- 04/19/2014
- 1 Min Read
- By: Andrew Owendoff
The Best Car for $8,000, E36 M3 vs. E46 330Ci
A few weeks ago, I posted two of my options for a new car. One was an E46 BMW Convertible and the other was the first generation, C70 Convertible. After many responses and some very good feed back, it looked like the E46 was the way to go.
It sounded like it would give me the little bit of room I need with the RWD performance and handling that I currently get with my Mazda Miata. So, you might be wondering if I went with the E46. The short answer is not yet. An E36 M3 Convertible listing came up, and that threw a wrench into my decision.
So here's the current challenge.
The 2002 E46 330Ci has about 150K miles on it and looks to be in very good shape. It is a manual 5 speed with the premium package and sport package. The interior and exterior are in very good shape, as well. After talking to the dealer, he said that all of the maintenance is up to date and he has records to prove it. Looks like they are asking 8K for it, which seems high.
The 1998 E36 M3 Convertible is the other BMW that is on my short list. This car has 180K miles on it and is being sold privately on Craigslist. According to the description, the car is from California and was just brought to New Jersey when the owner moved back here. The exterior and interior look to be in great shape and the owner just had the seats redone. When I spoke to him about the car, he says he has maintenance records for the car and the California registration. He also mentioned that everything, including the top is working. The car is a manual 5 speed just like the E46.
If given the option to buy one of these, which would you pick?
About The Author: Andrew Owendoff
Andrew has been working with us at FCP Euro on and off for many years. He brings to the team over a 10 years of automotive experience and has worked on many vehicles from Volvo, Mazda, and Ford. Beside doing normal maintenance, he his also an avid modder and has done everything from exhaust systems and stereos to tuning and turbo swaps. He can be reached at aowendoff@outlook.com
