Hello everyone. I am currently in the market for a new car, and have narrowed it down to three choices (E36, Toyota MR2-S, and Subaru WRX). The E36 is the most intriguing to me. I have been researching non stop for the past week and have only found two major common issues

1. Water pump every 60k miles
2. Head Gasket every 100-150k?

The water pump is easy enough, but I was wondering if someone could further explain the head gasket. Is this a BMW thing and they literally always fail during this time, or is this an opinion because someone had a bad day?

Also wanted opinions on a car I am currently looking at. Its listed for $9500 (1997 M3 with 98k miles). The dealership is claiming to have replaced the water pump and some other items (Cant provide a link while I am here at work). This car does not have the Vader interior (which im guessing explains the ordinary looking plastic rims).

What should I be looking at when I test drive/do a look over on the car? I am looking for a primarily Daily Driver (with some random weekend hobby track days if I am lucky). I do not want to buy this secondary car and immediately have to throw money in to it (RX8 comes to mind). This link (http://www.edgemotorworks.com/E36-Series-3) doesnt really seem practical.

Additional info: I am in the miltary so move around a lot, currently stationed in Colorado (snow, ice and slush. Does the m3 have a stable platform to handle snow)? This is what makes me warry of the MR2-S. Also makes the 2002 WRX seem like a solid option, however sticking to my 10k price range puts me over 100k miles. M3 seems like a good mix of the two, with the addition of the M3 track history.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks