m3 or 350z ?

[bodyboarder]

Just wandered if anybody on here has had both, so could compare ? I have sold the 330 now so am on the hunt, but still completley stumped to which car to get! What are peoples thoughts on how the two compare on performance, build , driving pleasure, reliability, running costs? Thanks

[marzman]

I had a 328ci and found it boring as hell. the zed is awesome in comparison. Speed isnt that much better, but the zed feels a lot more raw, and is so much more fun.

[MeisterR]

Drove an M3 earlier and also had a 350Z before...

Driving experience speaking, the 350Z win hands down.

 

The M3 just don't feel like there is enough torque... that is the best way I can put it.

[bodyboarder]

Thanks for those thoughts. I do know what you mean about the e46s being boring, having owned a 330ci msport i too found it a very nice car but just didnt really do it for me and i would be worried that if i bought a m3 i would soon get bored of that too, although they are very quick. You seem to get alot more car for your money with the zed. With my budget of around 14k i should/hope to get a 06 plate 300bhp 350z but would only get a 03 plate m3 with 3 times the miles........ but i would have thought the m3 would win hands down on the track and performance wise ......

[richt]

I had a 325i and had the same decision M3 or Z?

 

I loved the M3s but the fact i would have had to buy a 6 year old car rather than the 2 1/2 year old Zed was really the main factor for me.

 

Never looked back.

[M13KYF]

I would of thought the answers here would be a bit byast anyway

[lilsheepshagga_turbo]

had it not been for insurance i personally would have purchased an M3... driven one on track, driven a couple on the road and i think the car is awesome.granted my budget was slightly higher but that was 2 years ago.

 

i actually disagree with the whole arguement of torque... yes its handy for motorway but to get the best out of most engines u would have to drop a cog or 2 in anyways. the m3 happily trundled along in 4th at 30

 

just weigh up the pro's and cons, drive both and forget what anybody else says. its a personal choice.

 

-ho

 

ps: black droptop m3 with the red interior... DROOOOL!!!!!!

[AlexZ]

I also looked at the M3 when I bought my Z... After reading some M3 fourm information and loads of reviews from all over the world I found the years I considered 2002-2003 had engine problem. If I remember right it was the bottom end of the engine due to poor bearings. They offered a full engine rebuild with either a 6 year warranty or 100k miles if you had full BMW service history and your engine was damaged. The following years 2004-2005 they were still repalcing oil pump and other engine parts underwarranty....At this stage I decided I couldnt bring myself to pay the 15k-17k for a mint M3 and looked towards the Z.

 

I do see M3's on the road and love them, but i'm really happy with the Z and look towards the future that may included the new V8 baby with carbon roof lol

 

Alexz

[Pimm]

Always wanted a M3 but ended up with the zed. Love M3's, a tiny bit faster, good looking and would use it more because the kids could come along for the ride. I have heard they are expensive to run but not had one before so I would not know.

Only downside is you pass M3's and never notice them unlike the zeds. I am happy with the Zed but if I sold it I probally would go for the M Bagde

[matth76]

I too considered the E46 M3 before getting my 350. I have to agree the views you get here may be biased being a Z forum but it's useful to get opinions from both sides. The main thing I discovered was as one user mentioned above was the engine failure issue due to bearings. This was apparently very prominent in all years up to end of 2003. However after months of investigating on the M3 forums no-one could confirm if BMW in fact changed the components of the parts which were affected on the factory line for the 2004-2006 years (other than just adding uprated oil pumps or replacing parts under warranty) so I was not convinced the E46 in all years would be a safe bet. More worryingly I also found out owners without a full mfr warranty (ie over 3 yrs old) would not get a new engine replacement or rebuild if their engine failed in all cases. It would depend on the dealer and in some cases a fight would be on your hands. Not acceptable in my eyes. I was happy to accept common problems but a risk of engine failure was a bit too much of a risk.

 

On the question of comparing the M3 to Z - the interior of the E46 would definitely be better made and the car would be slightly faster stock for stock. The earliest 03-05 Z's actually have slightly more torque than the M3 (Z has 274lbs/ft compared to mid 260's for the M3, not a lot but worth noting since it was mentioned above). However as also mentioned above, for the same price of a Z I would be looking at an M3 which was two years older with more mileage. That and the risk of engine failure was my main reason for looking else where. Service and maintenance costs (apart from tires if you have the 19" wheels) are supposed to be quite reasonable, on a par with most other BM's so I found out, not much different to the Z. The Z is far more exclusive compared to the e46 M3, certainly in the south east where I live. The E46 3 series (not M3, just all models) is actually recently been mentioned on fifth gear as more common than Mondeos now which I can kind of agree with - they are everywhere. But then that may not be a bad thing - they are popular.

 

I did then consider the Z4M which has the same power as the normal M3 but its engine lump was reliable and unaffected by the engine failure issue due to bearings but I believe they were only made in 06-08 and the cheapest 06 was £18k, slightly out of my price range at the time. They are also marginally faster than the E46 M3 (although most M3 owners would disagree of course) but it is almost 100kg lighter with the same power output and factory stats show it to be the superior car. However it's one for the future.

 

Best bet if you're still unconvinced is to test drive a Z and M3 and make your mind up - but if you do get an M3 I would buy strictly only from a dealer with extended mfr warranty covering mechanical parts at least for peace of mind.

[Stew]

Do you need more than 2 seats? If you do then buy an M3. If you don't then test both.

[maz0]

I was torn between purchasing a Z3M and 350z - both similarly priced with the Z3M being older. In the end I went with the 350z as I think its a better car in terms of being much more modifiable. Z3M engines apart from the later S54 were just time bombs waiting to go off with bearing problems and Vanos failures. I just couldn't afford to fix those issues if they arose, not to mention the arrogance of BMW to treat these common faults as though it wasn't their problem.

[bodyboarder]

All good things to think about, thanks. No i dont need 2 seats, so either would be ok. Hopefully should get to drive both this weekend. I know what you are saying about engine bearings and other stuff , it is a worry as i could not afford to replace an engine if it went ! Both cars have pros and cons .... i prefer the styling of the zed , and the interior ( 06 plate onwards) as the m3 interior is very dated , but well put together. Guess i will just have to drive both and go from there...... nice choice to have though