Hey everyone this would be my first post and I have been looking for a sports car for a while now and been debating between a few. I have a $40,000 price limit and been wondering which would be best for a Weekend Car. But which of these cars is best for its buck, performance, handling, comfort, saftey ect

Porsche-996TT
BMW- E92 335xi
BMW- E46 M3
MB- SL55 AMG

Thanks Guys

 

It all depends what you want and what you prioritize.

IMO...

1)Cancel out the Mercedes... auto tranny ftl...
2) I currently own a semi-modded E46 M, and I can tell you it's a great car. It looks, handles, and is faster than a 335i stock. Though you can make the 335i faster, it still doesn't feel as raw...

Over on M3 forum, a lot of people upgrade to P-cars so I would honestly say that Porsche is your best choice if you can keep up with maintanence. E46 M comes next..

Btw, you might want to look into Z4M....

 

ive been leaning towaRDS the p-car and the bimmers anyway but how expensive are the maintanence on them. I just dont kno which is best to get i heard there are bearing recalls on some M3's and 2nd gear pop out issues on the p-car.

 

Personally, I would look into the E46 M3. I drove a 2001 SMG last week for the first time and was impressed. Plus, they are very cheap right now, around 25K so that leaves around 15k in mods. Horsepower Freaks makes some nasty M3 turbo kits.

 

Take a test drive in the Cayman S. You'll be amazed! They now have PDK which is a dual clutch system.

 

I would say the 996TT.
The reason is simple, it's faster, handles better, more fun to drive and it's a Porsche! Perfect fun weekend car. Just my 2 cents

 

996 TT anyday..

 

M3 or 996TT. My buddy had a modded M3, it was nasty! However, he sold it and got a Turbo which he is also modding. For a weekend car Id go with the 996 for a daily Id do the M3. Drive them both and see which you like the best!!

 

no question, the TT. Once you drive one you'll understand

 

have you test driven all these cars yet?

 

996 TT OR get a 996 c4s and keep an extra 5k in the bank for insurance, maintenance, and unexpected repairs.

 

Rod bearing recall only effected M3 from MY01-03.5. It reallly isn't a major concern, as there are 01 and 02 M3's with 200k+ miles already. After the recall is performed, I believe BMW added a 6year/60k mile warranty from the date the recall was performed. Maintanence is expensive, but affordable. As long as you take proper care of the car, it won't break. But some things are expensive, just the oil and filter will run you 75+ dollars. I can't comment on the P-Car, as I have never driven one. Hope that helped, and GL.

Btw, my E46 M is for sale in the case you are interested.
http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=256964

 

i'd rather have a newish m3 than a high mileage tt but thats just me, if age wasnt an issue for me then tt hands down

 

I've owned two of those, and driven all 4 of them.

I would go ahead and say nix the SL55; that's more of a car you'd have if you had several other cars, and wanted one to cruise around in comfortably during the summer, and to take out to nice places... not really a "performance" car when dealing with high speed turns. It weighs over 4200lbs I believe... Very heavy.

The 335xi is a cool car, but is going to be slower than most of the cars you listed, mainly due to the "x" awd. The 335i would be a little quicker I believe... Easy to mod, but i've been hearing of little issues here and there about mods. Max hp for them right now is around 400whp+-; so you're kind of limited there.

The E46 is a realllly fun car, but it needs to be modded: Brembos, Coilovers, Wheels, and a Supercharger kit + a clutch kit. Then you are SET. That's exactly what mine had, the 525hp kit from Active Autowerke. Dyno'd about 444whp. Plenty of power, great handling, classy, smooth, and all around FUN.

The 996 turbo is what I have now. Only mods on it are GT2 turbos, tuning, exhaust work, and thats about it.... It's faster than the M3, T67 Supra, or any other car i've had. Not to mention, it handles pretty much as well as my fully set up M3 did. Keep in mind this turbo has close to 500awhp, so it's quick.. but with JUST a chip you can have around 450awhp... So you pay MORE for it than a fully built E46 M3, but you get similar power, but more of a stock feeling car.

If 40k were my budget, I'd have my M3 all over again, and I suggest that be one of the routes you consider. In order to have a well setup 996 Turbo i'd say it'd be a good idea to have a budget of 50k or so. 42-46k to get a good one, then another $3-6k for mods/maintenance.

Below are some pics of a few of the cars i have or have had to give you an idea of what i've been in/owned/driven. I hope my comments were helpful!

HI

The C4S is a great car; I really enjoy it on the back roads, it has plenty of power around aggressive turns, but in the straights it really feels slow unfortunately.

996TT


E55


C4S and E55


AA Supercharged M3 - I miss it the most! haha

 

Why not an S54 Z3 M Coupe ? Lighter than an M3... Cheaper than all of them..Same raw feel..Although they maybe harder to find =(