I make $14 an hour and have about $2 grand saved. I also have a loan for up to $15,000 approved...

I make $14 an hour and have about $2 grand saved. I also have a loan for up to $15,000 approved. Convince me not to buy a used E46 M3 right now Veeky Forums.

you're going to blow $2k in the first two months on the engine/electronics. Don't touch an old m-car unless you buy the thing outright

>2 grand saved
easily have repairs that cost half that for minor shit. Don't be an idiot, buy something you can afford and is practical.

so an acura tl is the other option I was thinking of

>financing a +10 years old BWM //M on minimal wage

Lolno dude. Get a miata, seriously.

>$15k m3

I'm guessing that car will have about 100k miles which means you should budget and spend $5k immediately after purchase for preventative maintenance or prepare for an ass raping down the road.

along with what everyone esle is saying, im willing to bet youre relatively young OP, good luck with insurance rates.

Bearing failures
SMG failures
$100 on oil alone per oil change

You can't afford it kid. M cars aren't just BMW's on steroids, they are fragile BMW's on steroids.

If you want somewhat of the the m car experience without the wallet rapage buy an E36 with a 6 cylinder. Do Maintenance then buy condor bushings and coilovers. The thing will be comfy, fun and relatively fast.

Better yet, buy a 2k civic, don't mod it, get a better job and save till you can buy a good car outright. Loans are not a good thing especially on minimum wage. Ask me how I know

I would get a 2008+ base luxury sedan instead. Is250, e90 328/330i, etc

Not fast necessarily but reliable -ish and rwd goodness.

This.

I bought an old non-M E30.

I've spent more than twice what I paid for the car just unfucking it and I'm nowhere near done.

People like you buy these cars thinking they'll be fine, and they end up needing repairs that they can't afford. Those repairs don't get done, shit blows up, breaks more, and they end up selling the car. It's a very easy mistake to make.

If you want to work on it yourself, you might save a little, but you have to have the tools, the knowledge, the time, and the money for OEM parts. Putting shitty aftermarket parts in a BMW of any sort will have a negative effect. I've tried it and regretted it every time. It's also not a great idea to take a loan on a car that doesn't have a warranty.

Not having a car payment is super fucking nice if you can swing it. Wait another few months, save another $2k, and buy a good, simple car off of CL. Have a PPI done by someone who knows what they're doing. Write a check and be done with it. Fuck banks, fuck loans, fuck financing. Get full coverage insurance.

THEN save a crapton of money for your dream car. Repair the car you have as it needs it and learn to wrench in the process. Learn how Bosch fuel injection works, or more importantly how it doesn't work and how to fix it when it's "doesn't work"ing. This knowledge is priceless. Maybe do some SIK MODZ along the way.

The repair costs are going to completely bankrupt you because
>BMW

At a minimum, any E46 M needs to have the rear subframe mount points reinforced. That alone will set you back all your savings.

Don't do it, save up a little more, maybe 4-5k and buy yourself a fun cheap car with a large aftermarket and have fun with it instead. There is nothing wrong with wanting something cool, fast, and sporty to play with, but trust me while you can afford a decent m3 sure, you wont be able to have the fun you want with it. I ended up doing nearly the same, sold my fun old shitbox and got something new with a car payment and have regretted it all the way. Luckily my payment was only ran for three years so I got it out of the way quick but holy shit is it a drag. Money for those fun mods you thought you were going to do will be put into other import irl things, then slammed into the car payment every single month, it's not fun at all user.

Get the Acura TL, it's a nice car and maintenance is cheap.

Exactly.
Had one for 2 or 3 years and had to get the idle control valve replaced, fuel pump replaced, alternator replaced, lower control arms replaced (assembly + bearings and bushings), rear trailling arm bushings, and giubo coupler.
and I think a strut or two.
All of which is expensive as shit because ''muh BMW''.
Acura TL seems like a better or option or better yet
>$3k civic

buy a zhp if you want an e46 nerd

Get an e55 w211
Faster comfier more reliable

>14 dollars an hour
Buy a 2k economy car on craigslist and wait until you make real money
Having car payments while working a low paying job is a recipe for a 400 credit score

I was considering this or just getting an IS300 or something

save that money on something else. if you need a car, buy a 1500 shitbox.

Don't do it user

Still has cooling issues, subframe and diff bushing issues, control arm issues, oil pump nut that likes to fall off, VANOS.....

You should have six months of living expenses saved up at any time, now isn't the time to waste money on a car dumbass.

>If you want somewhat of the the m car experience without the wallet rapage buy an E36 with a 6 cylinder. Do Maintenance then buy condor bushings and coilovers. The thing will be comfy, fun and relatively fast.

yes buy a bmw built in the worst possible time for build quality for them that's not even a ///m car

scrap that buy a turbo subaru, s2000/miata, or maybe a g37/is350 if you're not racing it.

you need serious dedication or autism or pockets to own a 20 year old german sports car

scrap the oil pump nut on those, bmw put red loctite on the zhps but not the rest of the m54 cars.

but you DO get a open diff unless you swap in everything from the rear off a e46 m3 or a quaife

>implying anyone with minimum wage pay can do that unless they are living rent-free

Great car, learned how to drive on one.

You are fucking retarded. You are poor as shit, buy something cash that won't ruin.you life financially.

the build quality problems only really effect the interior and even then, having owned 2 e36s I can tell you it isn't that bad.

I'll agree that there are better options but I was catering towards OPs wants.

Really OP should just buy a 2k civic. or a motorbike

>be american
>buy a bmw
Never understood this meme.
In Yurp they're basically the only DD-able RWD car around but why would a burger want one?

Buy an Integra GSR and stfu

What other cars are RWD, manual, sedan?

yeah but if you run it hard the weak floor will show itself (torn strut towers/rear subframe/trailing arm pockets) or you'll realize the suspension is long overdue for all its rubber to be replaced with the joints that have a ton of play or the guibo is cracking and half falling apart or the shifter detents are locking you out of gears or making you go 2nd -> 5th

honestly you need some dedication to own one. i've done literally everything except trailing arms, dropping the trans, and a head gasket/motor build on my e36 m3. sometimes i wish i bought a s2000 or a wrx sti even if it meant i paid $3-6000 more.

and i think the first two will be soon (shifter detents never done by PO + original rtab bushings)

americans got a shitload of 3-series. we literally buy them as much as yuros do. its the best selling german car for the last 30 years. and we almost always get 6 cyl models.

>earns near minimum wage
>wants to take out a $15k loan
>to buy a used high-strung German sportscar at the lower end of the price-spectrum

You're a fucking idiot.

If you can do sub-frame repair, big end bearings and vanos-work, go ahead.

>taking a loan for a car
Don't buy things you can't afford. If you need a loan to drive a BMW, don't get a BMW. Why would you prefend you're richer than you are?

Don't be stupid kid.

Get something reliable and cheap to maintain (a used Toyota comes in mind)

And when you get enough cash get as a second car for the weekends the car you dream of.

Now I am saying to get it as a second car because with your paycheck it will be sitting in the garage most of the days.

>with your paycheck it will be sitting in the garage most of the days.

Can confirm. Make $15/hr, project car doesn't move.

You need dedication to own most high performance cars. I've looked into s2000s, WRX, Nissan s chassis..... Etc. They all need work when you get them, everything just has different problems.
In the non m e36s, as long as your rear subframe bushings are replaced with anything but solid aluminium the floor should be fine. I'm going through the stages of replacing every bushing in my compact and it's honestly not that costly even going aftermarket nor that hard with normal tools.

I don't know what you were expecting from this hobby but it's not cheap anyway you look at it. Every car will have its problems and if it doesn't it will be boring. I'm yet to find a car that is sorted from the get go and not boring love

Have you priced insurance on that thing yet. 14 bucks an hour doesnt leave a lot of discretionary funds

I make 5 times the hourly wage you do and could buy this car in cash right now and I wouldn't buy this car. Poor people dig their own fucking graves I swear to god I have no sympathy at all for you retards.

Take your 2k and negotiate 1.5k on the best condition and well cared for econobox you can find. Set aside the other 500 for repairs and/or tools to learn some DIY. Revisit this issue in 5 years when you have a real career. Take the money you saved and invest so you won't always be poor. I know this isn't the money advice board but spending money on cars are like the male equivalent of horses. You will fucking ruin and bankrupt yourself.

Like all the other anons said. Fuck the loan man. Ignore it, ignore it completely. Want a fun car, buy a Miata and save money for repairs or maintanence,

If you don't have any car, buy something simple and cheap, Golf 4, Civic etc.

This is a much better choice.

I make 22 an hour, over 20k saved and invested, and I cannot consider even a basic 328i cause Im one frugal motherfucker. I also dont find "beemers" impressive unless its a 540 or 750.

>2 grand saved
>14 hr

lol

Fucking teenagers

Sometimes people have to learn the hard way.

You're a glutton for punishment, OP. I wouldn't even buy one of those for cash only, much less on credit. You will lose money on this and you may end up having to declare bankruptcy. But it's good to make mistakes when you're young, especially when you're young. So go for it. Go forth and learn...

GO away wesley

That's true. I feel like BMWs are the only ones you do structural work AND tend to have a ton of rubber/plastic stuff age out earlier than a similar age Japanese/American Car. I've almost never heard of structural bits tearing out on any other marque from age/abuse except in freak cases. Its usually motor/transmission work if you're trying to mod the car past a certain point or simply replacing worn stuff (a tierod here, struts, etc). I've mostly had Japanese cars its turned me off owning another German Car if its not a M3 or a Porsche 911.

At least the good thing is that OEM BMW stuff is cheap and equivalent to the best of aftermarket from another brand.

Electrical bullshit, get an E36 or an E30

kek this

>blowing all your sheckles on a 10 year old car that needs work
>whatcouldpossiblllygowrong.jpg

Not sure if you're OP, but I've owned two TLs.
First one I owned was automatic, I fucked up the transmission by using triptonic. I currently drive a silver manual TL. I love this car, its quick and fun. I do my own oil changes and that will run you about 30-40 bucks with the oil and filter from honda. These cars are pretty solid, just know the timing belt change and the clutch replacement will cost a bit if you dont know how to do it yourself.

I recently finished paying off my e46 m3, so far I changed out the front arm bushings and the alternator and battery.

Right now my brakes are giving me a problem because they are sticking even after doing a caliper rebuild.

I want to sell it and part of me wants to keep it, I don't know what to do.

Even if you had the money for 5 M3's it's not worth it.
Their price and running costs are vastly inflated.

>because they are sticking even after doing a caliper rebuild.
Change your brake lines and bleed it twice. Deboss Garage did a video on this. Sometimes dirt and shit can act line a check valve in an old, collapsed brake flex line that doesn't let the caliper retract.

Garagistic sells steel brake line sets for like $100.

>year 2000 was 10 years ago

Thanks that seems like the logical next step

OP is obviously a teenager with a shit job and expensive taste. The only thing this kid can afford is a heavily used honda civic SI. I hope he gets the m3 though. If he buys the m3 itll go like this:

>Spend all my money on downpayment for m3
>Monthly payments are +/- $300
>Insurance is $200+
>But thats ok! I'm faster then all these plebs *revs engine*
>water pump detonates
>Towed to local bmw mechanic
>"thatll be $900 plus tip"
>b-but I don't have that! I need to get to work!
>have mom drive me to work while I save up to fix water pump
>finally have water pump fixed
>drive around for a week, something else breaks
>sell the car and go to Veeky Forums to bitch about bmw

>invest
WHERE do i invest $2-5k?
Stocks?
I rather buy that $5k car so I don't spend all the money on food or alcohol but actually buy something.

There's an 06 GTO m6 with 29k miles near me for 19k
if I were in your position I'd look for something like that instead

>>But thats ok! I'm faster then all these plebs *revs engine*
>>water pump detonates
As a BMW driver, I audibly laughed.

>my subframe bushings are fine!
>wait what?
>you want how much?

You do not buy a used German car, unless you have deep pockets. You don't make a lot of money, so do yourself a favor and save up another $2-3k and buy something more reliable in cash.

This guy knows what's up.

>make 105k/year
>own my house
>still can't bring myself to buy something nicer than civic
you know nothing of suffering jew.

330ci all day over m3

...

...

>Open diff
Mite as well be fwd

(Not the guy you replied to)

So they should buy a fucking M car instead?

not op here but im some user that lives in albania
should I get an
e46 320d 190k km for 3k euro
e90 320d 160k km for 6k euro
or one of those shoe cars (e87)
are bmws unreliable or only expensive to fix if they do break?

e46 330i

Still fun when wet

>330i
why

Because the diesels suck
The chances of getting a 2L i4 instead of the 2.2L i6 is not the risk
Just do it right and get the best non-///M petrol engine to enure the most BMW performance experience.
Also e46 handles better than e90

>diesels suck
why is that?
>i4 vs i6
whats this? why should I care? its my first car. I literally never drove anything beside an old w123 with which i learned manual with

>E46

Gorgeous

I make $50 an hour, and decided that the best BMW I could afford is a $7k e36 m3

Why in the world would you want a 330 instead of an M3?

Got my 2002 M3 about 8 months ago, my 4th performance German luxury. Spent 13k, has 76k on the odo, and I've put about 800 dollars into various preemptive repairs. I've done trans and diff fluids, diff mounts and bolts, steering angle sensor, and belts. DSC precharge pump is next week and will run me about 400.

Absolutely do not buy any German luxo unless you can afford some ungodly repair bills. I make about 65k a year and my hobby is sometimes almost too expensive even when I'm working I just one car.

that's a great idea go for it!

Shut the fuck up you retarded faggot. Everything you type is worthless garbage.

everything I post is highbrow comedy.

I make 12.50 an hour+ commission and have an e36 and e34 and over 8k in the bank. I literally live in poverty and am a complete jew about everything but my cars. Rent a house with 2 other guys, no girlfriend, not many expenses. I save over half my monthly income.

Its possible to save, just stop fucking going out to eat every day, buying stupid shit, and budget your groceries and other expenses.

OP, you cannot afford that car. If you want a fun car for cheap get a miata, stay away from BMWs unless you have all the means to fix anything on the car including engine work.

Alright op, let me help you out, I feel like we're in similar situations.

>Just saved up 10k
>Had 6k saved from last job, needed to buy a car
>Was smart, bought a 2009 Civic off family (I know I got lucky here, but that doesn't mean similar cars at similar prices aren't out there)
>Had literally$400 left afterwards
>Treat car well, car treats me well
>Get job at fucking Walmart
>Part time, go to school as well (university, inb4 underage)
>It s a Honda, so only thing it ever needs is the usual services twice a year
>Let me save 10k in a year and a half.

I needed a car and could have went out and did something like you're planning to do. I didn't, and I'm in a much better place because of it. Still have perfect credit, no loans or any sort, and I have a pretty good amount saved up. Do not buy that BMW op, you'll regret it. Buy a cheap Japanese econobox. They can be fun too.

sure OP, if you know how to do your own maintenance on a bmw. Otherwise, not a good idea.

The service costs are the most expensive on bmws. The parts are more expensive than japense or american car parts, but mechanic fees are typically very high.

>If you want to work on it yourself, you might save a little
Try a LOT. The guy before me paid $1300 for a new alternator, labor included. In my old car, same model, it cost me $300 and a Sunday morning. Doing your own maintenance doesn't save you "maybe a little", it is the difference between thousands of dollars in one year.

so you put 1200 in an e46 m3 in 8 months. dont buy a 335i, lol.

Bacause I got a 323i for like 1/10th of the price and still have just as much fun messing with it

>corvette behind e46
GM fangirls btfo

>$14 an hour is minimum wage

Unless you live in a huge city this couldn't be further from the truth lol

Have you saved up money for repairs?

My dad has a 335i, what's wrong with it?

it's shit
also your dad is gay

That's not cool

it's a gas powered BMW

>not having a sodium-powered german luxury vehicle

This

fuck it, if you think it will make you happy, go for it. It's just money, who cares

don't

get a miata, save your money jesus