One year aniversary - impressions ...

This last Saturday, June 14th, was my one year anniversary on my M3. Almost 18K miles (17952 miles) in exactly one year. Plenty of time behind the wheel - in fact, I have put more miles this last year with the M3 than in any other one year period on any other car in my past!

Likes:
- engine and power. Love the 8K working RPM range - awesome
- SMG simply rocks - as far as I am concerned, I am not going back to a regular manual with a clutch pedal ever!
- road feel/handling - very good feel of the road
- great combination of sporty ride with comfort/luxury
- interior looks "nice" and well finished - premium compared to "lesser" cars.
- Leather seats - great feel and good grip for street driving (I have the side bolsters as well)
- refined - in so many levels, compared to most of all cars on the road.
- I feel VERY safe in my car, more than in most all other cars I have been/driven.
- exterior style - really like the way the M3 looks different than the non-M3 E46
- extended engine warranty - since I have SMG I simply do not care about the engine falling apart - I probably hit the rev limiter 2-3 times per auto-x event with ZERO worries - I get the enjoy the engine even more now :-)

Dislikes:
- weight - our car is simply a heavy pig compared to E30/E36's. Even more evident after I started doing auto-x events this year (4 events so far) in various E30/E36 M3's. Wish we had the current power and the same weight as the CSL version being sold in Europe.
- brakes: feel OK, but better once I put SS lines front/back. Stock E36 M3 brakes feel better to me.
- Stereo: H&K sucks. Upgraded the whole system (except head unit) last year.
- stock tire sizes a tad too small - the 245/275 that I have now should have been the stock size for the M3, maybe even a 265/275 to eliminate some of the understeer.
- Handling - a little too much understeer (see above)
- Throttle: still needs work. Normal mode not aggressive enough - sport too drastic and non linear. I am looking forward to Conforti's chip to "fix" this problem.
- Suspension a little bit rough for city driving (although excellent for highway) - wish I had a soft/firm setting on the shocks to adjust to the road like the S-class that I test drove or the 360 Spider I took a ride on.
- the whole engine fiasco - BMWNA handled this TERRIBLE.
- don't like the stock 18" wheel style/finish - would prefer the 19" style in 18" sizes as an $0 option.


Overall:
- Now and then, even after a year of ownership, I still go to the garage and look/stare at my car (specially if I washed it earlier that day).
- Still can't believe that I am lucky enough to have an M3. If you think about it, our cars handle, brake, feel much better than 99% of all cars on the road.
- I drive it every time I can - I never know when it will be the last time, so I enjoy the car as often as possible.
- Car holding up very well - not a single problem in 18K miles - car has been extremely reliable. I know other M3's had some problems, but from my point of view (and so far), very well put together.
- Yes, I still absolutely love the car. No, even after one year, it does not wear off the fact that I am driving an exceptional car.

I am most definitely looking forward to my next year of E46 M3 ownership :-)

Nice writeup....our thoughts are quite similar on most points

So from what you mentioned you completely stripped out the entire HK system.

What speakers did you put in to replace it. Was the installation/compatibility difficult?

Did it make a real sound difference considering you're still using the OEM head unit.

I'm very intrigued. Thanks for responding.

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums...1433274&page=2

Send me email if you have questions - hope this helps :-)

Originally posted by bmwm3coupe
- I drive it every time I can - I never know when it will be the last time, so I enjoy the car as often as possible.

I think this quote about sums it up.

Good post.

--SONET

I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait ...

Originally posted by Topaz330xi
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait ...

You'll wish you hadn't!

Originally posted by JPinTO
You'll wish you hadn't!

I know.

I haven't seen the wheel thread getting bumped lately. Did you decide on a set?

Originally posted by Topaz330xi
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait till my lease is up.
I can wait ...

Your lease can be up whenever you want

Check this site out

I'm interested in other 1-2 year impressions. Honest & mature feedback about the pros & cons would be appreciated. For me, buying a marque that has always been a little problematic is the biggest concern. I've been buying Japanese cars for the past 7 years (yes, they aren't perfect) but I just don't want to drive the car 4-5 hours to Paris & have to deal with a breakdown.


Thanks,
Zam