BMW e46 M3 help and advice. new to bmw!

[jimbo841116]

hello this is my first post on here - go easy!
I am going to buy a e46 manual coupe in the next couple of days or so
It is a 2005 and has 120k miles.
he says it has full service history - however I have not seen the service book as he is 400 miles from me.

is there any major service points I could ask him have been competed for the mileage ?
it may be a extensive list and appreciate this may not be the correct way to go about it?
anyway thanks again for reading
Jim.

[Captainawesome]

the book should state the running in service at 1200 miles, check it has had all the inspection 1 and inspection 2 services done at the correct times too. The book will show these. Has it had the sub-frame done too?

[clarkson22]

dude make sure you ask about subframe mounting points, known to crack, headgasket aswell if anywhere over 80k head over to m3cutters and check out the buying guide if you havent already

[ScottJB]

If the service history is a major factor to you (and it would be to me unless the car was priced accordingly) i'd be getting him to send a picture of the pages of the service book before travelling 400 miles.

Also whats so special about this particular car, thats a long way to travel and the mileage isnt the best?

Positive is it may still be in the grace period for a subframe replacement by BMW if cracked (10yrs).

[supertouring]

Where are the services? If all in one place I would ring the garage concerned to verify.

BMW dealer gave me my service history over the phone.

[jimbo841116]

thank you for the advice!
I have asked the questions and will see what he says.

I am going to get it due to the price - £6000 - which to me even at the mileage is cheap..

[Baz Tench]

Rear springs snap, but it's an easy job and relatively cheap (£100 each) to replace. Just check its sitting properly at the back.

It will most probably be a proper grouch from cold, don't let that put you off though, the engine is highly strung and likes to warm up before it starts to smooth out a bit. Mine doesn't take too kindly to the sport button being pressed before there is some heat in the engine either, it just makes it jerky. When it's warm though, I always use it. It sharpens up the throttle response, but doesn't alter anything else.

If it's a manual, the gearbox isn't the smoothest, and you may find it cumbersome in traffic. It makes much more sense on the open road, again when it's got some heat into it. There are a wealth of other gearbox oils on the market to help ease it in traffic.

If it's an smg (semi automatic), check if the smg pump has ever been changed, they *can* go, although some owners claim to have had no problems, and prefer them to the manuals. It's all personal preference although the smg pump can be a little pricey if it does go (about £1500 I think).

Rust: check the front arches, especially the drivers side, and around the rear number plate area.

Other than that, they are great cars!

[ScottJB]

6k is cheap for a 2005 car. Eyes wide open and all that but bargains are out there. Best of luck.

[Baz Tench]

ScottJB said:

6k is cheap for a 2005 car. Eyes wide open and all that but bargains are out there. Best of luck.

I'd echo that. Anything over 100k on the clock tends to put people off these for some reason.

I bought my manual coupe on 126k three years ago. I bought a high miler on purpose tbh. As I've said before, it wasn't mint, but it felt honest, and I figured that anything major would have been taken care of earlier in its life. Could be failed logic, but it's worked out fine for me.

Ok, it's not my daily, I only do about 4000 miles a year in it, but it's been a gem!

[Baz Tench]

Oh, OP, you may find it disappointing below 3500/4000 revs. It all happens above that, but you are still a little insulated from how quickly you're actually moving.