[Chuck Grieb]

Quite a few M3 aficionados feel you should keep the S14 engine in the car. I may be facing an engine rebuild soon; the shop that cares for my car would like to convince me to do a swap (they like the S50-B32 European E36 M3 engine - 321HP) but I will likely stick with my S14 and have it rebuilt to stock spec.

I think the M3 is beginning to be recognized as a classic - I agree with the "middle years" assessment, but it may be on its way out of that stage at this point. Originality may become more valued as a result. Values seem to have increased quite a bit over the last year or two.

I concur with much of what has been said about the character of the car. Lacks torque, light relative to modern cars, handles great, really flies when the revs are up, remarkably practical.

My M3 is not as solid as my 964, even though it has fewer miles. It does seem to cost less to maintain (I find standard maintenance items are less costly than with the 911), however I don't drive it near as much as the 911 (which is my daily).

The M3 is a very useable car - it's practicality coupled with performance enhanced is appeal and may contributed to so many of the cars appearing to have suffered from use over time.

To the OP, only one trim level was available in the US over the course of the E30 M3 production. All US M3s came with the 192 HP engine and I think about 170 lbs torque. The 238 HP 2.5 never made it to the US, though quite a few owners have rebuilt the 2.3 to 2.5 specification. The various special editions and evolutions produced were never imported and are so similar to the model sold here it is very difficult to get them into the US. You will find US owners modifying cars to have similar characteristics to the evo models, often mixing and matching components from different editions to create cars that represent something that never was created by the factory (I have often seen an Evo 2 front chin spoiler matched by a Sport Evo rear spoiler). S14.net is a great resource for E30 M3 enthusiasts.

Good luck in your search - they are great cars!