E46 M3 Service Question

[richterswil]

I've pretty much concluded a deal on this:

http://www.4starclassics.com/bmw-e46-m3-convertibl...

Not seen the car yet but I have put down a deposit and will complete the sale once I've seen and driven it over the next couple of days assuming everything is in order. It needs an Inspection 2 along with front discs and pads which will obviously be a nice fat bill as soon as I take the car!!

I do have a question that fellow PHers might be able to help with. The car has 5 dealer stamps (including the 1200 mile running in service). The last service was at 30k miles (current mileage is 39k) which was done in April 2008.

Are the service intervals purely mileage/fuel usage based or is there a need for periodic services regardless of miles. I don't feel unduly concerned but I suppose the same engine oil etc for 3 years isn't ideal.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks!!

[Nedz]

The service manual states that if the two years has passed before the service indicator states the service is required then you should at least change the engine oil. It seems that unless the oil has been changed then it is overdue a service by a year.The other things wont matter so much but if the same oil has been in the car for the last 3 years that cant be a good thing.

The previous owner was probably putting off the inspection 2 as it will cost around £1100 at a main dealer,£600-£700 at a good indy. Just had my front pads and discs done at my local indy £465 fitted.

Ive owned my E46 m3 cab for over 4 yrs now so if you have any other questions fire away.

[richterswil]

Nedz said:

The service manual states that if the two years has passed before the service indicator states the service is required then you should at least change the engine oil. It seems that unless the oil has been changed then it is overdue a service by a year.The other things wont matter so much but if the same oil has been in the car for the last 3 years that cant be a good thing.

The previous owner was probably putting off the inspection 2 as it will cost around £1100 at a main dealer,£600-£700 at a good indy. Just had my front pads and discs done at my local indy £465 fitted.

Ive owned my E46 m3 cab for over 4 yrs now so if you have any other questions fire away.

Thanks - agree potentially having the same oil for 3 years isn't ideal. That said it has only done 9k miles in that period. I think if the rest of the car is as described I won't let it stop me - it ticks all the other boxes in terms of specification and condition.

I see you're in Cheshire - where do you have yours serviced? Thinking of Darren Wood in Stockport (who quoted me around £1200 for the discs/pads and Inspection 2).

[darreni]

Inspection 2 & new discs & pads will be £1.5k at main dealers.

What sort of warranty are they offering.

[Nedz]

Just had a look at the advert,looks very nice.Another thing to note is that all pre july 2003 cars were subject to a recall by bmw as there was a fault with the oil pump/filter system which was resposible for causing crank bearing failures! All cars should be sorted by now but i would check to be on the safe side as i noticed its a 2002 car. Bmw should be able to tell you if there is no record with the car.

[Nedz]

richterswil said:

Nedz said:

The service manual states that if the two years has passed before the service indicator states the service is required then you should at least change the engine oil. It seems that unless the oil has been changed then it is overdue a service by a year.The other things wont matter so much but if the same oil has been in the car for the last 3 years that cant be a good thing.

The previous owner was probably putting off the inspection 2 as it will cost around £1100 at a main dealer,£600-£700 at a good indy. Just had my front pads and discs done at my local indy £465 fitted.

Ive owned my E46 m3 cab for over 4 yrs now so if you have any other questions fire away.

Thanks - agree potentially having the same oil for 3 years isn't ideal. That said it has only done 9k miles in that period. I think if the rest of the car is as described I won't let it stop me - it ticks all the other boxes in terms of specification and condition.

I see you're in Cheshire - where do you have yours serviced? Thinking of Darren Wood in Stockport (who quoted me around £1200 for the discs/pads and Inspection 2).

Ive used david paul in warrington,just off junct 21 m6 for my last couple of sevices and a few other jobs and ive been very happy with their work and prices. £1200 sound therabouts right for insp 2 and pads and discs,you might better that by £100 or so if you ring around.

[richterswil]

Nedz said:

Just had a look at the advert,looks very nice.Another thing to note is that all pre july 2003 cars were subject to a recall by bmw as there was a fault with the oil pump/filter system which was resposible for causing crank bearing failures! All cars should be sorted by now but i would check to be on the safe side as i noticed its a 2002 car. Bmw should be able to tell you if there is no record with the car.

Very useful - I'll check it out thanks.

[richterswil]

darreni said:

Inspection 2 & new discs & pads will be £1.5k at main dealers.

What sort of warranty are they offering.

No warranty included at this stage - I've asked them to look at what they could offer and I'll make a decision then - the dealer is selling on behalf of its owner - any warranty will need to be paid for by me. To be honest my experience of 3rd party warranty companies is mixed at best so I'm inclined not to bother.

[Vixpy1]

You won't go wrong with 4Star, thoroughly decent chaps

[richterswil]

Vixpy1 said:

You won't go wrong with 4Star, thoroughly decent chaps

Thanks - thus far I have been really impressed - very straightforward to deal with.

[Toilet Duck]

richterswil said:

No warranty included at this stage - I've asked them to look at what they could offer and I'll make a decision then - the dealer is selling on behalf of its owner - any warranty will need to be paid for by me. To be honest my experience of 3rd party warranty companies is mixed at best so I'm inclined not to bother.

Can't you get a BMW warranty? Maybe get the dealer you're buying it off to pay to put it through the BMW AUC check thing so as long as it passes, I believe you can then take out the BMW/Mondial warranty. Like you alluded to, 3rd party warranties aren't worth a toss.

[richterswil]

Toilet Duck said:

Can't you get a BMW warranty? Maybe get the dealer you're buying it off to pay to put it through the BMW AUC check thing so as long as it passes, I believe you can then take out the BMW/Mondial warranty. Like you alluded to, 3rd party warranties aren't worth a toss.

To be fair I just assumed it wouldn't be possible to buy a BMW/Mondial policy if previous cover had lapsed. I've been onto their website and had a quick click around - sent them an e-mail ([e-mail]) to ask the question. Will post the outcome for any others in a similar situation. Thanks.

[Sir_Dave]

Im sorry, but £14k, for a 2002 M2 with 40k miles, without a warranty, thats needs an Insp2.

Thats an impressive margin they're making. Im clearly in the wrong job.

On the flipside, can i borrow your money tree? You're obviously not bothered about paying waaaaaaay over the odds ...

[Mr Bimmer]

Sir_Dave said:

Im sorry, but £14k, for a 2002 M2 with 40k miles, without a warranty, thats needs an Insp2.

Thats an impressive margin they're making. Im clearly in the wrong job.

On the flipside, can i borrow your money tree? You're obviously not bothered about paying waaaaaaay over the odds ...

Have to agree with this. The wheels have had a very basic refurb which doesn't add to the desirability. An insp2 and brakes are well over £2k.

Surely an offer under £12k will be more than enough to secure it.

[danp]

Mr Bimmer said:

Sir_Dave said:

Im sorry, but £14k, for a 2002 M2 with 40k miles, without a warranty, thats needs an Insp2.

Thats an impressive margin they're making. Im clearly in the wrong job.

On the flipside, can i borrow your money tree? You're obviously not bothered about paying waaaaaaay over the odds ...

Have to agree with this. The wheels have had a very basic refurb which doesn't add to the desirability. An insp2 and brakes are well over £2k.

Surely an offer under £12k will be more than enough to secure it.

Not sure you can be quite so definitive, where are you getting your prices from?

As I speak AutoTrader has 80 for sale nationally with under 40k miles, cheapest that isn't a writeoff is £13,995 (not the same car)

Inspection 2 and brakes would be nearer 1k than 2k.. but yes sounds like some negotiation is in order if you haven't done so already.

[Sir_Dave]

48k, 2002, SMG & nav.

11 grand: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[darreni]

You could have mine:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1686131.htm


New discs & pads all round, Inspection 1 inc valves, coolant & SMG gearbox oil change done march 2011.

Fully comp BMW warranty renewed ( and paid for!) untill April 2012.

Only selling as i also have this sat on the drive:

[Nedz]

darreni said:

You could have mine:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1686131.htm


New discs & pads all round, Inspection 1 inc valves, coolant & SMG gearbox oil change done march 2011.

Fully comp BMW warranty renewed ( and paid for!) untill April 2012.

Only selling as i also have this sat on the drive:

You will get shouted at on here mate for advertising an 02 m3 cab with 50k on the clock for £14k!! Love the csl by the way.

[darreni]

Nedz said:

You will get shouted at on here mate for advertising an 02 m3 cab with 50k on the clock for £14k!! Love the csl by the way.

Probably!

Though i am merely giving an example of a car of similar age & price, to the ops original link.

The dealer car, at that money should have the service, brakes & a proper BMW warranty included in the price.

As for mine, If it sells, it sells, if not, my wife is having it & her Merc will go.

Also, all this ste about selling on behalf of owner, i really struggle with this when the car is at retail money.

I went to look at a Jag XKR a wile ago, at a jag main dealer. It was top money a& a little scruffy, but nothing that std pre sale prep wpuld'nt sort.
When i enquired about the warranty & sorting the bits, i was given the for sale o behalf of the owner line, & therefore no warranty or prep or service etc. Oh, & no haggling on the full main dealer retail either.

Edited by darreni on Thursday 19th May 19:35

Edited by darreni on Thursday 19th May 23:42

[Nedz]

darreni said:

Nedz said:

You will get shouted at on here mate for advertising an 02 m3 cab with 50k on the clock for £14k!! Love the csl by the way.

Probably!

Though i am merely giving an example of a car of similar age & price, to the ops original link.

The dealer car, at that monety should have The service, brakes & a proper BMW warranty included in the price.

As for mine, If it sells, it sells, if not, my wife is having it & her Merc will go.

Also, all this ste about selling on behalf of owner, i really struggle with this when the car is at retail money.

I went to look at a Jag XKR a wile ago, at a jag main dealer. It was top money a& a little scruffy, but nothing that std pre sale prep wpuld'nt sort.
When i enquired about the warranty & sorting the bits, i was given the for sale o behalf of the owner line, & therefore no warranty or prep or service etc. Oh, & no haggling on the full main dealer retail either.

Edited by darreni on Thursday 19th May 19:35

Personally,looking at the write up of your car it seems fair enough really.When buying a car like an m3,if the car is going to want for nothing for the nxt year or two and has a years warranty (which im guessing costs a grand or so) then its fair enough that you can ask a grand or two more than a car of similar age and mileage which will need loads of work doing in the near future and has no warranty.

When i bought my M3 cab (private) over 4 years ago it was up for £24,995.The rear tyres were ileagal and the insp 2 was due within a couple of months and all he was prepared to move was £250! The car was mint though and the exact colour and spec i had been searching for so i bought it.

It did feel though as if i had paid nearer £27k for the car rather than the £25K it was advertised for so things like this do need to be taken into account when comparing the sale prices of similar age/spec cars.

Edited by Nedz on Thursday 19th May 20:09