RE: BMW M3 (E46): You Know You Want To

[leon9191]

Baryonyx said:

I expect they will probably hold their value a little more than E46's, despite being quite inferior in my eyes.

I think they will drop to this level because running costs will make them prohibitive to own. There is a 2008 car up for £17k now think in another 5 years when petrol is even more expensive, high road tax, tyres and the dread of that motor going pop a high mile e90 with patchy history isn't going to be a very appealing prospect at all.

[kambites]

Hellbound said:

The real question here is how low will the E9* M3's price drop?

Fewer sold (at a guess) and that V8. Maybe they'll bottom out at £10k.

My guess would be somewhere around the 3k mark in the end. I can't see anything to make them hold their value better than the E36 and E46.

[markrc]

If I'm honest M3s of any era haven't really grabbed me. That may well be because I've never driven one, but you can't deny that an E46 at 6k is a lot of bang for your buck.

I'm not a fan of the yellow on this one though...

[Rollcage]

MissChief said:

Love these!

Either Interlagos or Estoril Blue or the incredibly rare Ruby Red Individual colour. Or maybe Techno Violet. Or Imola Red.

The only Ruby Red one I've ever seen for sale:

I'm sure I've seen a thread about that car, or one similar, on here. Remembered it due to the colour.

[e21Mark]

Brought up the subject of buying an e46 M3 with the Mrs last night. She listened to me rave on about what great cars they are and then asked why they're so cheap then? I need to come up with an answer that'll convince her we need an Imola red, manual car on 18's.

[philis]

e21Mark said:

Brought up the subject of buying an e46 M3 with the Mrs last night. She listened to me rave on about what great cars they are and then asked why they're so cheap then? I need to come up with an answer that'll convince her we need an Imola red, manual car on 18's.

Because according to the internet, they are money pits

[S3_Graham]

olly22n said:

e21Mark said:

Brought up the subject of buying an e46 M3 with the Mrs last night. She listened to me rave on about what great cars they are and then asked why they're so cheap then? I need to come up with an answer that'll convince her we need an Imola red, manual car on 18's.

You won't.

Mainly because there aren't many IR's on eighteens, and I want one. (or LSB)

LSB's seem to be rare as rocking horse doo. Couldnt you get a set of 18's fairly easily by offering your 19's to swap?

[Escy]

kambites said:

My guess would be somewhere around the 3k mark in the end. I can't see anything to make them hold their value better than the E36 and E46.

I can't see an E9x M3 ever being 3k. Not as many around and the demand for used spares (engines mainly) will keep the prices higher.

[e21Mark]

There's this one but I'd need to have the interior dyed black.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/bmw-...

[S3_Graham]

olly22n said:

S3_Graham said:

olly22n said:

e21Mark said:

Brought up the subject of buying an e46 M3 with the Mrs last night. She listened to me rave on about what great cars they are and then asked why they're so cheap then? I need to come up with an answer that'll convince her we need an Imola red, manual car on 18's.

You won't.

Mainly because there aren't many IR's on eighteens, and I want one. (or LSB)

LSB's seem to be rare as rocking horse doo. Couldnt you get a set of 18's fairly easily by offering your 19's to swap?

Aye, wheels will be easy to sort.

I would love an LSB.

Here you go mate:


LSB is quite possibly my favorite colour. If only I could find one, then afford.

[monthefish]

161BMW said:

monthefish said:

161BMW said:

monthefish said:

161BMW said:

for a BMW which can humble the likes of Porsche 911 (996)

Can you elaborate on this point?

No problem. What i meant was Porsche is pretty much regarded as the "more presitigious / sporty brand" than BMW M and has more racing heritage than BMW. Given that a brand new E46 M3 costs in the region of £40-50k and a brand new Porsche 996 Carrera 2/4 cost £60-75k you would have thought the 996 would be alot faster. Well in fact it is not. The M3 has the same pace give/take as the Carrera models (note i did not say Turbo or GT3 or GT2).

The M3 also has a better engine and has won the International Engine of the Year Awards in the 3 - 4 litre category from 2001 - 2006 beating the Porsche 996 engines amongst others. The interior in the M3 is also nicer .... nicer design and better quality materials. And is better looking IMO. My point with respect to "humbling" a 996 referred to the pace of the M3 and the 996.

In saying that the 996 is widely acknowledged to have better brakes than the M3 and more communicative steering feel. This is what Autocar found when they tested E46 M3 Coupe, 996.1 Carrera 2, Audi RS4 or RS6 i forget which. Hope that answers your question :-)

Not really (but it was a good try!)



The M3 and Carrera were broadly similar in price new (as you say Carrera a bit more) and they are broadly similar in terms of pace.

Still not seeing how one 'humbles' the other.

They are not broadly similar in price see above :-)
Given they are very similar in pace hence humbled :-)

So a slighly cheaper car is similar in pace.
That is not 'humbled'.

(Go and look up the definition of 'humbled' if you're still struggling with this. )

[e21Mark]

S3_Graham said:

olly22n said:

S3_Graham said:

olly22n said:

e21Mark said:

Brought up the subject of buying an e46 M3 with the Mrs last night. She listened to me rave on about what great cars they are and then asked why they're so cheap then? I need to come up with an answer that'll convince her we need an Imola red, manual car on 18's.

You won't.

Mainly because there aren't many IR's on eighteens, and I want one. (or LSB)

LSB's seem to be rare as rocking horse doo. Couldnt you get a set of 18's fairly easily by offering your 19's to swap?

Aye, wheels will be easy to sort.

I would love an LSB.

Here you go mate:


LSB is quite possibly my favorite colour. If only I could find one, then afford.

I quite like LSB myself.

[blade7]

Great cars, one was on my shortlist 6 or 7 years ago for a weekend toy, back then a good one was nearer £15k I think. In the end I decided on a 944 turbo and I still think a really good modified turbo just shades the M3, but if I had to pick which to run as an only car I'd have the M3 everytime.

[nsm3]

Kinda wish I had kept my '03 now, it would only have had about 60k on the clock and I could have saved myself about 15 grand on depreciation costs!

Would've, could've, should've eh?

[Dagnut]

monthefish said:

Not really (but it was a good try!)



The M3 and Carrera were broadly similar in price new (as you say Carrera a bit more) and they are broadly similar in terms of pace.

Still not seeing how one 'humbles' the other.

Broadly similar? One cost 44k and the other costing 65k is that that definition of "broad" now?
I'm not saying the M3 humbles it in anyway, IMO it doesn't, the E46 is a good sports saloon but its not a sports car, its too heavy and the 996 has it beat pretty much everywhere..but they are completely different price points!!!

[Patrick Bateman]

Hellbound said:

The real question here is how low will the E9* M3's price drop?

Fewer sold (at a guess) and that V8. Maybe they'll bottom out at £10k.

Well, they haven't budged far off £20k for about 2 years now.

[NelsonR32]

I had the hard decision of choosing an E36 M3 or an E46 M3 a couple of months back.

In the end, I plumped for the E36. What swung it for me was the E36 is rarer and a more thrilling driving experience. They have also now come away from the "Council Estate bling" image and started to get the modern classic tag. The E46 M3 is now at the stage where it's just starting to go into the hands of the wrong people (slammed, 20" rims etc) and where the bills start going up.

As with all M cars they can't be run on a shoestring if you want to run it to its full potential. I'd say you'd be spending £2-3k a year mantaining it, plus the inevitable subframe cracks...

[Dagnut]

olly22n said:

A quick search reveals £55k for the hog, and £41k for the M3.
That is not 'slightly cheaper'.

(Go and look up the definition of 'slighty cheaper' if you're still struggling with this )

The M3 was 39,995 in basic spec on release in 2001, in 1997 the 996 was 55k in basic spec.

[weez123]

NelsonR32 said:

I had the hard decision of choosing an E36 M3 or an E46 M3 a couple of months back.

In the end, I plumped for the E36. What swung it for me was the E36 is rarer and a more thrilling driving experience. They have also now come away from the "Council Estate bling" image and started to get the modern classic tag. The E46 M3 is now at the stage where it's just starting to go into the hands of the wrong people (slammed, 20" rims etc) and where the bills start going up.

As with all M cars they can't be run on a shoestring if you want to run it to its full potential. I'd say you'd be spending £2-3k a year mantaining it, plus the inevitable subframe cracks...

Your right , ive owned both and found the e36 much more fun especially the early 3.0

[Animal]

Plenty for sale HERE