Prior E46 and E36 owner here. For what you seem to want...the M3 is it. I would suggest you just get an E46 330 though for the prices. Granted....I went from a E46 to a Porsche 996, but my needs were not yours as a daily driver. Stay away from the SMG.

My old E46.....





Was fun but a different type of car. Granted, mine was not a M3. The 996 is more of a personal thing for me. Design wise...the E46 is dated, the E9X is all over, and the next gen is here. The 911....more of a timeless design.

Both have their maintenance issues.

 

BTW....traded in that BMW a few years ago for 13K.

 

996 all the way. Bmw is like a CHARGER there are so many of them on the street nobody even looks twice.........And they break

 

Haha, first response got me.

 

I believe I would be most suitable to answer this question, seeing as I own both Porsche 996 & M3 E46. If you're looking for either of these 2 cars as a daily, I would have to say go with the M3. I use my M3 as my personal daily driver and it's a smoother ride for daily commuting, IMO a little bit better on gas, and much cheaper to maintain (other than the oil changes at $18.00 a quart). Don't get me wrong I love both cars that why I bought them but I would say for a student, go with the M3.

 

For me, I needed room, I have 2 boys playing hockey (two big bags and hockey sticks), and lots of other things to do so I went with the 996

 

Previous M3 M5 owner. Now own a 996.
996 handles a lot different. I like all of them.

 

Hey!!!!

 

I have both cars now. They're really different cars. My M3 is black and convertible and gets compliments all the time. But my 996 C4S is simply beautiful. I disagree with the reference above that its an ugly 911. I didn't know there was such a thing.

E

 

Pics attached