E46 high mileage?
Discussion
How long is a piece of string?
I don't think you will get a simple clear answer. It all depends on the way the car was treated by its previous owners. My brother and I recently gave my dad a 80k 2001 LHD SMG E46 M3 as a birthday present. Dad is its third owner and the car came with a FBMWSH. Other than cosmetics - it was a London car all its life and was parked on the street - everything was in excellent condition. It just had inspection II done at BMW and it passed with flying colours.
On the other hand, my brother was looking to buy a Convertible E46 M3 for the Summer and some of the dogs that we saw were appaling. Juddering clutches, spongy brakes etc. and that was on 60k miles cars
Thus, to sum up - I believe it is all based on condition and previous maintenance. By the way, over in Germany or Italy for example, 80k miles for a 2001 M3 is considered low mileage...
I don't think you will get a simple clear answer. It all depends on the way the car was treated by its previous owners. My brother and I recently gave my dad a 80k 2001 LHD SMG E46 M3 as a birthday present. Dad is its third owner and the car came with a FBMWSH. Other than cosmetics - it was a London car all its life and was parked on the street - everything was in excellent condition. It just had inspection II done at BMW and it passed with flying colours.
On the other hand, my brother was looking to buy a Convertible E46 M3 for the Summer and some of the dogs that we saw were appaling. Juddering clutches, spongy brakes etc. and that was on 60k miles cars
Thus, to sum up - I believe it is all based on condition and previous maintenance. By the way, over in Germany or Italy for example, 80k miles for a 2001 M3 is considered low mileage...
i cant rememebr where i saw it now, but i read a long thread a few months ago about high mileage e46 m3's
the general consensus seemed to be that they can do big mileages, but that the HG can fail - not between piston an water/oilways or water to oilway but instead between the pistons themselves.
it was suggested that an HG change as a precaution when the cars get over 100 - 110k miles ish and they should be fine.
anyone else heard about this ?
the general consensus seemed to be that they can do big mileages, but that the HG can fail - not between piston an water/oilways or water to oilway but instead between the pistons themselves.
it was suggested that an HG change as a precaution when the cars get over 100 - 110k miles ish and they should be fine.
anyone else heard about this ?
Just a word of caution.
I bought a 2001 E46 M3 with a full BMW service history and just over 80k on the clock. It drove very nicely for a further 2k miles but 2 months later and completely out of the blue suffered a small end bearing failure which essentially, meant it needed a new engine!!
Early S54 engines were prone to bearing failure and BMW recalled all early cars and replaced the big end bearings under good will but never did the small ends as this was too involved (and expensive). I believe the later cars had better quality bearings installed from new although I am not sure of the date of manufacture when these were changed.
I don't mean to be unduly pessimistic but my experience was painful and very expensive. Needles to say BMW were utterly disinterested and unhelpful. (Actually their approach and method of dealing with the matter was quite appalling... but that's another story).
Anyway.. I do hope that you find a good one and don't have the problems I had.
Steve.
I bought a 2001 E46 M3 with a full BMW service history and just over 80k on the clock. It drove very nicely for a further 2k miles but 2 months later and completely out of the blue suffered a small end bearing failure which essentially, meant it needed a new engine!!
Early S54 engines were prone to bearing failure and BMW recalled all early cars and replaced the big end bearings under good will but never did the small ends as this was too involved (and expensive). I believe the later cars had better quality bearings installed from new although I am not sure of the date of manufacture when these were changed.
I don't mean to be unduly pessimistic but my experience was painful and very expensive. Needles to say BMW were utterly disinterested and unhelpful. (Actually their approach and method of dealing with the matter was quite appalling... but that's another story).
Anyway.. I do hope that you find a good one and don't have the problems I had.
Steve.
Just a word of caution.
I bought a 2001 E46 M3 with a full BMW service history and just over 80k on the clock. It drove very nicely for a further 2k miles but 2 months later and completely out of the blue suffered a small end bearing failure which essentially, meant it needed a new engine!!
Early S54 engines were prone to bearing failure and BMW recalled all early cars and replaced the big end bearings under good will but never did the small ends as this was too involved (and expensive). I believe the later cars had better quality bearings installed from new although I am not sure of the date of manufacture when these were changed.
I don't mean to be unduly pessimistic but my experience was painful and very expensive. Needles to say BMW were utterly disinterested and unhelpful. (Actually their approach and method of dealing with the matter was quite appalling... but that's another story).
Anyway.. I do hope that you find a good one and don't have the problems I had.
Steve.
I bought a 2001 E46 M3 with a full BMW service history and just over 80k on the clock. It drove very nicely for a further 2k miles but 2 months later and completely out of the blue suffered a small end bearing failure which essentially, meant it needed a new engine!!
Early S54 engines were prone to bearing failure and BMW recalled all early cars and replaced the big end bearings under good will but never did the small ends as this was too involved (and expensive). I believe the later cars had better quality bearings installed from new although I am not sure of the date of manufacture when these were changed.
I don't mean to be unduly pessimistic but my experience was painful and very expensive. Needles to say BMW were utterly disinterested and unhelpful. (Actually their approach and method of dealing with the matter was quite appalling... but that's another story).
Anyway.. I do hope that you find a good one and don't have the problems I had.
Steve.
Always buy on condition and ensure it's had regular services rather than absolute mileage.
On the whole as long as the recall work is done on a pre March '03 they seem to be solid cars based on the research I did before buying. I am sure Thorney run an E46 track car with some high mileage - must be pretty solid for that!
There are plenty of high milers around - but you have to bear in mind these are basically race cars for the road - if something does go wrong it's going to cost you. I waited until I had £2k put aside as my personal insurance budget if something went pop before I went shopping, but all my car has needed is an oil service (£170) in 16 months and 14k miles.
On the whole as long as the recall work is done on a pre March '03 they seem to be solid cars based on the research I did before buying. I am sure Thorney run an E46 track car with some high mileage - must be pretty solid for that!
There are plenty of high milers around - but you have to bear in mind these are basically race cars for the road - if something does go wrong it's going to cost you. I waited until I had £2k put aside as my personal insurance budget if something went pop before I went shopping, but all my car has needed is an oil service (£170) in 16 months and 14k miles.
krisdelta said:
Always buy on condition and ensure it's had regular services rather than absolute mileage.
On the whole as long as the recall work is done on a pre March '03 they seem to be solid cars based on the research I did before buying. I am sure Thorney run an E46 track car with some high mileage - must be pretty solid for that!
There are plenty of high milers around - but you have to bear in mind these are basically race cars for the road - if something does go wrong it's going to cost you. I waited until I had £2k put aside as my personal insurance budget if something went pop before I went shopping, but all my car has needed is an oil service (£170) in 16 months and 14k miles.
Good advice. They are a strong engine, however it is knocking out over a hundred brake power per litre without turbos or superchargers. This means revs and as people have said it really is on condition. I looked at numerous CSLs before buying one where I knew the previous owners. It had been tracked, however I know that both warmed the engine up fully before giving it some stick. It also had oil changes between the proper ones.On the whole as long as the recall work is done on a pre March '03 they seem to be solid cars based on the research I did before buying. I am sure Thorney run an E46 track car with some high mileage - must be pretty solid for that!
There are plenty of high milers around - but you have to bear in mind these are basically race cars for the road - if something does go wrong it's going to cost you. I waited until I had £2k put aside as my personal insurance budget if something went pop before I went shopping, but all my car has needed is an oil service (£170) in 16 months and 14k miles.
Just don't let the first one steal your heart!
Edited by Nords on Monday 9th August 04:58
Edited by Nords on Monday 9th August 04:58
BountyHunter said:
i cant rememebr where i saw it now, but i read a long thread a few months ago about high mileage e46 m3's
the general consensus seemed to be that they can do big mileages, but that the HG can fail - not between piston an water/oilways or water to oilway but instead between the pistons themselves.
it was suggested that an HG change as a precaution when the cars get over 100 - 110k miles ish and they should be fine.
anyone else heard about this ?
ah found an answer to my own questionthe general consensus seemed to be that they can do big mileages, but that the HG can fail - not between piston an water/oilways or water to oilway but instead between the pistons themselves.
it was suggested that an HG change as a precaution when the cars get over 100 - 110k miles ish and they should be fine.
anyone else heard about this ?
http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?p=419...
mattwarner said:
Thats what i worry about, my current car (Audi TT) has cost me over £9k over the last 4 years and has been a nightmare. I really dont want to go through the same pain!
That's just over £2k a year. Hardly a fortune for a sports car. Unless you mean just the problems rather than general maintenance spending.
chris7676 said:
mattwarner said:
Thats what i worry about, my current car (Audi TT) has cost me over £9k over the last 4 years and has been a nightmare. I really dont want to go through the same pain!
That's just over £2k a year. Hardly a fortune for a sports car. Unless you mean just the problems rather than general maintenance spending.Assuming the car is not doing an intergalactic annual mileage, then that's a ludicrous amount to have to spend on an Audi TT.
I've had my M5 for four years and 42k miles, and it's cost nothing like that.
Ive owned 2 e46 m3's over the last couple of years, both with over 80k mileage so i just id share my findings with you.
If your purchasing a reasonably high mileage M then the things that are almost essential are:
- Full BMW service history including 1200 mile running in service. The reason i say this is that you can contact any BMW dealer and track the cars history. This includes any recalls which have been carried out over the years.
-Alternator change. This goes at around 90-100k. Ive changed these on both my cars.
-SMG pump. The SMG is a great system however the pump is prone to failure at the 100k mark. Ive just forked out £3000 on a replacement.
-Coil pack change. Although quite simple to change and fairly inexpensive, these are prone to failure at this sort of mileage.
-Brake disks. Wear and tear items which can prove quite costly. Around £500+ for the full set.
Its worth looking out for these things even if buying for cheap.
Hope this helps.
If your purchasing a reasonably high mileage M then the things that are almost essential are:
- Full BMW service history including 1200 mile running in service. The reason i say this is that you can contact any BMW dealer and track the cars history. This includes any recalls which have been carried out over the years.
-Alternator change. This goes at around 90-100k. Ive changed these on both my cars.
-SMG pump. The SMG is a great system however the pump is prone to failure at the 100k mark. Ive just forked out £3000 on a replacement.
-Coil pack change. Although quite simple to change and fairly inexpensive, these are prone to failure at this sort of mileage.
-Brake disks. Wear and tear items which can prove quite costly. Around £500+ for the full set.
Its worth looking out for these things even if buying for cheap.
Hope this helps.
Stephen Pook said:
Just a word of caution.
I bought a 2001 E46 M3 with a full BMW service history and just over 80k on the clock. It drove very nicely for a further 2k miles but 2 months later and completely out of the blue suffered a small end bearing failure which essentially, meant it needed a new engine!!
Early S54 engines were prone to bearing failure and BMW recalled all early cars and replaced the big end bearings under good will but never did the small ends as this was too involved (and expensive). I believe the later cars had better quality bearings installed from new although I am not sure of the date of manufacture when these were changed.
I don't mean to be unduly pessimistic but my experience was painful and very expensive. Needles to say BMW were utterly disinterested and unhelpful. (Actually their approach and method of dealing with the matter was quite appalling... but that's another story).
Anyway.. I do hope that you find a good one and don't have the problems I had.
Steve.
Can anyone advise on who are the best company to buy a warranty from to cover against this type of problem?I bought a 2001 E46 M3 with a full BMW service history and just over 80k on the clock. It drove very nicely for a further 2k miles but 2 months later and completely out of the blue suffered a small end bearing failure which essentially, meant it needed a new engine!!
Early S54 engines were prone to bearing failure and BMW recalled all early cars and replaced the big end bearings under good will but never did the small ends as this was too involved (and expensive). I believe the later cars had better quality bearings installed from new although I am not sure of the date of manufacture when these were changed.
I don't mean to be unduly pessimistic but my experience was painful and very expensive. Needles to say BMW were utterly disinterested and unhelpful. (Actually their approach and method of dealing with the matter was quite appalling... but that's another story).
Anyway.. I do hope that you find a good one and don't have the problems I had.
Steve.
That's frightening! What went wrong?
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