I'd had my M3 4 years. Got it with 35k miles on the clock from the BMW approved network. Loved it, but all good things come to an end...
I sold it with 106k miles on it on a replacement engine that cost me £5k, new clutch, brakes etc etc. It was incredible after the work was done. (There are loads of dogs out there that simply aren't maintained well enough). It was immaculate but had cost me a fortune and i was scared i'd be bankrupt if something else went wrong. Plus i'd moved in with my Fiancee so couldn't justify running it. Awesome cars but need money to keep them right. Whats the point in having one that doesn't go right! I've driven loads of them and have to say mine was easily one of the best! I even had a 25k mile hire car M3 SMG for a month (at a cost of 16k to the third party!!).
Always wanted an S3 and it made a decent step down. Once mapped, its a better poor weather cross country commuting weapon and does over 30mpg. Happy days!