End of Term report - E46 M3 CS
Discussion
Thought I’d write up my last year’s worth of experiences with my E46 M3 CS, now that i’ve sold it.
2005 Interlagos Blue M3 CS bought in December last year with 33,000 on the clock for £22,000
Beautiful car and I had high expectations that this one would be a keeper.
December 2009 was cold, wet and snowy, not exactly the weather to take delivery of an M3 but take delivery I did and the first month was spent learning exactly how much snow it takes to get the M3 stuck on my driveway. I did take it for a run up to the midlands at Christmas and its ability to maintain a decent speed in quiet and comfort impressed.
Once all the snow and rain had disappeared I was able to spend the early part of the year getting used to its driving characteristics and really began to enjoy M3 ownership again. The CS does handle noticeably better than the standard car though on my daily commute it could be a handful especially in the slow stop-start traffic that is the bane of anyone who commutes on the M4 near Reading.
A trip to France in April let me really give the car a workout on some superb quiet back roads. The rural roads in France are well surfaced, wide and have great views – knowing the local gendarme does make getting nicked a little less likely.
Around the time of its first service in June I began to notice that the handling was off, the backend was unstable and suffered more than usual from tram lining.
It went in for its scheduled oil service with my local dealer who announced that both rear coil springs had broken. On a car that had done only 36k at this point I was unimpressed with the response of “yes they all do that sooner or later” and the flat refusal from BMW to pay for any of it.
Several hundred quid later and with the handling restored to its former glory I took the M3 over to France for the Le Mans 24hrs – It wasn’t quite the trip I’d planned a combination of rain and mud resulted in my paintwork turning an interesting shade of brown but the M3 did well and a good time was had by all. The trip included an attempt to prove to a passenger just how quick it will go before the limiter kicks in.
A third trip out in august was really the last time I used the car properly, on my return from France in late August work went nuts and the M3 began getting less and less use.
Around this time a tappets style rattle could occasionally be heard coming from the engine. I assumed it was low on oil but lack of time prevented me from really checking it out.
In early November with only 39,000 on the clock I decided that while it was very nice to look at, the M3 was becoming an unused ornament on my driveway and so it found its way after being professionally valeted (www.tlc-valeting.co.uk - Jon is great) onto the pistonheads classifieds page.
The first person to view it really liked the car and we agreed a deal there and then, with the provision that my local BMW dealer would do an inspection to check that everything was in order.
This is where the problems started.
The inspection report said that I had 3 buckled wheels – which given the price of BMW alloys filled me with dread. They also suggested that the tappets style noise (which I’d basically forgotten about) might be an indication of a Vanos issue.
I’ll be honest I crapped myself at this point.
Having had an E36 and had a vanos unit fail under warranty I know what a pain it can be. The dealer agreed to submit a goodwill claim to BMW on my behalf for the Vanos unit and gears as they said this was clearly not due to condition of the car and was likely premature part failure.
BMW responded with an offer of 100% of the parts and 50% labour – an offer I accepted.
However at the point where BMW examined the car they discovered that the Vanos was apparently ok but that the solenoid set had failed and the chain sprocket had snapped 5 of its 6 bolts. The engine was one bolt away from a messy end.
Another goodwill claim was submitted and BMW agreed to the same terms.
But as work was completed on the repairs it became clear that the vanos unit was indeed faulty and wouldn’t move through its full range as expected.
So that was another goodwill claim to BMW.
I can’t praise my local dealer (sytners sunningdale) enough here – they did a great job sorting the engine out and with the alloys replaced (though none of them looked buckled to me once removed) the sale was completed today.
My girlfriend is suggesting I just buy an ornament for the driveway rather than another car but somehow I suspect that I’m not done with BMW yet.
Though I’ll be making dam sure I get any prospective purchase inspected before I buy it... And will be giving the BMW aftermarket warranty a serious look.
Car sold December 2010 with 39,500 on the clock for £19,250
£2,750 wasn’t bad for 6,500 miles and a great year’s entertainment.
I hope it's new owner enjoys it as much as I did, though maybe with more luck on the vanos front.
2005 Interlagos Blue M3 CS bought in December last year with 33,000 on the clock for £22,000
Beautiful car and I had high expectations that this one would be a keeper.
December 2009 was cold, wet and snowy, not exactly the weather to take delivery of an M3 but take delivery I did and the first month was spent learning exactly how much snow it takes to get the M3 stuck on my driveway. I did take it for a run up to the midlands at Christmas and its ability to maintain a decent speed in quiet and comfort impressed.
Once all the snow and rain had disappeared I was able to spend the early part of the year getting used to its driving characteristics and really began to enjoy M3 ownership again. The CS does handle noticeably better than the standard car though on my daily commute it could be a handful especially in the slow stop-start traffic that is the bane of anyone who commutes on the M4 near Reading.
A trip to France in April let me really give the car a workout on some superb quiet back roads. The rural roads in France are well surfaced, wide and have great views – knowing the local gendarme does make getting nicked a little less likely.
Around the time of its first service in June I began to notice that the handling was off, the backend was unstable and suffered more than usual from tram lining.
It went in for its scheduled oil service with my local dealer who announced that both rear coil springs had broken. On a car that had done only 36k at this point I was unimpressed with the response of “yes they all do that sooner or later” and the flat refusal from BMW to pay for any of it.
Several hundred quid later and with the handling restored to its former glory I took the M3 over to France for the Le Mans 24hrs – It wasn’t quite the trip I’d planned a combination of rain and mud resulted in my paintwork turning an interesting shade of brown but the M3 did well and a good time was had by all. The trip included an attempt to prove to a passenger just how quick it will go before the limiter kicks in.
A third trip out in august was really the last time I used the car properly, on my return from France in late August work went nuts and the M3 began getting less and less use.
Around this time a tappets style rattle could occasionally be heard coming from the engine. I assumed it was low on oil but lack of time prevented me from really checking it out.
In early November with only 39,000 on the clock I decided that while it was very nice to look at, the M3 was becoming an unused ornament on my driveway and so it found its way after being professionally valeted (www.tlc-valeting.co.uk - Jon is great) onto the pistonheads classifieds page.
The first person to view it really liked the car and we agreed a deal there and then, with the provision that my local BMW dealer would do an inspection to check that everything was in order.
This is where the problems started.
The inspection report said that I had 3 buckled wheels – which given the price of BMW alloys filled me with dread. They also suggested that the tappets style noise (which I’d basically forgotten about) might be an indication of a Vanos issue.
I’ll be honest I crapped myself at this point.
Having had an E36 and had a vanos unit fail under warranty I know what a pain it can be. The dealer agreed to submit a goodwill claim to BMW on my behalf for the Vanos unit and gears as they said this was clearly not due to condition of the car and was likely premature part failure.
BMW responded with an offer of 100% of the parts and 50% labour – an offer I accepted.
However at the point where BMW examined the car they discovered that the Vanos was apparently ok but that the solenoid set had failed and the chain sprocket had snapped 5 of its 6 bolts. The engine was one bolt away from a messy end.
Another goodwill claim was submitted and BMW agreed to the same terms.
But as work was completed on the repairs it became clear that the vanos unit was indeed faulty and wouldn’t move through its full range as expected.
So that was another goodwill claim to BMW.
I can’t praise my local dealer (sytners sunningdale) enough here – they did a great job sorting the engine out and with the alloys replaced (though none of them looked buckled to me once removed) the sale was completed today.
My girlfriend is suggesting I just buy an ornament for the driveway rather than another car but somehow I suspect that I’m not done with BMW yet.
Though I’ll be making dam sure I get any prospective purchase inspected before I buy it... And will be giving the BMW aftermarket warranty a serious look.
Car sold December 2010 with 39,500 on the clock for £19,250
£2,750 wasn’t bad for 6,500 miles and a great year’s entertainment.
I hope it's new owner enjoys it as much as I did, though maybe with more luck on the vanos front.
Nice writeup, the vanos issue is these bolts working loose:
I'm pretty surprised it happened to you so soon, and yes it’s a shame that these cars break springs within the first 50k, I had a E30 with 120k on the clock and although it felt tired these were still the original factory items. Did your dealer ever pass comment on the subframe cracking issue?
I'm pretty surprised it happened to you so soon, and yes it’s a shame that these cars break springs within the first 50k, I had a E30 with 120k on the clock and although it felt tired these were still the original factory items. Did your dealer ever pass comment on the subframe cracking issue?
Thanks, thought it might be interesting for people
Nice to see the cause of the problem, heard a couple of reports now from other owners of 2005 - 2006 cars suffering this failure... Maybe a dubious batch of bolts?
No comments on the subframe problems but I thought that was mainly pre-2001 cars?
Nice to see the cause of the problem, heard a couple of reports now from other owners of 2005 - 2006 cars suffering this failure... Maybe a dubious batch of bolts?
No comments on the subframe problems but I thought that was mainly pre-2001 cars?
From what I have heard both on the forums and from people I know whom have e 46 m3's none of what you have told me surprises me.
I too live near and have used sytner sunningdale but was left bitterly disappointed by their customer service (this could be because I'm young and they do not highly regard my custom, I'm assuming) so it does surprise me how helpfull they were for you.
A collegue has a 40k 2005 m3 and rear springs were replaced last month and now the rattle is there albeit a suspected alternator failing.
My e46 330 whilst not an M car had had similar issues but obviously at less financial cost.
It seems these are the real weak spots of this car, shame on you BMW for admitting and not rectifying these unacceptable flaws.
I too live near and have used sytner sunningdale but was left bitterly disappointed by their customer service (this could be because I'm young and they do not highly regard my custom, I'm assuming) so it does surprise me how helpfull they were for you.
A collegue has a 40k 2005 m3 and rear springs were replaced last month and now the rattle is there albeit a suspected alternator failing.
My e46 330 whilst not an M car had had similar issues but obviously at less financial cost.
It seems these are the real weak spots of this car, shame on you BMW for admitting and not rectifying these unacceptable flaws.
Nice write up Slurms
Interesting as I'm looking at CS's at the moment (among a few other things).
Do you think they are worth the premium paid over a regular E46 M3?
I'm looking at cars with extended warranties so hopefully any mechanical issues would be covered, although I've been quoted approx £700pa to continue extending the warranty.
Why did you find it hard work in traffic, is this because it was an SMG?
Anything I should be looking for apart from the issues you mentioned?
Interesting as I'm looking at CS's at the moment (among a few other things).
Do you think they are worth the premium paid over a regular E46 M3?
I'm looking at cars with extended warranties so hopefully any mechanical issues would be covered, although I've been quoted approx £700pa to continue extending the warranty.
Why did you find it hard work in traffic, is this because it was an SMG?
Anything I should be looking for apart from the issues you mentioned?
taylor86 said:
From what I have heard both on the forums and from people I know whom have e 46 m3's none of what you have told me surprises me.
I too live near and have used sytner sunningdale but was left bitterly disappointed by their customer service (this could be because I'm young and they do not highly regard my custom, I'm assuming) so it does surprise me how helpfull they were for you.
A collegue has a 40k 2005 m3 and rear springs were replaced last month and now the rattle is there albeit a suspected alternator failing.
My e46 330 whilst not an M car had had similar issues but obviously at less financial cost.
It seems these are the real weak spots of this car, shame on you BMW for admitting and not rectifying these unacceptable flaws.
Obviously I can't comment on your experience and being mindful of the name and shame rules on the forum i'll just say that in the past they have always been good, forgot to stamp the service book a couple of times but they have always been helpful and in the last 2 weeks I can't fault them - they have been excellent. If you do have problems i'd suggest you speak to the aftersales manager - I found him very easy to deal with. I too live near and have used sytner sunningdale but was left bitterly disappointed by their customer service (this could be because I'm young and they do not highly regard my custom, I'm assuming) so it does surprise me how helpfull they were for you.
A collegue has a 40k 2005 m3 and rear springs were replaced last month and now the rattle is there albeit a suspected alternator failing.
My e46 330 whilst not an M car had had similar issues but obviously at less financial cost.
It seems these are the real weak spots of this car, shame on you BMW for admitting and not rectifying these unacceptable flaws.
The springs issue is indeed a weakness of the car and sadly I think just one of those things you have to accept with E46's.
If you friend has a rattle from the engine he should get it in asap as the results of a failure are basically the engine destroying itself.
Had an E46 330 as well and that was actually more reliable than my M3 was.
Big E 118 said:
Nice write up Slurms
Interesting as I'm looking at CS's at the moment (among a few other things).
Do you think they are worth the premium paid over a regular E46 M3?
I'm looking at cars with extended warranties so hopefully any mechanical issues would be covered, although I've been quoted approx £700pa to continue extending the warranty.
Why did you find it hard work in traffic, is this because it was an SMG?
Anything I should be looking for apart from the issues you mentioned?
ThanksInteresting as I'm looking at CS's at the moment (among a few other things).
Do you think they are worth the premium paid over a regular E46 M3?
I'm looking at cars with extended warranties so hopefully any mechanical issues would be covered, although I've been quoted approx £700pa to continue extending the warranty.
Why did you find it hard work in traffic, is this because it was an SMG?
Anything I should be looking for apart from the issues you mentioned?
I do think the CS is worth the premium over a stock M3. Not that there is anything wrong with the standard car just the CS is better, IMHO the improved handling really makes a difference when you're pressing on. Depends on your budget really, the CS is worth it but at the end of the day you'll not be unhappy with a standard M3 either.
The extended warranty is worth it if you can get it, remember that a car without it can now be put back into the scheme assuming it has a full history - though you aren't covered for the first 30 days I think.
No my car was a manual - I just found the way it drives in 1st and 2nd isn't great for stop start traffic, the clutch is reasonably heavy and with the CDV can make it a bit more of a chore. SMG if anything is easier in traffic.
I'd get the car inspected before you buy, either by a BMW dealer or by a specialist. Dealers aren't always keen on doing inspections but if you press them on it the 124 point check they do for their own used cars will flag up most things.
And I’d recommend the usual adage of buying on condition rather than mileage, you want a car with all the books, tools, torch etc and a big stack of receipts, old MOT's and Service Bills. Make sure the history adds up the services should be
Running in service (circa 1,200)
Oil Service
Inspection 1
Oil Service
Inspection 2
and so on, if you have any other pattern be careful unless there is a good reason for it.
Some of these cars are falling into the hands of people who try and run them on the cheap and that is a recipe for disaster.
I think they are great cars and I’ve had a great year with mine.
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