new here...thinking of trading in the M3 for an H3 (thoughts?)

[bender]

hi everyone...i'm new here and i am in a big dilemma!!! i have a car that i love but its not practical. i own a 2001 BMW M3. loaded with 333HP and cool looking blue color. basically, i love my car but its my daily driver and a very fast sports car in new england is not very practical. moreover, i just bought a home and i realized how much i now need cargo room!!!

so, i test drove an H3 for kicks today and i loved it. slow as a turtle compared to the M3 and a lot less luxury obviously. but, i felt like such a badass behind the wheel.

so, i need your help with thoughts and input.

basically, i need some opinions. do you think the H3 has enough character and "fun factor" to make me not regret trading in my dream car?

i'd be going from apples to oranges...a $50,000+ benchmark sports coupe built by BMW to a utilitarian vehicle. the H3 wins hands-down in the practical category simply cause i could drive it in the snow without white knuckles...not to mention the cargo room.

its such a hard choice as i love both for different reasons and i'm not rich enough to own both.

thanks for reading

[bender]

hi everyone...i'm new here and i am in a big dilemma!!! i have a car that i love but its not practical. i own a 2001 BMW M3. loaded with 333HP and cool looking blue color. basically, i love my car but its my daily driver and a very fast sports car in new england is not very practical. moreover, i just bought a home and i realized how much i now need cargo room!!!

so, i test drove an H3 for kicks today and i loved it. slow as a turtle compared to the M3 and a lot less luxury obviously. but, i felt like such a badass behind the wheel.

so, i need your help with thoughts and input.

basically, i need some opinions. do you think the H3 has enough character and "fun factor" to make me not regret trading in my dream car?

i'd be going from apples to oranges...a $50,000+ benchmark sports coupe built by BMW to a utilitarian vehicle. the H3 wins hands-down in the practical category simply cause i could drive it in the snow without white knuckles...not to mention the cargo room.

its such a hard choice as i love both for different reasons and i'm not rich enough to own both.

thanks for reading

[HummerNewbie]

Personally I think the H3 wins hands down but that is me. I found after going to my first SUV that I don't ever want to go back to a car again. In the price range, the H3 I would have to say is by for the coolest SUV available. Stand out looks as well as being very capable. Just my opinion though.

[Jersey Guy]

I know what your going through Dude I was faced with the same stress I gave up my 03 SVT Cobra 440RWHP 11.7 1/4 mile for this H3 and I love it no regrets.The h3 is more practical in so many ways,plus there are so many cars coming out with mineboggling HP HELL I LOST TO A FRIGGIN HONDA CIVIC AT 155MPH.and i can't afford to be doing these speeds no more I have gotten away with it and it is only going to bite me in the a@@ sooner or later,cause I can never say no to a challange on the road.The bottom line is GET THE H3 YOU WILL LOVE IT I DO.

[bender]

its nice to see another sports car owner going to an H3 with no regrets!!! i know i'll love the H3...its just everyone that knows me would tell you that i am obsessed with my M3. however, its an obsession that is costly (brake job ~$3,000) and i can only really "enjoy" my M3 during the summer. its no fun in the snow, wet, or cold conditions.

the bottom line is that i know i'll miss my M3 badly, i just hope that the H3 will provide enough unique-ness and fun factor to keep me satisfied.

[HummerNewbie]

It will have more unique-ness than your M3 has but the fun factor may be different. What I mean is, it definitely can have the fun factor you are looking for, just might be different types of fun than your M3.

[XM DUDE]

you will have just as much fun, just at lower speeds, then there is the total coolness factor, I would be willing to bet you will have more fun as yuo can't compare the two. I can never own a sports car because I can't resist the temtation of all that power.

[f5fstop]

I faced the same dilemma you have, except for different reasons. I moved from TN to MI with a Jeep Wrangler (for off-road and a daily driver), and a supercharged C5 Corvette. Since moving here June 1, I have decided to dump both and move on to combination of the two.
The Jeep is a dog, but great off road, and is used to take me into places that most won't go, but not for off roading per se, but for photographs. It is also very uncomfortable to drive for a DD. So, the power of the H3 is not a big item when compared to a Jeep Wrangler.
The Vette is fast and has a great interior and so does a loaded Hummer (have a great interior), and it is a lot more practical. So the H3 is capable of replacing the creature comforts that the Vette gives me. Besides, I will not miss all the ricers who pull up at lights wanted to see who is the fastest on the street. For one thing, I will never race on a public road; too dangerous and to easy to lose a license for a very stupid act.
One of the main reasons for getting rid of the Vette is that since my move to MI, I have discovered that off roading is standard on the so-called paved roads. The Vette drags on these roads; which I might add are the worse roads I have even encountered in my life. My radar detector falls from the windshield almost every time I drive it, and I'm constantly worried about blowing the low-profile tires and damaging a rim on the sharp edged pot holes which seem to be the norm in this state. Besides, when winter hits, it would be garaged for a minimum of three months, and I would be confined to driving the Jeep for this period. Driving the Jeep on these roads for a full three month period would probably cause my kidneys to shatter. (Imagine driving the Moab trail for three months at 45 mph?)
So, the H3 seems to be the only vehicle (other than an H2) that seems to fit the replacement requirement I have.
Nice comfortable interior, with more room than a Jeep or a Vette, nice to drive on the highways, decent mileage (for me that is around 18-20 hwy), but can go off road at any time. And is has tons of character, which those of us who drive M3s, SVTs and Vettes love.

[Jersey Guy]

I was obsessed with my car too Bender.Lets face it though this is one bad a@@ TRUCK I'm loving this H3 the only thing that I'm gonna miss really is the agressive passing when someone is hogging the fast lane doing 60 then cracking it and then cutting them off.Now I just cruise in the middle and relax.I'm not gonna miss the$1200 a year for tires. B.T.W.VERY NICELY SAID F5FSTOP

[bender]

well said all of you and thank you. the dealer is supposed to call me with a figure for my M3 tomorrow...they needed to check with their BMW wholesalers. i will only do the deal if they give me darn close to what i owe. the car's market value all over is mid to low $30K and per edmunds.com my trade-in value should be around $30K. if they say mid-$20Ks then i walk and hope they contact me to better the deal. i don't mind rolling in $2-3K but $5K+ is not gonna cut it and i'd try to sell the car myself.

[Jersey Guy]

Good Luck Bender on ebay they were getting 26,000 kelly book personal sale says 25,500 dealer trade said 23,500 my dealer gave me 23,000 i took it.like you said 2 or 3 but not 5

[socalH3]

I know Im getting in late on this disscusion, but I would like to ad a lil input also. I went from a 04 GTO to my H3. I do miss the raw HP, the passing, kicking some kids ass in a WRX. But like u guys said. There are always more guys wanting to race and its too dangerous. You don't have to beat anyone in the H3. They see it and get the hell out of ur way. The GTO had an awesome interior. But the LUX H3 is just as nice in my opinion. Dude, what are your future maintenance cost's on your M3?

H3 all the way!!!

[bender]

socal: a brake job on an e46 M3 is like $3,000 and a clutch replacement is ~$1,700-2000. the S54 engine cannot be worked on by an indie shop and even at the dealer the BMW tech has to be S54 engine certified to touch it. even the oil for my M3 cannot be found anywhere but the dealer. a regular oil change is about $75-100. this is just routine stuff!!!

jersey guy: KBB trade-in value on my car is ~$27,705 so i hope that i can get maybe $28,500 since that would mean i would only have to roll in about $2,000 (and still have a lower monthly payment than i do now). they told me mid-20s over the weekend but they guessed as they don't put BMWs on their lot.

my hope is that if i tell them i am ready to buy with $28,500 or i walk (and i do really walk) then they will change their tune since all salespeople would rather make some money than no money.

[HummerNewbie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bender:
my hope is that if i tell them i am ready to buy with $28,500 or i walk (and i do really walk) then they will change their tune since all salespeople would rather make some money than no money. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is true with most deals but the fact is the H3 is a very hot vehicle right now and they don't have to deal. $1K for them really isn't any big deal in the big picture but I have seen a deal fall apart over $50. Good luck and let us know what happens. Worst case, you can wait a couple of months and get one then.

[bender]

hummernewbie,

true, but this is also summer and there are many variables in the process...like their monthly sales figures or even the season as more people tend to buy SUVs as winter approaches. we'll see. again, every sale is different and there are many variables involved.

[VTSTOMPER]

First admint you have a "hard-on" for "3's"! LOL! Honestly it is all about what you want to do with it. I had a BMW in the past and it carved the road almost as good as a motorcyle...but I wanted an H2 for all four seasons! snow and mud are no longer an issue! Plus I do not have to be super anal with washing the BMW every 5 minutes!

[bender]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by VTSTOMPER:
First admint you have a "hard-on" for "3's"! LOL! Honestly it is all about what you want to do with it. I had a BMW in the past and it carved the road almost as good as a motorcyle...but I wanted an H2 for all four seasons! snow and mud are no longer an issue! Plus I do not have to be super anal with washing the BMW every 5 minutes! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

SO TRUE!!! i wash my M3 way too much and i am paranoid about parking it. plus, its a laguna seca blue M3 so it gets a lot of attention.

[VTSTOMPER]

Oh...it has to be Laguna Seca...that is by FAR the best color on the M. I love it, plus the M badge just seems to belong on that color. I was always freaked out about leaving the BMW around...ugh...I was super paranoid about it.

No lie, you will miss that car. But all and all, I know you will be happy with the H3. I am the type of person that loves change. That is why I chose the H2 - it was so different than anything else I have ever drove.

[bender]

crap!!! i just remembered that i owe excise tax on an old car from a town i lived in like 2yrs ago!!! woops. i bet the RMV won't let me register a new H3 until i pay the tax. uh oh, i better go to the town hall before work tomorrow in case i want to move on an H3 soon.

[Rocky Mts]

I'm in the same situation of trading a sports car for an SUV. I have a two-seater convertible that I bought while still living in Louisiana. A great car, but not practical in terms of cargo space or drivability in a snowy climate. There's also the fact that I've become an avid off-roader (and hiker) since I moved to Colorado and would like my own 4x4, rather than being a passenger in someone else's Jeep or Xterra. So, the choice isn't really that hard. I just wish I could afford both.