Im in the market for a fun to drive, rwd or awd, semi-lux, manual car. I have kinda narrowed down some choices to E36 M3,350Z,G35, A4 1.8T, and E46 325 or 330 coupe or sedan. For the most part those are the only ones I can see my self driving and being able to afford. PLease lend me some advice as far as realiability, mod-ability, and and experience with these cars. Im looking to replace my 01 CL-s with something that I can have fun modding and and that is a blast to drive.

 

Why not an 03 S2k?

 

yea thats what i would get, but my dad just picked up an 02 silver/red 8k miles like a month ago, and I can drive that whenever, but im looking for something new for myself

 

1 vote for the z

 

Test drove a Z yesterday and I was seriously unimpressed.

 

Oh and your PM box was full, which is why i couldnt pm you back

1. e36 m3
2. 330
3. A4
4. 325
5. g35
6.... meh

 

G35 COUPE

sedan sucks

 

Yea sorry about that I just cleared it out a couple days ago, Do you think I will run into too many problems with an older BMW? Like would I be better getting a newer nissan or Infiniti or audi(despite some realiabilty problems I have heard about)?

 

You had me at M3

 

I havent heard of too much going wrong with the e36 m3. Control arms might need replacing and gotta watch the rear subframe on higher mileage ones. You can get a low mileage one for 25k easy now.

 

m3 m3 m3 m3 m3

 

Out of those choices it would be G35C or Z. BTW how about a '01-02 Z06, you can find them for a little under $30K if you look hard enough. Z06 are a BLAST to drive and are cheaper to mod and gain much more power with ease then all of those cars you listed.

 

Thanks for the suggestion on the Z06 but i dont know how practical it would be to drive that car 3-5 days a week depending on weather, what you think?

 

If you want something practical, I'd take the 350Z out of the equation right away.

I'd probably pick a 330Ci over a an E36 M3. They are almost equal in acceleration, but the E46 looks better and if you're buying a used one, chances are noone was beating the crap out of it.

 

Loved it till I test drove it

 

The Z06 has stability and traction control, but I don't know how effective it will be on the snow cause of the very wide tires. But as far as practicality unless you need space for more then one passenger they're very comfy for a daily driver. And gas mileage is pretty good too for such a powerful car.

 

How about a Lexus SC300 ?? It's not that fun stock but if you mod it (re: mod-ability), I'm certain it'll have some fun potential .

 

350Z coupe

 

Yea i dunno so far its either 350Z or E36, What do you think about EVO's? Can you daily drive those and hows mitsu's realibilty?

 

What didnt you like about the Z's after you drove them?

 

i'd go M3 or G35

 

Two seats, cheap interior, my 4 door sedan felt faster, clutch/shifting sucked. It was the exact opposite of practical. Only thing I liked about it was the short shifter.

 

hmmm thats no good, have you driven the G35, you think thats the same way the clutch/shifting will be in that?

 

EVO's are good only for the handling/performance aspect and mod potential. But the interior in those cars are down right depressing. If you're going that route I'd go for the STI. Has more low-end grunt then the EVO and the interior is much nicer then the EVO's.

Oh yea, another good option would be a GTO. Has 400HP, a back seat, and a pretty nice interior and you can get them for around ~$30K new.

 

Haven't driven it so I couldn't tell. I just expected more performance from the 350Z.

 

I agree with the GTO part.