BMW E46 M3 - REAL LIFE running costs?
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Currently trying to decide on the next car.
I am getting drawn to the E46 M3. Yes I know it was a 40-50k sports car originally and running costs will be high, but how high?
From research I see the interval services are going to be in the region of £500 to £700 dependent on service. How often are these services? (Annual mileage likely to be around 6,000) and also what are the other day to day costs like? (Fuel, tyres, general maintanance).
Many thanks in anticipation,
Paul
Currently trying to decide on the next car.
I am getting drawn to the E46 M3. Yes I know it was a 40-50k sports car originally and running costs will be high, but how high?
From research I see the interval services are going to be in the region of £500 to £700 dependent on service. How often are these services? (Annual mileage likely to be around 6,000) and also what are the other day to day costs like? (Fuel, tyres, general maintanance).
Many thanks in anticipation,
Paul
JNW1 said:
I've had my E46 M3 CS for over 4 years and have covered around 60k miles in it in that time. I don't do much round town driving but have averaged 25-26mpg which I think is pretty reasonable for the performance on offer; however, if you're only doing 6k miles a year I guess fuel consumption isn't a massive issue (within reason anyway!).
I've had all my servicing done at BMW as the car is still under extended warranty and one of the conditions of that is it must be serviced by a main agent. The services alternate between an oil service and an inspection service (so oil service, inspection 1, oil service, inspection 2, etc) and the intervals are determined by the service indicator (so frequency depends on type of usage and driving style). Unless you do a lot of short runs I think you'd get 12k miles between services (mine has averaged more like 14k) and in terms of cost you're looking at roughly £150 for the oil service, £600 for inspection 1 and £800 for inspection 2 (quoted prices can be higher but my local dealer will negotiate!). Obviously an independent will be cheaper so if you can find a good one and don't have a car under BMW warranty that could be the way to go.
In terms of tyres, my car was on PS2's originally but I swapped to Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas at around 20k miles and it's been on them ever since. The rears last at least 15k miles (longer for the fronts) and they cost around £650 a set from someone like Camskill or Tyremen. Some people who post on here look down on them as a budget tyre but I've been very pleased with them and for all-round performance they're as good as the PS2 IMO (and better in the wet). Falkens also seem to get good reports but I've no personal experience of them.
What else? Well insurance costs me around £425 fully comp with L&V and, to be honest, that's about it. My car sees the main dealer about once a year for a service and (touch wood) hasn't needed much in the way of unscheduled visits. However, having said that, on the two occasions it has needed work doing I've been grateful for the warranty and my advice would be to make sure you have a decent one. The vanos unit failed on my car at about 14k miles which is a very rare fault on the E46; however, it would have cost me well over £2k had the car not been under warranty. The alternator also needed replacing last year and that would have set me back around £900 without the warranty (although I'm sure an independent would charge less!).
Probably most important of all, though, the car's been great to drive over the period I've had it and I've never regretted buying it. For the performance I don't actually think it's that expensive to run but I can honestly say the running costs have been worth every penny. A lot of E46's are a bit dog-eared now but find yourself a good one and you won't regret it; I'm obviously biased but if your budget allows and you want a coupe I think you won't go far wrong with a good CS!
Hope the above helps, good luck with the search!
That's great advice, thanks very much! Not as bad as I was expecting to be honest...I've had all my servicing done at BMW as the car is still under extended warranty and one of the conditions of that is it must be serviced by a main agent. The services alternate between an oil service and an inspection service (so oil service, inspection 1, oil service, inspection 2, etc) and the intervals are determined by the service indicator (so frequency depends on type of usage and driving style). Unless you do a lot of short runs I think you'd get 12k miles between services (mine has averaged more like 14k) and in terms of cost you're looking at roughly £150 for the oil service, £600 for inspection 1 and £800 for inspection 2 (quoted prices can be higher but my local dealer will negotiate!). Obviously an independent will be cheaper so if you can find a good one and don't have a car under BMW warranty that could be the way to go.
In terms of tyres, my car was on PS2's originally but I swapped to Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas at around 20k miles and it's been on them ever since. The rears last at least 15k miles (longer for the fronts) and they cost around £650 a set from someone like Camskill or Tyremen. Some people who post on here look down on them as a budget tyre but I've been very pleased with them and for all-round performance they're as good as the PS2 IMO (and better in the wet). Falkens also seem to get good reports but I've no personal experience of them.
What else? Well insurance costs me around £425 fully comp with L&V and, to be honest, that's about it. My car sees the main dealer about once a year for a service and (touch wood) hasn't needed much in the way of unscheduled visits. However, having said that, on the two occasions it has needed work doing I've been grateful for the warranty and my advice would be to make sure you have a decent one. The vanos unit failed on my car at about 14k miles which is a very rare fault on the E46; however, it would have cost me well over £2k had the car not been under warranty. The alternator also needed replacing last year and that would have set me back around £900 without the warranty (although I'm sure an independent would charge less!).
Probably most important of all, though, the car's been great to drive over the period I've had it and I've never regretted buying it. For the performance I don't actually think it's that expensive to run but I can honestly say the running costs have been worth every penny. A lot of E46's are a bit dog-eared now but find yourself a good one and you won't regret it; I'm obviously biased but if your budget allows and you want a coupe I think you won't go far wrong with a good CS!
Hope the above helps, good luck with the search!
I see the Vanos engine appeared to be quite a big problem, but from what I can make out more so on the E36 and early (2000) E46, although if this is not accurate I would be greatful if people could advise. I think for my budget I would be looking around 2001/2002, but a 2k repair bill would obviously be a massive concern and one I would struggle to cover without my good old plastic friend!
JNW1 said:
At the age you're looking at I think finding a good one could be a challenge and if you get one where a previous owner has skimped on maintenance there is a danger of it being a money pit. Therefore, my advice would be to drive a few and buy on condition and history as opposed to age and/or mileage; oh, and make sure you get that decent warranty as well just in case!
Is there any particular warranty cover (such as aa etc) that tends to be taken, or are you just referring to if purchased from a garage?Will it be possible to source a good E46, or is it more realistic to try and find a find E36 for that sort of money?
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