1998 BMW M3 User Reviews

Great Drivers Car — The M3 sedan really is a 4-door sports car. I have most of the practicality of any other sedan, combined with an amazing driving experience. The power is pretty good, but compared to a lot of newer sports cars it's underpowered. I would say the single greatest asset of the E36 M3 is the chassis. A month after I bought the car I took it to the track for an HPDE and was surprised at how easy it was to drive fast. There was a slight hint of understeer, but otherwise it was very composed and extremely fun. The M3 is actually pretty reliable, and parts can be found fairly cheap online, but don't come expecting it to be maintenance free; the key is preventative maintenance. The cooling system is known to have issues, and should be refreshed every 60k-80k miles (new water pump, check the radiator and hoses). The interior is not as good as the mechanicals though: my headliner is sagging a little bit, the little bins on the bottom of the doors aren't completely fastened in the rear, the glovebox sags a little, and if I drive over bumpy pavement at the right speed the sunroof will start to rattle. I average about 21-22 mpg with a commute which takes me up and down some pretty steep hills every day (~40 miles / day). Driving 75 on the freeway will get me about 26 mpg, and if you have the patience, you can get close to 30 mpg driving ~60-65 mph. But does any of that *really* matter when you have an M3? No...not really, just take it for a drive down some twisty roads and nothing else matters.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

E36 M3 — I love my M3. It has 130k and feels just as strong as when it had 40k and I had first purchased it. Cosmos black on black interior is sinister with tinted windows, blacked out grills and dark grey 18" wheels offset front to rear. It is lowered, with Dinan cold air intake and large throttle body, Dinan programming, AA track pipe and Borla exhaust for awesome sound. I also installed a Z4 6 speed trans for 160+ mph top speed(verified 3x). The car just fits me like a glove and always does what I expect- no surprises during spirited driving. Even though the maintenance costs are high, it is definitely worth it, very few cars combine power with handling as well as this one. Still gets compliments, too.

You Can't Get Better Than This — this has to be one of the best cars you could ever buy even though it's 13 years old it will still out perform most of the new hot hatches without any problem. The only problems you will find is it drinks fuel and BMW dealer servicing can be a bit costly but it's well worth it

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Fun To Drive, Top Up Or Down. Good Build Quality — I love this car! it was my 1st car when i got my license. I haven't had any major problems with this car, aside from the water pump issue which plagued the E36 3-Series. It still has great pick- up for its age.

Primary Use: Sport/fun (spirited driving, track racing, off-roading, etc.)

Still Worth The Money Though Any Year M3 — u kinda have to drive one to understand, that's about all i can say, hard car to describe, but it handles well, accelerates well and doesn't look too shabby.....but you really can't go wrong with a bmw now can ya??

Primary Use: Sport/fun (spirited driving, track racing, off-roading, etc.)