Help choosing E46 M3

[skillimz]

Buy a CS as it will continue to appreciate.

I owned a csl back in the day and an smg cs.

Just make sure you get an interlagos version and try and get one under 70k in mileage.

E46 is still a great looking car and looks way better than the e9x versions.

[Steve Devaney]

It's funny that colour seems to bring out lots of strong opinions on which to buy / avoid. It was one of the least contributing factors when I bought mine.
I went silver with black canvas roof and black leather interior not because of the colour but because it was the best conditioned car I had viewed.
Fashions come and go and soon the ex popular colours will have their time again so maybe not worth getting too worked up about if the car is a keeper.
I personally love techno violet, LSB and Red but if I had bought one of those colours, after a time I would be looking at something different to mine and thinking that maybe I had made the wrong choice!?
I am just happy with good paint, good hood and tidy interior and was happy to leave tatty 'better coloured' cars well alone.

[Panthro]

I've just bought a CS (from the Classifieds). Paid £13750 for it. Service history is mixed BMW and specialist, but I plan on getting it very clean and refreshed with a couple of mods such as retrofitting the multifunction steering wheel and maybe upgrading the brakes. I'll then enjoy it for the summer and see what happens after. Good face lift and post 2005 E46's are not losing any more money.

[MattOz]

I had two 'normal' E46 M3s and then a CS. The CS was considerably better to drive than the normal M3. Much preferred it. Prices are strong for a reason, but they are almost a decade old now and finding a nice one is tricky. After I sold mine, it appreciated. 😀

[zainster]

MattOz said:

I had two 'normal' E46 M3s and then a CS. The CS was considerably better to drive than the normal M3. Much preferred it. Prices are strong for a reason, but they are almost a decade old now and finding a nice one is tricky. After I sold mine, it appreciated. ??

+1

I also had two normal E46 M3's and then a CS and concur that the CS was noticeably better to drive.

[SPORTSTER]

Panthro said:

I've just bought a CS (from the Classifieds). Paid £13750 for it. Service history is mixed BMW and specialist, but I plan on getting it very clean and refreshed with a couple of mods such as retrofitting the multifunction steering wheel and maybe upgrading the brakes. I'll then enjoy it for the summer and see what happens after. Good face lift and post 2005 E46's are not losing any more money.

Was it from Nick Johnson?

[pidsy]

SPORTSTER said:

Panthro said:

I've just bought a CS (from the Classifieds). Paid £13750 for it. Service history is mixed BMW and specialist, but I plan on getting it very clean and refreshed with a couple of mods such as retrofitting the multifunction steering wheel and maybe upgrading the brakes. I'll then enjoy it for the summer and see what happens after. Good face lift and post 2005 E46's are not losing any more money.

Was it from Nick Johnson?

got my individual M3 from Nick last august - i might see what he offers me this summer - im getting the itch already.

[Panthro]

SPORTSTER said:

Was it from Nick Johnson?

No, private seller.

[SPORTSTER]

Panthro said:

No, private seller.

Nice, whats the spec? (if you don't mind me asking) weren't you on cutters?

[Panthro]

SPORTSTER said:

Nice, whats the spec? (if you don't mind me asking) weren't you on cutters?

Yep I'm on cutters and a few other forums. Its pretty basic actually apart from heated seats, which was all I wanted. Silver grey with red leather and a manual. Needs some exterior tlc but I'll have it in top shape in a few months.

[Panthro]

pidsy said:

got my individual M3 from Nick last august - i might see what he offers me this summer - im getting the itch already.

You'd be better off selling it private. Whatever price he gives you he'll just stick it up for sale wth a 2k mark up. Also, I had the itch too, I bought an E92 M3 and ran that for a while, then an E89 z4 35i and now back with an E46 after many years.

Edited by Panthro on Friday 8th May 19:59

[Jim1556]

John D. said:

Carbon black may be common as muck but does look cool.

It's a tt to keep clean, but when it's just polished...

Edited by Jim1556 on Saturday 9th May 09:46

[Ukipdefect]

Be careful with nj cars, get subframe checked before

[Ukipdefect]

Be careful with nj cars, get subframe checked before

[Steve Devaney]

I didn't get my car checked before purchase although the specialist vendor assured me there were no cracking issues..........
Goes in for inspection 2 service as soon as Redish are free (6 weeks!) so I hope to get good news then.

[pidsy]

Steve Devaney said:

I didn't get my car checked before purchase although the specialist vendor assured me there were no cracking issues..........
Goes in for inspection 2 service as soon as Redish are free (6 weeks!) so I hope to get good news then.

if its going to redish - its going to the right place.

[Steve Devaney]

pidsy said:

Steve Devaney said:

I didn't get my car checked before purchase although the specialist vendor assured me there were no cracking issues..........
Goes in for inspection 2 service as soon as Redish are free (6 weeks!) so I hope to get good news then.

if its going to redish - its going to the right place.

I spoke again with James this morning. We concluded that I should be able to determine any cracking by getting the car up onto my small garage ramps as getting it to him anytime soon may not be possible as the ramps are full and I work away during the week.
I have seen enough photos now and will checkout the Redish video on the subject that James says is about 4 mins long.
Fingers crossed nothing is apparent but I guess any recourse post sale will be better coming at this early stage with only miles on the car from the journey home from the dealer.......

[pidsy]

You will never see the problem areas without stripping bits off. Much easier to get reddish to give it a proper going over.

[48Valves]

Steve Devaney said:

I didn't get my car checked before purchase although the specialist vendor assured me there were no cracking issues..........
Goes in for inspection 2 service as soon as Redish are free (6 weeks!) so I hope to get good news then.

Was it a specialist in the North West?

[Steve Devaney]

48Valves said:

Was it a specialist in the North West?

Yes, indeed it was - Wigan to make it a little more precise!
What kind of a write up do they get? I had checked the net for reviews and the only really negative comments were based round the stock list not being updated often enough so some cars listed had actually been sold some time ago. I ca see why this is done (more perceived stock and maybe in case a car is returned!)
I went in with eyes open and bought on my knowledge of condition at the time. I had mentioned that I was getting it checked over at Redish but I wasn't aware at that stage that Redish are booked up for 7 weeks I advance!
There are a couple of very minor niggles with the car but all seems good and it's just the sub frame checking that is my real concern. I will get it up on my halfords ramps this weekend having spoked to Redish and seen their video for pointers on exactly where to check so fingers crossed.