2004 BMW E46 M3 Manual

BMW might call it the ultimate driving machine, but really, the M3 should be called the ultimate daily driver. It’s designed to seamlessly blend blistering performance with everyday usability. It occupies a segment that it has defined for itself, and sits on a pedestal that its competitors have never really been able to reach.

The generation that amalgamated Jekyll & Hyde best is the E46. It’s the poster child of the Piston Heads forum, and for good reason. Whilst some people will be discussing slip angles and the aggressiveness of a plated vs helical limited-slip differential, M3 owners are out there in the real world, living it.

Launched at the turn of the century, the E46 pushed the M3 further into luxury than ever before. Whilst it shared some of its architecture with the outgoing E36, it improved on it in nearly every thinkable way. Where the E36 M3 had to make-do with the same silhouette as a 318i sport, the E46 got wider arches, different styling, unique mirrors and that all-important quad-exit exhaust.

This car is a 2004 model year car, which makes it a facelift, or as BMW likes to call it, an LCI. Finished in Titan Silver over an Imola Red interior, the car’s original wheels have been replaced with a set of replica 163M CSL alloys.

It’s a wheel design so popular that it inspired the competition wheel that would feature on the subsequent M3 and 1M Coupe. As an LCI car, you’ll spot the “Ministry of Sound” LED rear tail-lights. Often referred to as a “slicktop”, this car features no sunroof, after all, that would be added weight, and this is a performance car!

Step inside, and the performance aspect drifts towards luxury. The interior is dominated visually by the Imola red nappa leather, but after that, you’ll start to notice small touches that set this aside from the everyday 3-series.

The steering wheel features a unique M tricolour stitching, the gauges feature LED warnings on the rev-counter to keep you in the loop of the engine’s operating temperature, unlocking more of the rev-range as the temperatures increase.

That impressive 8,000 RPM rev range is thanks to the masterful S54 3.2-litre straight six. It breathes through six individual throttle bodies and pumps out 340bhp, all to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. Of course, today you can buy a shopping cart with 340bhp, but with near-perfect weight distribution and a super sharp steering rack, an E46 M3 remains an innate capable car.

Let’s talk about subframes…If you browse the internet even briefly, you’ll notice much is said about cracked M3 subframes. It’s not the subframe that cracks, it’s what BMW refers to as the RACP or rear axle carrier panel.

The spot welds that hold this area of the car together can fail, and thus, they need to be inspected carefully. This was done for this car during some light rear-end renovations that involved removing the rear subframe, differential and suspension entirely. With no sign of cracking, the decision was made not to fit any reinforcement plates.

The next hot topic is connecting rod bearings, which in this case have been addressed. The team at Spartan Automotive replaced the original bearings with a full set of ACL items at around 87,000 miles. In fact, in the last 3,000 miles or so, the car has been treated to an Inspection II service and had the valve clearances set.

Other services include:

02/2023 – Major service & rod bearings – 87,547 miles at Spartan Automotive

08/2022 – Powerflex rear trailing arm bushes

03/2022 – Minor service – 82,600 miles at Everything M3S

07/2020 – Major service & front brakes – 75,383 miles at NTS Automotive

06/2020 – Rear differential service – 78,296 miles at NTS Automotive

12/2013 – Minor service – 64,560 miles at Gilbert’s BMW

02/2011 – Inspection II service – 53,186 miles at Mercury Car Centre

06/2006 – Inspection I service – BMW Chelmsford

11/2005 – Minor service – BMW Chelmsford

E46 M3 values have fluctuated over the past decade or so; at one point, they were obtainable at very affordable prices. Unfortunately, that did mean that many cars were not maintained to the standard BMW require. Whilst values have now climbed, that has created a market in which finding good examples is particularly hard.

This car is one of those good ones, treated to the right maintenance, the right parts and the right upgrades. It hasn’t been stripped out and turned into a track car, but it isn’t an ultra-low-mile car whose value is tied entirely to the number on the odometer. So, if you want to experience the signature E46 M3 rasp, this could well be the car for you.

As with all our vehicles, an entire digital folder is available upon request and contains more images, walk-around videos, and scans of the service history. The car can also be viewed by appointment at our West London showroom.