[Guest (MBNZ)]

I couldn't resist posting any longer as I own both of these vehicals and love them. I have a very highly modified '95 M3, it is a full Stage 3 normally asp. Dinan car with no expense spared anywhere when it comes to making it go fast up top or down low. I also have a mildly tweaked later model C36. These are BOTH excellent cars and neither can be faulted in any way at all! This my bimmer is better than your Benz crap has got to go! My observations are that the '95 M3 modded pulls away from the OBD II '96 with the same mods 10 out of 10 times(I've had both) so the properly tuned '95 M3 is the faster of the two especially up top. From 0-60, the M3(manual) pulls away from the Benz, at 70 plus, the roles reverse quite drasticly and the Benz pulls away.I have had them both to 150mph and they are both rock solid but the M3 gets a hair light which is a known problem and I have also had my fair share of problems with an otherwise well maintained low mileage car so I feel that the C36 has better build quality. Neither of the 2 cars is better, the M3 is a roller skate and a blast on the track and in fact the next best thing to my favorite track car which is the F355 F1('98) and yes I track this beast on occaison. The M3 gives most of the bang for less than 1/3 the cash so I can't see faulting that(not the the F car is the best car in the world, just a fun package that captures the heart and dose funny things to your testosterone levels!). The C36 is flat out my favorite road going screamer, stops within a foot of the M3(fact), within a car length and a half to 60(fact), pulls like a frieght train up top(fact), the US M3 is weak up top(fact) campared to it's Euro couterpart, the C36 is drivable on most roads in my area at high speed whereas the M3 would come off the ground crossing most of my local rutted intersections if I went anywhere close to the speed limit(fact), the C36 has four doors and holds four people, the M3 coupe is a pain to get in and out of and the four door is not a car that I have ever liked(subjective here!), the modded M3 handles better due to it's 50/50 distribution of weight but the C36 is not far off).....which is better, depends on where and how you use it and I don't think there is a right answer! <p>Now on to the Euro M3(I drive these as I spend a good deal of time there), the Euro M3 is more expensive and faster in every way to the C36/C43 but it also makes the US M3 look like a pile of junk. It has a totally different motor that doesn't even share the same block, 6 speed transmission, minor brake improvements and lots of fun toys that they take off of the US cars. Oh, but wait, Benz has the C55! ;) <p>On the other hand, I have owned a Euro spec 3.8L Euro M5(E34) that will smoke both of these cars on and off the track although at a total cost of $75K it was way more expensive and was also no where near the driving pleasure of either the C36 or the M3.....it's all in what you are after! He who is after the I have the biggest D**K because I have a car that is supposedly better than yours is a D**K as when we are talking this level of car, we are only splitting hairs and lot's of them are subjective hairs! Bottom line......ENJOY YOUR CARS AND TAKE THE BICKERING TO DUMBASS.ORG! <p>Have a great day, I'm off to enjoy two of the finest cars on the planet in the same day, an M3 and a C36....imagine that?! :) And when I am done, I may just go smoke them both with the Italian monster that cost more than some local houses, has peices falling of of it(should a $180K car have interior parts falling off of it at 3200 miles?) is a pain in the groin to get in and out of, smells, hurts your back but is still one of the best cars on the planet! And when I am done with all three of these, I will enjoy climbing into a comfortable SUV that doesn't beat you around, give you heart failure if it gets scratched and holds 7 adults with luggage.......there my well be no BEST vehicle out there so maybe if we all bought the 50 best, we could agree on who has the biggest EGO problems be observing the other areas of their lives and go about our business! <p>These are just my impressions of both these fine cars, I have never driven a C280/C230 or a 328/325 and have no real interest in going on a test drive mission but I am sure they are all fine cars to and that each has it's own areas of performance that surpass the other.