BMW to end M3 Sedan production in September

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By Karl Peskett | June 27th, 2011

While BMW has just announced the M3 CRT, the lightened and fettled version of its M3 sedan, we’ve received notification that the M3 Sedan’s days are numbered.

A spokesperson for BMW told CarAdvice today that the M3 Sedan would end production in September this year, meaning anyone who wants four-door practicality but has a hankering for power, will have to put their order in very soon.

The M3 Sedan is a favourite here at the CarAdvice office, with its intoxicating blend of power and handling, while retaining the virtues of a genuine family car – decent size boot, four doors with enough room and brilliant quality (click here to read our review). As far as a driver’s machine goes, it easily betters the Lexus IS F and the Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG.

M3 Coupe production will cease shortly afterward the sedan, in preparation for the next generation 3 Series, and rumour has it that the current V8 will be dropped, making way for a highly-efficient turbocharged six-cylinder. If so, the V10 derived V8 gave us some great memories…and sounds.

krew

Typical Germans or BMW, going downmarket and prices never go down with the car..
Maurizio

Will be a sad sad day.

Freddo

Nah not really. Mate had a E92 which had a noise in the garbox at 20,000klm. No parts available to repair, warranty expired and $12k to replace.
Like most euro cars- ‘throw away’ after 3 years regardless of the price.

http://caradvice OSU811

Probably made the mistake of not buying the 6sp manual!!

Freddo

It was the 6 speed manual

Roadtard

$12k to replace a manual ‘box ?!
Dan

Of course $12K, it’s a BMW after all.

pja

i would never buy a car without full cover extended warranty – 5 or 6years.

Sell the car 6-12mth before warranty expires.

dimsum

As long as it has the same (if not, more) power than the current one and has that awesome sound on accelaration, who cares!
gazza

No big deal buy a LEXUS ISF, the ISF is a WAY better looking car is faster is better equipped and sounds awesome and unless your michael schumacher (a lot think they are on here) there is hardly anything between the handling of the 2 cars,you can never replace the sound of a highly tuned V8,The LEXUS is a easy choice for me.

Roadtard

I don’t think I’ve read any review which rates the IS-F above the M3.

gazza

So you have driven both have you?

Steve

IS-F is a Toyota so it must be good. Right Gazza

Dan

M3 is a BMW, so it must be better. Right Steve?

Valet Dabess

i’ve driven all 3 on forza lol and man even if i had the money to by them. i’d still go isf. who cares if m3 or c63 amg is better or faster
SteveSV

Hey Gazza I’ve driven both!! M3 over the Lexus anyday!!!!

Oh hang on, does driving these cars on Gran Turismo count? hehehe

But Roadtard has a point as whenever I see a comparison between the M3 & ISF, the M3 is always chosen over the IS.

Personally if I was lucky enough, I’d choose the M3 as it seems to be more of a drivers car especially with the manual option. Flappy paddles are for sooks!!

DWS1

Does the Lexus still have 4 exhaust tips at the back that are just for looks?
…that does not help credibility.
N.B. The Lexus is still $18,000 cheaper than the standard M3 sedan.

gazza

THAT’S SO OLD the pipes are all connected go check one out for yourself! It was only the original production cars that had one pipe on each side not connected.

Steve

A Toyota Fanboy LOL. I never though I’d see the day.

Dan

A Toyota basher LOL. I never thought I’d see the day.

Howdog

The M3 won’t exist in 3 months and this whole argument will be redundant.
CarFanatic

This hilarious, Lexus/Toyota over BMW?

When was the last safety recall on BMW’s in Australia?

2006! Since then Toyota/Lexus have issued by law, 21 safety recalls in Australia.

I’ll take the Bimmer thanks.

gazza

This is hilarious, BMW over LEXUS?

If it wasnt for lexus reseting the bench mark for luxury cars back in 1989 with the LS400, BMW would not have anywhere near the quality it has today,and BMW will NEVER catch up to the lexus service experience!

BMW SERVICE= How much can we rip off this customer.

LEXUS SERVICE= Total customer satisfaction.

ISF RULES

I actually own a LEXUS ISF and i drove the V8 M3 (mainly because i had a previous E36) and the BENZ C63, I test drove the LEXUS last because i was convinced that i was going to own another german car regardless of the price HOW WRONG I WAS! When they made the new M3 everyone has said how ugly it is and they are right it is UGLY, BMW stuffed what was once a beautiful car and made this! So after test driving the ISF i was hooked, It is a the best looking car of the 3 it has more useable power than the M3 (but slighly less than the C63) has a way better finish and higher levels of equipment,and LEXUS servicing is the best i have ever encountered (but that’s not hard after owning a BMW) so dont kid yourself the ISF is a awesome high performance 4 door sports sedan and if anyone here has enough money to actually afford a car of this caliber you would be mad not to look at a ISF!

Don

You’re flogging a dead horse mate & no-one’s listening.Just accept the fact the m3 is a legendary car & better than the ISF..then just go away & drive your imaginary Lexus back to Trollville.

ISF RULES

Hey keyboard warrior can you even afford a car yet?
gazza

I reckon your flogging YOURSELF “DON”! Shouldnt you be on the BMX site? Come back when you own a car housey, Just accept the fact!

F1MotoGP

Maybe it is a good car but not winning races just like all Japanese cars. F1, WRC, LeMans…etc. Japanese car companies withdraw from all world championship events. Why? If Lexus will enter LeMans, F1 and winning they will sell more cars. Without European car companies it will be not much racing.

Devil’s Advocate

I know exactly what you are getting at F1MotoGP, but Honda has enjoyed successful results in F1 with McLaren and who could forget Mazda winning at LeMans the year before the rotary was banned.
I think you “goofed up” mentioning WRC though. Who could forget Toyota’s dominance of the WRC in the late 80s-early 90s. Then there was the Mitsubish and Subaru years after that. Using WRC was a bad chioce because the Japanese absolutely dominated the WRC for over 10 years. However WRC aside you are correct, their success is pretty thin on the ground.

I am sure the Lexus IS-F is a very good car, however the M3, looks and heritage aside, has that special something that the Lexus is missing. An M3 is more than just about the speed, it is also about the sound and feel. If I was in the market for something like this, if I never did track days etc the Lexus would probably win the battle over the heart, however if I did track days and/or my head wasn’t 100%, my heart would win and an M3 would be in the driveway. That is the main difference between the two IMHO, the Lexus is a car you buy with your head and the M3 is one you buy with your heart.

woolly

you guys need to watch Top Gear. The M3 was far better than the Lexus in their test drive contest, and while the Merc AMG was faster in a straight line, the M3 beat it by a full 5 secs ( 2:38 vs 2:43 ) on the race track because the M3 handles corners and curves far better. The Stig told them the Merc was out of control on the corners. Clarkson, who initially preferred the Merc, in the end relented and called the M3 ” what a car, a masterpiece “.
I’v had a BMW 330 manual for 10 years – never any problems and costs me less at service time ( every 18 months according to car computer ) than my wife’s Ford every 12 months.