yeah man I was looking at e36 M3's because they're pretty cheap nowadays compared to e46's but after thinking long and hard I knew it was going to cost me a fortune in the long run. Servicing / running / insurance is like twice as much as I have now so chose the e46 320 a bit of a step down power wise but a great everyday runner. When I was looking for my bmw i looked at a few cars... I drove an EK9 civic with a teg engine under the bonnet and that scared the sh*t out of me, couldn't stop grinning but I knew I'd eventually bin it lol so decided against it I always liked the honda prelude facelift phase 2 model but was sooo disappointing to drive and I didn't like the 4wheel steer it made the car feel off balance when turning quickly Corsa Turbo .... didn't want to buy it but I saw the advert and thought I NEED A GO! lol Scooby ..... all you see driving them are middle aged barryboy skinheads and I couldn't afford a decent EVO at the time lol New Civic ... LOVE the dash on them like your driving a jet lol but my GF just bought one so couldn't have the same car haha Decided on the BMW mainly due to the spec being so high and I got the most car for my money twas such a bargain!. Havent looked back since, insurance is bearable, fuel costs aren't the best but having a 2.3 engine i wasn't expecting anything else lol and running costs aren't too bad servicing is about right price and some parts that are needed are surprisingly cheap whereas others are expensive lol swings and roundabouts i guess.