I assume it fulfills their ego to know they have the power to affect unwilling others. They might not have a good education, retirement fund, upward career prospects, but they can impose at least this little bit onto the world to offset their broader lack of power.

These pops and crackles are common on exotics (cars that cost a lot). So, you’ve got it backwards actually.

An M3 isn’t cheap cash these days. Jaguars have this too (again, is that a cheap car?). AMGs as well. I mean - the list goes on even for more reasonable cars. Your Lamborghinis and Ferraris will vary but plenty of other exotics have them. Common with race cars as well.

I’m guessing most people here have just never watched any kind of motorsport - as these sounds are incredibly common in them. And - here’s the thing - these people like the sound.

Even if you cannot afford an upwardly mobile and financially secure life, you can easily be able to afford financed BMWs in monthly payments. As I understand, repossessing a car is not that hard nowadays with GPS and mobile networks, so there is a lot less risk. Also, it is almost never the more expensive cars I see making sounds. It is mostly cheap Honda/Subaru/Chargers that are modified.