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brwnrice
12-06-2005, 04:05 PM
okay guys, my camry is not providing me with any driving pleasure so i am looking to purchase an audi s4 (1999-2001) or a bmw m3 (1998-1999) as a second car. I havent owned any european cars before so i'm going to start with these two wonderful cars. in your honest opinion which one would you pick for overall driving pleasure and ownership (i.e. reliability, maintenance cost, etc.). i know it's a broad question but just give me your opinions. price range for these cars are 18k-25k for good condition

earlyapex
12-06-2005, 04:09 PM
I'd get a BMW over a Audi.

The BMW will rape you less than the VW, err I mean Audi.

The S4 handles like a pig compared to the M3, they are great handling cars. They both cost an assload to mod but the S4 you probably get more bang for buck since it's turbocharged, but since it is turbocharged, things can fail easier because of the added heat and I heard the turbos can go fairly soon on them.

Talk to KitW, he owned a M3.

Also, check out corner carvers forums, alot of them are moving to M3's and their is some pretty good knowledge there from non-M3 whores so it's not very biased.

http://corner-carvers.com/forums/index.php

Do a search for BMW there

dohcvtec
12-06-2005, 04:14 PM
+1 for an E36 M3. You can find them for fairly cheap too. Personally I would look for a 95 since they were still OBD1 then.

brwnrice
12-06-2005, 04:17 PM
I'd get a BMW over a Audi.

The BMW will rape you less than the VW, err I mean Audi.

The S4 handles like a pig compared to the M3, they are great handling cars. They both cost an assload to mod but the S4 you probably get more bang for buck since it's turbocharged, but since it is turbocharged, things can fail easier because of the added heat and I heard the turbos can go fairly soon on them.

Talk to KitW, he owned a M3.

Also, check out corner carvers forums, alot of them are moving to M3's and their is some pretty good knowledge there from non-M3 whores so it's not very biased.

http://corner-carvers.com/forums/index.php

Do a search for BMW there

thanks early apex. i did a little bit of research from the audi forums and found out that the turbo's of the s4's fail prematurely like around 35k-40k. also the tbb and some sensors. as far as the an e36 m3 i havent had the chance of researching it.

Cameron@xperformance
12-06-2005, 04:25 PM
+1 for the 95 M3

hagakure
12-06-2005, 04:33 PM
I had an E-36 M3 before the Evo.....they get my vote as well. Great cars, great balance, solid, fairly reliable as well. I'm biased though, I like BMW. Before the M3 I had a 740il. I've also owned an Audi, a 95 cabriolet, and that car sucked! I was stupid enough to sell a pristine 93 Corrado VR6 (heavily modded, Oettinger 3.0) for that POS....


Percy

dohcvtec
12-06-2005, 04:37 PM
I love Corrado's. You're right Percy, bad decision. :)

ZK
12-06-2005, 04:40 PM
M3 for sure. Audi has tons of electrical and mechanical problems. Most common of which are oil and other fluid leaks.

Personally, I would not buy any European car without an warranty because they develop a lot of problems when old and are costly to repair.

earlyapex
12-06-2005, 04:59 PM
I was a total VW freak before I found DSMs.

I would never buy a newer VW though.

+1 for Corrados, my ex-gf had a VR6 corrado with full neuspeed shizzle. I loved the sound of that car.

One of these days I will get a A1 Rabbit and put a 1.8T motor in it. :)

hellz Evo
12-06-2005, 05:16 PM
M3....

lncrevoviii
12-06-2005, 06:42 PM
Go for the M3 hands down. 8) :rockon:

blazenevo
12-06-2005, 08:33 PM
m-power... :peace:

Dutchboy
12-06-2005, 08:48 PM
i've driven both, and i can say the M3 is far better then the AUDI. The SMG kit is sick and you can't beat the padel shifters. But i have to say that the full leather seats in the M3 are not grippy enough, so i would suggest going with the leatherette.

vtluu
12-06-2005, 08:49 PM
I was stupid enough to sell a pristine 93 Corrado VR6 (heavily modded, Oettinger 3.0) for that POS....
I have a heavily modded Corrado, wanna buy it? :lol:

ez76
12-06-2005, 10:21 PM
+1 for an E36 M3. You can find them for fairly cheap too. Personally I would look for a 95 since they were still OBD1 then.

They also have a 3.0L motor (vs. 96+ 3.2L) which if memory serves is a bit more robust should you decide to go forced induction.

DB8GSR
12-07-2005, 05:54 AM
Bee em double you Em 3!! 8)


~ DB8GSR... who will take an E30 M3 over an E36 anyday. :)

guntings
12-07-2005, 08:30 AM
price range for these cars are 18k-25k for good condition


Hey Jerrold, fir that price range, why don't you juts buy another evolution???

DaveLC2
12-07-2005, 11:33 AM
I heard that you have to pull the engine to access the turbos. They're both really nice cars but I heard the handling is really nice on the M3's.

Dave

dohcvtec
12-19-2005, 08:29 PM
A good friend of mine in Sacramento just told me he's selling his White 1995 BMW M3. It has around 77k miles on it and in perfect condition. This guy keeps that car in perfect condition, he's very anal about it. He's asking 13.5k for it. Let me know if you're interested, just thought of you when he mentioned it.
-mike

Cameron@xperformance
12-19-2005, 10:09 PM
13.5! i think he can get a little more than that for it.

r6bruin
12-20-2005, 01:08 PM
+1 for the 95 M3

+2 for 95 M3 :)

tkeirin
12-20-2005, 03:19 PM
+3 4 M3

Stormtrooper
12-28-2005, 09:30 AM
i've driven a B5 S4 and a e46 M3 (i know you're considering a E36), and the M3 definitely gets my vote....

The S4 was fun to drive but the steering response and feeling is much better in the bmw. Gearbox was also much better in the m3.

I know this is your daily driver but if you ever wanted to mod, the B5 S4 might be a good option.... throw some bolt ons and K04 turbos and those things go pretty good =D