Thinking about buying an M3 - Pointers?

[JoshB]

Porsche 944 guy here thinking about buying a 95 to 99 M3 sedan auto for the wife to drive. I read somewhere that the 95s have a superior motor in them? Also anyone on here do their own work and can give me an idea of the difficulty level? Are high mileage cars (150k+) something to look out for? What should I be budgeting - something just shy of 10k?

Thanks for any info I am assuming that the auto M3 isn't as much of a dog as the 944 auto edition....

[Jeron]

95 is OBD-I so its a little cheaper to mod and is classified better in some competitions.

Sedans are only 97-98. Autos are stilll fast but it kills the mojo. I suspect auto should make it cheaper and easier to find. 150k is a lot of miles on a Auto tranny so start a budget to replace it if it is original. 100k is time to replace all of the soft suspension components and rubber drivetrain mounts. About $10k sounds right for Average condition >100k cars.

I've done most of the difficult jobs: clutch, headgasket, tranny 5th gear spring. I wouldn't say it was easy but not any harder than any other car. The DIY support group is as good as Porsche and therefore miles ahead of most other makes.

If you want a fast sedan you cant go wrong. It will still be fun at the track even stock with the auto.

[whosyadadie01]

Originally Posted by JoshB

Porsche 944 guy here thinking about buying a 95 to 99 M3 sedan auto for the wife to drive. I read somewhere that the 95s have a superior motor in them? Also anyone on here do their own work and can give me an idea of the difficulty level? Are high mileage cars (150k+) something to look out for? What should I be budgeting - something just shy of 10k?

Thanks for any info I am assuming that the auto M3 isn't as much of a dog as the 944 auto edition....

what do you mean by as much of a dogg?

the m3 is a very good car, i have the 96 328i auto and even that is fun to drive. the handling and suspension is amazing with the m3.

if you can work on a porsche then you can work on a bmw.

i would try and stay away from a high mileage car unless you have the time and money to replace things when they wear out.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by whosyadadie01

what do you mean by as much of a dogg?

Slow

[whosyadadie01]

Originally Posted by JoshB

Slow

i wouldnt no, never drove a porsche lol

but even my auto 328i is pretty quick.

i thought that porche's are typically faster then bmw's

[m3lar]

I've heard that the '95 M3's have a completely better suspension and track. I also heard that some people complained about the aggressive handling and as a result BMW toned down '96 to '99 models. It would be interesting to know if this is true I'm just going on what someone told me.

[Jeron]

I forgot about suspension differences. I wouldn't call it completely better though. The differences are minor and if you get semi-serious about the track you will modify it all anyway.

The front camber on 95 was about 1 deg and on the 96+ it is about 3/4 deg. The caster was a less on the 95 may give a little better turn in at the expense of high speed stability.

The front control arms, CAB's and strut mount are all different.