Hello all. I have a few posts on the E90 forum, as I just traded up my '08 335Xi sedan for an '08 M3 convertible--$10,000 under MSRP and a trade-in well over KBB!
Let me say that I am excited to be posting on this board as a new owner. I've been drooling over the M3 for a year, and I let my more practical side do the decision-making last summer. Not this time!
My 38th birthday is this month, and there is something nostalgic about this car--my first car was a '66 289 Mustang, and my second was an '89 LX 5.0 Mustang with MT. In a way, I see this M3 as the natural successor to these big V8's from my past. I'm still getting the hang of the MT characteristics, but the old instinct started kicking in on the way home yesterday, as the grin on my face got bigger. (The past 10 years have been filled with SUVs and Japanese compact sedans--still have a 4x4 Pathfinder in case I need it.)
Don't get me wrong. The 335Xi is a nice car. I was a little sad to see it go. It is very quick, and I had begun the modding in an effort to make her more special in some way, though I wasn't really sure why. It became clear that I was not going to be satisfied going the highly-modded 335 route, so here I am, and I feel fortunate to be here, particularly with what many others are going through these days.
There is no doubt that the I-6 TT in the 335 is a feat of engineering--and a fun one--but my gut feeling is that the M3 comes about its virtues more honestly. (I say that realizing that this car is truly state-of-the-art in many ways.) It feels as solid as a rock. Even the clunk of the MT gives me the feeling that it is built to withstand a beating--not that I'm going to give it much of one.
This may sound corny, or misguided, but I also have a feeling that this particular M3 has a chance of becoming something of a classic, in that it appears BMW will be moving to TT technology in their next iteration. As much as BMW touts the "no turbo lag" in the current 335, it is there, and the throttle response is not as linear as with the M3's NA V8. The V8 was a step away from the past with the M3, and it looks like it's not going to be around in its NA version for long. The next M3 will undoubtedly push 500hp, but can you achieve the current M3's level of predictability and refinement with a turbo? I guess that's the big question BMW will be attempting to answer.
Whether or not it becomes a "classic," so to speak--perhaps all M3's are classics--I love the look, the feel, the performance, and the balance of this car, and I expect to have it a long time. It's supposed to be 67* today, so I think I'll be taking her for a spin with the top down.
Best,
Louis