Moon mileage E46 M3
Discussion
I've always loved cars, but realistically the range of cars that I actually like and would own has always been pretty narrow. Manual gearboxes (except in barges), RWD, new enough to be fuel injected, old enough to not be depreciating. This has naturally led me to 90s Nissans and BMWs. With the UK climate being what it is, BMWs have always taken precedent, and I have now owned 20+ of them - all but one being petrol, all but one being 6cylinder and the vast majority being manual.
M cars however have always eluded me. Like many people, I grew up with E46 M3s and E39 M5s being poster cars and as a kid I would see factory fresh examples rolling around London. Once I grew older I spent much of my time modifying E36s, E34s and E39s to behave as much like an M car as possible, and I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy 2.8 E36s and V8 5ers during and after uni. After I graduated I tried 350zs, which are brilliant cars for what they are, but I always found it absurd how cramped they are considering they are the size of an E46.
Fast forward to 2021 and the used car market, particularly for performance stuff, has gone absolutely nuts. I was considering selling all car related stuff in March and getting an F82 while they were 23-24k but they soon jumped by about 15% in price. I also had 0 chance of insuring one for a reasonable sum, and to be honest, the thought of parking an expensive, depreciating, notoriously nickable car outside my flat in south London wasn't that appealing. I also loved my E38 740i daily too much to sell it, so that was that. I then almost bought a cheap E92 M3 on bids but my last minute attempt flagged up an error code and the car sold for under my max bid!
After that I sort of gave up on the idea of owning an M car. The value for money just didnt seem to stack up - I hated the idea of having so much money tied up in such a delicate object, and despite knowing an M3 was probably the perfect car for me I figured I'd just stick with what I know. I built a manual E39 540i and made plans to get a 350z track car. I also unfollowed all of the M car owners groups I was on, as theres nothing worse than seeing people's M3s every day on social media knowing I probably won't ever have one!
Except I must have forgot about the E46 M3 group, as one day I idly browsed through facebook and saw a picture of a lovely silver grey M3 coupe, captioned with "250k, should I keep or sell". Now I've always been the type of person to buy the cheapest example of the fastest version of the car that I want, and to be honest, it's always worked out for me. I love high mile cars, stuff with patchy history, bad adverts, etc. I'd rather have a baggy 328i than a mint 323i. This has always proven advantageous, as I've always found that A) most buyers aren't like this, leaving me to crack on and B) those cars are never as bad as people make out to be. I messaged him straight away asking what he values it at and gave him my number. Two anxious days later and he called me back, talked me through the car and gave me a price which was effectively half market value compared to a same spec car with half the mileage. I sent him a deposit on the spot and agreed to collect in two weeks.
The story is that the last owner bought the car at 50k miles in 2010 and proceeded to commute from Essex to Milton Keynes every day for 10 years. 200k miles later, he gives the M3 as part payment for a restoration job on a Lancia Delta Integrale. He was the 3rd keeper, the 4th didn't use the car and the 1st was BMW UK until the day it was registered, so I'm effectively the 3rd owner. There is not a single dent, the interior looks like it's never been sat in and the only sign of the mileage is a heavily stone chipped bonnet and front bumper. I flicked through the history, had a quick look underneath and paid for it on the spot. The first time I drove any M car was driving my newly purchased 250k E46 M3 away from the sellers unit - to say it was nerve-wracking is an understatement.
First impressions? To be honest I was expecting to be underwhelmed, and thought it would just feel like a slightly more focused 330i. In reality I was blown away. The S54 is so much torquier than I expected; it feels quicker than an M54 from 3k alone and the last 1000RPM before the redline feel absurd. The gearing is too long. The chassis is incredible, to be frank I didn't think OEM suspension could ever feel that good. The steering is wooly and slow. The noise is addictive to the extreme, though I can see why some wouldn't like it. The general feel and presence of the car is far more special than I anticipated. I love the details - the yellow backlight on the gauges, the illuminated gearknob, the way the arches flow into the rear bumper. After years of having non M 90s BMWs, an E46 M3 to me feels like a supercar. More importantly, it feels like all the car I will ever need. In my opinion, you simply do not need to go faster, and in a performance car you certainly don't need it to be any bigger. The biggest surprise was how little I felt the need to modify it. A little lower and a little sharper, sure, but I don't want to change the inherent character or use case of it at all. I've never driven such a complete package out of the box before.
I got it home, booked it in for a rod bearing change at Munich Power and locked the keys away in a draw until that date came around. I also set out straight away to find a set of OEM 18s, and ended up buying two sets to make a square set out of. Looks a bit odd atm but once I fit coilovers and add a bit of front camber they will sit perfectly. Plan is to set it up for reliable fast road / track duties with coilovers, BBK, uprated oil cooling, 3.9 FD, and then take it to 300k & beyond.
Eventually the day came around to get the rod bearings done. I was pretty anxious tbh - it drove fine and sounded great but there is always the risk that a bearing on the verge of being spun has scored the crank. The reality however was shocking:
The car came with a fully documented, labelled and stapled service history, and no mention of rod bearings having been previously done. Being a 2005 it also wouldn't have been recalled by BMW, which leads me to believe that these are the original rod bearings after 250k. Jim at Munich Power said he'd seen worse looking bearings come out of cars with a third of the mileage, so they are hopefully a testament to how the M3 has been kept over the years.
If you're interested in some of my past cars I have a few threads here, but most of my history isn't covered here. I'll write a diary of them later on if people are interested!
Current 740i: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Past 530i Sport: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Past 350z: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
M cars however have always eluded me. Like many people, I grew up with E46 M3s and E39 M5s being poster cars and as a kid I would see factory fresh examples rolling around London. Once I grew older I spent much of my time modifying E36s, E34s and E39s to behave as much like an M car as possible, and I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy 2.8 E36s and V8 5ers during and after uni. After I graduated I tried 350zs, which are brilliant cars for what they are, but I always found it absurd how cramped they are considering they are the size of an E46.
Fast forward to 2021 and the used car market, particularly for performance stuff, has gone absolutely nuts. I was considering selling all car related stuff in March and getting an F82 while they were 23-24k but they soon jumped by about 15% in price. I also had 0 chance of insuring one for a reasonable sum, and to be honest, the thought of parking an expensive, depreciating, notoriously nickable car outside my flat in south London wasn't that appealing. I also loved my E38 740i daily too much to sell it, so that was that. I then almost bought a cheap E92 M3 on bids but my last minute attempt flagged up an error code and the car sold for under my max bid!
After that I sort of gave up on the idea of owning an M car. The value for money just didnt seem to stack up - I hated the idea of having so much money tied up in such a delicate object, and despite knowing an M3 was probably the perfect car for me I figured I'd just stick with what I know. I built a manual E39 540i and made plans to get a 350z track car. I also unfollowed all of the M car owners groups I was on, as theres nothing worse than seeing people's M3s every day on social media knowing I probably won't ever have one!
Except I must have forgot about the E46 M3 group, as one day I idly browsed through facebook and saw a picture of a lovely silver grey M3 coupe, captioned with "250k, should I keep or sell". Now I've always been the type of person to buy the cheapest example of the fastest version of the car that I want, and to be honest, it's always worked out for me. I love high mile cars, stuff with patchy history, bad adverts, etc. I'd rather have a baggy 328i than a mint 323i. This has always proven advantageous, as I've always found that A) most buyers aren't like this, leaving me to crack on and B) those cars are never as bad as people make out to be. I messaged him straight away asking what he values it at and gave him my number. Two anxious days later and he called me back, talked me through the car and gave me a price which was effectively half market value compared to a same spec car with half the mileage. I sent him a deposit on the spot and agreed to collect in two weeks.
The story is that the last owner bought the car at 50k miles in 2010 and proceeded to commute from Essex to Milton Keynes every day for 10 years. 200k miles later, he gives the M3 as part payment for a restoration job on a Lancia Delta Integrale. He was the 3rd keeper, the 4th didn't use the car and the 1st was BMW UK until the day it was registered, so I'm effectively the 3rd owner. There is not a single dent, the interior looks like it's never been sat in and the only sign of the mileage is a heavily stone chipped bonnet and front bumper. I flicked through the history, had a quick look underneath and paid for it on the spot. The first time I drove any M car was driving my newly purchased 250k E46 M3 away from the sellers unit - to say it was nerve-wracking is an understatement.
First impressions? To be honest I was expecting to be underwhelmed, and thought it would just feel like a slightly more focused 330i. In reality I was blown away. The S54 is so much torquier than I expected; it feels quicker than an M54 from 3k alone and the last 1000RPM before the redline feel absurd. The gearing is too long. The chassis is incredible, to be frank I didn't think OEM suspension could ever feel that good. The steering is wooly and slow. The noise is addictive to the extreme, though I can see why some wouldn't like it. The general feel and presence of the car is far more special than I anticipated. I love the details - the yellow backlight on the gauges, the illuminated gearknob, the way the arches flow into the rear bumper. After years of having non M 90s BMWs, an E46 M3 to me feels like a supercar. More importantly, it feels like all the car I will ever need. In my opinion, you simply do not need to go faster, and in a performance car you certainly don't need it to be any bigger. The biggest surprise was how little I felt the need to modify it. A little lower and a little sharper, sure, but I don't want to change the inherent character or use case of it at all. I've never driven such a complete package out of the box before.
I got it home, booked it in for a rod bearing change at Munich Power and locked the keys away in a draw until that date came around. I also set out straight away to find a set of OEM 18s, and ended up buying two sets to make a square set out of. Looks a bit odd atm but once I fit coilovers and add a bit of front camber they will sit perfectly. Plan is to set it up for reliable fast road / track duties with coilovers, BBK, uprated oil cooling, 3.9 FD, and then take it to 300k & beyond.
Eventually the day came around to get the rod bearings done. I was pretty anxious tbh - it drove fine and sounded great but there is always the risk that a bearing on the verge of being spun has scored the crank. The reality however was shocking:
The car came with a fully documented, labelled and stapled service history, and no mention of rod bearings having been previously done. Being a 2005 it also wouldn't have been recalled by BMW, which leads me to believe that these are the original rod bearings after 250k. Jim at Munich Power said he'd seen worse looking bearings come out of cars with a third of the mileage, so they are hopefully a testament to how the M3 has been kept over the years.
If you're interested in some of my past cars I have a few threads here, but most of my history isn't covered here. I'll write a diary of them later on if people are interested!
Current 740i: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Past 530i Sport: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Past 350z: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Now I've always been the type of person to buy the cheapest example of the fastest version of the car that I want, and to be honest, it's always worked out for me. I love high mile cars, stuff with patchy history, bad adverts, etc. I'd rather have a baggy 328i than a mint 323i.
Absolutely the same! As soon as I increase my budget to get a better, or mint version of a car... it just makes me look at a laggy version of what's above it
Awesome read, really enjoyed your story. For me E46 M3 or Evo 9 have been my poster cars 'realistic dream' maybe. Definitely missed the boat on an Escort Cosworth lol.
Look forward to the updates.
Absolutely the same! As soon as I increase my budget to get a better, or mint version of a car... it just makes me look at a laggy version of what's above it
Awesome read, really enjoyed your story. For me E46 M3 or Evo 9 have been my poster cars 'realistic dream' maybe. Definitely missed the boat on an Escort Cosworth lol.
Look forward to the updates.
That was a great read - thanks for posting it. That has to be a serious Brave Pill too!
I'm also a serial manual BMW owner, mostly petrol 6s, but have only got a far as numbers 7 and 8 although like you I had always hankered after a real M car. Then in December 2019 I saw an advert for a Z4M Coupe that I could just about afford so I bought it and like you I was blown away by the whole experience of driving a car with the S54 engine!
I had my bearing shells replaced last year at 78K miles and if anything my old ones looked worse than yours! But then the car had 7 keepers before me, which is largely why I decided to get new shells.
Gotta love an S54, especially when you get the revs up!
I'm also a serial manual BMW owner, mostly petrol 6s, but have only got a far as numbers 7 and 8 although like you I had always hankered after a real M car. Then in December 2019 I saw an advert for a Z4M Coupe that I could just about afford so I bought it and like you I was blown away by the whole experience of driving a car with the S54 engine!
I had my bearing shells replaced last year at 78K miles and if anything my old ones looked worse than yours! But then the car had 7 keepers before me, which is largely why I decided to get new shells.
Gotta love an S54, especially when you get the revs up!
Fantastic thread thus far, like you I have a strange attraction to the cheapest fastest examples of any model of car, the fact this is on 250k peaks my interest more
It’s a shame your going down the modifying route, there’s not many stock E46 M3s left, let alone any with the history and miles of this one
It’s a shame your going down the modifying route, there’s not many stock E46 M3s left, let alone any with the history and miles of this one
ritch said:
Please excuse my M3 ignorance, but are the rod shells on the M3 a common issue? What sort of symptoms do they display when they are on their way out?
They are pretty much a consumable item on the S54 engine. And the problem is you get no symptoms until you spin a shell and then it's too late! Here's a bit more info:- https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threads/rod-bearing...
I think that's the highest mileage one I've seen in the UK. There is a wealth of knowledge on the E46 M3 UK group on facebook as well as the obvious M3 cutters. I must say your car looks in absolutely stunning condition.
I bought mine on 135k in 2018 for just under 8k and have got the whole engine refreshed as S54's are silly money second hand without the usual bearings/vanos/possible head gasket issues already sorted. It's currently getting it's rusty rear arches repair, rear sub frame plated and a 4.1 diff. Hopefully a CSL airbox from Karbonius in the near future.
Steering: 330's have a purple tag rack which is slightly quicker as the M3 has a slight dead zone in the middle for driving at high speed (or so I read). I can tell the difference in steering feel going from my 330 to M3 and prefer the quicker rack.
I bought mine on 135k in 2018 for just under 8k and have got the whole engine refreshed as S54's are silly money second hand without the usual bearings/vanos/possible head gasket issues already sorted. It's currently getting it's rusty rear arches repair, rear sub frame plated and a 4.1 diff. Hopefully a CSL airbox from Karbonius in the near future.
Steering: 330's have a purple tag rack which is slightly quicker as the M3 has a slight dead zone in the middle for driving at high speed (or so I read). I can tell the difference in steering feel going from my 330 to M3 and prefer the quicker rack.
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