My past 3 cars have been a '03 BMW X5, a '12 Subaru Impreza Sport and I'm currently in a '00 BMW M5. At the time, I thought getting into a Impreza from a SUV would be great, but I HATED that car after 3 months. I figured I'd go back to my BMW roots and get a manual transmission, RWD car. E39 M5's were at rock bottom prices so I picked one up. Now I've been driving a high HP luxo-barge and I do want to get into something smaller, more agile and more reliable...
Cars I've considered...
Miata/S2000 - fun, but I want more than 2 seats and more trunk room
GTO/Mustang - already did the high-HP RWD car already with the M5
WRX/Evo//STi - Would rather have RWD and trying to find an unmolested one is hard
BRZ/FR-S - test drove them a few times. Expensive and I wasn't floored with them at all.
E36 M3 - back to my BMW roots again. I wouldn't mind one at all.
RX8 - Rotary scares me on reliability
I can do some wrenching on my cars. I've done oil, plugs, fluids, brakes, control arms, thermostat, and a bunch of engine sensors on the M5 so I think I can handle most things. If I do need to drop a transmission/differential or rip apart an engine, I'll have problems, so I do want a reliable car that doesn't have major failures when driven hard (auto-x/HPDE). And I do want to keep the car as cheap as possible once I sell the M5, but if I get a newer car with a warranty, I wouldn't mind it either. I really just want a car I can keep for a long time and not switch out every year since I get sick of it.
Shoot me ideas for other cars I should consider or which would fit my needs best.
Well, you dont want a BRZ, so E36 M3 it is.
Hyundai genesis
Speed 3
Whatever those fast vws are?
G37
Or my vote nicest e46 body you can find + ls1
I'd also go Speed 3, you could likely get a new one for $1-2k more than your budget.
More than quick enough to be entertaining and lots of room to haul stuff.
What's wrong with Hyundai Genesis 2dr Coupe?
There were two pleasant surprises at Summit Point this past weekend... a stock FRZ with DOT-Rs in the intermediate group looking very planted and quick... and a new Focus ST with a tuned chip absolutely flying.
Both are over $20k by a stretch but have warranties. If you don't care about being the wrench... neither is in the same speed class as a $8k E36 M3 or... E46 M3's which I've seen in the 17-18k range with mid-70ks on them of late. E36 leaves lots of scratch for go-fast goodies. E46 is a nicer street car and has one of the sweetest engines ever conceived.
Going down the list of suggestions...
I just can't seem to get rid of BMW's, which I guess is a good thing since I do love them and know how to work on them the best. Yea, E36 M3's, regular E36's and E46 M's have been on the top of my list. However, I am still afraid of maintenance on the E46 and slightly afraid of maintenance on the E36. I want to be able to drive, not wrench all the time like on my M5.
C5 Z06 would be fun, but it is a 2 seater and pretty impractical again. I'll be driving between NJ and St. Louis so I will encounter snow a C5 can't handle.
If I was more accepting to FWD I'd look at a Speed 3, GTI, RSX Type-S, Civic Si or Focus SVT. However, I still want some tail out fun when I want to and FWD won't do it.
I've never tried a G35/G37. Are they fat pigs or can they hold their own on the autox? Don't see them at autox often at all, and the ones I do see are usually in novice class.
I drove the latest Genesis Coupe and it was nice. I'll have to look into it again. However, I'm not sure if I want a big bodied coupe like a Genesis for autox. Never seem them around the courses either.
MINIzguy wrote:
If I was more accepting to FWD I'd look at a Speed 3,
Big rear sway and left foot braking. I just mentioned it since you were concerned with a lack of space.
mndsm
PowerDork
4/23/13 10:43 a.m.
z31maniac wrote:
MINIzguy wrote:
If I was more accepting to FWD I'd look at a Speed 3,
Big rear sway and left foot braking. I just mentioned it since you were concerned with a lack of space.
Yep, these things will rotate like no 4 door hatch should if you left foot it and plant the front coming into a corner. The nice thing is the RSB takes a lot of the snap oversteer out.
The G35/G37 are big and heavy. I've never seen one at an autox, but I have seen them do track days.
I say get a Mustang, but the GRM lobe of my brain is broken and makes me say the answer is always Pony Car.
Yugo. 
Seriously though CTS-V or GTO
MINIzguy wrote:
Going down the list of suggestions...
I just can't seem to get rid of BMW's, which I guess is a good thing since I do love them and know how to work on them the best. Yea, E36 M3's, regular E36's and E46 M's have been on the top of my list. However, I am still afraid of maintenance on the E46 and slightly afraid of maintenance on the E36. I want to be able to drive, not wrench all the time like on my M5.
C5 Z06 would be fun, but it is a 2 seater and pretty impractical again. I'll be driving between NJ and St. Louis so I will encounter snow a C5 can't handle.
If I was more accepting to FWD I'd look at a Speed 3, GTI, RSX Type-S, Civic Si or Focus SVT. However, I still want some tail out fun when I want to and FWD won't do it.
I've never tried a G35/G37. Are they fat pigs or can they hold their own on the autox? Don't see them at autox often at all, and the ones I do see are usually in novice class.
I drove the latest Genesis Coupe and it was nice. I'll have to look into it again. However, I'm not sure if I want a big bodied coupe like a Genesis for autox. Never seem them around the courses either.
Is there that much work to do on M cars? I'm considering a e46 m myself
mndsm wrote:
z31maniac wrote:
MINIzguy wrote:
If I was more accepting to FWD I'd look at a Speed 3,
Big rear sway and left foot braking. I just mentioned it since you were concerned with a lack of space.
Yep, these things will rotate like no 4 door hatch should if you left foot it and plant the front coming into a corner. The nice thing is the RSB takes a lot of the snap oversteer out.
Could you explain how left foot braking and on the gas helps corner the MS3?
I got lucky enough to co-drive a gen-coupe R-spec on street tires a couple times. Car handled great. brakes were phenomenal. The car litereally shrank around you the more runs you made. Car was fun. The downside is the early 2.0T cars were way down on power. 210hp isn't enough. I'd look into the 3.8V6 car. That V6 sounds heavenly uncorked.
MINIzguy wrote:
However, I am still afraid of maintenance on the E46 and slightly afraid of maintenance on the E36.
Why?
Oil, brake fluid, bushings, tires, dampers and brake pads are common things on all cars. O2 sensors and cats are common to all newer cars.
They are no more expensive than Honda, Toyota or Subaru bits and in a lot of cases - less costly.The E36/46 has just the additional (and admittedly annoying) cooling system stuff that is well known, not difficult and not expensive (unless you don't do it) and infrequent. The key is to buy one that has had all of the first round done on someone else's time/dime - so 110k miles of great care is better than 75k to the used buyer. Then you are usually good to go until 230k or so :)
Subframe and cooling system issues worry me on the E36 and. E46.
I'm also worried about electronic niggles with the cars. I just replaced 4 CPS on the M5 and now need to refresh the VANOS solenoids. I just don't want to deal with this on another car.
LSX swapped 3rd gen RX7. You can find them pretty commonly around the $12k-15k mark well sorted.
DaveEstey wrote:
LSX swapped 3rd gen RX7. You can find them pretty commonly around the $12k-15k mark well sorted.
WHoooooooowwwwhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaattt?
MINIzguy wrote:
Subframe ... issues worry me
You can see those before you buy. If it's fine - it's fine. You can choose to reinforce it - but what causes that failure in the E36 is being driven with bad bushings allowing the extra play to fatigue the mount point.
The "fix" is to buy a 97+ M3 which already had factory reinforcement plates, or, when you put in urethane, nylon or aluminum bushings... reinforce the area yourself - BUT - if you buy any year/model car with no issues, only run factory rubber bushings and keep them in tip-top... you will not need to do anything.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
MINIzguy wrote:
Subframe ... issues worry me
You can see those before you buy. If it's fine - it's fine. You can choose to reinforce it - but what causes that failure in the E36 is being driven with bad bushings allowing the extra play to fatigue the mount point.
The "fix" is to buy a 97+ M3 which already had factory reinforcement plates, or, when you put in urethane, nylon or aluminum bushings... reinforce the area yourself - BUT - if you buy any year/model car with no issues, only run factory rubber bushings and keep them in tip-top... you will not need to do anything.
Ah, I've never read it in these terms. Makes a lot of sense and frees up some money seeing that I don't need to reinforce the subframe.
I think I've wanted an E36/E46 all along but have gotten distracted by other cars. It would be nice to work on a familiar car/car manufacture too. I guess I'll start searching for a solid driver but not a minter so I don't get torn up when I start running her hard at the auto-x or track.
BMW 135i? I just picked up a used one a few months ago and I love the thing. 27-30 mpg on the highway, decent power, nice brakes, and I'm surprised at how much stuff I can fit in it with the rear seat down.
