Stuck... M3 or 997s?
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After
How about the e46 M3 engine meltdown debuckle????
e92 engine is new and has yet to prove itself. 997.1 engine is a 38 year old evolution rather than something completely new every 7 years.
I can't go back to an M3 after owning a Porsche. A logical transition after the 997.1 would be a 997.2 GT3 or Ferrari/Lambos.
e92 engine is new and has yet to prove itself. 997.1 engine is a 38 year old evolution rather than something completely new every 7 years.
I can't go back to an M3 after owning a Porsche. A logical transition after the 997.1 would be a 997.2 GT3 or Ferrari/Lambos.
On the track it handled well, but after about 6 hot laps the brakes would fade. I upgraded to Brembo's but it still didn't brake like a Porsche.
Then one day, a fellow Instructor tossed me the keys to his 996 GT3 with 2nd generation PCCB's. I drove the car at close to 10/10ths and that was it. I put my M3 up for sale and as soon as it sold I bought a Porsche. My C2S is faster around Summit Point than the new M3.
Mr, B
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The only reason I'd get an M3 over a C2S is that I can't afford one. Which will probably be the case in my future...
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I wanna pay off my car first, which will be around 2013... and I'm waiting for the next generation 911 to come out... so that the 997.2 prices will drop a little bit. Or who knows; with the rumor of the next M3 going to be twin-turbo, I might go that route instead.
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Just sold my '08 M3 with 1300 miles on it for $20,000 less than sticker. This was because I test drove an '09 997s!
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I wanna pay off my car first, which will be around 2013... and I'm waiting for the next generation 911 to come out... so that the 997.2 prices will drop a little bit. Or who knows; with the rumor of the next M3 going to be twin-turbo, I might go that route instead.
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a wise choice my friend... sorry for your $20,000 tho...Every time I see an M3 I say "it's a NICE car", but every time I look at my car I say "it's a BEAUTIFUL car..."
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Is the M3 speed limited at 155 mph like other BMWs? That would be one reason not to buy one if you are going to do serious track work, even at Summit Point.
Also - beware of LSD's (not the drug). They usually have a short "time-to-failure", which you will never perceive, unless you get a high quality one from a source like Paul Guard (no association).
Also - beware of LSD's (not the drug). They usually have a short "time-to-failure", which you will never perceive, unless you get a high quality one from a source like Paul Guard (no association).
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3000 feet
Mr. B
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The e39 M5 is quite a car - close to perfect, in retrospect
- I should have kept mine. And BMWs makes very good cars. The ones I owned served me well, very few problems, and my dealers and service departments were excellent over 24 years.BMW just doesn't make anything like a Porsche now - the e39 M5 was a good looking car with excellent performance - thrilling through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd...and could also get around town with a load of family or friends with grace. Sadly, the M5 has now fallen into the "Peter Principal" trap. The current M3 is probably the closest thing to that BMW currently makes, but it is not really the same RAW car feeling and in many ways doesn't offer the value of M3s from the mid 90's I owned - at least not for me. As another poster mentioned, it is a little strange even to see these cars compared apples to apples - they are such different type of cars.
But I'm old and spoiled and too nit-picky - and I've done the BMW thing to death and then some. These are all fine cars in their own way - just gotta find the one that does it for you.
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The e90 BMW M3 is a compromise. If you want a more pure sports car, then the 911 is the obvoius choice IMO. I've owned the only BMW M3 which is a true sports car - the E30 M3 - but nice examples are getting harder to find and are now 20 years old. 
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It totally depends on what you're looking for... I had a 350Z prior to my 911, and I used to drift every corner. Now I can't since the 911s don't have LSD standard and it's a RR car... But it's a Porsche non the less 
If you like to drift and planning to do straight line racing (if you do it, and probably do), I would say go for the M3. Also the M3 has much more space. But it is a BMW when you sit in it...You don't see any difference from a regular 3 series when sitting in the car... It is a comfort-sports car.
But if you get a 911, it is a whole new level... It is a Porsche, has a unique interior. You feel that you really are in a raw sports car... You hear the engine, you feel the car... It is a complete TOY (in a good way
)...
I would say don't regret it and get a Porsche
If you like to drift and planning to do straight line racing (if you do it, and probably do), I would say go for the M3. Also the M3 has much more space. But it is a BMW when you sit in it...You don't see any difference from a regular 3 series when sitting in the car... It is a comfort-sports car.
But if you get a 911, it is a whole new level... It is a Porsche, has a unique interior. You feel that you really are in a raw sports car... You hear the engine, you feel the car... It is a complete TOY (in a good way
)...I would say don't regret it and get a Porsche
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BMW just doesn't make anything like a Porsche now - the e39 M5 was a good looking car with excellent performance - thrilling through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd...and could also get around town with a load of family or friends with grace. Sadly, the M5 has now fallen into the "Peter Principal" trap. The current M3 is probably the closest thing to that BMW currently makes, but it is not really the same RAW car feeling and in many ways doesn't offer the value of M3s from the mid 90's I owned - at least not for me. As another poster mentioned, it is a little strange even to see these cars compared apples to apples - they are such different type of cars.
-jason