e46 M3 advice please.
Discussion
Having done all my due diligence when buying mine but having a HGF 2000 miles in I would strongly suggest finding one which has had the gasket done.
I would probably recommend doing it if the car has done any sort of decent mileage (which they nearly all have now) as a precautionary measure.
I would probably recommend doing it if the car has done any sort of decent mileage (which they nearly all have now) as a precautionary measure.
I've had my manual convertible since the very start of 2015 and it's been great. Maintenance wise I've only ever had servicing done at an indy (two different places actually depending on which one is available to book when I'm free) and both have commented on the mechanical condition of my car being exceptional and a pleasure to work on. I was fairly confident it had been well maintained before purchase anyway, so this just ramped that feeling to 100%
Common stuff I've had to have done during ownership are as follows
- DSC Pressure sensor (1 and 2). This hasn't been mentioned here yet I don't think, but these will go at some point, no real indicator as to mileage when that may be, they just go. Mine went at 65k miles (car was bought at 62k miles and currently is on 82k). Each pressure sensor is about £90 from BMW. These are BMW only parts. Tell tale symptom is the DSC and brake check lights coming on amber colours at once. A diagnostic run will tell you which sensor(s) flagged the error. I had my brake fluid changed at the same time also.
- Rear camber arms. Mine had a slight bend in each arm. I was told this can happen over time or from a harsh pot hole etc. camber arms are not expensive, so I bought OEM ones from Cotswold Cheltenham with the 10% cutters member discount. Be sure to also order new bolts and nuts to go with them as the old ones will almost certainly be seized and/or worn. It is not worth replacing the OEM arms with stiffer aftermarket ones for road use. The OEM arms are made to flex in order to absorb everyday bumps and shocks. making them stiff will compromise the ride and just hurt other linked components on the road.
- Battery. Sounds like an odd one this, but a healthy battery can make all the difference, from funky startups to DSC error lights flagging up because the battery isn't giving sufficient power to the modules. I had mine replaced by AA as I could not start the car one morning and it turned out the battery was too weak beyond a simple jump charge. The replacement has lifetime warranty for as long as I own the car, so I'm sorted in this regard now.
- Xenon bulbs. These fade and lose white intensity over time and it's rare for owners to spend on these to get them replaced. I replaced the OE Osram ones with Phillips Xtreme Vision and they're damn good.
- Exhaust backbox flange brackets. These brackets are steel and corrode to the point where they fall off or crack apart. These will fail your MOT if the tester spots the cracks. A complete stainless steel replacement kit with bolts and nuts can be bought online for under £40. Something well worth doing during a service. Every E46 M3 will suffer this, so you may as well get it done sooner rather than later. It seems silly BMW used standard steel brackets here when the backbox is stainless steel...
The other common and big things have already been mentioned by others above. My boot floor has no cracks or anything yet, but when it does, it's going straight to ETA Motorsport to have the plates welded on.
Common stuff I've had to have done during ownership are as follows
- DSC Pressure sensor (1 and 2). This hasn't been mentioned here yet I don't think, but these will go at some point, no real indicator as to mileage when that may be, they just go. Mine went at 65k miles (car was bought at 62k miles and currently is on 82k). Each pressure sensor is about £90 from BMW. These are BMW only parts. Tell tale symptom is the DSC and brake check lights coming on amber colours at once. A diagnostic run will tell you which sensor(s) flagged the error. I had my brake fluid changed at the same time also.
- Rear camber arms. Mine had a slight bend in each arm. I was told this can happen over time or from a harsh pot hole etc. camber arms are not expensive, so I bought OEM ones from Cotswold Cheltenham with the 10% cutters member discount. Be sure to also order new bolts and nuts to go with them as the old ones will almost certainly be seized and/or worn. It is not worth replacing the OEM arms with stiffer aftermarket ones for road use. The OEM arms are made to flex in order to absorb everyday bumps and shocks. making them stiff will compromise the ride and just hurt other linked components on the road.
- Battery. Sounds like an odd one this, but a healthy battery can make all the difference, from funky startups to DSC error lights flagging up because the battery isn't giving sufficient power to the modules. I had mine replaced by AA as I could not start the car one morning and it turned out the battery was too weak beyond a simple jump charge. The replacement has lifetime warranty for as long as I own the car, so I'm sorted in this regard now.
- Xenon bulbs. These fade and lose white intensity over time and it's rare for owners to spend on these to get them replaced. I replaced the OE Osram ones with Phillips Xtreme Vision and they're damn good.
- Exhaust backbox flange brackets. These brackets are steel and corrode to the point where they fall off or crack apart. These will fail your MOT if the tester spots the cracks. A complete stainless steel replacement kit with bolts and nuts can be bought online for under £40. Something well worth doing during a service. Every E46 M3 will suffer this, so you may as well get it done sooner rather than later. It seems silly BMW used standard steel brackets here when the backbox is stainless steel...
The other common and big things have already been mentioned by others above. My boot floor has no cracks or anything yet, but when it does, it's going straight to ETA Motorsport to have the plates welded on.
Edited by robbiekhan on Sunday 26th June 01:23
loud430 said:
thank you guys for all these bits of advice. one thing ive been wondering is do the convertibles suffer scuttle shake? I drove an e30 convertible once while helping out a friend of mine & thought the scuttle flex was quite bad?
The e46 is nowhere near as bendy as the old e30 was, but the e46 convertible still feels noticeably less rigid than the equivalent coupe when pushing on. The flipside is you get to enjoy more of the noise with the roof down. So it really comes down to how focussed a car you want, IMHO. The other reason I avoided the convertible was the more limited boot space, which would just have made it that bit less practical for holidays and so on.loud430 said:
thank you guys for all these bits of advice. one thing ive been wondering is do the convertibles suffer scuttle shake? I drove an e30 convertible once while helping out a friend of mine & thought the scuttle flex was quite bad?
There's no denyiong it, there is some scuttle, but you will mostly only notice it on rough roads. On smooth tarmac it's solid and well planted. Do note that because of the age of these cars now, the roof skeleton joints can and do creak as the seals rub against each other. There are various things you can do to minimise or remove them, but it's something that generally comes with any convertible with a softtop really. A small compromise otherwise, because the roof itself is very well insulated and you can easily drive a long journey in peace and comfort whatever the weather. The bulk of the 20k miles I have done have been long journeys of at least 2 hours each way. My previous car was an E46 Sport coupe for relative comparison on my experience.The boot space with the roof up is nearly identical with the coupe boot space as you can collapse up the softtop carrier using the built in mechanism handle. With the roof down it's not "that" much less, depth is the same, just hatch opening is several inches narrower:
Carrier collapsed:
Carrier open:
I have had a large luggage (checked baggage) and carry on luggage in there before when flying out on holiday.
Both convertible and coupe have their pros and cons. For me as my car is for leisure and not the track, having that sweet induction noise with the roof down and enjoying fresh air was at the top of the list. Depends on what you want as said above.
pidsy said:
The back seats are tiny as well.
Not true. The back seats are fine and fit for two adults without much issue. The seats are more supporting than the ones in the coupe as well, since there is no middle seat to cater to, and more padded leather surrounding the rear of the cabin. Tiff Needel's first E46 M3 convertible video review even showed this ( source).Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff