OK..so E 46 M3 Factory Nav is not as good as aftermkt..which is a suitable sub?

The Nav in the M3 is the same as all 3 - 7 series. Its all down to the firmware, the latest version v.28/80 is actually very good (nice graphics,

3D views etc). I recently changed from an M3 with a £3K Alpine nav/audio system and the Nav in my new BM (which has factory nav), is every bit as good if not better. The integration with TMC is fantastic and it does look a lot better than a flip out screen which does spoil the interior design a bit.

If you hunt around there is also software to edit the BMW factory nav, custom icons, POI, even the startup screen can be changed. All a bit of fun to have a 3D rendering of your own car driving down across the map ;-)

It's also down to the hardware. I don't think I'm going to get 3D views etc on my Mk1 system. Early M3s shipped with the Mk3 4:3 ratio CD based navigation and I'm not sure these are upgradable as much as the the later versions. OK BMW navigation isn't great bad it's not bad either. I don't feel any compulsion to change mine but then to me it's so much better than having a crumpled up map on the pessenager seat.

If you do find an M3 with the nav but you don't want it then part it out as there are still people willing to pay big bucks to retrofit their systems. Regardless of the nav I like the TV screen for the radio, OBC etc.

Yep, the latest firmware flash is only any use on the Mk IV DVD based nav, no good for CD based systems. Plenty of Mk IV's on eBay if you fancy an upgrade.

I have an E46 (Aug 2004) with factory fitted sat nav and it is very good; getting a later DVD-ROM was an improvements as it fixed some mapping errors.

-- John Perry

CD = 700Mb Data

DVD = 4.5Gb Data

Obviously the DVD can hold more DATA --------------?????

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

Make sure you really want the M3. I often find them a little too harsh for everyday driving and I seem to be jumping in the 740 most days now.

Be patient. It took me about a month to find the perfect one. I'm in Orlando and found it in Cary, NC. Flew up, drove it and drove it home.

I wanted the Nav and SMG in a convertible, in the 2003 range, at the right price.

Love it :)

Drive one now before you spend time finding the right car. Plenty of people use Ms as their daily car. I did for 2 years, but I only do about 7000 mile per year anyway. And even then it was not my only car and I would sometimes take my 4x4 in preference for long journeys.

Ms tend to be bought by a lot of people who see them as the top model and some would say they are. Others would say that all M cars are simply a model in their own right.

An M3 in no way compares to a 330 irrispective of modifications. The power delivery is vastly different and the ride and handling again are very different to all other models. My wife drove a 2003 325 cab. sport for a year before we changed to an M3 and for the next two years she hated it. Too fast, too harsh and didn;t like the SMG. I loved it!

Now she's happy with an X5 I'm now looking for an M3 CSL.

Good luck with the search.

Some days I love my M3 and some days I hate it. If I get an open road and some decent weather then it's great but in cold or wet weather with stop start driving or on bumpy roads the noise and the bumps and the crappy gearchanges etc make me want to scrap the thing. An M3 isn't the top model. It's the top model made more powerful at the expense of cold running characteristics, made faster at the expense of road noise and truck like clunks and clonks. I've had mine for a few years and keep thining about retrofitting sound deadening. What I wanted (which is more how the E36 was) is the power of the M3 with the comfort of a

330.

That's the beauty -- to each his/her own. I love my M3, warts and all, but don't really deal with very cold weather (Florida). That said, it isn't the most practical car, which is why I also have a 540 Touring.

Tom

Try the new 335d! Superb twin turbo 3L. Goes like absolute stink and has all the creature comforts. Just not as involving as an M3 but I think a more suitable compromise for everyday use. It does seem that most M3 owners have another car even if the M is their main driver.

That's just because they're loaded ;-)

I will once there is a convertible, but I like the M3. It's not a matter of daily driver -- I am happy with it each and every day. It's practicality, something the 335 won't solve. I can't fit a table saw in the back of an M3 or a 335. I can't fit 6 kids in an M3. I can in a 540iT.

I don't see myself making the switch. Perhaps the new V8 M3.

Tom

I was quite pleased that I could fit complete (small) sheets of sheetrock in the back of my m3 whereas in the E36 I couldn't :-)

I had a double-take when I read this before realizing you were in the UK. In the US, sheetrock comes only in 4'x8' sheets! ;->

FloydR