ISF without a bitch seat/folddown seats automatically loses the practicality game.
a well maintained M3 is probably the favourable choice...it'll also win in resale value against the C63

Damnnn ISF only fits 2 in the back? That is a major deal breaker for practicality, since I would normally need to fit 3 in the back. For the c63 and m3 I'm already budgeted that the car will need at least 2-3k a year in maintenance, is that too optimistic? I'm also a roadstar, 43% discount, how much do you guys with m3 pay?

I know ideally I should be keeping the AP2, but I've had it for about 6 years. Even my wife doesnt think I should get rid of it either, but I feel like I should move on to the next stage in my life. And leasing another car to the stable is not practical in both financial sense and space wise (since I have a winter beater also), if I only use it to take my family around.

The AP2 is already pending to a close friend, but if he backs out I will probably trade it in to a dealership to save on the tax and give me a little more bargaining power, given they have a car I want in stock.

Seems like the M3 is the best "bang for the buck" in terms of overall driveability, resale value,reliability. I'm gonna see if I can find one at a dealership this weekend to get a better feel for. Thanks guys!

I would go M3 for sure but making sure you have good warranty with it since everyone knows german parts/maintenance are not cheap!

Keep the ap2 and drive your parents in their own car.:fuckyea:

I don't know how mobile your parents are, but it might be something to consider as you choose another car. For example, bad hips which result in pain when they sit in a low car. Or small back seats that they can't contort themselves into

my friend had to drive his older parents around and had to get rid of his sporty sedan that was a firmer ride & lower and went to a CUV for comfort. mind you his parents are in their 80's

Those are some of my all time favourites too. But they drive completely different. It's basically an economy car with a big jump in performance/handling. But again, it falls into the same category of higher maintenance and big gas bills. But not Luxury pricing, but still much more expensive.

Personally I like sporty with modern luxuries. Overall fit and finish feels much more sturdy in a Euro over Japanese IMO. The steering feels better also. If you know Subaru's, you know they're not exactly hassle free. Like most turbo cars.

Remember $2-3k MINIMUM annual costs. It obviously depends on which year, how many kms, and how much you drive. Don't for get the money you spend on upgrading ;).

My first year on the M3, I was into it for about $6k in repairs/maintenance (throttle actuator x1, front brakes, tires, fluid changes). Insurance with full discount runs me about $2300/year. I average about 250kms/tank on 91 octane. Got like 320ish doing one seattle trip.

A lot of used dealerships will let you test drive their cars. I drove 10 different cars (4x m3, 3x c63,2x s4, 1x ISF) before I settled on one. I was really debating between C63 and the E90 M3 ( I like sedans).

My opinions on the cars:

C63 is a like a crazy rowdy muscle car. You want to drive it like an asshole and let the rear end slip out. If you dare turn off traction control you're in for a ride. The exhaust tone is so intoxicating. I personally liked the interior the most, and exterior was appealing. My main thing that detoured me was how much more the parts are to replace, the frequency of replacing them, and the low ceiling in the back. I'm not exactly super tall but found it uncomfy in the back since my head was touching the ceiling. All around awesome car, so fun to drive. Seems the flashiest to me.

B8 S4. In plain words. Underwhelming. Exterior and Performance. After driving all the others, this felt the slowest. I loved the interior of the vehicle. It's classy. But the rest is just so subtle. Not exciting at all. You're paying about the same price and it feels like you're not getting enough in comparison. In it's defense this car is not suppose to be grouped in with the others, this is supposed to grouped with the 335, but it's used pricing is up there. I know this car can be modded to be fast, but for myself I like my engines stock and hassle free.

ISF. Literally feels like a fast IS. The steering feel is too soft for my liking. Only fits 4 people. The interior seems a little boring to me, probably because I came from a Lexus previously. It's nice looking, but not WOW nice like the brand new IS. Interior seems a little too "boy racer" to me. Again, personally I just didn't feel wowed by the car. When you close the doors, it doesn't have that nice solid thump. Feels like any other Japanese car. Fun car, but for the same amount of money as the other contenders just didn't seem to be my taste.

M3. I picked this because it basically was the best in my eyes out of the 4 cars. It handles much better than the C63 and the others, the v8 exhaust tone is awesome (not as bad ass as the C63 though but better than the S4 and ISF), It comes in DCT or 6 Speed, You have a choice of sedan or coupe/convert., It doesn't chew through tires as badly as C63, The interior is quite nice. Exterior is nice and sporty without being too flashy. It's an EASY fun car to drive, I felt like the C63 if I gave a little too much throttle I would wrap it around a pole. The M3 is easy and predictable to control. Not so torquey. But I really liked the craziness of the C63. Just not for year round driving for me. If you're buying a 6 speed or want navigation, consider buying a 09+.

Regardless which route you go, you'll still love it. They're all great cars. Just depends on your own personal tastes.

Again these are just MY OWN opinions on the vehicles. Don't tear me a new asshole because I didn't favour the other cars :p

If you are tired of the AP2 and want something different and more functional the M3 is the best mix. Just be prepared to spend much more on insurance, gas and repairs.

I agree with your wife. I would keep the AP2 as a weekend / summer car. Nice to have a car in the garage that is fun to drive, reliable and appreciating in value.

Instead upgrade your winter to a nice reliable 4 door daily.

My god you have a heavy foot to get 250kms to a tank and 320kms on the hwy lol Must. Not. Leave. 2nd. Gear.

Would you consider the 2nd gen Cadillac CTS-V? I mean it's pretty much an AMG with a worse interior but you can get a manual.

Like I said. I like spirited driving. If I seriously try to nurse it MAYBE I get like 300kms. My friends w/ E92's get 350. I think that's damn near impossible for me.

I generally accelerate a bit harder off the line. I cruise in 3rd or 4th gear in the city. I like hearing the exhaust tone. Mine's not insanely loud, so I tend to gun it a bit so I can hear it. I just love the way it sounds, loud but not obnoxious. And doesn't sound like a fart can.

I can't believe anyone would lump the STI/EVO in with the other three cars :s

STI and EVO are refined like Donald Trump and comfortable like sodomy.

Don't ask me how I know :ohgodwhy:

Seriously though OP, I think you're making the right choice - though the ISF deserves credit for having the best sounding engine IMO.

I went through the same thing. Use to have a normal IS and the back seats were really tight so actually didn't consider it.

M3 drove great and sounds wonderful. However, I didn't want to rev it out during city driving (as I had to do with my s2000). After market exhaust on this car sounds amazing.

C63 to me was most suitable for me since I appreciated the low end torque for daily driving. The rumble on the stock exhaust also sounded better than the other two cars in my opinion. Therefore, I went with the C63 and still have my s2000 for weekends.

If you choose C63, make sure to get MY2011 or newer. The ones pre-2011 had head bolt issues. I did research on the mbworld forums before purchasing. Therefore, you will find the older ones (2008-2010) to be quite a lot cheaper compared to 2011 and newer (2012 had the facelift).

Good luck on your search!

What does your wife drive? Considering the cost of M3 maintenance and insurance you could buy something like a Matrix/Fit/etc to drive your parents around and keep the AP2 for when you're driving by yourself and probably end up saving money.

Remember how ridiculous our car storage options can be in Van though. If there was garage space definitely a good option.

Cman333 is correct. The S4 is not in the same category. S4 is grouped with 335/C300. RS5 (RS4 if it was still in production) is grouped with M3/C63. I also faced the same decisions when I was looking for a new car. Came down to my B8.5 S4 cause the dealer gave me the best trade in value. But the front runners for me was the 335i/slightly used M3. However my friend telling me the S4 was the best all round daily driver which ultimately led me to the Audi dealer (funny I didn't even think of the S4 originally) and the rest was history. OP if you can't decide which means you're good with any of these cars, it'll come down to price and what fits your lifestyle best.

was jsut gonna say...not everyone has the luxury to have 3+ cars in a household anymore.

True, but if the parents don't drive then I assume there might be a parking space at their place that could hold the comfy car until OP goes to get them and drive them somewhere.

I got rid of a daily driven Del Sol Vtec and a comfy but average Volkswagen CC to have a nice semi-luxury daily driver. I also got rid of my GSXR600 which I kind of regret but that's another story. Anyways...given the same scenario I'd do the exact same. In the perfect world we would have all the car space with every car imaginable for every life usage but in this day and age especially living around here it's not going to happen.

I was really torn between the two (c63 and m3). My gf liked the C63 more. Big price jump between 2011+ and older. It really takes a disciplined owner to drive the C63 I think. You just always wanna mash down on the pedal lol.

I totally agree with you on the revving the car to get any real power out of the M3. I feel like I need to go pretty hard off the line just to accelerate and keep up with base model Civics. lol

If you pussy foot the M3, it feels slower than everything. Like those assholes that take 30 sec to get to 50kmph. The torque in the M3 really is lackluster. You can have fun if you really give her, but thing is you HAVE to really push it. I find it feels like I have to be one of those asshole BMW drivers off the line just to accelerate at a NORMAL pace. The C63 just naturally is a torquey beast. You don't have to mash the pedal to accelerate at a normal pace. I still have some regrets on not getting the C63 lol

How's the overall maintenance and reliability on your C63? What would you estimate your annual costs to be? I'm currently on the fence about getting a bigger, faster, automatic car. I've soon realized I miss not having to clutch in/out all the time. I think a manual transmission weekend/track car is great, but for my daily I'm just far too old/lazy/retarded to do it daily any more.

I drive an E92 M3 + have spent time in a C63. The AMG has a horribly uninspiring chassis and gas mileage is disgusting. Flooring it across Russ Baker from Richmond to Granville/70th for some noodles cost me 1/4 of a tank of 94. The driver ergos in the C63 are pretty great. Interior is a little small. The tranny is fine in automatic but the paddles don't let you do whatever you want.

In contrast the E92 gives me 15.5L/100km driving like an asshole. Has good interior space. Amazing suspension. Super comfortable.

The reliability and maintenance on my C63 has been great (surprisingly). Just regular dealership service which is about $800 (depending on the type of service). I just need to top up engine oil in between services as most performance engines burn a little oil. I'm also getting old and lazy too so I really appreciate the automatic now haha. And gas milage does suck when you punch it. But my long term trip is averaging 16.5L/100km which is really good! I only occasionally gun it and I do 70/30 City/Highway driving on a daily.

Whoa. I'm at like 18L/100km as per the reading. Weathers been bad so I've been being responsible. Otherwise I'm normally 18.x-19L which I don't think is accurate. I push MAX 300km a tank. I'm sure I could push a little more with the light running longer. lol

If 15.5L is you driving like an asshole..... what does that say about me? FeelsBadMan FeelsBadMan FeelsBadMan

this could be just me... but I test drove a 507...the first thing I thought to myself when I sat in was.... why is the tach all the way to right and .... small...

with the big fat steering wheel, I was merging on the highway and I cant even see my revs... lol...

that is my 0.02 of my 5 min in a C63

I think everything has been spoken about all 3 vehicles... like everyone said... there is no bad car in the 3 choices, just the one that suits you more...

if i had to choose as a DD... I would go for an isf... I also think it is way more rare compare to C63 and M3s which is practically 20% of Aberdeen Parking Lot