gsr.sedan said:
I didn’t find it in search so perhaps someone who has owned both can compare the two. Reliability, maintenance, resale value, performance, daily drive ability and anything else would be appreciated.
I’m looking for cars with less then 10k miles. A 2002+ NSX would be dreamy, but a 05 M3 seems like more bang for the buck.
Funny the guy asked people who owned both and the rest of you chime in who just have an NSX..LoL
Hey GSR I have both. An 04 NSX and an 05 M3 SMG. To say they don't really compare is an understatement as one's a 4 seater coupe and the other is a 2 seater exotic ,but since your curious here goes.
Performance- M3 has more hp 333 and torque 262 vs NSX 290 hp and 224 tq. What most prime members don't know ( or don't recognize ) is that the M3 is a high rev ( 8k just like NSX ) car. Most people don't like this or have trouble learning to really drive it. To get the most out of an M3 you have to drive it like you stole it! These cars do not like to cruise they bulk and bark at low speeds. That said once you learn to drive it right it's a great performance car ,but it is heavy and ( at least to me ) drives like a heavy car. Taking it through turns it will never embarrass itself ,but it's not as visceral as the NSX ( might be the 400 lb weight difference :biggrin: ). Someone here posted that the M3 posts better numbers and that's incorrect. The E46 M3 posts better numbers than the 3.0 NA1 NSX and NOT the 3.2 NA2 NSX. It's a drivers race pure and simple! Now the NSX goes about it's performance very differently imho. My NSX feels much more energetic than my M3 ,but my NSX has no problem cruising ( weird huh? ). You can drive the NSX like you stole and it's a much more enjoyable expierence as it's flatter in the corners and has a lot more bite as far as traction goes. Winner at least to me is the NSX ,but the M3 doesn't feel far behind which says a lot since it has a back seat and larger trunk. Plus the I consider the M3 a better four season car because of the heated seats
Fuel economy is about the same with the NSX taking a slight nod when I do more city driving.
Reliability. No brainer NSX ,but to be fair the only thing my M3 went back to the dealer for was a broken radio after track day ( go figure ).
Interior- No contest as the M3's features blow my NSX away. The NSX has everything you need ,but the bluetooth, Navi , superb HK sound system( plus heated seats ) really make those long drives to the track go by much quicker. Funny thing is I can't say which seats I like better for track or just regular driving. M3 seats have plenty of adjustments whereas the NSX seats has only two adjustments ,but feel great even after really long drives. How'd Honda do that
Attention factor goes to the NSX while the M3 gets a lot of knowing stares by people who appreciate the car ( and golddiggers..LoL ). NSX is like walking around with no pants everybody stares. People almost crash into you taking cell phone pictures or trying to get a close up look at the car it really can be a bit of a pain sometimes
Insurance it quite a bit cheaper on the M3 so that's a plus. If you go with the M3 get as new as possible with warranty as these things can have major problems. NSX has proven to hold up much better over time with much less expensive operating costs so factor that in your decision as well.
Any other questions about them let me know. Oh and the M3 is more bang for the buck ,but it's not an exotic and there's no exclusivity to owning one ( i.e you see yourself coming and going ) kinda like a Porsche:biggrin:
The S2K was f'd up by my daughter's ex
Sage financial advice there too, Captain Obvious.
