E46 M3. Missing service history. Opinions sought please.
Discussion
Just been to see a very nice example at a reasonable price. 53 reg with 87000 miles up for £8k
Service history till 50k then nothing until 85k when it was serviced by the garage the present owner bought it from.
Apart from this and a couple of very minor body work marks its immaculate and drives great.
Run a mile or make an offer? I'm very conscious of resale value.
Service history till 50k then nothing until 85k when it was serviced by the garage the present owner bought it from.
Apart from this and a couple of very minor body work marks its immaculate and drives great.
Run a mile or make an offer? I'm very conscious of resale value.
mdavids said:
Just been to see a very nice example at a reasonable price. 53 reg with 87000 miles up for £8k
Service history till 50k then nothing until 85k when it was serviced by the garage the present owner bought it from.
Apart from this and a couple of very minor body work marks its immaculate and drives great.
Run a mile or make an offer? I'm very conscious of resale value.
Not so much experience of M3s but if you are very conscious of resale values I'd avoid an 87000 miler. Once you take her past 100 k miles an M car needs to be very very special to retain value. Found this out the hard way with my first E39 M5.Service history till 50k then nothing until 85k when it was serviced by the garage the present owner bought it from.
Apart from this and a couple of very minor body work marks its immaculate and drives great.
Run a mile or make an offer? I'm very conscious of resale value.
Cheers!! 
My plan was to make a very cheeky offer as its not quite the spec I was after anyway then keep for a year or maybe 2 and not put many miles on so it would still be under the magic 100k.
Floor pan issues are blown out of proportion according to the several independant BMW specialists I've spoken to so I'm not too worried about this aspect.
Think I'll keep looking though.
My plan was to make a very cheeky offer as its not quite the spec I was after anyway then keep for a year or maybe 2 and not put many miles on so it would still be under the magic 100k.
Floor pan issues are blown out of proportion according to the several independant BMW specialists I've spoken to so I'm not too worried about this aspect.
Think I'll keep looking though.
mdavids said:
Cheers!!
My plan was to make a very cheeky offer as its not quite the spec I was after anyway then keep for a year or maybe 2 and not put many miles on so it would still be under the magic 100k.
Floor pan issues are blown out of proportion according to the several independant BMW specialists I've spoken to so I'm not too worried about this aspect.
Think I'll keep looking though.
On the contrary, it is ticking bomb and you will soon see indie fixed subframes fail again HMO unless done very well.My plan was to make a very cheeky offer as its not quite the spec I was after anyway then keep for a year or maybe 2 and not put many miles on so it would still be under the magic 100k.
Floor pan issues are blown out of proportion according to the several independant BMW specialists I've spoken to so I'm not too worried about this aspect.
Think I'll keep looking though.
BMW fix is £6k and a complete rear strip down. indies tend to weld some plates on and hope for the best.
mdavids said:
Cheers!!
My plan was to make a very cheeky offer as its not quite the spec I was after anyway then keep for a year or maybe 2 and not put many miles on so it would still be under the magic 100k.
Floor pan issues are blown out of proportion according to the several independant BMW specialists I've spoken to so I'm not too worried about this aspect.
Think I'll keep looking though.
As someone who's M3 has just had a full floorpan replacement via BMW, I can assure your you that the problem is very real.My plan was to make a very cheeky offer as its not quite the spec I was after anyway then keep for a year or maybe 2 and not put many miles on so it would still be under the magic 100k.
Floor pan issues are blown out of proportion according to the several independant BMW specialists I've spoken to so I'm not too worried about this aspect.
Think I'll keep looking though.
robinm3 said:
Run Forrest Run, there are lots of correct cars about, why take the risk?
There's not that many around near me with less than 90k, non-smg, non-cab, less than £9k. There's none on pistonheads and one on autotrader.As an example, looked at the following from a dealer near me:
2002, 51000 miles, FSH - £11k with rusted arches and tatty body-work.
Also recently looked at a 350z for £6k with every panel either scratched, dented or painted; a big hole in the carpet and a big hole in the service history.
The m3 I looked at yesterday was one of the cleanest 10 year old cars I've ever seen, it would be clean for a 2 year old car. I'd find it odd if the previous owner had ran it for 4 years without doing any servicing whilst keeping it meticulously clean.
My idea of a cheeky offer would be around £7k but doubt it'll be accepted. Somebody will pay more for it than that based on condition, as would I if the car was going to be a long term keeper.
Also; I'm yet to see one advert that mentions having the boot floor issue sorted which means there's not one suitable car out there within 100 miles.
Edited by mdavids on Saturday 22 June 17:43
Edited by mdavids on Saturday 22 June 17:50
mdavids,
I agree with you that once you start filtering down by bodystyle / gearbox/ colour/ spec / condition / distance etc the choice is limited. These people who say there are loads to choose from have either not gone through the physical process themselves or are not really bothered what they end up with.
Then if you were to try and find one that had the subframe fix done, you may as well not bother. I accept that the problem is real but the issue I have with it, is has it ever caused a complete failure? I am sure over enough time and miles it would but in the mean time you could run it and not even know the symptoms or problem were even there. This is what I did with mine, bought it knowing of the potential issue, didn't have a check, ran it for 2 years and 25,000 miles and not a sign of any issues with the sub frame.
The lack of service history on the car you are considering would worry me however but have you tried everything you can to try and track down previous owners? They might be able to help fill in any gaps. If the condition is really as you say, it might pay to put extra effort into investigating its past. In conjunction with a reduced offer of course!
Good luck.
I agree with you that once you start filtering down by bodystyle / gearbox/ colour/ spec / condition / distance etc the choice is limited. These people who say there are loads to choose from have either not gone through the physical process themselves or are not really bothered what they end up with.
Then if you were to try and find one that had the subframe fix done, you may as well not bother. I accept that the problem is real but the issue I have with it, is has it ever caused a complete failure? I am sure over enough time and miles it would but in the mean time you could run it and not even know the symptoms or problem were even there. This is what I did with mine, bought it knowing of the potential issue, didn't have a check, ran it for 2 years and 25,000 miles and not a sign of any issues with the sub frame.
The lack of service history on the car you are considering would worry me however but have you tried everything you can to try and track down previous owners? They might be able to help fill in any gaps. If the condition is really as you say, it might pay to put extra effort into investigating its past. In conjunction with a reduced offer of course!
Good luck.
My view would be - stay away.
I'd sooner spend a few hundred quid and a few Saturdays on trains and cabs making sure I bought a gem rather than hoping to save a little at the start.
Over the past 2 years I have spent 3k on my m3 - and that was an approved used one from bmw. I might post the work done at some point. My point is this - the cars are high end equipment which need expensive maintanence - so why put yourself a goal down from the start? Believe me - if the history is completely blank for 35k miles, the thousand you save will be only a small installment on the cost of fixing what could be wrong....
Mine has just past 104k and its still sweet but as I say, it has been well looked after by previous owners and me.
Be patient and keep searching - a clean one will come up.
And when you have bought it, post a picture.
Good luck !
I'd sooner spend a few hundred quid and a few Saturdays on trains and cabs making sure I bought a gem rather than hoping to save a little at the start.
Over the past 2 years I have spent 3k on my m3 - and that was an approved used one from bmw. I might post the work done at some point. My point is this - the cars are high end equipment which need expensive maintanence - so why put yourself a goal down from the start? Believe me - if the history is completely blank for 35k miles, the thousand you save will be only a small installment on the cost of fixing what could be wrong....
Mine has just past 104k and its still sweet but as I say, it has been well looked after by previous owners and me.
Be patient and keep searching - a clean one will come up.
And when you have bought it, post a picture.
Good luck !
Just because a car is missing a stamp in a book doesn't mean it should be left on the scrap heap. If you knew for certain that it had missed a service then yes i would be dubious but if you have reason to believe that the service was carried out then i see no reason to ignore the opportunity.
Too many people are too quick to wright off a car at the slightest hint of imperfection, and on a 10 year old car this attitude can be unpractical. There are many things to consider over and above a stamp in a book.
Too many people are too quick to wright off a car at the slightest hint of imperfection, and on a 10 year old car this attitude can be unpractical. There are many things to consider over and above a stamp in a book.
The previous owner ran it from 2009 - 13 and didn't get the book stamped but according to the garage the present owner bought it from, he did all his own servicing. Of course they would say that and unfortunately there's no paperwork at all from that period, not even a receipt for oil and filters which would have at least gave me a little piece of mind.
Thing is, why would the previous owner spend in the region of £15k (guessing on value back in 2009) on an M3 and then not service it? TBH I reckon it's been serviced but I'm not going to take the chance.
Thanks for all the advice
Thing is, why would the previous owner spend in the region of £15k (guessing on value back in 2009) on an M3 and then not service it? TBH I reckon it's been serviced but I'm not going to take the chance.
Thanks for all the advice
It depends a little on how many miles the car has done in the time since the car was last serviced (or you have any bills for)...although having owned an E46 Cab a few years ago , I'd say hold out and find a FSH one that's been looked after by the last owner, you may pay a little more , but it'll cost you less (or the same) in the long run.
In March 2011 i bought a 55 plate V8 Vantage coupe, previous owner had bought the car in Jan 2008 for lots of £££, he did 5,500 miles in the car in 38 months and he never serviced the car during that time. I did speak to AM who confirmed the car had been in for a couple of
small fixes, but no servicing. I had the car inspected, then knocked him down 20% off the asking price. I had a full service done on the car and a couple of other bits at a cost to me of £1500. Car was immaculate during the 14 months i owned it, only sold it as i bought a convertible version in the same colour.
The owner would have more than recovered the money he spent on servicing if he had been able to sell the car with Full Service History - it was bizarre after he spent so much on the car in the first place...but good for me
In March 2011 i bought a 55 plate V8 Vantage coupe, previous owner had bought the car in Jan 2008 for lots of £££, he did 5,500 miles in the car in 38 months and he never serviced the car during that time. I did speak to AM who confirmed the car had been in for a couple of
small fixes, but no servicing. I had the car inspected, then knocked him down 20% off the asking price. I had a full service done on the car and a couple of other bits at a cost to me of £1500. Car was immaculate during the 14 months i owned it, only sold it as i bought a convertible version in the same colour.
The owner would have more than recovered the money he spent on servicing if he had been able to sell the car with Full Service History - it was bizarre after he spent so much on the car in the first place...but good for me
nw28840 said:
It depends a little on how many miles the car has done in the time since the car was last serviced (or you have any bills for)...although having owned an E46 Cab a few years ago , I'd say hold out and find a FSH one that's been looked after by the last owner, you may pay a little more , but it'll cost you less (or the same) in the long run.
In March 2011 i bought a 55 plate V8 Vantage coupe, previous owner had bought the car in Jan 2008 for lots of £££, he did 5,500 miles in the car in 38 months and he never serviced the car during that time. I did speak to AM who confirmed the car had been in for a couple of
small fixes, but no servicing. I had the car inspected, then knocked him down 20% off the asking price. I had a full service done on the car and a couple of other bits at a cost to me of £1500. Car was immaculate during the 14 months i owned it, only sold it as i bought a convertible version in the same colour.
The owner would have more than recovered the money he spent on servicing if he had been able to sell the car with Full Service History - it was bizarre after he spent so much on the car in the first place...but good for me
My ex did this, bought a 996 turbo and 'forgot' to get it serviced (It did go in for other fixes).In March 2011 i bought a 55 plate V8 Vantage coupe, previous owner had bought the car in Jan 2008 for lots of £££, he did 5,500 miles in the car in 38 months and he never serviced the car during that time. I did speak to AM who confirmed the car had been in for a couple of
small fixes, but no servicing. I had the car inspected, then knocked him down 20% off the asking price. I had a full service done on the car and a couple of other bits at a cost to me of £1500. Car was immaculate during the 14 months i owned it, only sold it as i bought a convertible version in the same colour.
The owner would have more than recovered the money he spent on servicing if he had been able to sell the car with Full Service History - it was bizarre after he spent so much on the car in the first place...but good for me
Took an absolute bath at resale time...
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