E46 M3 convertible's
Discussion
My brother is looking at getting a BMW M3 convertible for the summer, I've searched the usual places but there doesnt seem to be much about, he's got about £13.5k to spend on one and has a px so will need to be through a dealership, plus warrenty is always good.
Where's the best places to search? so far i have looked on here, auto trader and had a quick scan of the dreaded ebay.
He wants one in black or grey, not bothered about the spec like that as long as it doesnt have a vulgar interior and wood trim is definatly off the cards.
Any help would be appreciated
Where's the best places to search? so far i have looked on here, auto trader and had a quick scan of the dreaded ebay.
He wants one in black or grey, not bothered about the spec like that as long as it doesnt have a vulgar interior and wood trim is definatly off the cards.
Any help would be appreciated
WARRANTY WARRANTY WARRANTY
That is all the advice one needs when purchasing one of these.
I have documented at length here the running costs of a spiritedly driven M3; expensive!
Also, try to find one that is due a minor rather than major service next. The major is always over £1000; well mine always was!
Enjoy!
That is all the advice one needs when purchasing one of these.
I have documented at length here the running costs of a spiritedly driven M3; expensive!
Also, try to find one that is due a minor rather than major service next. The major is always over £1000; well mine always was!
Enjoy!
Mc L said:
Do you have a link to it?
What are the service intervals? He gets me to sort all his car stuff out as he doenst have a clue, so i dont want to suggest he buy the wrong example.
Is there anything to look out for, any specific problems?
Can't seem to find the thread sorry; the problems are etched into my memory anyhoo. The every other week visit to the dealership ensured that!What are the service intervals? He gets me to sort all his car stuff out as he doenst have a clue, so i dont want to suggest he buy the wrong example.
Is there anything to look out for, any specific problems?
Bushes are a never ending problem.
I had 10+ alternators in the first 2 years of ownership.
Got through a set of rear tyres in 4K miles easily (600£ a pop)
Suspension arms aren't really up to day in day out hooning.
There were a million other small niggles that included having new Xenons, door locks, exhaust systems, hood release mechanism, SMG box, sat nav and drive train (multiple drive trains!) all fitted under waranty.
I dread to think of the cost of all that!
I did drive like a loony as I was only young, but even so, it always felt to me that BMW were happy to take the warranty hits rather than engineering the car to handle being driven hard every day.
Fuel was a shocker too; I did have the Schnitzer exhaust system, so that may have contributed, but I never saw more than 16mpg around town (sometimes 12!!).
However, putting the roof down and turning the traction control off to induce slidey slidey made it all worthwhile.
The long and the short of it is; get a BMW warranty and life is good!
MAM
P.S. Can't remember the service intervals but they go minor/major/minor/major. The minor was about £400 and the major £1000+. The service book will show which is due when.
P.P.S. Don't forget, you can get BMW to do you a print out of all the work that has ever been carried out on the car by them, so you can try to avoid a Friday car like mine!
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...
Obviously the above wont have warrenty, but there will be the option of a non factory warrenty, any thoughts on the above? the silver one is nice although that dent in the passenger side wing is a bit off putting!
He's been offered 9k for the Golf in px for the black one
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...
Obviously the above wont have warrenty, but there will be the option of a non factory warrenty, any thoughts on the above? the silver one is nice although that dent in the passenger side wing is a bit off putting!
He's been offered 9k for the Golf in px for the black one
Edited by Mc L on Tuesday 17th March 11:55
They all seem reasonable value for money.
Do any of these cars have a FBMWSH? If so, I think (think!) you can still get a BMW warranty added to the car as long as they have serviced it.
The only other thing to consider is that 03 cars had the facelift which gave them the LED rear lights and the auto hood along with a couple of other minor changes. Personally, I think the facelift cars are the better looking.
It might be worth asking which company provides the warranties for these cars you are looking at, to ascertain whether they are in fact worth the paper they're written on.
Personally I'd take the Carbon coloured one, as BMW grey leather is nasty nasty nasty.....I had it in a 330D I once owned......it was the only thing I hated about the car.......personal choice though innit.
The warranty issue is the MOST important thing though......as I posted yesterday, these things are expensive to repair......it is, at the end of the day, a £50K car. Although it looks similar to a 3 series coupe, it is in fact a totally different and more complicated car under the skin.
Has your brother driven one yet?
Do any of these cars have a FBMWSH? If so, I think (think!) you can still get a BMW warranty added to the car as long as they have serviced it.
The only other thing to consider is that 03 cars had the facelift which gave them the LED rear lights and the auto hood along with a couple of other minor changes. Personally, I think the facelift cars are the better looking.
It might be worth asking which company provides the warranties for these cars you are looking at, to ascertain whether they are in fact worth the paper they're written on.
Personally I'd take the Carbon coloured one, as BMW grey leather is nasty nasty nasty.....I had it in a 330D I once owned......it was the only thing I hated about the car.......personal choice though innit.
The warranty issue is the MOST important thing though......as I posted yesterday, these things are expensive to repair......it is, at the end of the day, a £50K car. Although it looks similar to a 3 series coupe, it is in fact a totally different and more complicated car under the skin.
Has your brother driven one yet?
Thanks again for your continued help on this MAM,
He has driven one, i drove the same car as well and what can i say other than, impressive to say the least! He was looking at the Alpina version but has decided that the M3 in manual formatt is the better option for him.
The Silver one definatly does have FBMWSH, i'll speak to BMW later today and find out what the deal is with exstended warrenty, if they would do that then he'd definatly take them up on it, it'd be silly not too after all.
The trouble with the 03 onwards is they are still pretty expensive, i mean dont get me wrong, for the money they are alot of car for the cash but sadly over budget for my brother. i think 13k is top wack for him
He has driven one, i drove the same car as well and what can i say other than, impressive to say the least! He was looking at the Alpina version but has decided that the M3 in manual formatt is the better option for him.
The Silver one definatly does have FBMWSH, i'll speak to BMW later today and find out what the deal is with exstended warrenty, if they would do that then he'd definatly take them up on it, it'd be silly not too after all.
The trouble with the 03 onwards is they are still pretty expensive, i mean dont get me wrong, for the money they are alot of car for the cash but sadly over budget for my brother. i think 13k is top wack for him
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff