Thanks! The rear piece is actually an entire trunk. It's a V-CSL trunk (CSL style made by Vorsteiner).

Here are some side/behind shots that show it a little better




The polished wheels are just temporary. They are actually Zoeb's set that I've been wanting to put on the car for awhile. I tend to swap out wheels every other week or so hehe We actually have a new wheel coming out very soon that will be on the car for SEMA. The first set will be made in Satin Black and will be on my ride in the next month are so. I can't wait to have an all black wheel back on the car It will look very similar to this wheel

 

Nice, i wish i had alpine white!!

 

eugenile - i am a firm believer in "enthusiest" cars. in other words, a person who KNOWS how to drive and take care of a car generally has less issues than the opposite. my belief is there are few of us out there, and the majority of people dont have a clue how their car even works. hence the issues people have with the SDG, they just dont get how it works, so they dont know hot to take care or drive with it. and lets be honest, we are NOT in 1985 anymore. cars go 200k miles properly maintained.

danavon- nice freakin ride dude.....i LOVE the white ones, and agree black wheels look better . and thanks for the subi-guy perspective. it is exactly what i am looking for. i too LOVE the power and awd handling of the suby, BUT in order to REally get an sti to handle like i want, it requires 550lbs springs and co's. not fun for daily driving (although very tolerable). the sti is awesome, but i am getting older, and am very in love with the e46 chassis.

daniel - i am not concerned with space. my kid is big enough to fit in the front seat (8 yo mutant child that i have), and i so rarely take more than 1 other person with my anywhere in it. and the 1 series seems VERY cool, but WAY outta my price range.

and as far as audi's, i love them, but they are TOTAL pigs when it comes to handling and cornering. super fun, nice cars that certainly have the german car "feel", but i constantly need to remind myself they are nose heavy.

a few issues i see right away...

1. no awd = it snows alot here in truckee, so traction is an issue. i might think about a beater truck to drive on crappy days in the winter if i can swing this. but german cars traditionally do well in the snow, regardless of awd or 2wd.

2. cost of parts and repairs i cant do myself= seems daunting when i can do pretty much anything on my sti.

the price on these things seems to be plummeting, hence why i am even looking at all. we will see...

and thanks for all the perspectives. its why i hang out here

josh

 

One other thing to consider if you plan on doing your own maintenance is that they're definitely not as wrench friendly as Subarus. A lot of jobs that are fairly straightforward on Subarus are much more difficult/time consuming on the e46, and bimmers in general.

-Brian

 

Really? What's your experience with an N54? You have one? They had the issue with the oil cooler, but that was fixed with a TSB. I have one, 2+ years, 30K miles over all sorts of different driving conditions with zero problems. So obviously you know what you are talking about.

 

https://www.i-club.com/forums/norcal-classifieds-96/fs-2003-bmw-m3-convertible-222645/

 

convertable...to flexy :P

josh

 

Really? What's your experience with an E46 M3? You have one? They had the issue with the subframe, but that was fixed with a TSB. I have one, 3+ years, 40K miles over all sorts of different driving conditions with zero problems.

 

I had a friend who had one, and yes it was expensive to run. Nothing broke, but everytime it was in the shop it cost him at least $500 to get it back. So I never said anything about reliability, just that it was an expensive car to maintain. Plus, it is well known that tuning an M3 is not easy or cheap. The engine is just about maxed out in N/A form and adding forced induction is expensive and seriously decreses the reliability of the car. Beforew I got my 1 I looked into getting an E46 M3 and decided buying a 1 would be a much cheaper way to go.

 

04+ e46 m3 ftw

 

I work at a BMW dealership in the bay area and I can give you quite a few opinions of the car that I have accumulated working for the dealership

Do not get an e46 m3 with a SMG transmission. The SMG on e46 m3s is horrible takes a while for the clutch to grab. Impossible to parallel park smoothly and without looking like you do not know how to drive. Also maintenance costs on an smg equipped m3 are quite high. If the SMG pump goes out lots of money to fix. 6 speed manual is quite bulletproof, definitely a must with this car. M3 what it really means is maintenance x3. No joke this car is expensive to service and maintain. Call a dealership and ask how much an Inspection II service costs, just the valve adjustment alone is about 2/3rds of the cost and it is not a pretty number.

Aftermarket parts are plentiful and of quality, but they cost a lot of money and to get another 100 hp out of your m3 will cost a decent chunk of money.

The car it self is extremely fun to drive but off the line a STi will rape it but once you get 65mph+ the power band on the m3 will decimate the Subaru. Good amount of low end torque but 4k plus on the tach will bring the same amount of joy full boost on a STi would.

Quality of the interior is excellent but BMW used and still uses this lousy plasti dip kinda coating on and plastic on the inside of the car that peels off easily. If you get a used car owned by a women with long finger nails there will be pealing plastic on every switch and teh plastic around it that the driver would regularly touch. The built in nav/radio screen some m3s came equipped with is pretty decent but outdated to say the least. In my opinion better then first gen i-drive that plagued early model e90s.

BMW did a very good job on painting the e46 m3 any year. I haven't seen any with clear coat problems.

Very cool thing on the e46 m3 is the sport button that comes standard on all of them. When you turn it on throttle response becomes super touchy and sensitive a must for any aggressive driving/rev matching.

A very desiarable model/option combo that I would try to get is the M3 Competition Package (ZCP) A few creature comforts are removed ie. cruise control, steering wheel radio control and sunroof are removed for more performance oriented things like steering wheel mounted Driver stability control, sportier springs, different steering rack, alcantara steering wheel and hand brake, unique interior trim, drilled rotors and the best part the 19 inch BBS CSL spin forged rims: banana:

Overall when getting this car the quality, comfort and fun this car will produce will be dependent on the previous owner/s. If the owner was a car nut, took care of the exterior and interior and performed all maintenance all on time the care will more then likely be good, good looking and not cause you problems. If the car was just someones daily driver or they didn't take very good care of it, the car will more then likely be a pos with rattles up the *** scratches all over the exterior and an interior with 1/3 of it peeling and an engine and cornucopia of modules that throw codes every month.

Do not I repeat do not get a twin turbo 335i. 2007-2009 I believe. It is garbage everything from the turbos and wastegates to teh tuning and fuel delivery system. I have seen cars that need new high pressure fuel pumps every oil change. Just stay away from the e90 335i or get the twinscroll mono turbo or as BMW so cleverly named TwinPower turbo 335i. BMW just released a very sexy 335is coupe model, expensive but nice.

E90/2 m3 whole other story long story short bulletproof. All they come in for at the dealership is for basic service and lube. BMW made a solid m3 this generation and I believe it will be the last NA m3 BMW will ever make. Best of all the sedan model is back. If you have the extra money just get this one you will not be disappointed. I think there is a white sedan and my work for 45-50k with like 1500 miles on it and a couple other used ones.

Hope this post helps you come to a decision or at least give you a general idea of what to expect. Let me know if you have any other questions about the car.

On another note I would love to put the m3 s54 engine in my 1990 BMW 325is but too much money. I will probably go with the previous generation m3 the e36 s50 instead. On your search for m3s let me know if you see any parts cars please thanks.

 

dont know if this contributes but my 91 m5 was a money pit. just saying

 

Yeah most out of warranty bimmers are, I'm lucky working at a BMW dealership maintaining my 1990 325is and 1969 2002 is relatively cheap with my parts discount and any special tools I may need for service work are at my disposal. I am lucky my work lets me use a lift when ever I want.