Cheap E46 M3's

[mat59]

Hello all. I'm just wondering what the general consensus is on buying an early E46 M3 at around the £11-12k mark (these seem to have gone up a bit in value recently). I'm not fussed on options like sat nav, heated seats or even leather as I'd be solely interested in the driving experience. Cars at this point seem to be at 70k+ miles and 2001-02.

I've read many posts on here and other sites saying that a good warranty is essesntial with an M3. Does this mean that these cars are particularly prone to random mechanical failures? I can live with the high costs of services, brakes and tyres etc. I'm just not sure if I want to be regularly spending money on fixing random breakages due to the high cost of parts. I don't intend to run the car on a shoe-string budget but need to know what I would be letting myseld in for.

Would I be setting myself up for a world of financial hurt?

[REESER]

I think when looking at the earlier E46 m3 models it is essential to have the full service history of the car, so you can check how well its been looked after and what work it has had done etc. If the car has been owned by an m3 enthusiast then you pretty much no for sure the car has had to ask for nothing in its life and probably has been maintained to the very highest standards.
All being said a warranty is also a safe bet on higher millage cars for the peace of mind so any problems that do pop up you should have no problem getting them sorted out. Make sure you go for a proper BMW warranty might be a bit more expensive but people have also named a few other after market warranty's that some members have found to be just as good.
Make sure you try and see as many earlier examples as you can lots to choose from right now on the market. Also remember you can phone the BMW premium line to check the service records and work it has had done over the phone but its 1 pound a min.
Good luck on your search and be sure to post pics up when you buy her

[nottyash]

I never bother with warranties, just put money aside. Half the time they dont cover you anyway and there are silly limits. Things like clutches, tyres, brakes and exhausts are unlikely to be covered as they are consumable, and generally thats what you need to buy.
So you are basically gambling on things going wrong for the cost of the warranty.

Brakes can be expensive, I spent about 600 quid, and that was cheap for 4 discs and pads. They seemed to last about 40k miles so check that.
Coils can snap, not that expensive.
Ive heard of a few SMG problems being pricey, but my manual was fine.
Tyres, are pricey, but dont believe the scaremongers on here. I bought 4 x Contys for £600.
Petrol, well pretty good on the motorway considering performance, I managed about 29mpg, with 23mpg around town.
Insurance, i was paying less than 400 quid.
Servicing intervals are about 16k, so its pretty good, and even BMW were not too bad as they do a over 4 year old scheme which is actually cheaper than some well known Indys charge and make you think are cheap.

As mentioned before, look around, shop around, its a buyers market.

[mat59]

nottyash said:

I never bother with warranties, just put money aside. Half the time they dont cover you anyway and there are silly limits. Things like clutches, tyres, brakes and exhausts are unlikely to be covered as they are consumable, and generally thats what you need to buy.
So you are basically gambling on things going wrong for the cost of the warranty.

Brakes can be expensive, I spent about 600 quid, and that was cheap for 4 discs and pads. They seemed to last about 40k miles so check that.
Coils can snap, not that expensive.
Ive heard of a few SMG problems being pricey, but my manual was fine.
Tyres, are pricey, but dont believe the scaremongers on here. I bought 4 x Contys for £600.
Petrol, well pretty good on the motorway considering performance, I managed about 29mpg, with 23mpg around town.
Insurance, i was paying less than 400 quid.
Servicing intervals are about 16k, so its pretty good, and even BMW were not too bad as they do a over 4 year old scheme which is actually cheaper than some well known Indys charge and make you think are cheap.

As mentioned before, look around, shop around, its a buyers market.

Thanks for that (and to you REESER), some useful info there. Thing is I'm not sure it's a buyers market anymore. I've watched prices go up by a few grand over the last six months and any keenly priced cars seem to be selling very quick.

I wasn't going to get a warranty other than the simple AA one I have for a fiver a month (max £500 claim). I will have money available to fix things that do go wrong and will plan ahead for Inspection services. I think that costs can be reduced a bit by doing things like checking the state of the clutch and brakes etc before I buy and factoring this into the price i offer. Tyres are very expensive but there will be some saving made by using reasonanbly priced Falken tyres that i have heard are pretty good. I drive mostly round town or on long journeys (and rearely anything inbetween) so expect poor MPG round toen and pretty reasonable MPG on a run.

I think I'll be slective in what indy i use because, as mentioned earlier, I think some dealerships can get close to the indy prices. For instance, my local indy want £650 for an insp 2, which is fairly reasonable but not that much less than some dealers can do it for. Saying that, at least with the indy you know they will definitely devote enough tme to doing valve clearences etc!

Is the general view that these cars are fairly reliable and don't suffer from random mechanical failures providing they are well maintained?

I must say, I like the look of this one. I quite like Laguna Seca blue.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2009...

[nottyash]

My local BMW dealer (Malton BMW) quoted me about 600 quid and said they wanted the car the day before so it was cold for the valve clearances. Thats what I mean about Indys not being as cheap as you think.

[Vroomer]

mat59 said:

I must say, I like the look of this one. I quite like Laguna Seca blue.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2009...

LSB is one of 'those' colours. Personally I loathe it, but it does have it fans.

Car seems fairly priced.

[The Milfman]

mat59 said:

I must say, I like the look of this one. I quite like Laguna Seca blue.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2009...

Interesting seat positions in the interior shot and terrible English/grammar in the advert, I'd be wary but each to their own, it may well be mint.

[mat59]

The Milfman said:

mat59 said:

I must say, I like the look of this one. I quite like Laguna Seca blue.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2009...

Interesting seat positions in the interior shot and terrible English/grammar in the advert, I'd be wary but each to their own, it may well be mint.

Yeah, I see what you mean. Wat I meant was, I like the colour and it seems fairly low mileage. Not a great ad though and I see what you mean about the driving position.

[The Milfman]

mat59 said:

I like the colour and it seems fairly low mileage.

Agreed.

[Davidch]

If you don't mind resale then LS is o.k.

Take your time with these cars and read read and read these forums, before you buy!