Used M3 (E46) Market
Discussion
Hi all,
First post so please be gentle.
I'm on the look out for an E46 M3, '04/'54 plate Manual Coupe with no more than around 40K on the clock.
Have been looking for a while, but am worried about the limited numbers of cars that are ticking all the right boxes at present. A lot of used M3s' seem to have lots of miles on the clock (IMO) 50-60-70K at 4years old.
Would you say that the market is plentiful at the moment? Or could it get better? Im guessing Im looking for cars at the second/third owner time of life.
Also, assuming a full spec car of the age and mileage I've suggested, what would you say the going rate is?
Thanks for any opinions/advice is advance.
Pete.
First post so please be gentle.
I'm on the look out for an E46 M3, '04/'54 plate Manual Coupe with no more than around 40K on the clock.
Have been looking for a while, but am worried about the limited numbers of cars that are ticking all the right boxes at present. A lot of used M3s' seem to have lots of miles on the clock (IMO) 50-60-70K at 4years old.
Would you say that the market is plentiful at the moment? Or could it get better? Im guessing Im looking for cars at the second/third owner time of life.
Also, assuming a full spec car of the age and mileage I've suggested, what would you say the going rate is?
Thanks for any opinions/advice is advance.
Pete.
There are cars out there if you keep looking. I bought mine 2 weeks ago with 19k miles for a good price. No sat nav or 19s but neither of these were important to me. Condition and mileage were which is why i bought it. Also, without starting a satnav essential debate, the technology on portable SATNAVS will have developed significantly when i come to sell my car in 3 years time making its desirability as a BMW specced option less appealing. Good luck with your search. Speak to James at Proctors specialist car sales. He might be able to get you a good one at a reasonable cost. Mine was £19000 and had predelivery inspection1, rear springs replaced and 12months MOT done at a BMW dealers.
Yes, would agree don't get hung up on the sat-nav or a long list of BMW options, they only mean anything when you come to sell, just buy on condition and history, and I'm not going to mention SMG v Manual other than to say manuals may be a small negotiation point.
M3 values are colour sensetive, if you have the balls for it PY,IR & LSB are also a negotiation point, although PY is quite strong in the summer because it just looks so good in the sun, Imola, people just can't make their minds up if it's the new black or not,it floats in and out of desire, LSB it's a marmite colour and price tends to show that, although all the LSB M3 that I have seen have been lovingly owned and cared for in great detail.
The M3 has not been king of the hill for a while now, but in manual form it's pure theres no hiding place it will very quickly let you know if your as good a driver as we may think we all are, but very rewarding when you get it right, and even Stevie Wonder sayes 19" over 18"
The best of luck with your search and would just add Condition, 1200 mile service, history, history & history
M3 values are colour sensetive, if you have the balls for it PY,IR & LSB are also a negotiation point, although PY is quite strong in the summer because it just looks so good in the sun, Imola, people just can't make their minds up if it's the new black or not,it floats in and out of desire, LSB it's a marmite colour and price tends to show that, although all the LSB M3 that I have seen have been lovingly owned and cared for in great detail.
The M3 has not been king of the hill for a while now, but in manual form it's pure theres no hiding place it will very quickly let you know if your as good a driver as we may think we all are, but very rewarding when you get it right, and even Stevie Wonder sayes 19" over 18"
The best of luck with your search and would just add Condition, 1200 mile service, history, history & history
Many thanks for the above responses.
I had spotted two examples on another classified vehicle sales website (you know who), both of which were for sale for a reasonable time until they both went at the same time - presumably sold. They both ticked all the boxes. What's that saying about buses?
I test drove a manual and an SMG at a local specialist in order to confirm my preference for manual. Whilst SMG seems a good toy, for 8-10K miles per annum, I'll stick with a manual.
The search continues...
I had spotted two examples on another classified vehicle sales website (you know who), both of which were for sale for a reasonable time until they both went at the same time - presumably sold. They both ticked all the boxes. What's that saying about buses?
I test drove a manual and an SMG at a local specialist in order to confirm my preference for manual. Whilst SMG seems a good toy, for 8-10K miles per annum, I'll stick with a manual.
The search continues...
Actually, I have to disagree regarding the Sat Nav and 19's.
In my opinion, having Sat Nav, SMG and 19's is something that will help your car hold its value so would definitely ensure my car had these options.
I have a CSL, so clearly have no NAV, but ensured that I bought the best spec'd car I could.
I know you are buying a car for YOU but resale has to be considered.
In my opinion, having Sat Nav, SMG and 19's is something that will help your car hold its value so would definitely ensure my car had these options.
I have a CSL, so clearly have no NAV, but ensured that I bought the best spec'd car I could.
I know you are buying a car for YOU but resale has to be considered.
We've done this so many times...
A certain mindset believes that sat nav and 19s enhance resale, but doesn't take into account that if this thought is true then you will pay more at purchase time, so there is no net gain.
Most accept that 18s drive better than 19s, and many feel that 19s are too bling.
And TomTom is way better than the factory-fit sat nav.
So buy on condition, condition, condition, history, history and history. Anything else on a sub-£20k M3 is irrelevant.
A certain mindset believes that sat nav and 19s enhance resale, but doesn't take into account that if this thought is true then you will pay more at purchase time, so there is no net gain.
Most accept that 18s drive better than 19s, and many feel that 19s are too bling.
And TomTom is way better than the factory-fit sat nav.
So buy on condition, condition, condition, history, history and history. Anything else on a sub-£20k M3 is irrelevant.
I have to agree about the Sat Nav not being a major issue when coming to resale.
Even Jeremy Clarkson admitted over the weekend in the Sunday times that BMW Sat Nav is not up to much.
My view on this is that its a dealer con at New sale time as they push their way overpriced incredibly high marging product down our throats.
Portable sat navs get better by the year and for a few hundred pounds you get an incredible system.
From my perspective having Sat Nav is a nice to have but would have virtually no influence on my decision to buy a car.
Then thats just me :>)
AntonyMark
Even Jeremy Clarkson admitted over the weekend in the Sunday times that BMW Sat Nav is not up to much.
My view on this is that its a dealer con at New sale time as they push their way overpriced incredibly high marging product down our throats.
Portable sat navs get better by the year and for a few hundred pounds you get an incredible system.
From my perspective having Sat Nav is a nice to have but would have virtually no influence on my decision to buy a car.
Then thats just me :>)
AntonyMark
Just to add my two pennies worth go for silver/grey, red interior, satnav/tv, 19's seem to help on resale but 18's handle better as anyone who has driven both say on a track will tell you, i prefer the look of the 18's but none of this matters without fbmwsh which to be honest when i was looking for my m3 i didn't come across any without at the age i was lookig for its only when they are out of warrenty people don't keep up bmwsh! at the end of the day its down to personal taste, oh yeah manual for sure just don't get the same feeling going into a corner heal&toe drop it down a gear as compared to flicking your finger and a computer does the rest for you IMHO,
good luck with your search and happy motoring which ever one you get its hard to buy a bad one as most have been looked after and loved by their owners!! m3 rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good luck with your search and happy motoring which ever one you get its hard to buy a bad one as most have been looked after and loved by their owners!! m3 rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess you chaps have not sold m3's recently then.
4 people I know recently have asked me to put their cars for sale via pistonheads and the like and guess which cars still havent sold?
You guessed it, the ones without the options.
Even discounting on price initially, because m3's are so accessible and the market is saturated with various examples, people will be able to spend a couple of extra quid and purchase an m3 with all the toys if they have suitable patience.
I do agree that you were likely to have paid less anyway with a poverty spec m3, but you will lose more IMO due to what I have said above Re: saturated m3 market. However, if I was to buy a high spec m3 privately and someone else buy a lower spec m3 as an AUC from BMW, the prices may be similar and thus come resale, both cars still having the same comparative mileage again may be priced similarly?
The majority of people would want the most options on their car and the only people who will argue against it is original owners who use arguments such as SMG is s
t, 19's make the handling worse and Sat nav is for girls - all statements which actually can be rewritten as ' I did not want to pay the extra for these functions or couldnt afford them'.
Another factor, try taking your used e46 m3 to a dealer and they will ask you 3 questions, is it SMG, does it have 19's and does iy have Sat nav? A great example is Independant Motor Company - just look at how they price their cars - poverty spec cars are much much cheaper, yet fully spec'dcars are still priced much higher. However, we will never know at 'exactly' what price these cars sold at.
There is a similar thread on Mtorue about this which covers sat nav vs no sat nav in relation to values.
Anyway, what would I know.....
4 people I know recently have asked me to put their cars for sale via pistonheads and the like and guess which cars still havent sold?
You guessed it, the ones without the options.
Even discounting on price initially, because m3's are so accessible and the market is saturated with various examples, people will be able to spend a couple of extra quid and purchase an m3 with all the toys if they have suitable patience.
I do agree that you were likely to have paid less anyway with a poverty spec m3, but you will lose more IMO due to what I have said above Re: saturated m3 market. However, if I was to buy a high spec m3 privately and someone else buy a lower spec m3 as an AUC from BMW, the prices may be similar and thus come resale, both cars still having the same comparative mileage again may be priced similarly?
The majority of people would want the most options on their car and the only people who will argue against it is original owners who use arguments such as SMG is s
t, 19's make the handling worse and Sat nav is for girls - all statements which actually can be rewritten as ' I did not want to pay the extra for these functions or couldnt afford them'.Another factor, try taking your used e46 m3 to a dealer and they will ask you 3 questions, is it SMG, does it have 19's and does iy have Sat nav? A great example is Independant Motor Company - just look at how they price their cars - poverty spec cars are much much cheaper, yet fully spec'dcars are still priced much higher. However, we will never know at 'exactly' what price these cars sold at.
There is a similar thread on Mtorue about this which covers sat nav vs no sat nav in relation to values.
Anyway, what would I know.....
It is not black and white but there is truth that most buyers will try and get as many toys as they can for their money and when the market is full of cars options are seen as king by most car buyers. I had 2 M3's from new and I never had SMG or Sat Nav on either though I did have 19's and come trade in time it never cost me in the slightest. I had not paid for those options up front as I didn't want/need either and the trade in value was not less than their new value when I bought the cars. Sure the dealer offered me less for my car, but not that much less. Of course when I sold my M3's they were not as common a sight as they are today so the market was different. I sold my first at 18 months old with 55K on the clock for £29K, you'd struggle to do that today for a non SMG/Sat Nav car!
Personally I would buy on condition and history everytime but the fact is the vast majority of poeple don't and this is why stealers and the 'market' is always looking for optioned up cars.
Personally I would buy on condition and history everytime but the fact is the vast majority of poeple don't and this is why stealers and the 'market' is always looking for optioned up cars.
On the subject of Sat Nav, I dont think I'd spec it new but I do love the way it looks in the M3. It wont be as good as a £300 TomTom but it does do the job and do it well, IMO. TomTom wont give you all the other bist the screen does in the M3 (Computer, TV (if the missus chucks you out), etc and for that reason, I've got it on mine. The extra it costs to hve it in a used car will be recouped come selling time.
As with the other bits, its personal choice. I love the SMG and like the look of the bling wheels - I've got both on mine as a)I dont drive it to work every day and b)I dont track it so wont suffer greatly for the extra size.
As with the other bits, its personal choice. I love the SMG and like the look of the bling wheels - I've got both on mine as a)I dont drive it to work every day and b)I dont track it so wont suffer greatly for the extra size.
Sat Nav - what is that ? 
Seriously you are more likely to spend too much money and not get it back when you sell the car in a few years, and this I mean apart from the usual depreciation which suuurely has still some way to go. And huge wheels look simply ridiculous (a matter of personal taste though).
Seriously you are more likely to spend too much money and not get it back when you sell the car in a few years, and this I mean apart from the usual depreciation which suuurely has still some way to go. And huge wheels look simply ridiculous (a matter of personal taste though).
) is over priced when new however the ability to have a tv, ipod connection, phone book and sat nav on a nifty scvreen in the centre of the dash is excellent.Deutscher said:
We've done this so many times...
A certain mindset believes that sat nav and 19s enhance resale, but doesn't take into account that if this thought is true then you will pay more at purchase time, so there is no net gain.
Most accept that 18s drive better than 19s, and many feel that 19s are too bling.
And TomTom is way better than the factory-fit sat nav.
So buy on condition, condition, condition, history, history and history. Anything else on a sub-£20k M3 is irrelevant.
At least you got one thing right, condition is very important!A certain mindset believes that sat nav and 19s enhance resale, but doesn't take into account that if this thought is true then you will pay more at purchase time, so there is no net gain.
Most accept that 18s drive better than 19s, and many feel that 19s are too bling.
And TomTom is way better than the factory-fit sat nav.
So buy on condition, condition, condition, history, history and history. Anything else on a sub-£20k M3 is irrelevant.
You knew I'd be along didn't you.
I think that the other thing with a tomtom is that it may be better, but you look like a mini cab driver with all of the wires everywhere.
{ I notice that a quite a few cars now have got sat nav "fitting", which I assume is a lighter socket on the top of the dash - so that you're interior is neater! }
{ I notice that a quite a few cars now have got sat nav "fitting", which I assume is a lighter socket on the top of the dash - so that you're interior is neater! }
A car is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it! and if you want a perticular spec you'll pay that bit more, i managed to knock a £1200 off the price of mine, so if i hadn't was that car worth a £1200 more or??? as a car never sells for what its advertised its hard to say anything concrete about value, the only thing that effects the value greatly is service history everything else doesn't make that much difference few £100 most IMO. whatever they are all awesome.
phatmanace said:
I think that the other thing with a tomtom is that it may be better, but you look like a mini cab driver with all of the wires everywhere.
{ I notice that a quite a few cars now have got sat nav "fitting", which I assume is a lighter socket on the top of the dash - so that you're interior is neater! }
I agree that they do look messy. In addition, I personally think that the screen on the dash is a nice "interface" (hate techno jargon)to have to control the radio and cd.{ I notice that a quite a few cars now have got sat nav "fitting", which I assume is a lighter socket on the top of the dash - so that you're interior is neater! }
Bomber78 said:
Hi all,
First post so please be gentle.
I'm on the look out for an E46 M3, '04/'54 plate Manual Coupe with no more than around 40K on the clock.
Thanks for any opinions/advice is advance.
Pete.
There is a great value 55 plate CS for sale on piston heads..! whats your budget..? .. First post so please be gentle.
I'm on the look out for an E46 M3, '04/'54 plate Manual Coupe with no more than around 40K on the clock.
Thanks for any opinions/advice is advance.
Pete.
RatBoy M3CS said:
Bomber78 said:
Hi all,
First post so please be gentle.
I'm on the look out for an E46 M3, '04/'54 plate Manual Coupe with no more than around 40K on the clock.
Thanks for any opinions/advice is advance.
Pete.
There is a great value 55 plate CS for sale on piston heads..! whats your budget..? .. First post so please be gentle.
I'm on the look out for an E46 M3, '04/'54 plate Manual Coupe with no more than around 40K on the clock.
Thanks for any opinions/advice is advance.
Pete.
great motor but i like my creature comforts to much!
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff