E36 M3 running costs...
Discussion
What are they like......can be expensive. Should be similar (if not fractionally cheeper) to e46 M3 but obviously all depends on where you get the work done ie main dealer or indipendent's.
The indipendents's that look after my car are roughly half the cost of main agent service cost's.
Insurance obviously depends on a few factors. I've herd quotes as low as £300 before but i currently pay £1,500 - this is mainly due to my location.
Hope this helps.
M3J.
The indipendents's that look after my car are roughly half the cost of main agent service cost's.
Insurance obviously depends on a few factors. I've herd quotes as low as £300 before but i currently pay £1,500 - this is mainly due to my location.
Hope this helps.
M3J.
AS above. Insurance is a killer if you live in a high risk area like London as M3John and I do.
AS for running costs. £250-500 for a service depending on where but tbh, running costs vary from car to car. You can't possibly predict. Mine has cost absolutely nothing this year aside from petrol and insurance but I'm about to get an Inspection2 service.
Rule of thumb should be - if you're worried about the cost of running any car then you probably can't afford it. M3s are very reliable but any M car will cost a lot more in servicing and parts than it's lower model equivalent. But then, any car can throw up major bills at any time.
AS for running costs. £250-500 for a service depending on where but tbh, running costs vary from car to car. You can't possibly predict. Mine has cost absolutely nothing this year aside from petrol and insurance but I'm about to get an Inspection2 service.
Rule of thumb should be - if you're worried about the cost of running any car then you probably can't afford it. M3s are very reliable but any M car will cost a lot more in servicing and parts than it's lower model equivalent. But then, any car can throw up major bills at any time.
E36GUY said:
AS above. Insurance is a killer if you live in a high risk area like London as M3John and I do.
AS for running costs. £250-500 for a service depending on where but tbh, running costs vary from car to car. You can't possibly predict. Mine has cost absolutely nothing this year aside from petrol and insurance but I'm about to get an Inspection2 service.
Rule of thumb should be - if you're worried about the cost of running any car then you probably can't afford it. M3s are very reliable but any M car will cost a lot more in servicing and parts than it's lower model equivalent. But then, any car can throw up major bills at any time.
I think the biggest problem about the E36M3 is that as their prices are very low these days your getting premiums which are up to 60% of the value of the car which unless £ is not important to you is an unviable option.AS for running costs. £250-500 for a service depending on where but tbh, running costs vary from car to car. You can't possibly predict. Mine has cost absolutely nothing this year aside from petrol and insurance but I'm about to get an Inspection2 service.
Rule of thumb should be - if you're worried about the cost of running any car then you probably can't afford it. M3s are very reliable but any M car will cost a lot more in servicing and parts than it's lower model equivalent. But then, any car can throw up major bills at any time.
With regard to servicing I would highly recommend that you set up a standing order into a "Car Maintence" internet savings account of say £60pcm then this should cover all servicing & the odd part failure.
Failing that take up an evening course in car maintence/Mechanical Engineer (mechanic) then once qualified rather than always replace the part at first instance you would be able to trip the part and see if its possible to make good/repair the part rather than a new part. Also your clearly then going to save on lbr of jobs - any job you dont fancy then plump it to a garage.
I take it for granted you change your oil/fliters/bulbs/pads/discs/exhaust (unless the garage have an offer making it barely worth fitting it yourself), spark plugs, fuel filter, coil pack/distributer cap & rotor arm, change brake fluid/coolant.
Or if you dont fancy doing that then with your Tesco clubcard vouchers go onto clubcard deals and opt for the MOT & Interim/Full/Major service - I have just done this and it physically cost £50 in vouchers but the actaul Major service cost £260 incl MOT (part changed included spark plugs, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, brake fluid, coolant) and given the MOT costs £30-40 for £50 its a no brainer + Nationwide Autocentre have won garage of the year for the last 4 years on value for money & customer satisfaction.
Not sure if I'd want to take my Evo to a garage that services Fiesta's and Vectra's. Do you think they really understand how to set valve clearances on a M3?
MPG isn't bad compared to some of the competition (especially Jap cars), but insurance as others say can be a killer.
I guess you risk two big bills on an Evo, less on a 3.0l. Firstly, the often discussed Vanos, which can cost £2.5k to fix and a new gearbox as they are sealed and can't be reconditioned. That's 2 grand, so if either go, £60 a month won't get you too far.
MPG isn't bad compared to some of the competition (especially Jap cars), but insurance as others say can be a killer.
I guess you risk two big bills on an Evo, less on a 3.0l. Firstly, the often discussed Vanos, which can cost £2.5k to fix and a new gearbox as they are sealed and can't be reconditioned. That's 2 grand, so if either go, £60 a month won't get you too far.
JezF said:
Not sure if I'd want to take my Evo to a garage that services Fiesta's and Vectra's. Do you think they really understand how to set valve clearances on a M3?
MPG isn't bad compared to some of the competition (especially Jap cars), but insurance as others say can be a killer.
I guess you risk two big bills on an Evo, less on a 3.0l. Firstly, the often discussed Vanos, which can cost £2.5k to fix and a new gearbox as they are sealed and can't be reconditioned. That's 2 grand, so if either go, £60 a month won't get you too far.
To be frank as prices for the Evo start at about £4k if the vanos & gearbox went at the same time it would certainly be cheaper to buy another M3 Evo and keept he current one for spares/scrap.MPG isn't bad compared to some of the competition (especially Jap cars), but insurance as others say can be a killer.
I guess you risk two big bills on an Evo, less on a 3.0l. Firstly, the often discussed Vanos, which can cost £2.5k to fix and a new gearbox as they are sealed and can't be reconditioned. That's 2 grand, so if either go, £60 a month won't get you too far.
Got a question - please tell me which service includes using Fealer guages???? Ive not seen that on the BMW service board (maybe TVR with their 12k top engine rebuild & new shims. Also given at one BMW garage a mechanic told a friend of mine that the engine was shot while all that was wrong with it was an air lock in the coolant system - his excuse was "Oh i only ever look after the heads at work...." speaks volumes about the quality of engineers IMHO.
E36GUY said:
AS for running costs. £250-500 for a service depending on where but tbh, running costs vary from car to car. You can't possibly predict. Mine has cost absolutely nothing this year aside from petrol and insurance but I'm about to get an Inspection2 service.
JezF said:
Not sure if I'd want to take my Evo to a garage that services Fiesta's and Vectra's. Do you think they really understand how to set valve clearances on a M3?
^^^^ 
As above.I'm very particular about my cars and wont let just anyone touch them. With the BMW(s), i'll do what i can myself but in the case as mine last week i will onyl give it to someone i trust ie : my indipendents.
Edited by M3John on Monday 5th November 17:56
I think bang for buck you can't go to far wrong but its still a 50k car you are servicing.
I use the same indy as M3John and was a bit hacked off at the charge for spark plugs.
Labour rates were fine but some of the part costs are daft unless you source them yourself.
On the plus side, there are a LOT of aftermarket bits available so in the end, I still think they represent good value.
I use the same indy as M3John and was a bit hacked off at the charge for spark plugs.
Labour rates were fine but some of the part costs are daft unless you source them yourself.
On the plus side, there are a LOT of aftermarket bits available so in the end, I still think they represent good value.
Cactussed said:
I use the same indy as M3John and was a bit hacked off at the charge for spark plugs.
Labour rates were fine but some of the part costs are daft unless you source them yourself.
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