It looks like i might have to get rid of the m3, and id probably get rid of the jetta at the same time. then buy an e36 m3 sedan.....

anyone go from e36 to e46? can anyone help me differentiate the two, besides the obvious difference; things like handeling, driveability, maitenience.

any feedback would be much appericated

I went from a modded 95 M3 to a stock E46 M3, totally different beast in all aspects/areas

i realize that, but it seems like i dont really have a choice but to sell the m3...

as both my father and i are in the car together, and im still paying it out, AND he wants a new car, so im kinda stuck, and i thought a e36 m3 would be the best next thing. that i could afford.

Oh don't get me wrong, E36 is a very nice car, fast and handles very good even on stock suspension.

i went from e36 to e46 and back to e36 again.

loved them all, and for many different reasons.


yes, the E46 is a faster car, "out of the box", it's more refined, and definitely impresses onlookers a bit more, BUT, the E36 M3, bone stock, will outhandle the e46 any day of the week.

the e46 has the awesome individual throttle bodies, that are pretty much the coolest thing BMW has done in years on an american market car.

the e36 is much lighter, and can be tossed around like a go-cart. and, when you crash it into stuff, it's way cheaper to fix.


the e46 has the sickass dual exhaust setup.

the e36 is really cheap to make insanely fast, as compared to e46.



i dunno.. i bailed on my last e36 M3 and dropped an S52 into an E30, for something thats every bit as fast as an E46 M3, and costs pennies to maintain.

they're all awesome cars.. you really cant go wrong.

yes, the E46 is a faster car, "out of the box", it's more refined, and definitely impresses onlookers a bit more, BUT, the E36 M3, bone stock, will outhandle the e46 any day of the week.

Says you.

hey thanks a lot to everyone who has replied.

any more info would be hugly appericated. its gonna be sad to leave the e46 m3; none of us on my end want to. but, money is money.

thanks again. (anyone else have anything to add????)

what you gonna ask for your M3?

i dont know yet, the goal is not to loose 15k on the car......but the way some people are selling their m3's now, we might have to. now, there are alot of clean m3's out there, ours is clean aswell, detailed by myself and my dad every freaking saturday......never again will i get a black car. they are dead sexy, more so than carbon black, yes i said it, but i cant spend that much time obsessing over it...yet.

thanks guys, any more thoughts?

I've owned both... although the E46 is better in every way (IMHO), I would still love to have my E36 back (parked next to the E46 ;) ). There's something raw about the E36. It's lighter on it's feet and, although on paper, it says 240hp...it feels like a lot more.
If it were not for my company car, I would be driving a E36 M3 sedan as a DD. They are getting tougher and tougher to find in good, unmolested condtion.

I've owned both... although the E46 is better in every way (IMHO), I would still love to have my E36 back (parked next to the E46 ;) ). There's something raw about the E36. It's lighter on it's feet and, although on paper, it says 240hp...it feels like a lot more.
If it were not for my company car, I would be driving a E36 M3 sedan as a DD. They are getting tougher and tougher to find in good, unmolested condtion.


yep... just sold my 98 sedan w 64k on the clock, bone stock.

and yes, the e36 is way more "raw", and more of a "driver's car"

i've owned both, and yes, i prefered the e46, most days... BUT, on the days when i found myself on back country roads with tight turns and swooping hills, i wished i was driving the e36.

there was about 4 months overlap where i owned a 98 and an 01 (the carefree days before kids. ahh.. i remember it well!), and i can honestly say that the e36 got way more road time than it's successor.

thanks for all the replies. ive really enjoied being apart of the vw and bmw crowd. it is a shame to let the jetta go, i love the car dearly, but i realllly want a rear drive car...and an LSD only makes for more fun....hehe, so the m3 seems like the most logical choice,

it pretty much boils down to
R32
S60R
M3/4

all three of them are in my dream garage, and i love all of them.

again, thanks for all the replies! and keep them comming if you havent replied and have anything to offer/say!!!!

again, thanks for all the replies! and keep them comming if you havent replied and have anything to offer/say!!!!


To those that have driven (or even ridden) in both, which has the more comfortable seats? I'll have some long distance drives ahead of me, so comfortable seats would be a bonus.

E46 has more comfortable seats

E36 interiors are so trouble prone compared to E46's, you'll be sorry for the change. As for the fun for buck factor, they are about the same. They can both be modified to go fast, they both can handle winding roads and curves other cars would be scared stiff. The E 46 is a more civilized version. Tuners need to catch up to,the technology of the E 46 newer engine. We've gotten spoiled by the ease with which OBD-1 E36's could be modified. The same does not apply to E46's. However, in the hands of "knowledgeable" hands, it will give you as much power as you can sk it to for the same effort and price as the E 36. It's called evolution. Don't compare a 320i with an E 36. In a couple of years we will be saying the same of the E46 as compared to the yet new E 92.

If you do happen to sell your e46...you should definitely let me know. I absolutely love these cars in black.

Sorry I don't have much more to contribute than that...don't have anything as a reference.

If you do happen to sell your e46...you should definitely let me know. I absolutely love these cars in black.

Sorry I don't have much more to contribute than that...don't have anything as a reference.



i just happen to have a black e46 for sale.....lol