I'm going to sell my M3...

[petrolhead76]

Seriously thinking of selling my M3 after about 3 weeks of ownership. I have zero confidence in the car. I've been having issues with the car and the back end as per my other thread - namely upon acceleration the car would move from side to side, but it seems this is getting worse.

Just an hour ago, I was doing 70mph along on the motorway and starting to overtake a truck and as I was accelerating past the whole car swung violently from side-to-side. Now this was GENTLE acceleration and on a virtually dry road. When I swing side to side I mean 'the drivers side' went from the middle lane into the outside lane and back again.

Now I know you'll get those who will want to post snide remarks but I'm extremely competent driver and my acceleration was way less hard than I used to do on my 325i which never had this issue. I was being extremely light with acceleration, the pedal was just being feathered.

I had kids in the car so there was no sports mode switched on and gear changes were occuring every 2-3k revs at a max.

Jeez could have had a major accident, just so grateful the motorway was virtually empty and I managed to keep the car under control.

I think thats it - time to sell it and move onto something else like a 911 (996) to see if that gives me a more predicatable driving experience when driving "normally".

Edited by petrolhead76 on Saturday 15th December 14:12

[petrolhead76]

Thanks for your reply.

How much do you reckon it would cost to fix and is this a common problem ? Some of the other knowledagbly PHers on my other thread mentioned RTABs as well.

If I do get it fixed how long would it be before I'd have to get it fixed again (i.e. is this a reoccuring problem)?

Edited by petrolhead76 on Saturday 15th December 14:31

[petrolhead76]

Thanks guys - definately iffy. I know how to push a car and I know when the car is at it limits and this was nowhere near.

Definately something is stuffed - Paoloh I'll get those brushes looked at that you mentioned, its reassuring that its not majorly expensive - so hopefully its that.

Driving it REALLY slowly at the moment just to be on the safe side, but will get it booked in on Monday at my local BMW specialist (Luton is a bit far from me - I live near birmingham).

Edited by petrolhead76 on Saturday 15th December 18:56

[petrolhead76]

Fingers crossed - hopefully it will sort it !! Thanks for you reply btw.

[petrolhead76]

I hope it is those bushes.

I read on a different car website that you can conduct 2 checks to see if its those bushes :

1) by braking hard and not touching the steering wheel to see if the car "pulls" to one side - did that and the car didn't pull.
2) by stomping on the accelerator and seeing if the back gets twitchy - did that and the traction control light flickered (but I'd expect that so not sure if thats a valid test

Irrespective I've never had a car before where something can wear out and nearly kill you (aside from tires / brakes!) - so I'm surprised its happened here and I'm surprised that BMW would be allowed to get away with it.

I'm still 50/50 whether I stuff it and trade it in for a 911, but I'll ring up my local specialist tomorrow and see what he says.

PS My car only just had an inspection II and there was nothing exceptional to report...if the bushes were gone wouldn't they have been picked up in the inspection or is that not checked?

[petrolhead76]

Also read this on another forum:

• *********Your car's symptons sound pretty much like what I noticed under two different conditions:

1. RTAB's were shot. Every time I started to squeeze the gas approaching apex, it would really get 'squishy' and dance around. Others noticed that when braking hard, the rear end would dance too, but I did not notice this. Mine died around 40k miles, although I'm sure that they were worn before that (they tend to degrade slowly over time, like our OE dampers.

2. During a weird transition stage, I had badly worn MXX3's up front, and new Sumitimos in the rear. The car was really a handful, enough to make you *pucker* when you did a highway lane change or aggressively attack a corner. For some reason, the new rear/worn front combo was bad. Really bad. When I got new tires up front, all was well again. The feeling was a lot like bad RTABs, but even worse.*******



Regarding this gentlemans 2nd point - my front tires are at 3mm and my rears at 6mm....it affected this guy, do you think this could also be a factor?

Edited by petrolhead76 on Sunday 16th December 21:02

[petrolhead76]

Harsh said:

Vixpy1 said:

I have a broken spring on mine, and have not noticed any squirming

you'll probably notice when you finally drive it


Petrolhead76. M3's are pretty planted unless you provoke them so there's something wrong with the car.

as has been indicated above a good specialist will be able to sort it for not much money, you'll then have a car you'll enjoy driving.

if you want to compare, email me through the site and we'll sort out a comparison drive ok?

Thanks Harsh, I really appreciate the offer (and your post in the other thread before). I've got a call out to the specialist to see if I can get the car booked in - I think he used to track cars, so he should know if its amiss.

If only there was a big abandoned airstrip or car park near me where I could really push the car to be able to fully understand / be able to explain the symptoms.

PS To the other poster I purchased this of a small trader who does not have a workshop. At the time I got the AA to check it. I don't think I've got any recourse back to the trader as there is not a warranty with the car.

[petrolhead76]

ASBO said:

Petrolhead,

Without being at all snide, I note that the tread on one of your tyres was down to 3mm. Is this correct? Also you mention that the other tyre had 6mm of tread remaining?

I would explore this avenue first. 3mm of tread is a little less than I'd be happy with at this time of year.

If your bushes are out, you'll hear a very distinct clonking whenever you go over a bump.

Other than that, I can only suggest that your wheels are pointing in the wrong direction

Hi Abso, appreciate your comments. I'm going to get the front tyres changed as everytime I look at them they seem really low ! My car does NOT make any noises when I go over a bump.

[petrolhead76]

Right spoke to my local specialist who basically serviced the car last thursday - he said if something was wrong with RTABs / suspension they would have picked that up.

Now shoot me down if you want, but I'm posting this as I'm honest...

His take on it is that given I've gone from a "normal" car to a "performance car" I am still using my existing "normal car" driving style which is causing the car to move the way it is. He suggested taking the car around a track, or getting an experienced performance car driver to show me how to get the best from the car.

In essence I think I'm a very competent "normal" car driver, but I must be a poor "performance car" driver. I didn't realise the skill required to drive a performance car was so high - I thought providing you could drive a normal car fine then providng you didn't go mental it would be relatively straight forward to drive the M3 - but obviously not.

Not sure I want to hold onto the car now though - I don't want to risk life and limb everytime I go to the shops !

[petrolhead76]

Agreed I really need an opinion from a fellow M3 driver & owner - I'm in the midlands nr to coventry if anyone lives close by !!

Edited by petrolhead76 on Monday 17th December 13:50

[petrolhead76]

I'm thinking of getting a 2nd opinion.

All I wanted was car like my 325i but quicker and better handling. Instead I've got a car that I don't drive as fast or as hard as my 325i for fearing of visiting the local hedge !

They only tendency I do have when it full automatic is to push the accelerator say 2cms down and then the M3 will decide to change gear and thats when I get acceleration - maybe this is the wrong driving habit and I should wait for the M3 to catch up under very gentle acceleration? Just doesn't sound right though to do that - takes all the fun out of driving

[petrolhead76]

Right car is booked in for RTABs - hopefully this will sort the damn problem.

It will an interesting exercise to see if the combined might of M3 owners is better than the two independent garages I have spoken to.

If this doesn't fix it then I'll be flogging it on here so keep your eyes peeled !

Edited by petrolhead76 on Monday 17th December 22:19

[petrolhead76]

m12_nathan said:

And get the limiter kit installed at the same time!

Someone on mtorque is selling the kits cheap as they've got some from the states - look in the for sale section.

Sorry for the noob question but what is the limiter?

I am struggling to register on mtorque (despite clicking link it won't activate my account) and hence don't think I can use a search option (couldn't see it on the screen)

[petrolhead76]

My car is booked in for the new year - given xmas and the fact I'm down in london at the moment (and the cars in the midlands) it was the quickest I could do it.

[petrolhead76]

Its definately staying in the garage until the work is done, just to be on the safe side !

[petrolhead76]

Guys just a quick post to say thanks for all your help on this issue. Got the RTABs changed and it transformed this car to a true beast !!!!!!

I now see what the fuss is about the M3 - when its this planted it is a dream to drive.

Feel a 911 itch still which I may need to scratch in the future - but 50/50 at the mo as I smile each time I drive the M3 and get may face ripped off with the acceleration!!!!