[cjm41]

Personally, I believe if you have to ask, you may want to lean towards the 235i. Both are great cars, I don't need to tell you that... but I kind of think the M3 comes with a lot a quirks and expensive maintenance costs, which you need to be religious about or risk doing 5-figure damage to a car only a handful of shops will touch. You really have to love the car to stomach some of the tedium that comes with ownership.

If you're not a die-hard enthusiast, you're just buying a ridiculously-priced decade-old BMW.

If you are a die-hard enthusiast you're buying the single-best used sports car on the market for under $50k, as well as buying into an important piece of motorsport history, and possibly (hopefully) a near-future collectible automobile.

Here's hoping you get the E9x M3, it has my recommendation, but I'd be a bit apprehensive to tell you to get it if you're even considering something more practical.