Titanium Silver E46 M3 Manual Coupe

[squareflops]

Continuing on from the Impreza thread

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

In a shocking turn of event I decided to get myself an m3 after an impromptu PH classified browse and a chance visit to the dealers.

I wasn't really thinking of selling the Subaru as I've (I'd) pretty much just got it how I wanted it. Maybe thats the thing, I really enjoyed the process of bringing it up to a good (I like to think) standard; the project was over.. I absolutely loved the Impreza, it was largely faultless and was an absolute pleasure to drive, i'll miss it dearly but I think I'd a) got used to the power and b) had some collateral in it do bargain with. So as I said last Friday I was browsing PH as I'm sure we all do and saw the m3 in Powys; coincidentally where me and a few of the boys were going to watch the Powys Lanes Rally on Sat night. I gave the dealer a call and joked that I doubt he'd be open at around 8pm on a Sat night for a look but very accommodatingly he said sure no problem come take a look. It was a purely speculative look at this point, a kick the tyres affair and I said as much to Neil the dealer. That was until I saw it. It went from 'mmm maybe' to 'yep!'



So the deal was done, we went off to watch the rally and I arranged to pick the car up today. Its a titanium silver manual model with black nappa, optional 19" alloys, 102,000 miles and full service history, last serviced 1k ago and 6 months MOT. In the run up over the weekend I got myself on the interwebs and did as much research as possible, coming across Redish Motorsport & James' very informative YT vids on the horrors of cracking rear sub frames etc, m3cutters was also a handy source of info.

I inspected the rear sub frame as best I could on the night of the rally, and it looks ok from what I can see. On start up the vanos appears to be nice and quiet, discs will need replacing soon, the exhaust seems to be un-leaky, there's no rust on the rear arches, the paint work and interior are largely immaculate. The test drive revealed it snicks through the gears very nicely, the s54 pulls strongly (very strongly) to the red line, it drives and brakes in a straight line and goes around corners in a very m3ish manner I'm sure.

Good good.

The drive home today was - eventful; the thing is fking terrifying.

It's such a different experience to Impreza, in that I never broke traction, never had the back end to break away (I did try), never felt anything other than confident, this bloody thing is trying to kill me!

It's insane. to be fair it needs rear tyres, it has Pirelli something or others on the back with about 1mm of trad left and it was very, very wet today. I had to pull over twice to chill after 'moments'. This isn't my first rodeo either, I've owned, driven a few high performance cars, including an E36 318is but this is "a whole new thing" in my world. I'm absolutely besotted with it, but scared of it at the same time. New tyres should help matters and I'm looking forward to James' inspection at Redish so we know what's what.

Inside it has an updated 7"? touch screen/sat nav/blue tooth head unit and the speakers although not very bassy are loud and clear, it's a great system as standard in my opinion.

Anyway, enough jibber jabber

After a quick pre rinse and wash / quick wax



















interior hasn't been cleaned yet however on the drive home I noticed my hands getting grubbier and grimier, I wiped down the wheel with a damp yellow mf cloth and it almost instantly turned black, on rinsing the water in the bowl turned black with deposits at the bottom, eewww. Much better now but full interior valet on sat with Dr Leather



















I'm off tomorrow so more cleaning

The plans over the coming months (assuming I stay in my current work contract) will be (as I see it now) replacement:

brakes
clutch
suspension
lots of bushings

refresh the vanos, have Redish Motorsport carry out the rear sub frame strengthening and any other jobs James and the boys there recommend.

If I don't stay in my current work contract; I'll sell it and buy a p reg Corsa

[pstruck]

Lovely looking M3 you've got yourself there. It looks very clean and well looked after. Get some decent rear tyres on there quick before you get caught out.

I really would like one of these. IMO they are ageing well and an unmolested one still looks great. Enjoy it.

[squareflops]

cheers bud

Yea I'm thinking the same tbh. I just had a quick look and they're Pirelli Rossos, woeful reviews on tyrereviews so ideally want them off. I may actually get some part worns if I'm able just so I'm legal whilst I decide what to do with the wheels. Ideally I'd like to refurb them but I want to wait until Redish give their report before spending large sums on wheel refurbishment. I'll be putting on Verdestein Ultrac Vortis in all likelihood.

I can't help but think it's a good time to buy, looking at the E30s and the E36s that are beginning to rise in value I can't see why the 46 won't go the same way, a well cared for example should appreciate, or start to in the next few years.

Great news, it fits in my garage! JUST!

[Andy665]

Very nice - come close to buying an E46 M3 on a couple of occasions but the parts prices have always scared me off - somehow I have ended up with a Jag S Type R but an M3 is something I will own at some point

[CallorFold]

Looks cracking! Maybe the car trying to kill you will keep the ownership experience a little more interesting

[supertouring]

Good choice - esp manual.

Mine is black with red leather.

I hope you have a friendly bank manager

[Theophany]

Cracking looking motor.

Question though, I see a lot of car interior photos where people wrap a lanyard around their gear shift gaiter - is this just coincidence or a subtle nod to, say, the driver's preference for intimate partners?

[Rick448]

Great looking car. My F80 M3 tries killing me on a regular basis, but that's all part of the fun. Enjoy!

[squareflops]

Andy665 said:

Very nice - come close to buying an E46 M3 on a couple of occasions but the parts prices have always scared me off - somehow I have ended up with a Jag S Type R but an M3 is something I will own at some point

It doesn't sound like you dodged the maintenance issue very well there Andy

I was initially wary of servicing/parts costs too but *touch wood* it doesn't all seem to be doom and gloom. Replacement Bilstein (B12 kit) is recommended and costs around £600 should the suspension want/need replacing, tyres aren't astronomical, brakes aren't exactly cheap but neither are they for the Jag I'm sure Exhausts seem expensive along with a few other items but I think initially buy wisely/luckily and be aware of the potentials and it shouldn't break the bank. Insurance was only £50 a year more than the WRX and tax is £290 a year, £26 a month. I'd recommend it!

supertouring said:

Good choice - esp manual.

Mine is black with red leather.

I hope you have a friendly bank manager

best model IMO ST - coupe manual. Think these are the ones that are going to be most desirable. Black with red sounds lovely. How you find living with yours?

Bank manager - see above

Theophany said:

Cracking looking motor.

Question though, I see a lot of car interior photos where people wrap a lanyard around their gear shift gaiter - is this just coincidence or a subtle nod to, say, the driver's preference for intimate partners?

Cheers Theo. Ummmmmmmmm I hope not..

I remember when I was a kid there was a spate of yellow balls put on to aerials, that was supposed to be similar, but not sure if that was a 'thing'. I'm gonna say no but if I see a trucker undressing me with his eyes at the lights I'll know why

Rick448 said:

Great looking car. My F80 M3 tries killing me on a regular basis, but that's all part of the fun. Enjoy!

Cheers Rick, I had an F80 behind me earlier, and I thought the e46 looked mean! I do think that's the point, the WRX was if anything too safe, these will keep us on our tippie toes for quite some time and keep us enjoying them as a result. you too bud!

Had another day off today so spent another a few hours going over the interior. Having spent a bit more time getting to know the car it really does seem that it's been looked after well. There's no wear on the bolsters on the front seats and it doesn't look like the rears have ever been sat in. The carpets and mats are almost as new; only the wear on the steering wheel and gear knob hint at it's age. I still haven't taken any proper pictures of the inside as I'm still awaiting the leather cleaner to arrive. I valeted the engine bay which looks much better now and went over all the exterior black trim, surrounds with AG Vinyl & Rubber care, it really gets the trim back to a rich black and finishes off the outside. The body/paintwork I noticed today doesn't have a single parking ding, hardly any swirl from washing and it's like glass to touch. Amazing.

Mats being wet vac'd, pics before, no afters yet (bloody leaves everywhere)





so kind of pointless pictures

More pics to follow when I've given the thing another going over

[gregs656]

Looks very smart. The satnav unit is after market - shouldn't be too difficult to figure out which one.

[squareflops]

Yea it is, comes up as Eonon, I think it's the D5150 or similar without going out to look. Just realized it plays DVDs too, was watching Superbad from the passenger seat earlier. Not sure if it's hooked up to disable whilst moving yet.

[Sir_Dave]

Looks to be a nice car!!
Re: the handling, im sure the tyres wont be helping, but have a look to see if its got rear spacers fitted as well, the wheels appear to be sticking out a little more from the arch than mine do:

[pidsy]

OP - get the wheel re trimmed. had mine thickened and trimmed in alcantara.

best mod ive ever done.

[philmots]

Looks lovely, apart from the aftermarket mats!

I've got some new genuine e46 mats if anyone wants a bargain!?

[CaptainMorgan]

Lovely car, coupe, manual in a nice colour, the best spec to put your money in imo

[North3rn Monk3y]

Nice mate... very nice (as I may have mentioned copious times on whatsap haha).

Looking forward to a hoon this weekend, but are you sure you'll bring it out in the wet?

[squareflops]

Sir_Dave said:

Looks to be a nice car!!
Re: the handling, im sure the tyres wont be helping, but have a look to see if its got rear spacers fitted as well, the wheels appear to be sticking out a little more from the arch than mine do

Cheers Dave I hadn't thought to look but yes they do indeed have 15mm spacers on the back! nothing on the fronts. They make it look very wide/aggressive on the rear but are you eluding to them not improving the handling? I'm sure the M Power guys spent plenty of time getting the track width correct and that didn't include spacers inni bruh

Lovely looking example btw

pidsy said:

OP - get the wheel re trimmed. had mine thickened and trimmed in alcantara.

best mod ive ever done.

Yea Pids that's on the cards. I do like an alcantara wheel and I imagine it won't break the bank. Good to know its a worthwhile upgrade

philmots said:

Looks lovely, apart from the aftermarket mats!

I've got some new genuine e46 mats if anyone wants a bargain!?

I had no idea they weren't OE Phil ha. I have emailed you. To be honest I quite like them but I'm all for keeping things exactly as BMW intended

CaptainMorgan said:

Lovely car, coupe, manual in a nice colour, the best spec to put your money in imo

Couldn't agree more CM, ticks all the right boxes, right car at the right time in the right place, I was very lucky

North3rn Monk3y said:

Nice mate... very nice (as I may have mentioned copious times on whatsap haha).

Indeed

North3rn Monk3y said:

Looking forward to a hoon this weekend, but are you sure you'll bring it out in the wet?

As am I, as long as it's not raining, at all, not even a little bit

She's a garage queen now bro

[Coker]

Looks a good 'un mate, nice M3. These cars really get under your skin. For the money, they're a bit of a bargain.

I've had the odd thought about selling up and moving on to an E90 or even financing an F80 (would have to be the saloon in the newer models) but having spent money in the right places on my '46 (Bilstein PSS10 coilovers, Brembo 6 pots/CSL discs, Turner top mounts/rear arms, new bushes and steering arms and a fast-road alignment, plus other bits), this car genuinely makes me grin like an idiot at times.

I don't have a great deal of performance cars to compare it to, and I could be wrong, but it feels to me as though that doesn't actually matter... I'd have to drive like a complete tt to get the best out of anything much faster. Great cars, these.

[squareflops]

Cheers Coker. Sounds like you've got a good one too, there's always an itch to scratch but I'm hoping to hold onto mine for a good few years if the gods allow. Yours sounds well sorted no doubt it goes very well. I was talking to one of the boys earlier (he stage rallies an E30 with M52 motor engine - I watch too many American YT car shows) after having been out in it and we both partially agreed that you can't really explore the limits of this car on the road as if you do you're definitely doing something irresponsible/illegal I can't imagine needing any more performance.

Unfortunately my battery warning light came on last night and a multimeter test shows 12.3v output from the battery. Oh I do love a car with electrical issues. The battery is out and bench charging now and I'll raise the issue with Redish before my visit next week. The consensus seems to be a replacement alternator being the fix, that's going to dent my tyre fund though. Drat. It's already had a replacement alternator fitted @ 63,700m @ a cost of £330 so I wouldn't expect it to have gone again; they do seem like a common failure item though.

We'll know more soon

[TheLordJohn]

squareflops said:

Cheers Coker. Sounds like you've got a good one too, there's always an itch to scratch but I'm hoping to hold onto mine for a good few years if the gods allow. Yours sounds well sorted no doubt it goes very well. I was talking to one of the boys earlier (he stage rallies an E30 with M52 motor engine - I watch too many American YT car shows) after having been out in it and we both partially agreed that you can't really explore the limits of this car on the road as if you do you're definitely doing something irresponsible/illegal I can't imagine needing any more performance.

Unfortunately my battery warning light came on last night and a multimeter test shows 12.3v output from the battery. Oh I do love a car with electrical issues. The battery is out and bench charging now and I'll raise the issue with Redish before my visit next week. The consensus seems to be a replacement alternator being the fix, that's going to dent my tyre fund though. Drat. It's already had a replacement alternator fitted @ 63,700m @ a cost of £330 so I wouldn't expect it to have gone again; they do seem like a common failure item though.

We'll know more soon

Now then.

M3 looks stunning.
Had an E36 m3 myself and was looking to make a move into an E46 but bought another house instead, so I'm no where near flush enough to be able to consider one at the minute!
Have you sold the GT4 now...?