High Mileage E46 M3's
Discussion
Greetings 
I am in the market for an E46 shape M3 and I have noticed quite a few high mileage examples for sale in the classifieds section.
Are these cars (more) prone to problems than the lower mileage ones?
Should I ignore the miles covered and buy on condition and service history?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
I am in the market for an E46 shape M3 and I have noticed quite a few high mileage examples for sale in the classifieds section.
Are these cars (more) prone to problems than the lower mileage ones?
Should I ignore the miles covered and buy on condition and service history?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Nagra said:
Should I ignore the miles covered and buy on condition and service history?
To a large extent, yes!I looked at lots of 40-60k mile cars when I was E46 hunting. The annual mileage covered by a car does not necessarily reflect the care and maintenance that the car has experienced. Some 5-6 year old "FSH" cars actually turned out to be shabby and abused, with nothing in the documentation more than a handful of splats in a service record book .... That particular car was being sold at a notorious garage that also have a range of Honda S2000s 4 U to look at.
I ended up buying an 80k car that had a folder full of invoices and paperwork to back up the service record, and some important bills documenting some very expensive gearbox and suspension work that is typical once a car gets to a certain age / mileage.
I`ve also been to that place where they also have S2000s for you. I looked at 2 E46 M3 cabs. One was NOT a straight car, had the shoddiest resprayed wing I have ever seen and was probably hiding more. The other looked good but was just too high a mileage for me. You get a feel for a place as soon as you walk on the lot sometimes, I drove an hour to get there and stayed 10 mins.
Hmm.... I was planning on going to see them this weekend, I think I will give them a miss now.jontysafe said:
I`ve also been to that place where they also have S2000s for you. I looked at 2 E46 M3 cabs. One was NOT a straight car, had the shoddiest resprayed wing I have ever seen and was probably hiding more. The other looked good but was just too high a mileage for me. You get a feel for a place as soon as you walk on the lot sometimes, I drove an hour to get there and stayed 10 mins.
I can relate to this having purchased my M3 from them over a year ago now.I feel that I'm very fortunate in that my car is fantastic and having been looked at by a few mechanics who know their stuff, say that it has been looked after.
However, I still found the buying experience from that dealer one of the most horrid experiences of my life.
Nagra said:
Greetings
I am in the market for an E46 shape M3 and I have noticed quite a few high mileage examples for sale in the classifieds section.
Are these cars (more) prone to problems than the lower mileage ones?
Should I ignore the miles covered and buy on condition and service history?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
I am in the market for an E46 shape M3 and I have noticed quite a few high mileage examples for sale in the classifieds section.
Are these cars (more) prone to problems than the lower mileage ones?
Should I ignore the miles covered and buy on condition and service history?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
I have a 03, CSL with 140k on it now and it pulls in all gears.
As mentioned before you cam have car with low miles & be a pile of crap & a high miler thats perfect in all way. It all depends on how they are driven as each car is COMPLETELY different in its own respective way.
Ive got a 2 E30 M3 Evo 3s and they both drive completely different, both with similar mileage.
(Looking to restore a 1973 CSL gruppe 2 car, which should be fun, then take her for a blast on the ring )
Just a question, what is stopping you from buying one. The best thing to do it go and test a few. & then you will quickly get a feel for the car on what doesnt does feel right.
SPORTSTER said:
The best thing to do it go and test a few. & then you will quickly get a feel for the car on what doesnt does feel right.
When everything looks straight, honest, and good, it quite often is. If there is an ounce of doubt, walk away!
Here's a picture of my car from earlier this week at Cadwell Park. It'll roll over 100k before the end of next month. It's got a few blemishes, and the seat is worn on the edge, but it drives beautifully.
M3 said:
Nagra said:
Thanks for your replies guys, I will go and test drive a few and go from there. 
You will be lucky, bet no dealer lets you drive theirs, none would for me till deposit paid...by the way I saw some sh*t cars all at £20k plus!!!
SPORTSTER said:
Ive had loads of M3 and can tell you there are consequently loads of bad examples out there !!
Only joking!
To the OP, I wouldn't be too worried about the E46 M3 in particular. Buying any kind of car is a bit of a mindfield, especially if the type of car you are looking for is a performance car that has a higher than normal chance of being thrashed and crashed. On the flip side, however, there are a large proportion of cars out there that will have been owned, and lovingly maintained by enthusiasts. Having the patience to shop around and wait until you find one of these cars is one of the most important parts of M Car shopping - Use your X-Ray vision to look beyond the dash & tyre slime to the car underneath.
We keep saying it, however, "once you find the right car, you will know it!"
Mine's great, however at the end of 2008 (at the previous owners expense) it was completely overhawled with all of the pumps etc replaced. That was at about 75-80k miles, and isn't a bill that I would have wanted to pay.
In the spirit of the OPs reason for starting this thread - If I were to choose between two otherwise identical cars, and one was at 65k miles without an overhawl, and the other was 85k miles having had several grand spent on the SMG, then I'd always take the latter car.
In the spirit of the OPs reason for starting this thread - If I were to choose between two otherwise identical cars, and one was at 65k miles without an overhawl, and the other was 85k miles having had several grand spent on the SMG, then I'd always take the latter car.
mat205125 said:
SPORTSTER said:
Ive had loads of M3 and can tell you there are consequently loads of bad examples out there !!
Only joking!
To the OP, I wouldn't be too worried about the E46 M3 in particular. Buying any kind of car is a bit of a mindfield, especially if the type of car you are looking for is a performance car that has a higher than normal chance of being thrashed and crashed. On the flip side, however, there are a large proportion of cars out there that will have been owned, and lovingly maintained by enthusiasts. Having the patience to shop around and wait until you find one of these cars is one of the most important parts of M Car shopping - Use your X-Ray vision to look beyond the dash & tyre slime to the car underneath.
We keep saying it, however, "once you find the right car, you will know it!"
Nagra,
Have a look at my advert and see if it interests you... I've had my car for over 18 months and put 24K miles on it and most of those have been on a motorway (I have a 65 mile round trip to work). If its been looked after (like mine) the you won't have a problem.
Are you anywhere near the Harrow/Cambridge area?
Malin
Have a look at my advert and see if it interests you... I've had my car for over 18 months and put 24K miles on it and most of those have been on a motorway (I have a 65 mile round trip to work). If its been looked after (like mine) the you won't have a problem.
Are you anywhere near the Harrow/Cambridge area?
Malin
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