What BMW

If I wanted to experience why a BMW is so special, and I had 25K to spend what model would I want?

E30 M3. 

850 CSI

Z3M S54 Coupe

You won't get the best examples with that budget, but you WILL get an example of one of the above. Good luck. 

Z4M coupe, the last car they made with all the original M car necessities:

-high rpm NA motor

-manual trans

-proper mechanical limited slip

-telepathic steering

An old one. Unfortunately, to put it bluntly, you want special, and the new BMWs aren't. 

Best M3 you can find for your money if you like track days, but if you want the "transporter" type sedan look for a really well cared for 5 or 7. I think you can get into a Z3M for 25k, that's a pretty special car. 

You would buy a VERY nice e46 M3 with that budget. 

Preferably 2004+ or even 2005+ ZCP competition package.

An 850CSI for $25k? Pardon me while I go see what's for sale Last I looked that was the going rate for a nice 850i with the 6 speed.

I'll add the E38 740i Sport and E34 or E39 M5 to the list, though the E38 and E39 start getting into more maintenance expense. On the cheaper/less maintenance end, I've always had a soft spot for the E39 530i Sport and the E46 330i ZHP cars.

I love any E30 chassis car (I currently own 3) but they are quite small so may or may not be for you.

The newest one I would buy is a 2006 330i, sport package, manual transmission, without iDrive.

Kind of depends on what era and size of car you are after, and your tolerance for maintenance.

So the situation is that I'm at a point in my life that I have the ability to have a fun car. No kids left at home, and enough money to buy something fun. I currently have a 2011 Camaro SS/RS. I plan on keeping each thing for a year or two to try it out. I might keep something longer if I really like it. I am going to try and limit myself to 25K and used. That way I won't get hit to hard with depreciation, and can hopefully get most of my money back. I would prefer newer, and I don't want something I have to work on. Its not going to be tracked. Two door, four door, two seater, four seater, manual, auto doesn't matter. I want fun, and I want to experience what is special about each brand I try. 

Maybe a 128i 6speed manual if you want newer. If you want to "experience" bmw, only way to do that is a manual sports sedan with a naturally aspirated straight 6. An e46 m3 is a fantastic canyon carver and the best stock motor ever built by BMW IMO. Test drove one and see what it's about. 

I am extremely fond of e36 m3s from a styling and simplicity POV but only if you are working on it yourself.

E46 M3 ZCP marks all those boxes, and you will get all your money back. 

D2W said:

I don't want something I have to work on.

 

Its not going to be tracked.

 

Two door, four door, two seater, four seater, manual, auto doesn't matter. 

E39 M5, low mileage. 

Slippery (Forum Supporter) said:

E46 M3 ZCP marks all those boxes, and you will get all your money back. 

This, all day this. 

It might be the apex of BMW engineering, that's why values are what they are. 

When I special ordered my '13 Mustang GT track pack.......in 2012........a nice ZCP was upper 20s............they still are 8 years later for a reason.

Slippery (Forum Supporter) said:

E46 M3 ZCP marks all those boxes, and you will get all your money back. 

This is the answer.  $25k will buy you a nice one with solid service history.

mr2s2000elise said:

E39 M5, low mileage. 

Fun, mature, special - agreed.  Also rarer, with higher, more expensive maintenance than an M3.

Another +1 for a E46m3.

i had the chance to drive a supercharged one last year with some other cool mods to it, loved every  second of it.

I would love one if they weren't so expensive.

if you want something budget and still great BMW driving dynamics.. a good quality but able to still be a well used driver E36 m3 will come well under half your budget..

 

I'd go with the E39 M5 as well.  I had an '05 M3 for a while and it was the most direct feeling car I'd driven in a long time.  Overall though I missed the brute pull of something more powerful.  Really depends on your driving style in what you like. 

To me the S54 cars feel a little more comfortable but less connected than the S52 cars. The pedals, steering and shifting just aren't as crisp or as communicative as the S52 cars. I've been dailying an S52 car though for the past 7 years/50k and I love it.

I vote for the Z4M. You can pick up the convertible for that, and might be able to find the more expensive coupe version, which would be worthwhile as it has 32,000 Nm/deg torsional stiffness as opposed to 16,000 for the roadster.  Wouldn't you want something that was twice as stiff.......

I want to drive an S54 Z3M, but would probably rather own (and maintain) an S52 Z3M. Combining either of those engines with the semi-trailing arm suspension and a short wheelbase just seems like a recipe for character and personality to me.

My 128i is nice enough, but if you don't want to upgrade/mod it at least a bit, then I wouldn't recommend it to "experience why a BMW is so special". Granted, it seems that apparently I have a different definition of 'special' than even most here, but in stock form I do not find anything overly special about it...The most special thing about it seems to simply be that it's a good starting point towards special. 

A z3M Coupe is high on my want list.  Second the E46 M3 idea also.  The 135i is also a fun car, and at that price point, you'd have a lot of money left to maintain it!

wspohn said:

I vote for the Z4M. You can pick up the convertible for that, and might be able to find the more expensive coupe version, which would be worthwhile as it has 32,000 Nm/deg torsional stiffness as opposed to 16,000 for the roadster.  Wouldn't you want something that was twice as stiff.......

I had a buddy who was a real BMW diehard.  He had an E36 M3, followed by a 330i ZHP, and he was all excited to get his Z4M roadster.  After a year with the Z4M he still just hadn't bonded with it and was very disappointed.  He said it lacked the personality of his previous BMWs, and it understeered like that was its job.

I never drove it, so I can't comment personally.

mr2s2000elise said:

850 CSI

You won't get the best examples with that budget, but you WILL get an example of one of the above. Good luck. 

Where? 

I've spent some time in a Z3 3.0i on twisty roads in western NC. Very nice driving little car. You can feel that the M54B30 has less power than the S52B32 but it is a smoother engine. I have 2 gripes. The CDV(I know you can delete it) made me look like a clutch-newb my first time. The only reason 6'0" me fits in the car is because there's a sunroof. My head actually hits the glass and I can't see the top half(40-130) of the speedo.

I have not looked into how horrible an E60 M5 is to own, but I would be looking there. V10 awesomeness.

To me the 2002 is THE BMW. But maybe I am just getting old. 

And I used to own a 1987 535is as a daily driver. 

cdowd (Forum Supporter) said:

I have not looked into how horrible an E60 M5 is to own, but I would be looking there. V10 awesomeness.

You really dont need to look very far to realize it is NOT THE BMW TO OWN. The literal most unreliable BMW every built.

mr2s2000elise said:

D2W said:

I don't want something I have to work on.

 

Its not going to be tracked.

 

Two door, four door, two seater, four seater, manual, auto doesn't matter. 

E39 M5, low mileage. 

Doubt it'll depreciate at all