tryign to find an e90M to drive everyday as well, so I can put the e46 away as a toy
but the e90 is a great car for everyday use, it can handle winters (properlly equiped with 18's & blizzacks) no problem, and has enough usable power to have fun with everyday, my heavily modded e46 is just such a PITA around town, you need to rev the F*ck out of it to go and the e90 just is so usable, go for it !

 

Dump both cars and get a 335xi coupe. Not so good on the track, but it gets decent gas milage and I'm impressed with the AWD system in the snow even with sport tires (yes, I tested it out but drive an SUV in the snow regularly). An ECU and exhaust and the power is close to an M3.

 

I absolutely love my E90 m3! Very usable everyday, not the most room in the back seats but defiantly enough. I would have to say the best part about the M3 is that you can drive like an everyday car, and then with a push of a button(M) it turns into a beast, and just pounds through each gear! Very easy to get yourself in trouble!haha. And After 5000 rpm its just ridiculous. People are so confused when they see this four door blow by them! haha

 

If you have to pay an extra $100 (or more) for gas every month for the entire time you own the car, that's money that you could use to upgrade to a PDK on a porsche, or get some faster mods.

So the price of gas should be factored in. It's part of the total cost of ownership.

BMW makes a big deal out of the fact that there is $0 maintence cost for the M3 for the first 4 years. But it's not clear that it actually costs less to run an M3 once you factor in the gas.

 

Stunning interior? I would say the interior is maybe "acceptable". The maplight pod with it's cheap fogged plastic makes me want to cry.

BMW definitely cheapened the interior on the latest 3 and 5 series cars. Of course, there is more technology in the car, for sure. But the quality of the materials and the overall feel is not there.

 

Completely disagree with that.

 

Completely disagree with this as well.

 

What are the must have options on a new M3?

I was looking at getting one with low miles, wanted to know what I should be looking out for.

Cheers.

 

I love the new m3, but the 997 can be a great DD.
It's been mine for the past 3.5 years- I'll drive about 30 miles a day during the week to and fro work. Heck, if you pay all that money, you might as well use it.
with a baby on the way, I'm thinking about an M5 or 550i for a couple of years, then getting an '10 GT3
but with BMW the free maintenance is great!