Which is easier to maintenance M5 3.6 or 3.8 ???

[Paul in NZ]

Dont know if its just me but i dont know if a E34 M5 is actually suited to a daily driver role.....to me they are very special cars,and nice ones must be thin on the ground now.....The M5 would qualify for me as a garage queen,
I wouldnt even consider a m3 of any vintage to be as special...my two cents.
In a couple of years i will start to look to import a rhd 3.8 M5,but it will have to be a minter.

[nirvana19]

Dont know if its just me but i dont know if a E34 M5 is actually suited to a daily driver role.....to me they are very special cars,and nice ones must be thin on the ground now.....The M5 would qualify for me as a garage queen,
I wouldnt even consider a m3 of any vintage to be as special...my two cents.
In a couple of years i will start to look to import a rhd 3.8 M5,but it will have to be a minter.

What about those E30 M3 EVOs, i'd have to say they qualify as special.. Of course I'd personally rather have an e34 M5

[Sam-Son]

People keep saying to me that with all the money I put into my car I should save up and get an E46 M3 "It's lighter and more powerful" then they go on to say it has 330 HP. well the E46 isn't that light like Jon said it weighs about the same as an E34. and I've seen dynos and with a couple of Turner Motorsport upgrades it get 270 HP. So I figure I'll just mod my E34 which I like alot better than an E46 M3. About the handling, My father had 3 E46 325Ci Sport package cars, and they were some of the best handling cars I've ever driven. No E34 can compare to how they handled the steering is so much more direct with no play in the steering and they corner so flat and inspire so much confidence. For those of you who say an E34 handles better than an E46 I wanna know what you did to your suspension cus I want those mods

[Paul in NZ]

What about those E30 M3 EVOs, i'd have to say they qualify as special.. Of course I'd personally rather have an e34 M5

i didnt mean thay werent nice/special/good cars...just not as far as I am concerened.

[repenttokyo]

About the handling, My father had 3 E46 325Ci Sport package cars, and they were some of the best handling cars I've ever driven. No E34 can compare to how they handled the steering is so much more direct with no play in the steering and they corner so flat and inspire so much confidence. For those of you who say an E34 handles better than an E46 I wanna know what you did to your suspension cus I want those mods

could it be all the old rubber in your suspension bushings etc?

[Sam-Son]

could it be all the old rubber in your suspension bushings etc?

I have no idea. I know my shocks are gonna need replacing soon. and my control arm bushings are shot..Again. The car has 172k miles on it so I wouldn''t be surprised if somethings needed replacement. Do E34's really handle as well as E46's?

[Brandon J]

If I had a choice I would get the 3.8. Why? Both the 3.6 and 3.8 do need their preventative maintenance. The 3.6 could use a crank hub the 3.8 could use changed rod bearings. After driving both, I would get the 3.8L because it is more civilized with the extra torque down low while still being fun. The flywheel could be swapped to the 3.6L for more freer revving. But besides that, the 3.8L came with more options and functions. Now, coming from an e46, those few extra options in the e34 ,like being able to change the stiffness of the shocks, is a great feature. Performance chips are available for both engines. For the 3.8L, that would probably be the only engine upgrade you would need. Lastly, since 3.8s were produced later than the 3.6L, the 3.8s are fresher. Less wear and tear in general.

As far as power, it sounds like you are not thinking about forced induction. So, either of the M5s are good choices. I still beat e36 M3s exercising superchargers.

Good luck with your decision and whichever you choose, I am sure you will be happy.

[nixter]

the 3.8L M5 never came to canada. The last year was 93 for which the north american cars were still produced with the 3.6L engine. In Europe the 93s had begun to incorporate the 3.8L engines.

It came to Canada....And I don't agree with you that the e46 is superior, it's a heavy car, 2 door only (some people want 4 doors) and the engines have their fair share of finicky problems. A lot of those motors were replaced under warranty.

I also find the e34 M5 to be more attractive looking than the e46.

[repenttokyo]

the 3.8L M5 never came to canada. The last year was 93 for which the north american cars were still produced with the 3.6L engine. In Europe the 93s had begun to incorporate the 3.8L engines.

it might not have been officially sold in Canada, but they were imported, and there are 3.8L's here....

[e34.535i.sport]

I have no idea. I know my shocks are gonna need replacing soon. and my control arm bushings are shot..Again. The car has 172k miles on it so I wouldn''t be surprised if somethings needed replacement. Do E34's really handle as well as E46's?

After replacing ALL the suspension bushes and ball joints on my 17 year old e34 it handles a thousand times better than my 6 year old (at the time) e46 ever did! I found the e46 to be very tail-end happy in comparison to my e34 (and that had traction control!) as well.

I think this is all personal opinion however, others may see it differently?

Overall the e46 seemed like a less well made car too, things seemed to go wrong that shouldn't if you know what i mean. Seems to me that BMW peaked in the 80s/90s particularly in design... Although the e65 is outta this world.