buying an E46 M3

[Futse]

Hi all,

with my 1975 Alfa Romeo Giulia sold, it's time to look for something else, something different. Something totally different! I want something more modern and more reliable, a car you know will always start, will not break down in the middle of Germany and leave you stranded etc... Well, you can never be 100% sure, but you know what I mean ;-)
I've always had a softspot for the E46 M3, and after all these years it's finally within reach. So on monday I'm going to look at one. Any specific area's to look out for? I know there are a lot of buyer's guides out there, but sure it can't hurt to ask owners and people with experience here what they know and like to share.

[jayemm89]

Pretty sure the buyers' guides cover everything you want. As with buying other similar cars, if something feels wrong with the one you're looking at, walk away. There are plenty to choose from.

[Stone Cold]

Lots of good stuff on M3cutters site, go take a look see. I bought one exactly a year ago an 06 convertible with hard top and haven't regretted it yet, although the cost of a main dealer Insp I service y'day was a little eye watering!

[little328ci]

Had one for just over a year now, and by the sounds of it could be just what your looking for . Running costs aren't cheap but you knew that already , getting one which has had an inspection 2 done recently is a bonus , because the next one is an oil service at around the 150 mark . Pretty good on fuel for what you get I average about 24 mpg and that's mostly town driving on a run 30 s pretty easy . Mines a manual which can feel a bit clunkly round town , but when your really giving it some it's pretty good , the ride is very firm though , mines on 19 inch wheels which doesn't help 18 a are meant to be a lot better on that front .

[ba65]

Main weak point on the E46 M3 is the rear subframe - check it's either been looked at by a BMW dealer or replaced previously.

Other things to watch out for which can be pricey is the vanos (not very common), inspection 2 (£1k at BMW) and discs and pads (£700 ish at BMW for the parts). Tyres are expensive at £250 each for the rears but this is a part of the running cost of any performance car.

Otherwise pretty solid. Ran mine for nearly two years from 38k to 54k with zero issues and I did thrash it from time to time. I had the SMG which was a dream in traffic. It can take some getting used to though but as a large portion of my driving is in the city I opted for SMG and didn't regret it for one second.

Fantastic cars. I'm now in a SLK55 which, as you can imagine, sounds 10x better!

[shibby!]

I had one for 3 years plus.. cant I think i put about 20k on it, all for enjoyment rather than commuting. It was very fun and a fantastic car.
When i sold mine im pretty sure it had 110k or so on it...

In its time it had :-
- Replacement vanos solenoid, which was £100 and 30 mins of my time.
- Subframe replaced by BMW under "goodwill"
- 2 sets of tyres. Pilot sports and Vredsteins
- Rear pads and discs
- Passenger door lock mechanism £300 i think and 3 hours of my time
- Mirror glass
- A new exhaust (the clamps rusted right though) these were second hand and £200 in total.
- Headlight lenses £30 and 20 mins of my time
- Oil service £150
- Front wishbones £350 for pair i think.
- Insurance was around £350 i was 29 when i had that one.

Great car, yes things go wrong, but as above, its not really the end of the world, there is plenty of resource online on how to fix and what went wrong rather than going to BMW themself.

I currently drive a Z4MC which is an ace car, and i also just got another E46 M3 and drive them back to back daily. Lots of similarities and lots of differences. But thats not the question.

I really like the E46 M3 and much prefer it to the E90 M3.

[Futse]

Thanks for the time you guys took to look and answer to my questions...

So, yesterday I went and looked at an M3 not too far from my home. The car looked great, FBMWSH, testdrive was just amazing... So, I bought it :-)

It's a 2001 model, 110k km, nice options and great color combo IMHO. I just have some pics the guys from the dealer sent me a few days ago, more will follow...







Hope you like it. I do :-)

[shibby!]

Cool car.

I like it alot!!!

[pat_y]

Best colour, nice mods, excellent choice sir.

[little328ci]

Lovely , not normally into any mods but that front splitter looks tasty.

[toon10]

Right colour, right wheels. Looks lovely.

[Futse]

Thanks guys :-)

I really like the mods too. CSL rims and boot are really nice. I had my doubts about the splitter, but it looks really cool in real life, and it balances the car out, design wise (with the CSL boot/spoiler at the back).

The interior is half leather/alcantara, which I prefer as well over the full leather. And with satnav (oké, 14 years old, but it looks nice...), Harmann Kardon, memory seats,... I'm very happy :-)

I'm getting it delivered on friday, but paperwork will have to wait until january I'm afraid, a bit busy with work and a little holiday in december. Hopefully the weather will be s***, so I'm not tempted to much by it standing in the garage, without plates and insurance ;-)