congrats on the new car.... and life is full of 'should have' and 'could have' stories.
I let my 2002 go after 28 years of ownership. Do I regret it? Sometimes (when I get nostalgic)... but not when I actually put my brain to work . lol.

Who knows, you may end up with another E30 M3... You just might. :)

Looks great!

Love your past stable. Enjoy the lastest!!

We are all still kicking ourselves for letting that E30 M3 get away. :)

I console myself with the fact that I'd almost certainly have ruined it if I'd bought it.

:lol:

I recently dug out an A/C bracket from that car and looked it up out of curiosity. Apparently it lists for $350 new these days. And mine says "Made in W. Germany" on it somewhere, so it's probably worth at least twice as much.

If I ever find myself in a place of true financial excess, I intend to find another E30 M3. I fear, however, that they'll appreciate disproportionately to my income, and by the time I can actually buy one, there will be some kind of "non automatic driving," non-electric tax on it. And it'll need a new A/C bracket.

so has anyone driven a stock e30 m3 semi-recently and if so does it live up the hype?

I guessing dynamics wise yes but engine leaves things a bit wanting. Obviously I am not expect modern level performance but something reasonable.

Even years ago when I drove blee's car the engine was the weak link by modern standards; compared to then-contemporary cars like the E36 M3 it felt really peaky and low on torque.

I'm not knocking the experience. It's a hell of a lot of fun. But compared to modern engines (esp with turbos and VANOS), it's going to feel like a lot of work for (relatively) little thrust.

Funny, I had pretty much the same thoughts (down to the Bush part) as I was driving back from Raleigh.

I will say that as far as daily drivers go, the E46 M3 is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's quite tractable and calm around town, but no one will convince me that a GTI or Civic wouldn't be better. It's also a 13.5-year-old car now, which is seriously great, but also old. I've chuckled more than once as I re-learned to hold the turn signal to change lanes, to keep the ignition turned until the engine turns over, and so on. And yes, my years of truck driving have truly dulled my car-driving abilities -- I'm pretty clumsy behind the wheel, and I'm only just starting to pay closer attention to things like potholes and non-flat approach angles.

Everything's forgiven when I hit the on-ramp and let the (warmed-up) engine sing to redline. My E36 was good, my E30 was much better, and this E46 magnifies that experience so nicely. It's a throwback to old-school performance tech, a nod to current-gen comfort, and an example of classic German charm.

...Plus, it's Jet Fockin' Black.

Yeah. That was true in the '80s and it's more true today. IIRC, the S14 had more *peak* HP and torque than any other E30 offering in the US, but you wouldn't know it at low RPM. It was peaky and you had to get it past 4000 to really get going. People have conjectured that the driving experience is what led to sluggish sales. Some of those cars sat on lots for months...I can't even begin to imagine.

The first time I drove one, I had had my E36 for a while, and I was pretty bored as we made our way out of the neighborhood. It wasn't until I could unwind the engine that I understood why the car was so awesome. Track and autocross drivers talk about "momentum driving" with that car because it won't win many drag races, but it's a joy at the limits.