Sanity check: Owning 2 E36 M3s

[Mode]

Through my current and last E36, I've had a second vehicle. This is a full-size 4wd truck used for the occasional commute and biking trips. I've had it for way too long (5+ years) and basically need a change.

Of my several (eventual) choices is an M3/4. I know it would be a nice daily driver and have enough room for my bike and gear when neccesary.

Am I crazy to think about owning two E36s? Much less two E36 M3s? Looking for advice. . .

[Mode]

This is what I might be replacing:

[2pak]

i think madsedan was in your position ... his solution was to sell his 95 turbo m3 and buy a m3/4 in estoril blue... i think the fitting thing would be to sell the truck and your coupe (keep all revelant parts) and buy an m3/4

[1995red318i]

or just get a non m e36. why not get a 4 door 328?

two ms isn't necessary...don't be greedy i'd settle for one.

[Mister X]

If you can afford it, get two Ms. Why the hell not?

[Mode]

Thing is, I really like the style/color of my E36 M3/2.

1995red318i - I know, I know, good voice of reason. Two M3s is definitely not neccesary. I would be happier in a 328i over my truck anyday. For a given year, however, the M3/4's initial cost isn't that much higher.

[Mode]

Originally posted by Mister X
If you can afford it, get two Ms. Why the hell not?

Hell yeah - espechially when the valuation has come way down on M3/4s. Decent examples are below 20k now.

[r6e36]

There are too many nice cars out there to be owning 2 of same car. May be a E34 for daily driver? If you want to spand more maybe a E39 540i or a GS400 as a daily driver they both can be had in the low 20's

[Mode]

Yeah, a little bit too vanilla, eh? The 5er (E34 & E39) is also on my list, but I do like the size and feel of the E36.

Waddya think about a pair of Estoril M3s? hehe. . .now I know I've lost it.

[VoltesV]

I promise you this...YOU WILL MISS HAVING A TRUCK. Not for the way it drives (well duh), but for it's utility.

In addition to my M3, I had a beater Toy P/U for hauling my bikes, for commuting, just like you say. Back in June, a diabetic blacked out while driving and finally woke up in time to slam on his brakes before plowing into my truck and totaling it. (The skid marks were 88ft long!)

Anyway, for a while, I had only the M3 to drive (pity me!) and I REALLY missed that truck. If I had a second M3, I would have felt the same (well, at least about the truck). Recently, I replaced the truck with a 94 LandCruiser and it regularly comes in handy to have a second vehicle that _compliments_ the usefulness of your other vehicle.

Camping, moving crap around, picking up some plants at Home Depot...there is always a reason to have the truck.

My two cents.

[racecar]

We did it. Have an e36 M convertible as a daily

[JT///M3]

I have 2, the coupe for me, and the 4 door for the wifey. No fighting for for the keys, but for some reason she doesn't like me driving her ///M. Dammnit. I'm considering a 3rd M3 convert for the weekends, or maybe an ///M Roadster. Who knows. But you can never have enough ///Ms around!

[NoSoup4U]

I had 1 real M and one psuedo-M (325is vin -- everything else came from a M (engine, drivetrain, tranny, etc...etc.) until a friend crashed one of them about 1 month ago and totaled it. I am actually going to buy another one as well ... even if I sell my silver one. I will take the other M and rip it to the bare metal for track use.

///M's are pretty cheap these days ... and will only get cheaper as time goes on. Ideally, I am going to try to get an E30 M3, E36 M3, and then throw in the M5. No E46 M3 for me ...

[Seth Thomas]

I don't see a problem with it. At one point a couple years ago I had a silver 96 M3, a 95 M3LTW, and an E30 M3. Now I am down to the LTW and wish I had another one to drive more often. When I had the silver M3 I drove it everyday and loved it. Can't beat driving a car like that everyday as it is nothing but fun.

[Carrerax]

I have 2. A 97 M3/4 and a 97M3 full race car. No problem. It would be nice to have a truck though.

[VoltesV]

For a dedicated race car or heavy track use, then sure, by all means get another ///M. But if you are just looking for something to daily-drive or haul bikes, I still think that you will miss your truck.

I know that some people have 2 or 3 or 4 ///M cars, and I'd LOVE to be in that position, but I'd still always have a truck as a second car. I've tried using the (previous) M3 as a bike hauler and you can do it, but it's no fun. Doable, though.

Still, I think it's great to have for snowboard/skiing, doing a little off-roading (lots of fun!), parking in a crappy part of town, wasting resources (the M3 does that, too, though), terrorizing neighborhood children (again, M3 as well), you name it.

Even though it seems I'm in the minority on this one, it's good to see varying opinions.

Another two cents...

[///MZG]

you'll miss the truck. It's nice to have something that can be driven in all weather, on dirt roads, camping, etc. But if you don't do those things then you are not going to miss it!

[madsedan]

I have no regrets with the M3/4, I actually prefer driving it over an M3 coupe. It may be my imagination but it feeld more rigid than the coupe.
Hell, if I could afford it I'd have 3 or 4 M3's
The sedan really isn't much/any bigger on the inside its just easier to get my kids in/out of the backseat.
I looked through adds for about 150 sedans for sale all over the US and found that there are many nice ones in the $17-19k range. I got lucky with mine because the owner was in a rural area in Iowa and his closest large market was 150 miles away in St. Louis, where he drove to the dealer for service BTW. I only paid $18,5k for a single owner with full service records and 60k miles. Its almost perfect, exactly what I wanted, even has the polished LTW rims.
There are currently 2 really nice sedans on this board for sale, gsober has a really nice black one and ron dayley has a nice modified white one.
I looked throughm-series.net, autotrader, roadfly, here and DTMpower, and went to the BMWCCA.org site and looked through chapter websites around my area for club members with ones for sale.

[black_box]

madsedan, was that in the SE corner of Iowa? I was gonna look at that one but decided it was too far away. nice deal on it.

[Mode]

First off - thanks for all the replies so far. I usally take a bit of time on decisions like this. It is nice to absorb all of the opinions.

VoltesV and ///MZG - you guys make some damn good points. I do like my truck for the utility. If I did not have it, I could make things happen (off-road camping/biking) by hitching a ride with someone else. Having my own truck gives me that nice independance.

Sure, I would miss my truck. Is it valid enough to keep for the 5-10% of the time I really need it?

[mikeinsanmarcos]

How much do you want for your truck?

[Mode]

hah - I haven't thought the far ahead. Basic '94 4wd worktruck. I guess ~2.5-4.0k.

[VoltesV]

Originally posted by Mode
Is it valid enough to keep for the 5-10% of the time I really need it?

Ah, only you can answer that one, young grasshopper.

Here's a crappy analogy for you...

Let's say you have a fork and a spoon. You rarely use the spoon so should you trade it for a similar fork? Now you've got two forks and then someone gives you a bowl of soup. If you've never had a spoon before, it's no big deal (especially if it's miso soup). But being a former spoon owner, you'll miss the proper utensil.

(Told ya it was a crappy analogy!)

[toddman35]

Originally posted by VoltesV
Ah, only you can answer that one, young grasshopper.

Here's a crappy analogy for you...

Let's say you have a fork and a spoon. You rarely use the spoon so should you trade it for a similar fork? Now you've got two forks and then someone gives you a bowl of soup. If you've never had a spoon before, it's no big deal (especially if it's miso soup). But being a former spoon owner, you'll miss the proper utensil.

(Told ya it was a crappy analogy!)

That is a crappy analogy, you could eat twice as fast with two forks!

I'm not sure if I would sell the truck for another M, I would find myself getting caught up in modding them, and it would just end up being twice as expensive. I personally would look into a e34 m5, or a e39 540i 6 speed.

[Deutscher Konnt]

I'd get a six speed E39 540i if I were in your position...it will be fun to drive, have a good amount of cargo room and be spacious and comfortable as a daily driver.