E46 M3 vs 996 Carrera 2

Well, i have a tough choice to make. Sell the M3 or my 996. We don't have any room for 2 cars ( 3 inc my black boxster 2.5 that i would never sell as ive had it from new since 1998 ) The m3 is heaven on a summers day. The looks it gets is unreal. It's got amazing power, 343 BHP stock and is very quick for a cab. It beats my friends C4 CAB too which was unexpected, but no where near the speed of my 996. The 911. BEAST!. Too quick. It's a bat out of hell. I would love to hear your opinions as i know people here arn't baised towards 996. Although, people have them. Both are emmaculate, inside and out. So, what do you guys think? sell my M3 or sell the 996 ? vs

well from a relative newbie here , whos had a bmw convertible before, the 996 you have looks gorgeous, im not saying the m3 doesnt, but theres more m3's out there than 996's, and come on, surely you must have more fun in the 996, and its got more grunt hasnt it ?? a no brainer for me, 996 every time, a true drivers car.. just my 10p's worth mind.. and yes i am slightly biased

Moss yeah i agree with everything you have said. My thoughts exactly. The 996 is way more much fun, but m3 is great ona boiling hot day. Yeah there are tones of M3's out there, which is the actual reason why i want rid of it too, along with having hardly any room. The one thing is the colour. Ive not seen another colour up north. However, iam going to probs keep the 996, but i just want to not regret it haha. So i thought id get you guys opinions. I just ADORE Laguna Seca Blue. Ive only ever seen one porsche in this colour:

No debate, M3 must go :thumb:

sell the M3, hands down... drove one for 2 years, loved it, but love my 996 much more...

Im surprised that the 996 c2 is that much faster than the M3 as it has less bhp and around the same weight - is there something I am missing? sell the M3 btw - its a boys car. 911 is a mans one!

When i bought my M3 i also believed that. 343 BHP, too good to be true right? Well, an E46 M3 Coupe dyno's at around 255-260. There is one on youtube and a few forums i just looked at with some serious mods reaching 270. I did alot of research on this and with the M3 engine in the front, there is alot of power loss to the rear wheels. While the carrera has instant power from the rear engine, right to the wheels. A stock carrera 2 dyno's at around 289-295 unless it's running flat. Now, the BMW M3 e46 cab is alot heavier and alot slower than the coupe. I might be wrong but to give you an idea of this, the carrera 2 is actually lighter than the porsche boxster RS60 Syder, which kicks out around 320 BHP on paper, yet the C2 is faster all round. (youtube) For an M3 to get close to a stock carrera 2, it needs massive modding to be honest. It will be a good match for the carrera 4 as its heavier than the C2 and obviously AWD. a quick google of E46 M3 Dyno and found this to back up my post. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=539004 Yeah i think i will probs get rid of the M3, its not a "super quick car" but it is pretty sweet.

I've owned an E46 M3 CSL and 996 GT3 Mk1 and I must say, M3 must go. It's an execs car, while it's a great car standalone, when stood beside a Porsche it's inferior. Plain and simple :thumb:

Well here's my tuppence worth......... I know colour is a personal thing but pleeeese........ get rid of the Beemer! I drive a 3 series as a company car and would love to have an M3 but not in that colour, sorry! :nooo:

I think your "Laguna Seca" 997 is Rivera Blue 39E/3AG If you like blues, see here: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforu...-turquoise-mexico-blue-picture-thread-11.html All the below are Riviera, however, it does depend on light and camera as to whether it looks bluey or greeny, light, or erm, dark!

On a Porsche forum I think you are only going to get one answer :lol: However for a balanced view perhaps post your question on a BMW forum. They will also clearly see the benefits of Porsche over Beemer, but it would at least stir up a heated debate !!

I also moved to Porsche from an E46 M3 and there is no argument, the Beemer has to go. But why not sell both and get a 997, in fact with the proceeds from the M3 and 996 you're probably in GT3 or TT territory :grin:

I think the 996 will retain it's value more than the M3 also. When I got my 996 I was contemplating an E46 M3, that was a year and a half ago. The M3 that I was looking at which was £20K then is worth 11-12K now. My 996 which I bought for 18.5K is worth 15K if I had to sell it quick, could probably still get 17K for it. Look at old 911s vs old M3s in Auto Trader and the like. I don't think even in 10 years you will see 5K 911s.

100% Get rid of the monkey suit from Munich :boogie:

mate of mine chopped in his CSL for a C2. Has never looked back. I also was chatting to one of my suppliers this morning who runs a 3 series diesel '09. It's feking rapid in a straight line, he says, but crap in the wet, crap in the bends (run flats) and doesn't give him any real excitement to drive.... Needless to say he's now looking at a 997. Before I bought my second 4S, I drove a few cars - RS4's BMW's etc, but NOTHING felt like a porsche.