Red Suns

hi everyone

i was just wondering how does a m3 compare to an sti v3?? as i am looking to buy another car for daily use and leave the scoob as a weekend car.. can any one tell me the difference between them? as i know nothing about bmws, also there is a 3.2 evo version too... also i saw alot of m3's with over 80k on them is that high mileage? i have been told that BMW engine is good for at least 150k??

thanks
kevin

SUBKING

Hey Man, We are doing it in reverse order, I had an E36 M3 evo and had to sell it a while back and am now looking into getting a scooby!

My honest opinion is the M3 is a beast, performance is insane but beware, the maintenance on them is not cheap (If you keep up the BMW service history anyway)

Take one out for a test drive and I guarentee you will be convinced!

ScoobyTom

iTrader: (3)

I've had both an E36 coupe and an E36 Evo 4 door. The Evo is a lot better IMHO. It has much more torque and the 6 speed box is really the 5 speed close ratio with an overdrive top giving a more relaxed motorway cruise. The only reliability problem is with early Evo's. They used to eat VANOS units (at £3k a pop), mine consumed two (luckily under warranty) and I believe that most of them should now be sorted. If you want a coupe there are plenty of '98 is cars around - personally I would go for the Techno Violet or Black (although the Boston Green I had was quite nice if you don't mind green cars) and I wouldn't touch anything without leather (black - the silver/grey's a pig to keep clean) and climate control.

Red Suns

so the evos M3 are not reliable??? also what about the mileage?

Keef69

As an STI 3 owner, I can say the version 3 is definately quicker, if that's what you wanted to know. It is quicker than the latest M3 and about on a par with the M5 up to 80 ish. After that, the STI begins to run out of oomph and if you tried an M5 from 100+ he'd pi55 all over you.

So, if you are looking for more useable (on our roads) full-on acceleration from low speeds, go for the STI. The E36 version is slower at all speeds by the way.

These are my opinions, based on a few tussles with each of the models mentioned and I'm sure loads of non classic STI owners will doubt or even knock it. And yes, they were trying and using the revs, etc, etc, etc. 2 of them were mates, so they really were trying!