|
Learn to DIY. You aren’t into the performance of the F80 M3, you have a modern 2nd car to daily drive. You can keep the near classic E46 M3 and drive Scion TC when you need to work on it. Down the road, replace the Scion with something more interesting.
A 20 year old car can be a pain to daily, but not if you have another car. The cost of maintenance and repairs seems to be the greater issue. I learned to DIY because of this long ago and now DIY pretty much everything.
On the flip side, if the E46 M3 is a basket case that really can’t be driven much, then buy a car you enjoy to drive. I would not drive a beater all the time — life is too short for that. I want to drive my fun car, or ideally have 2 or 3 fun cars. If this is your situation, buy the F80 M3 but don’t expect a 5 to 9 year old M3 to be trouble free and cheap to maintain.
The E46 M3 will get more attention from BMW fans than the F80 M3. I get more attention in my E36 M3 than I got in my E90 M3 or get in my F90 M5, but I am 2.5x your age and would rather daily drive one of those newer cars than the E36 M3. At 22, pick the older one and learn to DIY.
|