First Impression early M3 - BMW Forum

Red964 · 11-30-2005, 02:39 AM

I drove an early Ceccoto M3 the other day, first impressions did nothing to endear me to it. This was an Evo car which was in superb condition.

First impressions.
The engine wobbled a lot and jingled like a bag of spanners, the gear stick wobbled a lot. The whole thing wobbled a lot.I have to admit i didnt get it up to speed on A-roads, which I suspect it would have been a monster car at revs.

I couldnt live with it as an everyday drive and I normally drive a 3.6 RS spec engined early 911, which is suprisingly docile till you give it beans.

Not being softened by modern cars I expected to like the M3 but didnt that much.

I suspect out of town or on a track it would have been different

Furious · 12-02-2005, 12:02 AM

god , its too bad you didnt get it up to speed, that car is a monster, i love feel of older cars where they feeel like htey are gonna stall, they are so rough , but man when you drive them how they were intended, its all worth it

Red964 · 12-02-2005, 01:56 AM

Thats what I was hoping someone would say.
I didnt expect it to be soooo bad low down, I guess something has to give

4evrwyntr · 12-02-2005, 11:24 AM

It is definitely a car with a purpose... and meek prodding through large curves isn't it. The car was just pissed at you.

dutchbmw · 12-02-2005, 12:52 PM

It's true, in fact the E30 M3 isn't a real beast. Don't get me wrong, for its time it was (and IMO still is) a great car but compared to the newer M3's it's not that fast. I don't know the specs of the Porsche you are talking about but the E30 M3 is only a 2.3L or 2.5L engine.

If you love the older types I would say get one. If you want a real rush get a newer one (at least an e36 M3 eurospec or any of the e46's).

Anyways, post pics when you get one!

4evrwyntr · 12-02-2005, 01:45 PM

Hey now. A US-spec MT sedan still does the 0-60 in 5.5s. Not to shabby.

MadBMW · 12-14-2005, 03:32 PM

Pieter is right. If you want to feel the power of a BMW, buy a newer M3. Not all of us are so lucky to get a Euro spec M3

, but I bought a 97 and it moves even with 117K on it. I love my car so much, I wouldn't replace it with a newer one. I am not saying that I not going to buy a newer one to put next to it, but you have to love the body lines of the e36 M3. The E36 are a lot more affordable and don't worry about high miles, these cars were made to beat on.

4evrwyntr · 12-14-2005, 05:28 PM

I definitely love the classical styling of the e36, but come on man, the e46 m3 lines are LEGENDARY. That is a hot car, period.
I'm expecting to drive my current ride til it dies... And if I ever think it feels slow... well... there's always that S3 Dinan kit to look forward to. Mm. ~340hp. Mmm.

Teh Prof · 12-14-2005, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4evrwyntr

I definitely love the classical styling of the e36, but come on man, the e46 m3 lines are LEGENDARY. That is a hot car, period.
I'm expecting to drive my current ride til it dies... And if I ever think it feels slow... well... there's always that S3 Dinan kit to look forward to. Mm. ~340hp. Mmm.

I was thinking about the S3-M3, but I'd feel kinda funny about pouring that much money into a car with over 100K miles on it. Wouldn't you?

4evrwyntr · 12-15-2005, 11:49 AM

Not when I've witnessed these monsters being track raced over a thousand miles just peachy fine, or heard stories claiming that these bad boys can easily go 400k....

Supposedly (and I could be wrong) the US 95+ m3 engine is VERY durable.

So I have no qualms about that. Especially, if I fork over the money to get it done right, it will be done right. And when done right, you can expect less of a decrease in longevity.