RE: BMW M3 (E46): You Know You Want To
Discussion
Love mine....only done 45k miles, takes 3 kids all our golf gear, not that expensive to run (relative I know) and goes more than quick enough for me. 18 inch wheels make a big difference (had both). I have considered changing it but cant find anything that fits the bill. Mine is SMG, not everyone's cup of tea but I like it. Rear subframe should be checked for cracks (BMW will replace if less than 10 years old).
weez123 said:
Its not the price of the car its the running costs(if your scrapping the barrel at 6k can you run it?),better to get a 330i ,ive seen quicker 330d chipped up.
As wonderful as the M3's engine is, it's one of the less significant improvements over the lesser 3-series models, IMO. I suspect it would cost you a fair amount of money to get a 330i to handle like an M3.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 13th August 11:02
weez123 said:
Its not the price of the car its the running costs(if your scrapping the barrel at 6k can you run it?),better to get a 330i ,ive seen quicker 330d chipped up.
It's 6k because it has (what many people deem as) high miles.Is a similar car with 60k miles, for £2k more, going to be any cheaper to run?
So the buyer of this car has an extra £2k contingency for running the thing.
weez123 said:
better to get a 330i
How on earth is a 330i better? (Is a 320i better still?)weez123 said:
ive seen quicker 330d chipped up
So?Underrated CS? Overated CS surely?
Compared the a regular M3 on 19s, the only differences are:
CSL design wheels (the width and offsets are same as the regular 19s, and different to the CSL at the front)
Alcanta on wheel and gear knob
Brackets to move the front calipers out slightly (Still the same pads and caliper) with slightly bigger disc but still not upto snuff as standard
M-track mode on the DSC (Can be enabled on 2004 cars onward)
That leaves, to my mind anyway, the only useful addition - a quicker steering rack. People arn't retrofitting them yet, but it's not the biggest improvement you can make on the car.
However, the number of these between £6k-£8k is amazing. So much performance for so little money. The only other concern is anything older than 10 years is outside the goodwill period for boot floor repairs, so factor in another grand to get that fixed if needed.
Compared the a regular M3 on 19s, the only differences are:
CSL design wheels (the width and offsets are same as the regular 19s, and different to the CSL at the front)
Alcanta on wheel and gear knob
Brackets to move the front calipers out slightly (Still the same pads and caliper) with slightly bigger disc but still not upto snuff as standard
M-track mode on the DSC (Can be enabled on 2004 cars onward)
That leaves, to my mind anyway, the only useful addition - a quicker steering rack. People arn't retrofitting them yet, but it's not the biggest improvement you can make on the car.
However, the number of these between £6k-£8k is amazing. So much performance for so little money. The only other concern is anything older than 10 years is outside the goodwill period for boot floor repairs, so factor in another grand to get that fixed if needed.
okgo said:
My issue with M3's isn't the cost as such, or the running costs, I really like the cars, but they're astronomic to insure, to the extent that I could insure nearly anything for less than an E46 M3.
Curious. For me the quotes come out about fairly reasonable (about £350 quid, which is roughly what the Lotus costs). As much as I love Piston heads, a "Look how cheap this is" Article a couple of days before you intend to put your car up for sale is far from "Helpful". Such is life!
For a current owner £6k is worryingly cheap. But like all these things you just have to scratch the surface and soon realise if you want a really nice car with good spec and good condition £6k all of a sudden doesn't get you very far at all...
Shameless plug here - but anyone feel free to get in touch with me if they fancy a tidy 2004 Carbon Black SMG with every optional extra available.
You will not be dissapointed. Advert and up to date pictures will be composed this weekend. After 3 years, Easily one of the best cars I've ever owned.
For a current owner £6k is worryingly cheap. But like all these things you just have to scratch the surface and soon realise if you want a really nice car with good spec and good condition £6k all of a sudden doesn't get you very far at all...
Shameless plug here - but anyone feel free to get in touch with me if they fancy a tidy 2004 Carbon Black SMG with every optional extra available.
You will not be dissapointed. Advert and up to date pictures will be composed this weekend. After 3 years, Easily one of the best cars I've ever owned.
Edited by dharding02 on Tuesday 20th August 13:11
weez123 said:
Its not the price of the car its the running costs(if your scrapping the barrel at 6k can you run it?),better to get a 330i ,ive seen quicker 330d chipped up.
From first hand experience they are worlds apart..the 330i is a good car but its not a whole lot better on fuel for one thing and the gap in performance is pretty wide...especially up in the revskambites said:
As wonderful as the M3's engine is, it's one of the less significant improvements over the lesser 3-series models, IMO.
no way! the m54 is a lovely smooth, turbine like engine but the s54 is something else entirely - snarly, more charcterful, and rather special, especially over 5k.Edited by kambites on Tuesday 13th August 11:02
Edited by danp on Tuesday 13th August 11:12
danp said:
kambites said:
As wonderful as the M3's engine is, it's one of the less significant improvements over the lesser 3-series models, IMO.
no way! the m54 is a lovely smooth engine but the s54 is something else entirely, especially over 5k.okgo said:
My issue with M3's isn't the cost as such, or the running costs, I really like the cars, but they're astronomic to insure, to the extent that I could insure nearly anything for less than an E46 M3.
Rubbish, a friend of mine, 24, paid 14k for a mint E46, 42k miles... Insured for £700 on an Ipswich post code. Granted it's not cheap cheap but hardly astronomic for his age eh...
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