Whats up guys, im 17 and from Seattle, Washington. I wanted to post this as a vote. My mom wants to buy me a car for my 18th birthday, she said I can choose it. I know a few cars I like, but i was wondering others opinion. I'm looking for an easy car to tune, easy to find parts and so on. I know i either want an M3 or an S4. I dont know much about them. I need a car thats easy and fun to tune. I was looking at e46 m3, but i heard their expencive to tune, then i looked at the 96 - 99 m3s. I cant make up my mind. s4's are also really nice, but i dont know what i should get.

Then I guess 2.7T S4 would be the car for you.
Turbo cars are certainly to one to go for if you want easy tune.
But then what you have to worry about is the maintainence as turbo cars are harder to maintain.
But the M3 does offer you the balance / handling that the S4 doesn't.
I think either one would be a great choice.

Thank's for the imput dude. Ive driven all three of the cars, s4, 97 m3, 2003 m3, i like all three, and cant make up my mind on what to get.

I wish I had those decisions to make at 18. Is this a graduation gift?

Grats!

I have ann E46 now and used to have an E36.
From what I've seen, most of the driving instructors here in the Puget Sound area have E36s. They are less expensive, ton's of mods and still a kick ass car. I upgraded to get the SMG transmission which is a love it or hate it kind of thing. It is totally great to drive around Pacific Raceways and never have to take your hands off the wheel to shift.

If I was not dependent upon the SMG and I was building a track car, think I'd go with a 96-99 M3.

If you want the best and can spend 60K, then go for a new M3.

Whatever you buy, MAKE SURE you take the BMW Car Club novice driving class next year. http://www.bmwpugetsound.com/driving_schools.html

i'm am looking forward until my 17th or 18th birthday and i'll too get a BMW M3 and i will modify it and put some performance mods in it and sorta rice it. :naughty:

if you want any ez M3 to tune, you get the 95 M3, it has the same hp as the 96-99's, the only differnce is OBD I and OBD II and the latter M3's have more torque. but the 95 M3's respond better to mods than the others. if you get a B5 00-02 S4 you can get a RS6 Intercoolers with K04 Turbos and get the car to stock 270hp to about 422hp, and if you get a chip its +35hp, and dual intake, and exhaust, and tri flow, and whole bunch of other things on them. I have seem S4's have about 345whp on them. the best thing about those are the biturbo, and the quattro.

I have owned a 95 M3 in the past. they have stock 240hp with a 3L engine. I had a stg3 turbo with spearco intercooler, custom performance chip, custom throttle body, quad exhaust, widebody with 19" rims, bov, and many other goodies. I had 496whp on it. I put about 12k into the car, and spent another 25k into modding it, and I installed everything myself. it was a quick ass monster.

Nice story.... Kid ifyou have the opportunity Get the New M3.. Buddy if you really think you need to tune that .. thn you can easily put on a small 65 shot of spray that will brig you arounf 400flywheel when needed.. the car is so balanced i doubt you'll want tio touch it.. if you lokking into the older tm3 i have one.. i've done the Zex intake exhaust and good rubber.. and it serves me well considering i have a Ws6 and Z06 as my top line perforers with the help of LPE.. the M3 is a joy to drie and the mods i listed were not exensive at all and immensly improved the fun factory..

Now if anyone has a problem with nos their crazy.. its an "only as needed' aplication of Hp and if not abused its agreat inexpensive way to save money and get all the extra hp you need..

the E36 is a very bullet proof engine..

go with 98 m3 my cuz has got one runs smooth as can get and has alot of go!

Lucky bastard!

I would suggest the 96-99 cause of the number of them out there and the availibility of aftermarket parts.

Downsides:

B5 S4 - Reliability, reliability, reliability, poor handling, heavy. (400+ lbs on E36, 200+ lbs on E46 M3)

E36 M3 - Tad underpowered from stock, 96-99 harder to modify (OBD2 electronics... the 95 reacts better to mods for less money!)

E46 M3 - Getting heavier.. more disconnected feel than the E36, EXPENSIVE, and hardly any modifications that are worth the price (on top of the 45+k you'll pay for the car).

Best car: E36 M3

Might be a little biased ;)

I personally love the E46, although its hard to get a whole lot more power out of them. The SMG transmission is awesome beyond belief.

The S4 hasn't competed well against the M until very recently (like
2003-4).

If you want to tune i suggest Dinan

Whats up guys, im 17 and from Seattle, Washington. I wanted to post this as a vote. My mom wants to buy me a car for my 18th birthday, she said I can choose it. I know a few cars I like, but i was wondering others opinion. I'm looking for an easy car to tune, easy to find parts and so on. I know i either want an M3 or an S4. I dont know much about them. I need a car thats easy and fun to tune. I was looking at e46 m3, but i heard their expencive to tune, then i looked at the 96 - 99 m3s. I cant make up my mind. s4's are also really nice, but i dont know what i should get.


So did you ever decide on the car you wanted?

Im guessing that the insurance over there in the US is cheaper than it is over here in the UK.
Why notconsider teh original M3 - the E30?
Its such a better car than the mid 90's E36, and it still fairs pretty nicely to the new E46.

Wouldnt the E30 be a little under powered, compared to either the E36 or E46?

hahah, no.
The E30 M3 is the most successful production supercar ever. The E36 is just a bodged, rushed attempt that BMW made to replace the E30. Back then, BMW were being hurried to complete the production of the E36 so the public could buy it. Biiiiiig mistake.
The E46 is better than the E36 [as, i think, any other car is] though it is on a partial par with the E30.
I mean - gees, my dads E30 M3 took on two Ferrari Enzos at Brands Hatch- and that was with me in the passenger seat! (all that weight, lol)

hahah, no.
The E30 M3 is the most successful production supercar ever. The E36 is just a bodged, rushed attempt that BMW made to replace the E30. Back then, BMW were being hurried to complete the production of the E36 so the public could buy it. Biiiiiig mistake.
The E46 is better than the E36 [as, i think, any other car is] though it is on a partial par with the E30.
I mean - gees, my dads E30 M3 took on two Ferrari Enzos at Brands Hatch- and that was with me in the passenger seat! (all that weight, lol)

difference between taking on and winning....

i could take on an enzo in my 75hp peugeot. doesnt mean i would win. and if you think an E30 is gonna come anywhere CLOSE to an enzo, you must be mad..

question for the original poster: how are you gonna get insurance on a M3? maybe its different in the USA, but here the insurance for something like a peugeot 206cc (piece of shit hairdressers car) is £6000 for a 17yr old. i cant imagine anyone finding insurance on a M3.