Thinking of buying a e46 m3 newbie
Discussion
Thinking of buying one very soon for a weekend car my budget is 10k. I am just worried about subframe and the services?? I am looking at cars with 60,000 to 70,000 miles. I don't know much about the servicing can anyone give me a heads up? I was thinking about getting a golf r32 as they seem less money to maintain but i think i would get bored of it.
The subframe/boot floor is obviously a big issue and needs checking by someone familiar with the issue. Regards the servicing, I don't think it's too bad given the performance of the car. The schedule goes oil / insp 1 / oil / insp 2, so figure £150 / £500 / £150 / £800 at a decent indy. Spread that over 48K miles / 4 years, then that's £400/year (less for a weekend car that won't rack up the miles). Consumables such as pads, discs etc aren't that much more expensive than "normal" cars and if you can do things like the brakes yourself then all the better.
Mine's done 130K miles now and *touch wood* has been fairly cost effective to run. I've fitted new springs (Eibach as the BMW rears always snap), had the callipers refurbished and had new brake lines fitted. The brake lines were a bit eye watering at £450 as the fuel tank and assorts have to be dropped to install them.
Mine's done 130K miles now and *touch wood* has been fairly cost effective to run. I've fitted new springs (Eibach as the BMW rears always snap), had the callipers refurbished and had new brake lines fitted. The brake lines were a bit eye watering at £450 as the fuel tank and assorts have to be dropped to install them.
benny.c said:
The subframe/boot floor is obviously a big issue and needs checking by someone familiar with the issue. Regards the servicing, I don't think it's too bad given the performance of the car. The schedule goes oil / insp 1 / oil / insp 2, so figure £150 / £500 / £150 / £800 at a decent indy. Spread that over 48K miles / 4 years, then that's £400/year (less for a weekend car that won't rack up the miles). Consumables such as pads, discs etc aren't that much more expensive than "normal" cars and if you can do things like the brakes yourself then all the better.
Mine's done 130K miles now and *touch wood* has been fairly cost effective to run. I've fitted new springs (Eibach as the BMW rears always snap), had the callipers refurbished and had new brake lines fitted. The brake lines were a bit eye watering at £450 as the fuel tank and assorts have to be dropped to install them.
What milage do these services need doing? Mine's done 130K miles now and *touch wood* has been fairly cost effective to run. I've fitted new springs (Eibach as the BMW rears always snap), had the callipers refurbished and had new brake lines fitted. The brake lines were a bit eye watering at £450 as the fuel tank and assorts have to be dropped to install them.
Lcfc84 said:
What milage do these services need doing?
It varies depending on how the car is driven, but it's typically 10-12K miles (or two years). Most folk will change the oil every year whatever so it's not unusual on a weekend only car to find a service history that reads oil / oil / insp 1 / oil / oil / insp 2 /oil /oil.Timbuk2 said:
Get over to M3Cutters and have a look on the buyers guide 
Seconded...great information base over at M3Cutters. Armed with the buyers guide, and with the addition of a PPI carried out in case anything was missed, I picked up my '05 coupe on Saturday. Very pleased so far.
If your concerned about the rear subframe, there is a Youtube video guide on how to check.
You will need to jack up the rear, its relatively simple, you just need to know where to look and what to look out for, which the video details.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaTYBaMpUtE
You will need to jack up the rear, its relatively simple, you just need to know where to look and what to look out for, which the video details.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaTYBaMpUtE
stevethegreek said:
Seconded...great information base over at M3Cutters. Armed with the buyers guide, and with the addition of a PPI carried out in case anything was missed, I picked up my '05 coupe on Saturday. Very pleased so far.
Looks very similar to my '05! I love it! Getting AP's all round in a week or two.
Having had a good selection of what are considered nice cars over the years, I scratched the itch and got one 3 months ago.
It is one of the most involving cars I have ever driven. Do it, use the M3 cutters site for advice and as mentioned above, any doubts walk away, there are a lot out there.
My clutch went 2 weeks into ownership (ouch) and I have a few things that I want sorting but mine is a 12 year old 130k car and still drives superbly.
It is one of the most involving cars I have ever driven. Do it, use the M3 cutters site for advice and as mentioned above, any doubts walk away, there are a lot out there.
My clutch went 2 weeks into ownership (ouch) and I have a few things that I want sorting but mine is a 12 year old 130k car and still drives superbly.
Timbuk2 said:
stevethegreek said:
Seconded...great information base over at M3Cutters. Armed with the buyers guide, and with the addition of a PPI carried out in case anything was missed, I picked up my '05 coupe on Saturday. Very pleased so far.
Looks very similar to my '05! I love it! Getting AP's all round in a week or two.
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