Put down a deposit on low miles E46 M3 - Questions

[Bada Bing!]

I put down a deposit on a cracking low mileage car last night and have a couple of questions.

The brake discs seem a bit on the thin side, and look like they are still the originals. The car stops ok but I'd like to get an idea of how worn they are. Would measuring them with a digital micrometer be a silly idea? If not any ideas how thick a front and rear disc should be? I've priced the parts and the discs alone would be £500 so I'd like to be sure if that bill is imminent that I seek a discount.

Also, besides the obvious checks (subframe etc) is a professional inspection from a dealer likely to reveal anything of impact over an AA one, for example?

Less importantly is the TV tuner, is there any way to upgrade the tuner to a digital one? The car is a 2004 so I think it just missed out on a digital tuner.

[billyboysm3]

Bada Bling, how many miles is low miles?

From memory I think the front disc's need doing around inspection 2 time which is about 40k-44k miles ish.

Also how many miles till next service? Other things Id check are wishbones, RTAB which are common to go.

Billy

[Bada Bing!]

Hi mate, it has 38k miles and the next service is due in 9k.

Edited by Bada Bing! on Saturday 16th July 10:15

[LJTS]

E46 M3 buyers guide link below

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=285...

For original BMW parts I use BM Mini Parts, http://www.bmminiparts.com loads cheaper than Main Stealers

[LJTS]

Genuine BMW E46 M3 Front Brake Discs on eBay!

£289.99

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-BMW-E46-M3-Front-Bra...

[nottyash]

Bada Bing! said:

Hi mate, it has 38k miles and the next service is due in 9k.

Edited by Bada Bing! on Saturday 16th July 10:15

Mine did exactly that before needing discs and pads all round, Parts are expensive. I bought my discs from a factor, exact same as BMW but nearly £100 less I think its textra/ texstar or something that make them.

[Bada Bing!]

nottyash said:

Mine did exactly that before needing discs and pads all round, Parts are expensive. I bought my discs from a factor, exact same as BMW but nearly £100 less I think its textra/ texstar or something that make them.

Thanks, I got the feeling they looked a bit on the thin side. From the link above I know new ones should be 28mm wide, so I'll talk to the dealer and work things out from there.

[E30M3SE]

IIRC 22mm is the change limit.

[Sir_Dave]

Bada Bing! said:

Thanks, I got the feeling they looked a bit on the thin side. From the link above I know new ones should be 28mm wide, so I'll talk to the dealer and work things out from there.

How do you expect to negotiate after placing a deposit? Surely the dealer will just tell you to do one. In all seriousness, & imho you should have researched this before agreeing a price on the car/placing a deposit.

[Bada Bing!]

The deposit was subject to an inspection and a number of items I spoke to him about. I'm not worried.

[AndrewO]

I would change the discs when the pads are due for a change. If the car has done 38k that is probably around now depending on how its been driven. I would also do the rears at the same time so that all your braking will be smooth like a new car. If you buy from a BMW dealer they will swop the discs if the pads are low.