View Poll Results: What do you think my dad should consider?

Voters
49. You may not vote on this poll
  • Getting an M3

    3 6.12%
  • Less capable cars

    43 87.76%
  • Getting an M3, but being very strict about how I use it

    3 6.12%
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Thread: M3 lover with a skeptical dad! HELP :(

  1. #26
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Alabama
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    1995 M3 Coupe
    You'll shoot your eye out kid...
    1995 M3...Screwed

  2. #27
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    You can wrap any car around a tree, but the more powerful the car is the quicker you find yourself in bad situations. You don't get pulled over for doing 80 in a 45, you get pulled over for doing 110. They don't just have a closed casket for you, they have one for everyone else in the car. And that other car you hit that might've been fine if you were doing the speed limit, now the family has to cope without a daughter and grandchildren.

    I hear heroin is coming back.
    Not so much a signature as a cry for help.

    Hold on, saw this in a cartoon once...think I can pull it off.

  3. #28
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    Jul 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by gbreeE90 View Post
    No its not.
    Quote Originally Posted by e39hamann View Post
    An e36 m3 isn't a high powered car...
    +1111111111111111.

  4. #29
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    Jul 2012
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    Mission Viejo
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    98' M3
    m3 for your first car? what will you be driving for your third car? a porsche? BMW are nice cars in general and you should be glad that you can actually have a "fun" car for your first car.... before youre rear wheel drive responsible, I would stay with a lower torque car such as a regular E36..

    Also, even tho M3s are not "fast" cars like everyone says here (i think its fast and nicely balanced), however, it is a precise high performance machine, itd not be a good choice to practice your driving on...

    Get a beater car, get better at driving and working on cars... few years later.... M3!!

    ps: my first car was a beater corolla...

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
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    USA
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    1997 BMW M3 Sedan
    Lol I'm not into drugs or that kind of stuff(Don't worry ik that was a joke) , but thanks for the advice

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Richmond, Virginia
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    '88 735i, '06 RSX
    When I was 15, the only car I wanted was an E24 M6 (I still want that car). I learned on a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan (with no functional A/C, stereo, or windows) for a year and a half, and I ended up splitting the cost of a E46 325i (with my parents), and I can happily say, it was perfect for me. It doesn't have crazy power, but it definitely has enough to have some fun in. Learn how to drive, have fun with it, and when you're ready, step up to performance. Its what I intend to do! I can happily say (knock on wood) I have had absolutely zero incidents with police and zero accidents (20 years old now).
    Last edited by youngbimmer; 11-07-2013 at 08:02 PM.

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    Bay Area
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    E36 M3, W204 C63, etc et
    Quote Originally Posted by Jab31169 View Post
    You'll shoot your eye out kid...
    Love the christmas story quote.

    Btw drove an e30 318 learning to drove stick when I was 16, crashed. I shoulda started with an auto my first time. Started with a sentra se-r. Great first car with all the nismo additions I made.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Mebane, NC
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    112
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    1987 325is
    My brother is 23, and he owned a 99 M3 for a few months. He drove very responsibly, but after seeing the back tires worn thin (partially from the previous owner, partially by me...) he swore he was going to get new tires that weekend. That friday it rained hard for a good bit and he had to drive to a jobsite to do some engineering work. He called me 5 minutes later telling me he was in a bad accident. Indeed he was. Somehow he was unhurt, but the car was completely and totally destroyed. He hydroplaned and spun around, hitting the wall at nearly 50 miles an hour, flipping the car onto its side. Somehow I still have a brother after that collapsed roof and flipped car. I am grateful for that. He was so happy to be alive for the first day afterwards, then after a while he started feeling terrible that he had taken a M3 off of the road for good. Granted its not a Ferrari F599GTO or something similar, its still an awesome car. I am 20, and before it crashed, he let me borrow the car when he was out of town for a week. In that week I only got on the gas heavily once, and it scared the absolute crap out of me. I know how i drove at 16, and If I would have had a car like this, I would be 6 feet deep by now. I grew up a bit, and learned to respect and understand that which I can't fully control, and after seeing my brothers accident, i respect the power of a semi fast automobile (and learned not to ride on bald tires!) The car is very safe, but I promise you, if you get a car like this as a first, it might ruin you. At 14 i also didnt have the mechanical ability to fix a car like an M3, and I think few people do. My views are that you really shouldnt get a car like this at first. Its expensive to maintain correctly, just not a good first car. Awesome though. My main thing is that its too fast. I know that i topped out my first dodge intrepid at 120 one night on the highway, and if I wouldnt have gotten a ticket for 14 over, i might be dead from my speed craziness. Be careful. It only takes a fraction of a second to die. try to limit yourself to things that might cause it. I know you might say you'll drive it responsibly, but you wont. That gas pedal will get good to you, until it gets you. I apologize for the long post. Here is the album of pictures from my brothers car if you're interested. Parting it out now. http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/Po...20M3%20partout

  9. #34
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    Aug 2012
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    '87 e24
    M3 is a great 1st car if you are responsible enough to handle it.
    Brand new 1995 M3 was my 1st car. Delivered before I even turned 16 so I learned how to drive a 5speed.
    You will always remember your 1st car, might as well make it something cool.

    At the time, my friends had 240sx's, corollas and civics.....cars were always in accidents. Be responsible and test your limits on a track/course.
    Last edited by Eemueekmu; 11-08-2013 at 01:20 AM.

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Alabama
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    1995 M3 Coupe
    Get a beater for your first car. You'll do some stupid shit when you're young, it never fails. Get it all out of your system.
    1995 M3...Screwed

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Eastern Canada
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    2016 Rubicon
    Do you like E30s? Buy one, fix what needs fixing, learn how to work on cars, and drive it with a whopping 170hp. Once you get tired of that either swap the engine, turbo, or buy a new car.

    That's the way I'm going about it (19 now), no accidents yet lol but it really depends on you and your driving style.

  12. #37
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    Jun 2013
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    Edmonton, AB, Canada
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    2016 BMW M4 Cabriolet
    I got a328 for my first car. It was great ! Enough power and drivability for a new driver.


    2008 335i Cabriolet, Special Edition, 6-speed

  13. #38
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    Jan 2013
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    Texas
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    ///M Roadster
    I second buying an E30 and learning to wrench on it first. They're cheap, fun, easy to fix, and not as easy to crash.
    Cyrus Mistry

  14. #39
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
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    Rockville MD
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    2004 BMW M3
    Quote Originally Posted by slocar View Post
    Exactly. Any car that will sprint to 60 in under 6 seconds and see the other side of 150 mph is too much for a new driver.

    Can it be driven sensibly and in a way that wouldn't be dangerous? Yes it can, thousands of them do. A 16 year old driver is not someone who will treat it with respect ... at 16, everyone thinks they're invincible, the world's best driver and everything else ... when you add in a car full of friends it only gets worse.

    Unless you're putting in a 6 speed or a longer rear end an e36 m3 will never see 150mph+. Redline in 5th gear with a 3.15 is pretty much right there at 150

  15. #40
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    Aug 2012
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    '87 e24
    Some people can handle the speed and power responsibly at 16 and some can't.
    m3, 993 c4s, 928 s4....cars I had when 16-18.
    i got a speeding ticket in my rent-a-car dodge neon....
    It's not the car, it's the person.

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    Kansas City, Missouri
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    89 750iL | 91 325iX
    E36 M3 has to much power for an inexperienced driver unless the kid is a seasoned kart racer or dirt track racer or something

    Get a 318, learns some driving skills, go to a track day upgrade later or do an s50 swap

    I have yet to meet a responsible 15 year old with a performance car. Have seen/ heard way to many stories of people wrapping their car around a tree and killing 5 other people because race car

  17. #42
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    2003 Cobra, R1, GSXR
    Quote Originally Posted by MaddmattH
    A high powered RWD car is a real bad choice for a new driver.

    I wouldn't call an e36 m3 a high powered car. A fun car, yes. High powered..? No.

    Sent from my iPhone using BF.com
    Quote Originally Posted by Bianca98 View Post
    Is this one of those moments when you were like, "ALRIGHT! my part came." half way through install, "WTF, this wont work!"
    Quote Originally Posted by Hellrotten View Post
    Next time you need to fuel up, just go inside, and say "Bimmer...pump 8" and walk out. trust me on this one.
    Quote Originally Posted by slocar View Post
    So you're basically saying they're a very exciting product?

    I'll take anything that can spice up the daily commute, even if it's the front left suspension unit shooting across 3 lanes of traffic one way, as I go across 3 lanes of traffic the other way.

  18. #43
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    Aug 2009
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    06 speed6
    I wanted my first car to be a E36 M3 and I'm glad I didn't have the money or the parents money to get one. This car is not the most forgiving. If its something you really want you will inevitably get one. If it has to be a BMW Get like a e30 318 and go stance nation or something IDk, or something FWD. My first car was a CRX si and (no one could tell me it wasn't faster or cooler than a m6 !!! If it has to be a faster top of the line type car just find some 80's or 90's Japanese FWD sports car you won't regret it.

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Noblesville, IN
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    '99 M3, '14 Civic
    Nice M3s are expensive. Nice 328 manual is not. I'm on my 3rd e36 M3, so don't think your first BMW will be your last.

  20. #45
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Overland Park, KS
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    98 M3 99 M3 07 328XI
    I would get an e36 328, or 325 to start. You can always upgrade later. Do you even know how to drive a manual? E36 M3's are very costly for maintaince. Unless you plan on doing the work or have rich parents willing to spend $1,000's on the car I don't know if it's worth it to someone as young as you.

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
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    McKean township Pennsylva
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    1999 M3 , 1999 328is
    Having just bought my first M car, an e39 M5, I can tell you that if I had had it at 17 when I got my license, I would have crashed it by now. I am 22 now and am quite appreciative of the fact that my first car was my grandma and grandpa's Oldsmobile. It taught me to look forward to the future and finally getting a nice car. I was teased the entire time by getting to drive my parents e38 740iL on occasion. That car was plenty fast enough to learn to drive in.

    When I got my license I would have given anything to the 98 740iL that my parents were selling, but instead I got a near mint condition 99 Oldsmobile that I still love to this day. Also it made getting the M5 even that much more exciting. Now I get to swap between driving the Olds and the M5 every other day while sharing with my twin brother. He owns half of the M5.

    Even though I have been driving for a few years now, I have completely had to relearn driving to get use to the M5. I already have had one very humbling and lucky experience while fooling around in the M5, and now I have a much better appreciation for limited slip differentials and their ability to make you loose all of the traction your back wheels have.
    Current fleet:
    1999 BMW e36 M3
    1999 BMW e36 328is with rotary valve engine head
    1999 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight
    1990 Jeep Comanche Eliminator
    1962 Austin Healey Sprite

  22. #47
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    New Zealand
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    I also wouldn't recommend an M3 as a first car. Not because of the 'wrap it around a tree' factor, that can be avoided with driver training and an M3 isn't any more dangerous in the hands of a new driver than an e46 330ci. I would avoid the M3 because of the increased maintenance costs. If your dad is already skeptical of BMWs and isn't a car guy then he's going freak out at the maintenance costs because he won't understand why they cost so much more to run than his standard car. Plus, when you are 16 you want to spend your money on petrol and girls not on your M3.

    Find a well maintained e36 or e46 325i/328i and learn how to do basic maintenance at home. You'll be happier in the long run.

  23. #48
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    May 2013
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    SoCal
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    1997 328is
    ^Maintenance will not be much more for an M3 vs regular E36, if you do the work yourself. I can see some shops adding an ///M tax on anything they can get away with, though. Insurance may make more of a difference.
    I do a combination of deal hunting, diy, and help from local people on the forums. The amount of stuff I get done with my money surprises my dad, who has work done at an independent. I think that keeping a BMW in tip top shape for less than whatever your dad pays for his car maintenance will change his mind.

    Oh, and I vote for driving a beater while fixing up an M3 that needs major work.

  24. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by MaddmattH View Post
    A high powered RWD car is a real bad choice for a new driver.

    Aim for something around a 323-330 if you really want one though. They aren't weak cars by any means. Got a 328 myself, I doubt you'd be disappointed with the power they put out.
    Take care though, decent powered RWD cars aren't for idiots. Act like a fool and the car will punish you.
    It's not high powered at all. It literally has less horsepower than the 2.0 L chevy malibu.

    Quote Originally Posted by Weller22 View Post
    yes it is. While a Camery has more power than an E36 M3 its still more than a brand new driver needs or can handle. This site is littered with 17 and 18 year olds trying to find the limits of their old M3s and find their way into trees. Some experience behind the wheel is more important than having an M3.
    Considering the fact that I drove a 430 whp car when I was 16 and never had a single accident, not its not. I'm not special in that regard either.

    Quote Originally Posted by slocar View Post
    everyone thinks they're invincible
    Speak for yourself.

  25. #50
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    portland, Oregon
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    1998 m3 coupe, 68 FJ40
    ^^^so your saying that you could get in the same trouble in a Chevy Malibu? The e36 m3 makes a novice driver feel like a pro. Period.



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