Do you mean mess it up from the salt and snow or crashing it? I'm not sure where your M3 was built, but many of the older German built units were built for poor weather driving in Europe. Many had special type primers and coatings to prevent rusting and paint damage. With the increased technology of coatings (paint and otherwise) I would have to assume BMW is on the leading edge of this type of protection. I would be sure to have the car waxed before the winter driving season. You may want to consider removing the wide tires and wheels for 4 snow tires. yes, 4 snow tires. You can usually find a real good deal online for steel wheels and snow tires already mounted and balanced at tirerack.com. I would try to wash the car a few times over the winter months at a drive thru type car was to keep the salt/sand invasion to a minimum. As soon as summer hits, clean, scrub and get the nice tires and wheels back on. And by all means, have the car aligned if you have been hitting potholes all winter long. Those fat summer tires are not cheap! An alignment at least once a year will increase their life. Follow BMW service recomendations for regular maintainace. Hope I helped.

I beg to differ with dyurkosr. I personally have seen MANY beat-up and/or rusted out BMWs in NH, though they seem to hold up a little better than most cars. I think it safe to assume that CT uses about the same amount of road salt on average. Also, the old VW A2 chassis had "special" undercoating, and personal experience has shown that about half either have had or need serious floorboard repair. And then there is the age-old problem of rusted mufflers, and you really can't coat such a high-temperature area effectively. I know some people who lose a muffler a year, though 3 years seems to be more normal. As far as actually driving, BMWs handle the snow and ice pretty well as long as you remember which tires spin when you get too uppity with the long pedal. Put another way, if you crash you can blame the weather, the road, or yourself, but not the car.

Sorry jerv, but it doesn't sound like you own a BMW (you didn't say you did). "I personally have seen MANY beat-up and/or rusted out BMWs in NH". What does that mean? I've seen lots of rusted beat up cars of all makes. I own a BMW M3 in CT. Yes the salt is heavy, BUT after 9 years I have NO rust at all. As long as you take it through a car wash periodically the car holds up remarkably well. As for handling: Tires have a lot to do with this, but alas unless you have an AWD (my M3 is a rear wheel drive) you will have some handling difficulties. If you are shopping for a BMW, don't let the weather discourage you. The car is well made.