Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
There’s something about Alpine White on a BMW that looks just right. This M3 Coupe for sale in California sent to us from a reader of ours, Jeff, is super clean and has covered just over 63,000 miles. Short of the ultra-rare lightweight, this one is close to E36 M3 perfection.
There are some days that I really wish I had a BMW rather than an Audi, and a large part of that comes down to some of the cool items that you can easily get. Granted, I don’t like having what everyone else does – but that’s what’s nice about the mix and match OEM M-Tech pieces; you can customize your vehicle easily and without breaking the bank. Here’s a selection of M-Tech pieces I found this week on EBay:
Tuner cars can be a scary proposition, with trails of work of unknown quality hiding in places you may not be able to see. At the same time, the lack of originality often drives the price down, meaning you could pick up a lot of fun for reasonable money. I’ve always loved the E36 sedan, and today’s example corrects the E36 M3’s most common complaint of lack of power. Someone put some serious miles on this car, and that leaves even more question marks. More investigation is need, as in “what’s a 90s interior look like after that mileage?” and “what does the E36 suspension look like after 100k miles of burnouts?” But maybe you don’t care, and seeing a 300+whp M3 sedan for the price of average E36 M3s is an open door for the next owner to continue exploring the badass sedan life.
Well, I hope this will stir some interest, as I think this is a bit of an interesting comparison. What level of performance can you buy for $10,000 (give or take) these days? Surprisingly, there are a lot of options – and those options vary pretty seriously in their execution and packages; there’s a wagon and a sports car, two sedan-based coupes and a hatchback. Engines range from a 2 liter turbo to a V8, with a bit of everything in between. Yet, what appears to be a very strange comparison linked only by price is revealed to be much closer when you look at performance figures:
E36 M3: 240 hp, 0-60 6.0 seconds, 3,200 lbs
944 Turbo: 220 hp, 0-60 5.9 seconds, 2,900 lbs
CLK500: 302 hp, 0-60 5.7 seconds, 3,800 lbs
S4 Avant: 250 hp, 0-60 5.6 seconds, 3,700 lbs
GTi: 200 hp, 0-60 6.6 seconds, 3,200 lbs
The range is much closer than you’d expect – especially when you consider that these figures could easily be equaled in margin of error, driver skill and reaction time. In the twisties, the lower powered cars like the GTi catch up to the higher power CLK and S4. All are, in one way or another, practical choices. Some are destined (or already) classics, while others will likely fade away. So what would be your choice? Let’s start with an M3 we’ve already seen:
There are plenty of people that think that the E36 M3 came to the U.S. in neutered form, but if you drive one you’ll realize that they’re pretty capable cars right out of the box. But BMW knew that the M3 would be hitting the track, and right out of the box they offered a more track-focused version. Stripped down and with extra aerodynamic equipment, the Lightweight was an instant hit with club racers and track addicts, but many enthusiasts still felt that they deserved the full-fat M3. However, if the recent trends with the E30 have taught us anything, it’s that even the less-special versions of the special cars will still command stronger money, and the Lightweight is certainly one of the more special E36 cars. Details like the moveable splitter and stackable rear wing, along with those great Motorsport-colored flags and forged wheels; I’ve loved this car since the first time I saw one pop up at the track in late 95: