Yahoo Autos There's Nothing Cheap About Owning a Budget M3
With a budget of $7000 or so, you could definitely afford something practical like a gently used Honda Civic or Mazda6. For the same amount of money, though, you could also buy an E36 BMW M3. It won't be as collectible as an earlier E30 M3, nor will it be as quick as a later E46 M3 (or even a European E36 M3), but it's still a rear-wheel-drive sports coupe with legendary handling and pedigree.
Well, if you can't afford a well-kept example and can't do your own maintenance, it's probably smarter to stick with the Mazda. As Alex from Car Throttle recently found out, the maintenance and repair costs on a budget M3 can add up fast. In his latest video, he totals up the amount he's spent over the past several months. And it's quite a lot.
A large chunk of what he spent was on wear items the previous owner should have already replaced, but still. Having to do more than $3000 of work on a car you just bought is pretty rough. And to add insult to injury, Alex says he still has wheel bearings to fix, and his differential is making noise. So that'll be even more money.
In the end, it looks like he'd have been better off paying extra for a well-maintained example. Or buying an E46 M3. Yep, definitely should have bought the E46.
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