how is it for a daily driver...
is it too high profile to drive to work an leave it in the lot? is it reliable?

i know it the same practicality as my car, just that its newer, faster etc.. but small and two doors.

just wanna hear from people who drive it daily.. thanks guys

I drive mine every day and it goes everywhere. To work, over night at the airport when I have to travel... everywhere.

Most people just think that it is normal BMW 3 series unless they actually know about cars.

My philosophy, it's insured. Why have a nice car if you are always going to be paranoid about something happening to it.

I imagine the vast majority of owners drive the car daily.

I drove my E36 M3 daily until the E46 M3 arrived. Now the E36 is a weekend (one a month) car while the other takes me and a trunk full of photo gear wherever I need to go. :alright

First off, I drive my M daily and love every minute of it. In my opinion those of us lucky enough to have such a car should appreciate every second of it, I mean these are kick ass cars. So just have fun. As far as practical aspects of it, just take care of it and keep up on maintenance you should be fine. Thats just my take on things, maybe I like my car too much..... :D

I drive it every day. No issues.

All day everyday.

All day everyday.

Whoa. How many miles on that beast? :buttrock

I drive mine everyday - although if it involves leaving it in a carpark when I head into the city or its just a quick run to the supermarket etc - ill take another car. Other than that, all the damn time! :redspot

I drive mine every day and it goes everywhere. To work, over night at the airport when I have to travel... everywhere.

Most people just think that it is normal BMW 3 series unless they actually know about cars.

My philosophy, it's insured. Why have a nice car if you are always going to be paranoid about something happening to it.
I will never understand people who are afraid to drive their cars. They shouldn't have bought them in the first place......

I drive mine everyday...
Took delivery of her on may 28th and 2 months later I have 4800 miles.
Luckily not a single issue. And it's a joy to drive daily. :D

i drive mine 24/7 and love the sound that the exhaust makes, what a beautiful car! both inside and outside!

thought you might want to think twice when you park. i usually do not park places too far away from where i am and i usualy park with a crowd of cars instead of just me out alone.

M3 is your best bet for a daily driver though!

Everyday. More expensive to maintain than most cars, but it has been very reliable.

I drive mine everyday unless its in the shop, which is where it likes to be. After having it for a year and about 3 months downtime due to it being in the dealer I managed about 17000 miles. I have learned that if you park it in the back of the parking lot know one will have the balls to go out into the open to mess with it and you wont get dings from doors or shopping carts. Plus most lots are taped now and days so if anything you can almost always find out who did it.

All day everyday here too... for the past 3 years almost.

I daily drive the M but not for much longer....I just dont see the fun anymore driving to work in the morning traffic to let it sit in a lot all day till 5, then drive back home in traffic. Im only about 8 miles from work so its not really worth it. Picking up the 94 325I 4 door beater next month and that will be used for work...

But once I get home from work and loose the tie, its on ! :evil2

Plus im about to hit 30K so I want to keep the miles low. :cool

drive mine everyday...but the miles is starting to add up. Looking for a beater for the drive to and from work.

I drove my M everyday for 8 months. But, now I put 70 miles daily to and from work and it eats me to waste that mileage on the M. I bought daily driver and get to keep the mileage down on it. I would probably drive it daily if work were closer.

daily driver here...no problems whatsoever....actually its pretty rewarding driving it everyday.

daily driver here...no problems whatsoever....actually its pretty rewarding driving it everyday.
Yeah, I love driving it home after a long boring day at work, it really makes my mood that much better. I love it so much, I can't help but drive it. So now I have a Jeep for some DD duty and these horrible winters. All in all, it is a perfect everyday car.

I drive mine alot but i hate parking lots.. It's all fun and games until you get a couple door dings :mad

I drive mine alot but i hate parking lots.. It's all fun and games until you get a couple door dings :mad

hahaha parking lots are the worst place ever...esspecially ones with no shade.

My wife drives hers daily. Like said earlier, no one really knows what it is unless they're into cars. It's not really that high of a profile car. You should try driving my Evo, that's high profile. Crayola blue with a big wing, hard to miss that thing.

Drive mine every day about 50 miles a day. It has to be one of the most comfortable cars to drive. Sadly i use up to much gas and i don't want to add that many more miles to the car. Gonna start taking the train to work soon.

Mine isnt a daily driver and this is why.....

1) Sometimes I hit traffic and I hate the stop and go with a 6spd.
2) I want to keep the miles low for resale, as an already depriciating asset I want to get the most out of it when I sell it.
3) I want to keep the car in the best shape, and Ive noticed from daily driving other cars that it takes a toll on the whole car driving everyday.
4) My other car is a 94 Pontiac Bonneville and believe it or not its nice to drive a car you dont give a f*** abou.
5) I have more reasons, but those are my main ones.......

I drive it everyday. Traffic or not, I get to drive an M3! (In case you're wondering, the commute is about 21 miles to work) :buttrock

10,300 miles in 2 months. yes, its my daily driver.. hahahahahaha
If you bought an M to be driveway jewelry, you should be shot.
Its a car that's there to be DRIVEN. Its the new car fever, i drove that bad boy every chance i get! Its comfortable, fast, handles well.. why not?

10,300 miles in 2 months. yes, its my daily driver.. hahahahahaha
If you bought an M to be driveway jewelry, you should be shot.
Its a car that's there to be DRIVEN. Its the new car fever, i drove that bad boy every chance i get! Its comfortable, fast, handles well.. why not?


So are all of you daily driver guys going to drive the car in snow/inclement weather?

My M3 and S4 are summer cars, I have a Wrangler which gets driven in the winter. I take the S4 if I've got a few passengers with me, but as a single guy I could get away with only a Wrangler/M3 combination. Unfortunately the climate that I live in doesn't permit year round driving of the Audi or BMW.

My M3 and S4 are summer cars, I have a Wrangler which gets driven in the winter. I take the S4 if I've got a few passengers with me, but as a single guy I could get away with only a Wrangler/M3 combination. Unfortunately the climate that I live in doesn't permit year round driving of the Audi or BMW.
I used to drive the M last winter. I got a set of 17s w/snow tires, and I was fine in reasonable amounts of snow. Now, I am putting too many miles on it and I screwed myself because I plan to keep this car up until at least 90-100K. I then decided I needed another car for DD and winter duty, so I started looking for Wranglers. I must say the Wrangler is a pretty sweet everday car (sans gas mileage), and I love it. I have noticed a lot lately that many M owners have Jeeps also.

I used to drive the M last winter. I got a set of 17s w/snow tires, and I was fine in reasonable amounts of snow. Now, I am putting too many miles on it and I screwed myself because I plan to keep this car up until at least 90-100K. I then decided I needed another car for DD and winter duty, so I started looking for Wranglers. I must say the Wrangler is a pretty sweet everday car (sans gas mileage), and I love it. I have noticed a lot lately that many M owners have Jeeps also.

Yeah, I drove the S4 for a winter and it drove wonderfully with Dunlop M2's, but never have the M3. At the time I was more concerned about keeping salt off the car so I chose to go for a Wrangler. I wasn't aware though that they were putting 6MT in Wranglers now? I found a great deal on mine through a friend at a dealership. It's definitely a very different car from the BMW, though, which is what I personally think makes it so much fun. In addition, it's nice to have a car that I can "throw around," so to speak, without really caring about scratches, etc.

Yeah, I drove the S4 for a winter and it drove wonderfully with Dunlop M2's, but never have the M3. At the time I was more concerned about keeping salt off the car so I chose to go for a Wrangler. I wasn't aware though that they were putting 6MT in Wranglers now? I found a great deal on mine through a friend at a dealership. It's definitely a very different car from the BMW, though, which is what I personally think makes it so much fun. In addition, it's nice to have a car that I can "throw around," so to speak, without really caring about scratches, etc.
Yeah, for 05 they put the 6th gear in. I am sure this tranny is great for wheeling since first is so damn short it's almost useless, but I think I would have been better off getting a five speed. It is nice having something that I am not too anal about like the M. I can now park somewhat close to stores and such with the Jeep, but not too close, as I am still trying to keep the thing in mint condition for some reason. I love the fact that I can take the doors/top off and truly make it more fun to drive around than the M. Ok not really, but it is amazing doorless.

So are all of you daily driver guys going to drive the car in snow/inclement weather?

I'm about to find out what that's gonna be like at the end of the year. I hear bad things but my commmute to the office isn't TOOO far.... I'm hoping that in the winter with some good winter tires, they hold up ok. I was thinking about picking up a set of actual CSL 19's for the summer and using the OEM 18's as winter wheels... I'm not sure how the car would be in the winter, especially here in MD where last year there were a few bad snow storms.

The M3 used to be my daily driver but I have since swapped the Porsche with the M3 and now it's more of the grocery getter. I used the Porsche about 5 of 7 days a week and let the M3 come out when she's dirty.... :D

-Eli

I drive it everyday. Turning that key from the ignition and listen to the engine starts is all the caffeine I need to wake myself up in the morning.
However I do try to avoid tight parking lots and always look for better cars to park beside with. I don't think M3 is that much of a high-profile car, Also I don't have snow issue as I live in southern california. I live by Newport Beach, having a M3 is really just the minimum requirement to be "ballin' n rollin" in this hood. I can see atleast 3-5 E46 M3 everyday with different colors and modifications, sometimes I wonder if Irvine is the capitol of M3. Anyway, Like all said, this car is meant to be driven. So drive it! life is too short to waste!

CheeRs

Everyday, everywhere, all year round... in the city... parking lots, garages... even in the snow!!!!

I just love it to much to drive anything else. =P

So are all of you daily driver guys going to drive the car in snow/inclement weather?

Phoenix, Arizona baby! No snow out here. Of course, no track events in the summer either because it is so hot!

Daily driver for me as well. As an IT consulatant I drive all over south florida, I do on an average of 3 hours or so drivin a day (on weekdays) and with this car I wouldn't have it any other way. I bought this car with the volume of driving I do in mind, and in hindsight, I made a great decision :)