California,and *THANK YOU* shes my pride and joy!!!! man i love these forums, you learn so much! well I do
The pickin's are very slim here in South Florida, or in the state of Florida for that matter. Everybody here wants the latest and greatest "bling bling". Then they have to bail out of them when reality hits. Great place if you want a 2008 M3 used. Bad place if you want a well maintained 1998. At this point it looks like I am going to have to postpone my purchase until I'm in LA in January (the money is not in place yet and with the new "slow pay" system all the companies have adopted... blah blah...)
E36 vs E46 M cars "I've noticed that decent used E36 M3's are not as easy to find as I had hoped. Especially 5 speed coupes. I might consider a sedan if it's a good deal and in great condition, but not an automatic or convertible." Reply: The sedan is actually a fine car and often less expensive. I've had mine for 6 years with no real problems at 90K miles. I can't imagine it would be more expensive to maintain than the E46 version. Parts and upgrades are readily available. The only design weaknesses I see are some of the plastic interior fixtures (just a matter of looks). If driven in the rust belt, door panel rust will occur more readily than in the 46. Try to get one that has had 'classic' maintenance, principally meaning changing the fluids in the transmission and differential at least every 40K.
