Who wants to play BMW M3 roulette?
Discussion
Thought I give a quick update on m3 roulette mk2
Look ok from 10ft away. The paint is average at best. It think the prop doughnut is on its Way out. As well as the motor on the smg pump.
But on the plus side full dealer history up to 3000 ago. New clutch tyres and pads and discs.
Try as I might I just can't love the grey leather though.
Look ok from 10ft away. The paint is average at best. It think the prop doughnut is on its Way out. As well as the motor on the smg pump.
But on the plus side full dealer history up to 3000 ago. New clutch tyres and pads and discs.
Try as I might I just can't love the grey leather though.
Nice! Looks like a roulette win there. Agree I'm not a fan of grey, but check out eBay - there's a full set of cinnamon leather on there now and shouldn't be toopaingul to get an independent to swap them around.
I lucked out on the leather in my roulette but did get a mouldy glovebox and some animals living on it
Well done OP !
I have an E46 CS M in the same neighbourhood. I always try and get it out of the area for carnival... way too many drunk people wandering around to scratch dent/damage cars over that weekend ! I shall look out for the distinctive colour interior ! Looks like you have the optional 19" rims ? a nice addition but be careful on the kerbs of London - mine are trashed despite trying to be v careful...
I have an E46 CS M in the same neighbourhood. I always try and get it out of the area for carnival... way too many drunk people wandering around to scratch dent/damage cars over that weekend ! I shall look out for the distinctive colour interior ! Looks like you have the optional 19" rims ? a nice addition but be careful on the kerbs of London - mine are trashed despite trying to be v careful...
So first diagnosis back from the amazing team at Technosport - aka BMW hospital - and.... not bad at all!
Inspection II and just normal wear and tear - valves, bushes, rocker cover and bits and bobs.
From a price perspective, by the time it will have been shipped, is back with me and full of premium fuel I've probably paid the going market rate for a good car (just over 10k). BUT rather than to pick up an unknown car, that is for a fully inspected and understood car, with all the required work done. And, with a ridiculous smurf blue interior!
I had a good experience with technosport, although a nice guy, George was not able to identify the (now increasingly common) S54 cam follower wear following dodgy shimming in a previous Insp2. Worth asking for the clearances to ensure you don't have an incoming £3k bill (he will/should have made a note when completing the insp). Shame really, had to take my car elsewhere for diags, and pay George for a re-shim i didn't need.
Nice gamble on the M3, would of made a nice track car if cheap. Any intention on sharing the price paid, and any costs since?
Nice gamble on the M3, would of made a nice track car if cheap. Any intention on sharing the price paid, and any costs since?
That sounds like a pretty good price TBH! Good to hear that you have scored well!
It makes me laugh how many people think you can go and get a good M3 for £6.5k. OK, my definition of good may be immaculate to many, but if I can keep a car in great condition with it having been the moon (Mondeo did around 260k and was in better condition than most the M3s I saw) why can't people do that with their cars?
Yup, I'm an owner. FWIW, here was my experience of what I went out and saw:
1) '02 Silver/Black Manual with 128k, HPI clear 4 newish Goodyears on CSL wheels and a FSH for £6,750 via a local dealer. I suspect it had a short shifter on it.
It looked like a good base but it had WAY too many faults for me including tired brakes all round, Xenon washer jet issues, a plethora of warning lights on, probably down to the battery being run very flat, a bumper that looked like it had seen a shotblaster in addition to a misaligned front wing, rust on all 4 arches (rears were not much at all to be fair, but still) and various scratches in the interior.
Going along with the "It has to be a manual only" crowd I thought long and hard but decided that I would have to haggle hard to buy it.
It did serve a purpose though for the rest of the cars and what to look out for.
2) Same as the above but with 80k for £8,995. To be fair to the seller/dealer he saved me a trip down to Milk n' Beans thanks to WhatsApp shots. The interior was one of the more worn interiors out all of the cars (passenger seat was losing its colour in a black car!) and he admitted he had done quite a few smart repairs around the car, including the arches. Brakes he wouldn't comment on except it passed an MOT, so I figured it was best to leave it.
3) Midnight Blue/Grey SMG with 115k for £8k. Sat Nav, HK, Sunroof with Eibach Springs and BBS replaca wheels and a new clutch. Initially it looked alot better than the first car. But the history had been lost. It drove well though and the SMG was not as bad as people made out in all honesty. Everything inside worked. BUT, the interior was worn (bolster had collapsed at the top of the seat, and the carpets looked threadbare inside strangely!). The arches initally looked great, but the fronts were "just" (and I am talking barely a few pimples that you really had to look for) beginning to show signs of going. The discs were tired all round as well with the ballast hanging loosely in the engine bay. The bodywork had minor scratches all over it in addition the front bumper being repaired poorly (imagine a crack being glued over and then semi rattlecanned ; the lower grille had overspray on it in areas. The tyres despite being Pirellis didn't have much tread either. The more I looked at it, the more the first car didn't seem so bad despite its bad appearance.
3) Laguna Seca/Black car in NI for £8k, soon dropped to £7.8k. 112k, manual, aftermarket HU and CSL wheels This car was described as "mint" and owned by a 996 owner as well. It had new discs and pads, new backbox and new tyres and it had the boot floor strengthened. A few of my mates were saying "Go for this one Chas!", and I must admit, initially it being a manual but moreso the colour was swaying me.
I was ready to get the plane tickets. It had new discs Despite asking for photos on WhatsApp the owner didn't reply. It was not like I was travelling an hour away! He did say the front wings were 'just' going if you got on your hands and knees. However, on closer inspection the driver's seat looked to have seen a hard life, and previous MOTs revealed that the boot floor had been strengthened because it had failed big time! It also was on Zeta tyres all round.
I still wonder "what if" about this car, but OTOH for the distance it seemed too risky to be dissapointed.
4) Very Dark Blue (almost black) 'vert with a hardtop with a red interior. This had no MOT and was up for £6995. It was local to me. It had poly bushes up front with new lower arms, and had recently had a full service from a garage bar the valve clearances from what I could tell.
It did run very sweetly though! However, the tyres were going flat and were mismatched cheapo brands. It had rust on and below the tailgate, mirror plates in addition to very badly swirled paintwork. I couldn't tell that the car was actually blue. The interior was in the best condition out of all of the cars I saw however, and the seller was honest ; he had basically got sick of the cash he spent on the car. It would however, need the wheels refurbished, new discs all round, the bodywork attending to and the "cog of doom" looking into despite driving OK. I am sure I would have found more to fix as well. Bar the SMG light everything worked spot on. Days after I bought the car I did I had him say that I could buy it off him for £6,300.
5) This one did make the cut. '03 LCI Midnight Blue/Grey SMG with 122k on the clock with HK, sunroof etc.. FBMW history up to 90k (it did this many miles up to 2009 under the first owner!) including coolant changes etc, specialist services after this in addition to new badges all round and a recent service with the diff oil being changed. Oh, and the wheels had been refurbished along with it having new brakes all round It also had 4 decentish Falkens, brand new brakes, and the SMG system given a going over, and the all clear regarding the subframe. It drove very well bar a couple of knocks which my thread covers (rear ARB link and RSMs). Everything inside worked and it was generally very clean inside and out, save for the start of some bubbling on the front wings, which I plan to attend to.
2.5k on and it still running well. It was oddly enough one of the cheaper cars, but alot better than almost everything I had seen. It sounds nuts but I actually wanted one with a sunroof
. Yes it may compromise rigidity but it's a daily, not a Caterham!
6) I "almost" went to see this but a mate bought it. '02 Liquid Yellow and Black interior 'vert manual with 75k and a full service history for £9k.
New brakes and servicing from an old owner that is a BMW Mechanic. Avons all round on refurbed wheels. My mate bought it for the asking price without driving it (something I wouldn't do TBH!). TBH it is a clean car! The interior however is not that much better than mine at all IMO and I am glad I didn't get a black interior. Even at 15 degrees outside it is hot inside his car ; you need the A/C on! In his, it doesn't work with a disconcerting hiss coming from under the dash. The paint could do with being livened up but that is a minor point. Besides that, the only other fault was the engine oil leak from the top, which I believe is now fixed.
Driving his was a bit of a dissapointment. How much scuttle shake? Bar people willy waving, I don't get why people go on about manual being best in an M3. Sure, the SMG is not perfect but I wouldn't say the manual is either. It is near impossible to go into first unless the car is near enough stood still ; he was crunching it into first when he drove it as a result, the throw is quite heavy (I don't mind that) and it's not the most accurate shifter, but not the worst. I know the clutch delay valve was not great in my E36. Crunching the car into first at a standstill anyone?
Anyway, that's my experience of looking around. I suspect for £10k+ I would have searched around ALOT less is what I am getting at.
It makes me laugh how many people think you can go and get a good M3 for £6.5k. OK, my definition of good may be immaculate to many, but if I can keep a car in great condition with it having been the moon (Mondeo did around 260k and was in better condition than most the M3s I saw) why can't people do that with their cars?
Yup, I'm an owner. FWIW, here was my experience of what I went out and saw:
1) '02 Silver/Black Manual with 128k, HPI clear 4 newish Goodyears on CSL wheels and a FSH for £6,750 via a local dealer. I suspect it had a short shifter on it.
It looked like a good base but it had WAY too many faults for me including tired brakes all round, Xenon washer jet issues, a plethora of warning lights on, probably down to the battery being run very flat, a bumper that looked like it had seen a shotblaster in addition to a misaligned front wing, rust on all 4 arches (rears were not much at all to be fair, but still) and various scratches in the interior.
Going along with the "It has to be a manual only" crowd I thought long and hard but decided that I would have to haggle hard to buy it.
It did serve a purpose though for the rest of the cars and what to look out for.
2) Same as the above but with 80k for £8,995. To be fair to the seller/dealer he saved me a trip down to Milk n' Beans thanks to WhatsApp shots. The interior was one of the more worn interiors out all of the cars (passenger seat was losing its colour in a black car!) and he admitted he had done quite a few smart repairs around the car, including the arches. Brakes he wouldn't comment on except it passed an MOT, so I figured it was best to leave it.
3) Midnight Blue/Grey SMG with 115k for £8k. Sat Nav, HK, Sunroof with Eibach Springs and BBS replaca wheels and a new clutch. Initially it looked alot better than the first car. But the history had been lost. It drove well though and the SMG was not as bad as people made out in all honesty. Everything inside worked. BUT, the interior was worn (bolster had collapsed at the top of the seat, and the carpets looked threadbare inside strangely!). The arches initally looked great, but the fronts were "just" (and I am talking barely a few pimples that you really had to look for) beginning to show signs of going. The discs were tired all round as well with the ballast hanging loosely in the engine bay. The bodywork had minor scratches all over it in addition the front bumper being repaired poorly (imagine a crack being glued over and then semi rattlecanned ; the lower grille had overspray on it in areas. The tyres despite being Pirellis didn't have much tread either. The more I looked at it, the more the first car didn't seem so bad despite its bad appearance.
3) Laguna Seca/Black car in NI for £8k, soon dropped to £7.8k. 112k, manual, aftermarket HU and CSL wheels This car was described as "mint" and owned by a 996 owner as well. It had new discs and pads, new backbox and new tyres and it had the boot floor strengthened. A few of my mates were saying "Go for this one Chas!", and I must admit, initially it being a manual but moreso the colour was swaying me.
I was ready to get the plane tickets. It had new discs Despite asking for photos on WhatsApp the owner didn't reply. It was not like I was travelling an hour away! He did say the front wings were 'just' going if you got on your hands and knees. However, on closer inspection the driver's seat looked to have seen a hard life, and previous MOTs revealed that the boot floor had been strengthened because it had failed big time! It also was on Zeta tyres all round.
I still wonder "what if" about this car, but OTOH for the distance it seemed too risky to be dissapointed.
4) Very Dark Blue (almost black) 'vert with a hardtop with a red interior. This had no MOT and was up for £6995. It was local to me. It had poly bushes up front with new lower arms, and had recently had a full service from a garage bar the valve clearances from what I could tell.
It did run very sweetly though! However, the tyres were going flat and were mismatched cheapo brands. It had rust on and below the tailgate, mirror plates in addition to very badly swirled paintwork. I couldn't tell that the car was actually blue. The interior was in the best condition out of all of the cars I saw however, and the seller was honest ; he had basically got sick of the cash he spent on the car. It would however, need the wheels refurbished, new discs all round, the bodywork attending to and the "cog of doom" looking into despite driving OK. I am sure I would have found more to fix as well. Bar the SMG light everything worked spot on. Days after I bought the car I did I had him say that I could buy it off him for £6,300.
5) This one did make the cut. '03 LCI Midnight Blue/Grey SMG with 122k on the clock with HK, sunroof etc.. FBMW history up to 90k (it did this many miles up to 2009 under the first owner!) including coolant changes etc, specialist services after this in addition to new badges all round and a recent service with the diff oil being changed. Oh, and the wheels had been refurbished along with it having new brakes all round It also had 4 decentish Falkens, brand new brakes, and the SMG system given a going over, and the all clear regarding the subframe. It drove very well bar a couple of knocks which my thread covers (rear ARB link and RSMs). Everything inside worked and it was generally very clean inside and out, save for the start of some bubbling on the front wings, which I plan to attend to.
2.5k on and it still running well. It was oddly enough one of the cheaper cars, but alot better than almost everything I had seen. It sounds nuts but I actually wanted one with a sunroof
. Yes it may compromise rigidity but it's a daily, not a Caterham!6) I "almost" went to see this but a mate bought it. '02 Liquid Yellow and Black interior 'vert manual with 75k and a full service history for £9k.
New brakes and servicing from an old owner that is a BMW Mechanic. Avons all round on refurbed wheels. My mate bought it for the asking price without driving it (something I wouldn't do TBH!). TBH it is a clean car! The interior however is not that much better than mine at all IMO and I am glad I didn't get a black interior. Even at 15 degrees outside it is hot inside his car ; you need the A/C on! In his, it doesn't work with a disconcerting hiss coming from under the dash. The paint could do with being livened up but that is a minor point. Besides that, the only other fault was the engine oil leak from the top, which I believe is now fixed.
Driving his was a bit of a dissapointment. How much scuttle shake? Bar people willy waving, I don't get why people go on about manual being best in an M3. Sure, the SMG is not perfect but I wouldn't say the manual is either. It is near impossible to go into first unless the car is near enough stood still ; he was crunching it into first when he drove it as a result, the throw is quite heavy (I don't mind that) and it's not the most accurate shifter, but not the worst. I know the clutch delay valve was not great in my E36. Crunching the car into first at a standstill anyone?
Anyway, that's my experience of looking around. I suspect for £10k+ I would have searched around ALOT less is what I am getting at.
Edited by SebringMan on Friday 9th September 11:40
pidsy said:
Mines got 108k on it and wouldn't take less than £12k to part with it.
Call me ambitious, but considering the s
t I saw out there (some may consider the above to be fine, please discuss 
), I would want around £10k for mine, even with the higher mileage (it's now on 124k and rising). As I said before there is little wrong with it. By the time I am done with it (around next year) it will have had the following done to it:Full & correct Inspection II
Michelin MPSS all round or Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3s
Front end respray to tidy things up
Steering wheel retrim (it's not bad, but it would make it nicer inside)
Boot floor reinforcement. I know not all of them go and that mine is fine, but I plan to get mine done just for piece of mind. At the same time I'll probably rebush the rear.
The fact is, these are a £45k car with the running costs to match, something many people are not aware of. While they may be OK for the power in terms of costs, it is hardly cheap.
I guess I could get a modern, but then depreciation. At least I'll have fun this way.
Edited by SebringMan on Friday 9th September 11:39
SebringMan said:
pidsy said:
Mines got 108k on it and wouldn't take less than £12k to part with it.
Call me ambitious, but considering the st I saw out there (some may consider the above to be fine, please discuss ), I would want around £10k for mine, even with the higher mileage (it's now on 124k and rising). As I said before there is little wrong with it. By the time I am done with it (around next year) it will have had the following done to it:Full & correct Inspection II
Michelin MPSS all round or Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3s
Front end respray to tidy things up
Steering wheel retrim (it's not bad, but it would make it nicer inside)
Boot floor reinforcement. I know not all of them go and that mine is fine, but I plan to get mine done just for piece of mind. At the same time I'll probably rebush the rear.
The fact is, these are a £45k car with the running costs to match, something many people are not aware of. While they may be OK for the power in terms of costs, it is hardly cheap.
I guess I could get a modern, but then depreciation. At least I'll have fun this way.
Edited by SebringMan on Friday 9th September 11:39
mines had all of those bits plus the Head gasket this year, eisenmann system, genuine CSL's, decent stereo upgrade and its an individual.
anyway, ive just taxed it again so its staying for now.
So... Roulettemobile is back from a full Inspection II service, and is running well. A few tiny niggles but nothing that gets in the way of the driving. .Will post some photos as soon as I can clean it up.
These are amazing cars and I can see what all the fuss is about - I took it to the airport at 5am the other day - the longest drive I have done so far and fell in love.
HOWEVER, the wife has correctly) suggested I am a moron (has decreed that we have to have a 4 door for the baby, so looks like it'll have to go up for sale. Will probably list it art around ~£500 less than our total cost - around £8900 at that. Hopefully noone bites and I can keep it.
Anyone with an E34 or E39 M5 or interested in a cheap E46 M3 reach out... otherwise I'm not looking forward to explaining to the next buyer why I have had it for 2 months!
These are amazing cars and I can see what all the fuss is about - I took it to the airport at 5am the other day - the longest drive I have done so far and fell in love.
HOWEVER, the wife has correctly) suggested I am a moron (has decreed that we have to have a 4 door for the baby, so looks like it'll have to go up for sale. Will probably list it art around ~£500 less than our total cost - around £8900 at that. Hopefully noone bites and I can keep it.
Anyone with an E34 or E39 M5 or interested in a cheap E46 M3 reach out... otherwise I'm not looking forward to explaining to the next buyer why I have had it for 2 months!
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