1997 BMW E36 M3 Convertible, Best Bang for your Buck

Possibly one of the best BMW chassis ever created and right now its a steal.

This Estoril Blue example belongs to a friend of mine who has BMW coursing through his veins. He's loved every moment of this car and there's good reason to.

This car stands for a lot, it set the future for M3's as we know it. While it's a convertible and U.S. Spec it's still everything you'd imagine an M3 to be.

The E36 was an important turning point for the M3. It featured an Aerodynamic body, designed to cut through the wind. It was the first BMW to have enclosed headlights and sported Brake cooling ducts along with sleeker more aerodynamic side mirrors. The Engine was a beast of it's own, at least the Euro spec one was, returning the N/A inline six with 3 liters was the best choice BMW had made. It created 282 horse power, setting the record for best horsepower to liter ratio for any car of this time.

About twenty years later and the E36 M3 is still capable of putting a smile on your face. With prices on the rise it's still possible to pick up a decent one for between 5k - 6k. With the E36 the body style tends to determine the price point. Sedans becoming more expensive than the coupe and convertible, most-likely due to their rarity, tends to hike up the price to 10k.

Not to mention the track monster this car is known to be. It's one of the best handling cars ever created with a near perfect weight distribution of 49 percent in the front and 51 in the rear. Plus this thing loves to take a beating, its by far one of the most reliable and most fun cars BMW has ever made and deserves a little more credit.

So if you haven't gotten to drive one of these old school M3's I'd suggest you get to it before they're off to sit in garages or smashed into a wall.