Opinions please - buying a used M3 E46

[Silentz]

I drive a supermini type boy racer thing (C2 VTS) and I need to upgrade. I rather like the M3 (and the Boxster, but that's a different matter).

So the question is: Is it a terrible time to buy an '01 or '02 M3?

The new M3 is in late stage development/testing, for an 07/08 (?) launch... and surely its release will have a dramatic effect on the value of the current M3. Does anyone have a more accurate guesstimate of the new M3 launch date? And do you have an idea of how hard the E46 M3 values will be hit?

I understand that cars depreciate like hell at the best of times... my Citroen has lost half its new value in 25k miles... but I don't want to spend £20k-£25k, and have the M3 drop half its value in 2 years, because I bought it at a really bad stage in its life.

Can anyone help? Is it pointless to wait? Will the cars drop much lower in the next 6 months?

Any help/opinions welcomed. Ta v much in advance.

[Silentz]

Thanks for the replies

Does anyone know the projected release date/month for the new M3?

My requirements for a car are that it must:
- Look professional (I do client-facing work and can't rock up in a Evo or an Impreza)
- Be comfortable doing a lot of motorway miles (we're not talking travelling sales rep 30k a year, but I've put 27000 on the citroen in 21 months)
- Be as new as possible (the missus will not consider anything not on a new plate)
- Not break down constantly, or have bits falling off
- Excite me every time i turn they key!

I'm not massively concerned about it losing money steadily, it's just that I think there might be a sudden drop when the new one comes out. I'm more concerned about the purchase price than the resale price, if that makes sense.

Basically I don't want to buy it NOW for £20k if I could buy it for far less in 6 months!

The more sensible alternative might be a new shape 330d, but... hm... somehow it doesn't excite me as much.

[Silentz]

Great post, thanks

m3desmo said:

The M3 is quite a mileage sensitive car when it comes to resale so give the high mileage older cars a miss unless you want to pay less and expect to get a lot less back when you sell on.

I'm expecting to put more miles than average on it myself, so it's important that it's not above average when I buy it.

m3desmo said:

The new shape M3 is not expected to hit the showrooms until late 2007 I think and in any case its arrival does not automatically make the older shape a poor vehicle.

No, but as long as there isn't going to be a practically overnight drop in E46 prices when the new one (E56?) arrives then that's fine.

m3desmo said:

I would seriously consider the CSL which is a lot of car for the money, and whose longterm value may well be stronger due to its rarity factor.

Might be a bit out of budget, a CSL! Also, no back seats is a problem. The desire to carry passengers (friends, dog, maybe... gulp... baby) is one of the reasons the Boxster isn't really a very good option for me, and the M3 is.

Thanks for the rough £4-5k/year depreciation figure. That helps me think this through.