E46 M3 or G35 Coupe..The Good & Bad For both

[Freebs]

Well its coming down to the time to decide which route to go. I really like both cars and have been trying to make a list of the good and bad of both and it is pretty much even. I am looking for people who have either of the cars to let me know the goods and bad of owning one as I have only driven short times in both and I know there is a lot more you find out about the car after you have owned & driven the car for a few months.

E46 M3 - With this one I could probably afford a 01-03 which is going to be a higher mileage car and have heard the engines can be problematic, and after calling dealerships for prices on general maintenance things, they seem to be on the expensive side (as expected I guess being BMW) and this hole thing I have read about needing special weigh oil and such kind of pushes me away from them.
But on the positive side when they are working right I know these cars are down right awesome from their power just in stock form to the handling of them is hard to get for the price. And I would be looking to install a HPF Stage 1 turbo kit but would not be able to afford it (comfortably) for a year or so.

G35 coupe - with these I would be looking at an 04-06, so a few years newer then a M3 (less kms/miles) and the only real major engine problem I have been able to find on them is they have a chance of burning oil and have a recall for this (car has to under go some test first) I don’t know much about how much maintenance would cost on these, have not looked into that yet but I have heard it is not all that bad.
Also on a some what positive side for this car, I would still be able to afford a APS twin turbo kit right away which is making me lean towards it just for that reason ahah I honestly have a problem and can not leave any thing N/A, it just has to be boosted (I get it from my old man)

Any way let me know what you think the good and the bad are for both of these cars. Also have some what looked into a 350z, only thing about them I am not really sold on is the 2 passenger only part. I normally never have more then 2 people in the car but I still like to have seating for at least 3 or 4 people so that is why I have not looked any further into them.

[funkedelic]

i have driven a g35 before, doesn't compare to the m3. I like the look of the Infinity but i don't think their in the same class.

My suggestion is to drive both of them to help you make your choice. The m3 is a lot more to maintain but all BMW's are, if you buy a car that has been well cared for and has had all its service and recalls completed, you shouldn't have too many issues other than inspections, you can change the oil yourself and buy the oil online to avoid ridiculous dealer fees.

[SI_futbol]

yeah i've driven both as well, i liked the sound of the g35. but in my opinion it just seems to make a hell alot of noise with out actually moving that fast.

[vengie]

well i absolutley love my g, add some boost and it flies... ive never driven an m3 but for me personally the G has it all, looks, performance (especially now), and luxury

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by vengie
well i absolutley love my g, add some boost and it flies... ive never driven an m3 but for me personally the G has it all, looks, performance (especially now), and luxury


U forgot Japanese reliablity

[ragu]

you've made your mind. You can only afford an older BMW with more repair bills which you don't want and you like that you can get 05 g35 with much lower kms and maintenance bill....g35 it is :thumbsup:

[Nav13]

i was in the same boat as you. and i think for the money the G35 is a better buy. Dont get me wrong the M3 is a sick car and prolly one of my favorite cars to drive. if you look at best bang for the buck the G35 is better im MY opinion. its got looks drives and sounds nice and the maintanence is not that bad. where as bmw rapes you in cost for repairs.

[pinoyhero]

I've owned both ... the cars aren't in the same class and hence the price difference. There's a reason why you've never seen these two cars in a comparison.

[Freebs]

Originally posted by pinoyhero
I've owned both ... the cars aren't in the same class and hence the price difference. There's a reason why you've never seen these two cars in a comparison.

It says you’re driving the M3 right now? How bad is it actually for maintenance? Is it going to be $1000+ every other month? Or is it just going to be say $1500 every 3 or 4 months kind of a thing? For the most part I can fix pretty much any thing, but there are going to be some things I wont be able to do, or wont be up for the task of doing. Also I am not sure what kind of mileage you have on your m3, and I haven’t put a post up on any of the M3 forums but do you know kind of an average life expectancy of the M3 engine? i know it all depends on a lot of things but would 200,000-300,00kms be out of the question?


Thank you every one. It sucks when you like too many cars and have to choose one. And like I said the fact I can boost the G35 right away is making me lean that way, but its only 400whp :( not going to lie, but to me that is not that much and still would feel pretty slow and I would be going from a car that runs mid to high 12's to one that would do mid 13's maybe, but then it would also be a much better car... like I said its such a hard thing to choose.
And there is the part of me that is saying “hey if you get the M3 you wont be able to boost it right away and maybe you will have a car that won’t be broken every week” and maybe you can leave something STOCK for once…. No wait that’s not me saying that, that’s the girl friend ahaha

[funkedelic]

Its an m3 bro, they are reliable cars. The only difference is that WHEN you do need to do maintnence and pay for repairs, it gets costly. I haven't had any issues with my car other than faulty ignition coils which were replaced free since there was a service bulletin on these. I have done my own oil changes, and nothing has broken or started to fail, and my car is getting up there already.

There is no way in hell you would be spending $1000+ every other month unless you are breaking shit and horribly abusing your car. The motor in these cars can easily reach 300+km's if you take care of them. There are people that have this kinda milege already on their cars if you search the forums, and their cars are still running strong.

If you do a hpf kit on one of these badboys, you will enjoy it a lot more than a boosted g35, trust me!

Plus imo the m3 looks a lot better than the inifinity, and the interior is a lot nicer than the g35 one.

[Freebs]

Originally posted by funkedelic
Its an m3 bro, they are reliable cars. The only difference is that WHEN you do need to do maintenance and pay for repairs, it gets costly. I haven't had any issues with my car other than faulty ignition coils which were replaced free since there was a service bulletin on these. I have done my own oil changes, and nothing has broken or started to fail, and my car is getting up there already.

There is no way in hell you would be spending $1000+ every other month unless you are breaking shit and horribly abusing your car. The motor in these cars can easily reach 300+km's if you take care of them. There are people that have this kinda mileage already on their cars if you search the forums, and their cars are still running strong.

If you do a hpf kit on one of these badboys, you will enjoy it a lot more than a boosted g35, trust me!

Plus imo the m3 looks a lot better than the inifinity, and the interior is a lot nicer than the g35 one.

Yea I am not going to lie if I had to pick which was a better looking car, it would be hard but I would give it to the M3... well more specific it would be your M3 ahaha hence why I still will come take a look at it when my car sells.
I have seen a few of your post on a couple of site with problems you have had with your M3, but I assume you have had them all taken care of now.
And with the HPF kit my luck I will break stuff ahah but I am still going to do it, it just will mean the gf will have to deal with some changes to the house when it gets built ahah but she wont have to know this until the kit is on the car.

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by funkedelic


If you do a hpf kit on one of these badboys, you will enjoy it a lot more than a boosted g35, trust me!





Can you explain why?

[rage2]

Originally posted by vengie
well i absolutley love my g, add some boost and it flies... ive never driven an m3 but for me personally the G has it all, looks, performance (especially now), and luxury
Ya, add some boost to the M, and it obliterates everything in its path lol.


Originally posted by dj_rice
Can you explain why?
700hp on pump gas. 800hp on race gas. As quiet as stock off boost, drives like stock off boost. Rev past 3500rpm and it pulls retarded to 8000rpm. It's the greatest modded car I've ever driven.

I've given tons of rides in my car to beyonders. I'm sure any one of them can chime in on why M3 + HPF == the shit.

[vengie]

Originally posted by rage2

Ya, add some boost to the M, and it obliterates everything in its path lol.


700hp on pump gas. 800hp on race gas. As quiet as stock off boost, drives like stock off boost. Rev past 3500rpm and it pulls retarded to 8000rpm. It's the greatest modded car I've ever driven.

I've given tons of rides in my car to beyonders. I'm sure any one of them can chime in on why M3 + HPF == the shit.

ya this may be true, but you also have to factor in cost :nut:

if i had DEEEP pockets an hpf m3 would be in my driveway... but i dont, so my g definatley suffices!

[Freebs]

Originally posted by rage2

Ya, add some boost to the M, and it obliterates everything in its path lol.


700hp on pump gas. 800hp on race gas. As quiet as stock off boost, drives like stock off boost. Rev past 3500rpm and it pulls retarded to 8000rpm. It's the greatest modded car I've ever driven.

I've given tons of rides in my car to beyonders. I'm sure any one of them can chime in on why M3 + HPF == the shit.

Yep he is telling the truth :P as I am one of the lucky ones to have gone for a spin in the car.. granted it was just on pump gas and no alky and we didnt really leave our neighbour hood. And I have driven some fast cars such as our C6 Z06 with a Lingenfelter 800hp twin turbo kit on it, and although the M3 isnt as fast, I would still bet it would give it a damn good run for its money (if he was spraying the meth) and that was only what stage 2? Any way I will have to see.. chances are it will be the M3 and the Girl friend will just have to put up with some "changes" or things she cant have in the new house ahah...

[rage2]

Originally posted by Freebs
Yep he is telling the truth :P as I am one of the lucky ones to have gone for a spin in the car.. granted it was just on pump gas and no alky and we didnt really leave our neighbour hood. And I have driven some fast cars such as our C6 Z06 with a Lingenfelter 800hp twin turbo kit on it, and although the M3 isnt as fast, I would still bet it would give it a damn good run for its money (if he was spraying the meth) and that was only what stage 2? Any way I will have to see.. chances are it will be the M3 and the Girl friend will just have to put up with some "changes" or things she cant have in the new house ahah...
I'll give u a call next week and take you for a run on meth. I'm curious what you think of it's speed compared to the 800hp Z06.

I should've just jacked some of your meth that day ;).

[funkedelic]

Originally posted by dj_rice




Can you explain why?

well like rage said, 800hp. (Wishing i could take a drive in it one day! :drool: )

I can't even imagine stage 3

check it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky3NWEfOV4Y

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by rage2


700hp on pump gas. 800hp on race gas. As quiet as stock off boost, drives like stock off boost. Rev past 3500rpm and it pulls retarded to 8000rpm. It's the greatest modded car I've ever driven.



Thanks for the answer, whatever you choose, you cant go wrong but rock the douche badge proud



:thumbsup:

[schocker]

i have a g35 and have driven a few m3s, and the g35 is quite fun, but the m3 is in another galaxy. the feel of driving it is just completely different than the infiniti. that is why i would like to upgrade to an m3 next year. i am sure a boosted g would be fun though, but it is nothing like driving a boosted m.

[tm88]

they had a program on last night that was comparing the g37 and 335
I know your talking m3 and g35 however they are a similar comparasin (minus turbo)
The g37 has more power on paper but the driver said that the bmw felt way more powerful....

My oppinion is M3 all the way. I do not take 2nd looks at G35s, however a M3 goes bye and i take a 2nd, and sometimes 3rd look lol.

[C4S]

I hv owned E46 M3 for ~6 yrs ( 01 and 03 ) ... no problem at all .. just regular service .. not even brake nor tires .. lol as long as you maintain it .. they are super reliable, and low cost to run. ( compare to higher end car, such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus or even lower end car such as STi )

G35 isn't bad .. but just different class ... ( 5.4 sec vs 4.6 ) like comparing a 335i and a Nissan GTR .. both nice cars, but diff class, diff performance ..
For so many cars I hv driven .. E46 M3 is still one of the best .. ( yes, for driving, better then E92 M3 )

:)

However, make sure you buy a good one, most of them were abused .. crashed .. etc .. and also, and tons of grey import without history ..

I guess may be only 20-30% of them are in good shape!

When you look at a used M3, make sure you try it out, and compare, say 2 same years, same km M3s, their condition can be very different!

:D

[nova1]

^^ solid, solid advice
finding a used M3 thats not bagged or wrecked is challenging. I think Rage and another guy on here looked at over 50 M3's before they found the one they wanted

[Freebs]

Originally posted by rage2

I'll give u a call next week and take you for a run on meth. I'm curious what you think of it's speed compared to the 800hp Z06.

I should've just jacked some of your meth that day ;).

Sounds good... I leave wed night for Edmonton to get my silver car tuned but I will be home Thursday night. I was out in the vette today and it still scares the shit out of me when i get my foot into the gas lol. But yea we will have to have some fun with some meth... ahah that sounds bad but so good all at once..




Also thank you every one... ahah this post has got me back on the M3 side, unfortunately I don’t think I will be able to check out 50 or so M3's.. I have my eye on a fellow beyonders M3 and so I am going to have to let my best judgment/bmw dealership do the talking

[Turbojono]

I guess I should chim in since I've owned both a G35 Coupe 6speed and a E46 M3 6speed.
I had a G35 Coupe years ago when the look was still fresh, I would get tonnes of compliments and attention. But since the Altima coupe, G6 coupe, etc... have been released, the look is a bit dated and generic now. The E46 M3 on the other hand has aged well and still get lots of love.
I didn't find my G35 terribly reliable because I had to take it in for warranty work a few times. Bottom line, Infiniti/Nissan is no where on the Lexus/Toyota/Honda/Acura level.
I got the M3 knowing how german cars can be. Although the materials used in them are top notch, things tend to fall apart on them that don't fall apart on japanese cars. That being said, I've had no major problems but quite a few minor ones that have costed me ALOT of money. The thing is, it's all worth it.
The M3 feels alot more special and it's better than the G35 in every possible way.