Everything Subarua said is truth. From personal experience, I can say that a BMW that is taken care of will run you forever. My dad has a little less than 60k miles on his '95 M3 (Silver/Grey interior). The only thing I don't like about that one is the wheels IMHO = teh suck. I love the 10 double-spoke wheels, and they set off the car a lot better, especially in that Estoril Blue (I believe that is what they called that blue). The car is set up to be a track car, and it is slightly underpowered. the '95 has 240bhp with more mod capabilities, and the '96-'99 has 250bhp with slightly more ECU restrictions. Chip it, and it'll be your friend for life. If you want to mod without affecting BMW maintenence, there's always the (overpriced, but existent) Dinan option. As far as the ride, its as tight as you'd ever want. As for winter, my dad bought the car with 17"x7" Modas wrapped in blizzaks. The tires are still about 75% tread, and perform well in the not-snow. The farthest we've ever driven that car was from C-bus to Indy for the USGP. After that, the vader seats get a tad uncomfortable. My dad has never had a single problem with his car mechanically. The only two things were out of anybody's control, caused by weather and rocks thrown up by large trucks (broken license plate bracket, broken foglight). If it is lower miles, and is in good condition, definitely consider the M3.