, F80 all the way. E46 M3 was the only M car I’ve ever purchased which did zero for me. I sold it even quicker than my G82. Besides, there is no way I’d want a car with a basically 20 year old S54 in it. Money pit from hell.

Wait I must've missed this chapter in the lore. When did you sell your G82?

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by 440i6MT

Wait I must've missed this chapter in the lore. When did you sell your G82?

Less than two months after buying it.