Another E46 M Owner Considers Move to E90 M

[GODS951]

Hello All,

I've been a lurker on this board for some time now & although im new to M3post, i'm no stranger to M cars. I currently own a "rare" oxford green metallic on cinnamon E46 M3, which serves as my weekend car & a E36 M3, which serves as my daily.

Here are some poor quality photos for anyone who cares:





Anyhow, as of late, i've been lusting over the LCI E90 M3 and I am now considering selling or trading my beloved E46 for one. As much as I would like to keep E46, I just haven't been able to use it as much as I like, even for a weekend car. Reason being, I have an 8 month old boy & getting in & out of the coupe with the carrier/car seat, diaper bag, etc., is just too much of a hassle, not to mention a tight squeeze, so I end up driving the family SUV instead, while the E46 sits. I feel like, with the E90, i'll be able to enjoy the SoCal sun from time to time and be able to take my son along, all with great power, handling, and comfort of the E90 M . Any of you fellow Dads who've done a similar move, please chime in and let me know your afterthoughts from making the move to an E90 M.

I've been reviewing some of the lease rates that some of you have posted here and they all seem pretty reasonable. I plan on contacting GOLFFRR and the guys at Steve Thomas BMW as they seem to be the go to guys when purchasing a new M. Lastly, I hope to meet some of you at some local GTG and maybe I can join the E90/2 M club soon.

Cheers,

Godfrey

[Richbot]

I have a better idea, keep the current cars, buy an E90 and an E30!

[GODS951]

^ If only I could....if only i could

[PKL]

Do it, the E9x is awesome.

[Biggerunn]

I just moved out of an e46 for an e92. And I'm lucky enough to still have my e36 M3 that my daughter drives. The e92 takes all of the things the e46 improved on the e36 to a new level. But the car that is just the most fun to drive??? The e36. Hands down. So make the move, you'll really enjoy the e9x. But make sure you hold onto the e36.

[klammer]

The E90 is the perfect family mans sports car. I have 2 small children and love taking the family for spins and my 3 yr old loves the on/off ramps, screams faster and wheeee!!! For me the sedan is my ultimate driving machine

[GODS951]

Thanks for all the good comments/advice guys!

Originally Posted by Biggerunn

I just moved out of an e46 for an e92. And I'm lucky enough to still have my e36 M3 that my daughter drives. The e92 takes all of the things the e46 improved on the e36 to a new level. But the car that is just the most fun to drive??? The e36. Hands down. So make the move, you'll really enjoy the e9x. But make sure you hold onto the e36.

^I couldn't agree with you more. I actually had my E46 M and went back and bought the E36 M after The car, although underpowered compared to its predecessors, is the funnest. Selling it is out of the question, I have the thing pretty much on a full track setup.

[esquire]

what color is your e36? I can't make it out.

[GODS951]

^cosmos black. I guess it's a good thing that you can't make out the exact color, since cosmos black is supposed to be a mixture of different types of black & blue BMW colors.

Btw, I love you're Dakar II E92!!!!!

[GOLFFRR]

whatever you decide just let me know whenever your ready and ill make sure your all taken care of! it will be a tough move since the e46 is such an awesome car, however you will not be disappointed in a e90M at all!

[esquire]

Originally Posted by GODS951

^cosmos black. I guess it's a good thing that you can't make out the exact color, since cosmos black is supposed to be a mixture of different types of black & blue BMW colors.

Btw, I love you're Dakar II E92!!!!!

Thanks so much for the kind words man. I honestly haven't seen that many cosmos black e36's. In hindsight, its almost weird that I've seen so few. Great color though.

[GODS951]

esquire, I noticed you were in Orange County. I'm in Chino Hills, but i'm in Orange County a lot. Hopefully, I run into you one of these days as I'd love to see your cars in person.... Dakar yellow ZCP E92 haha

[Navin323i]

Nice post!

I'm in a similar boat, except I'm doing the opposite and planning on going from my 323i sedan to the E92 M3 coupe, despite having 2 kids (ages 6yrs and 1yr).

The way I see it, my wife drives the SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe) and primarily transports our infant to and from daycare. I transport my older daughter who could get in and out of the back seat herself (though I'd have to assist her with opening the door and moving the seat forward), therefore I'm going to go with the coupe, especially given how I've driven sedans my entire life and I want something different this time around, haha!

One question for you... what do you mean by "LCI"? You mentioned LCI E90 M3, and I didn't know what LCI means, though I've seen this acronym used repeatedly on here.

Beautiful colored E46 M3 you have there. I've only seen one Oxford Green M3 locally and it is definitely a rare and beautiful color.

Navin

[GOLFFRR]

^^^LCI Means: Life Cycle Impulse. ( Its an update during a model year )

your rims and bbk pic in your sig is sick!!!

[anthony @ eas]

Go for it!

Also, your e36 looks really clean.

[adc]

Originally Posted by GODS951

Any of you fellow Dads who've done a similar move, please chime in and let me know your afterthoughts from making the move to an E90 M.

Had an E36 M3 and when my son was born, switched to a E46 ZHP sedan. That was a good move. Nimble in a way current BMW's simply aren't anymore, with much better damping than the E36 and sublime steering. But slow.

Then I went for an E92 335i to try out the twin turbo. Son was bigger by now, could get in/out more or less on his own, so I figured what the heck, let's get a coupe. Wrong move. Huge doors (a problem) but still with poor access, awesome Coral red interior, fast allright, shitty runflats all riding on a mediocre suspension. Nice car, no magic.

Now I'm onto the E90 M3. Space, pace & grace to paraphrase the old Jag advertising. Magic is back, in spades.

Morale of the story? Do it.

[GODS951]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

whatever you decide just let me know whenever your ready and ill make sure your all taken care of! it will be a tough move since the e46 is such an awesome car, however you will not be disappointed in a e90M at all!

I should be in contact with you soon (pending my "decision"). I've heard nothing but good things about yourself & your team @ Steve Thomas BMW

Originally Posted by Navin323i

Beautiful colored E46 M3 you have there. I've only seen one Oxford Green M3 locally and it is definitely a rare and beautiful color.

Navin

Thank you! I love the color combo & it's part of the reason why I'm having a tough time letting go of it.

Good luck with your quest for your E92. Question though, any reason why you're not considering an E46 M? Just curious...

Originally Posted by anthony @ eas

Go for it!

Also, your e36 looks really clean.

Thanks! From what ive seen in the forums, You guys @ EAS do great work. Keep it up

Originally Posted by adc

Had an E36 M3 and when my son was born, switched to a E46 ZHP sedan. That was a good move. Nimble in a way current BMW's simply aren't anymore, with much better damping than the E36 and sublime steering. But slow.

Then I went for an E92 335i to try out the twin turbo. Son was bigger by now, could get in/out more or less on his own, so I figured what the heck, let's get a coupe. Wrong move. Huge doors (a problem) but still with poor access, awesome Coral red interior, fast allright, shitty runflats all riding on a mediocre suspension. Nice car, no magic.

Now I'm onto the E90 M3. Space, pace & grace to paraphrase the old Jag advertising. Magic is back, in spades.

Morale of the story? Do it.

Thanks for the input! I may just follow suit and pick up an E90 like yourself soon!

[GOLFFRR]

^^no rush just whenever your ready ill be here to take care of you.

[Chowster]

E90 works really well as a family car. Glad to hear that you also have a SUV family hauler, as I find that we do end up needing more space, especially if there are friends or grandparents involved. Or if Costco's involved in the day's itinerary! Two cars seats in the back, and you're not going to squeeze any form of sizeable human in between.

So for me, my E90 works really well as a second family car. I think lots of people here have an SUV/larger vehicle as their so-called primary family vehicle.

Good luck with the order! And better act fast... won't be long before E90 allocations run out later this year. But there's lots of info regarding this in other threads.

[GODS951]

^^Thanks for your input. My wifes family hauler is a Range Rover Sport SC, which we both love & contrary to some peoples beliefs has been pretty reliable, however it obviously doesn't have the feel that our M cars have to offer.

By any chance, would anyone happen to know exactly when BMW will stop allocating E90 M's to the U.S. market?

[jmflukeiii]

Originally Posted by GODS951

^^Thanks for your input. My wifes family hauler is a Range Rover Sport SC, which we both love & contrary to some peoples beliefs has been pretty reliable, however it obviously doesn't have the feel that our M cars have to offer.

By any chance, would anyone happen to know exactly when BMW will stop allocating E90 M's to the U.S. market?

My other car and daily driver is a RRS Supercharged. I love that car, I think its beautiful, stylish, aggressive and has the performance to back it up. I upgraded the exhaust though as that mighty engine should have a louder sound to it.

I hate to admit it, but I love when little ricers pull up in their super modified integras/civics and other bullshit, revving their engines, and I burn them in a 5800 lb SUV.

[Chowster]

Originally Posted by GODS951

^^Thanks for your input. My wifes family hauler is a Range Rover Sport SC, which we both love & contrary to some peoples beliefs has been pretty reliable, however it obviously doesn't have the feel that our M cars have to offer.

By any chance, would anyone happen to know exactly when BMW will stop allocating E90 M's to the U.S. market?

Still up for debate. Choose your source and order wisely:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...e90+production

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488756