E46 M3 owners

[MBeemerman]

V8Dom said:

they are nice seats... which model are they if you dont mind me asking?

Yes as SPORTSTER has already posted they are Recaro Sportster CS.

[Notshortnottall]

My baby.



Searched a long time for the colour / spec. combo as I really wanted manual and a sunroof. Shortly to be up for sale to make way for a new addition in the form of a real baby

In a weird way I was glad to see this thread as I was really unsure what to put it up for but have a better idea now.

Still only has 85k on the clock too........

[Driver Rider]

I hadn't realised how much these had dropped considering swapping my mk5 golf gti for one of these! Before moving to newer m3s.

[pidsy]

well, mine has Head gasket failure.

arse.

spoken to the guys at Reddish and at Technosport (where it is now) and it is apparently becoming more common as e46's put more miles on its now starting to happen.

Reddish have a quote system already in place for HGF on the s54 and Technosport have seen 3 since November.

got a feeling it will soon be added to the list of "must check's" along side the rear subframe.

its not cheap either.

[Driver Rider]

Err perhaps I shouldn't be too hasty and get a lower mileage well kept example.


Hope things go alright for you.

[pidsy]

Mileage isn't a factor - tracked cars are more prone.

Both specialists agree it's basically down the the wall between cylinders being so thin : <5mm apparently.

Technosport have had a CSL in that failed at less than 50k.

[RiccardoG]

Not an owner, sorry, but thinking of getting one. I'm considering the convertible as effectively what I am looking for is a 4 seater that goes well, sounds nice, looks good, etc. A car for weekends, special occasions etc, maybe the odd Euro trip. I also have a 997 Carrera which stays (coupe).

Is the M3 convertible as good an ownership proposition as the coupe?

[Sir_Dave]

BalhamBadger said:

Mine is a 2003, coupe, £9.5k 59k miles about four years ago.
It's individual Aegean blue, pale grey leather, manual, virtually every option (inc sunshade and minidisc player!).

I must have your sister car then, mines an SMG fully loaded individual (with minidisc/trafficmaster/rear bind) - the interior is "Lotus White" btw Paid £11.5k in September 2015, 88k miles, full BMW history/warranty from new (then Insp2 by Redish just before i bought it) & BMW subframe replacement in March 2013.

[BalhamBadger]

Sir_Dave said:

I must have your sister car then, mines an SMG fully loaded individual (with minidisc/trafficmaster/rear bind) - the interior is "Lotus White" btw Paid £11.5k in September 2015, 88k miles, full BMW history/warranty from new (then Insp2 by Redish just before i bought it) & BMW subframe replacement in March 2013.

Ha yes I didn't think there was another one - uncanny!

Yours looks to have a slightly different interior trim to mine, which is more of a flat dark grey, Also, what is the button/knob to the right of the stereo eject button? Don't think I've seen that before.

Unfortunately mine lost power today on the way home, AA diagnosed a misfire cylinder three and it is now in the garage awaiting assessment. Hoping it's nothing major obviously.

[BalhamBadger]

pidsy said:

well, mine has Head gasket failure.

arse.

spoken to the guys at Reddish and at Technosport (where it is now) and it is apparently becoming more common as e46's put more miles on its now starting to happen.

Reddish have a quote system already in place for HGF on the s54 and Technosport have seen 3 since November.

got a feeling it will soon be added to the list of "must check's" along side the rear subframe.

its not cheap either.

Please can I ask what the symptoms are of the head gasket failing? As in my other post mine lost power today and started running poorly, engine light came on etc - cylinder three apparently.

[_Batty_]

BalhamBadger said:

Please can I ask what the symptoms are of the head gasket failing? As in my other post mine lost power today and started running poorly, engine light came on etc - cylinder three apparently.

Pinking like crazy. Odd misfires etc.

[pidsy]

BalhamBadger said:

pidsy said:

well, mine has Head gasket failure.

arse.

spoken to the guys at Reddish and at Technosport (where it is now) and it is apparently becoming more common as e46's put more miles on its now starting to happen.

Reddish have a quote system already in place for HGF on the s54 and Technosport have seen 3 since November.

got a feeling it will soon be added to the list of "must check's" along side the rear subframe.

its not cheap either.

Please can I ask what the symptoms are of the head gasket failing? As in my other post mine lost power today and started running poorly, engine light came on etc - cylinder three apparently.

to be honest, it was George who noticed it whilst my chain tensioner was being changed - it was slightly missing a cylinder on start, what i thought was a loose exhaust bracket was the sound of pinking.

i wont clutter this thread - have a look over on my HGF thread. it'll be detailed on there.

[SPORTSTER]

BalhamBadger said:

Please can I ask what the symptoms are of the head gasket failing? As in my other post mine lost power today and started running poorly, engine light came on etc - cylinder three apparently.

Have you checked your coilpacks for the misfire

[Sir_Dave]

BalhamBadger said:

Ha yes I didn't think there was another one - uncanny!

Yours looks to have a slightly different interior trim to mine, which is more of a flat dark grey, Also, what is the button/knob to the right of the stereo eject button? Don't think I've seen that before.

Unfortunately mine lost power today on the way home, AA diagnosed a misfire cylinder three and it is now in the garage awaiting assessment. Hoping it's nothing major obviously.

Haha, when i was initially looking at mine, pics of yours appeared on google and i feel in love

Knob on the dash is the traffic master system that runs through the nav, looks a little umm, outdated these days!!


Sorry to hear about yours, have you got INPA to check for fault codes etc?

[andyman_2006]

pidsy said:

BalhamBadger said:

pidsy said:

well, mine has Head gasket failure.

arse.

spoken to the guys at Reddish and at Technosport (where it is now) and it is apparently becoming more common as e46's put more miles on its now starting to happen.

Reddish have a quote system already in place for HGF on the s54 and Technosport have seen 3 since November.

got a feeling it will soon be added to the list of "must check's" along side the rear subframe.

its not cheap either.

Please can I ask what the symptoms are of the head gasket failing? As in my other post mine lost power today and started running poorly, engine light came on etc - cylinder three apparently.

to be honest, it was George who noticed it whilst my chain tensioner was being changed - it was slightly missing a cylinder on start, what i thought was a loose exhaust bracket was the sound of pinking.

i wont clutter this thread - have a look over on my HGF thread. it'll be detailed on there.

Had this issue on my E46 M3, at around 80K Miles, head gasket went between cylinders 5/6 and 2/3. My symptoms were misfire/flat spot at around 1500RPM any gear, and pinking when in high gears/low speeds. When driven harder you couldn't tell.

It was diagnosed by Mr Vanos (as I suspected VANOS to be the issue) Steve @ Mr Vanos did a cross cylinder Leak down test which showed the fault. He also had 3 other CSL cars in his workshop all had Heads Gasket issues, and he said it was becoming far more of an issue than VANOS was.

I tried everything before having head looked at, including coils, Dyno tests, mapping, exhaust, plugs, MAF, and as time went on it was pointing to either VANOS or Head Gasket, turned out the latter.

However car now fixed (2 years on) and runs a dream. Best £1500 I ever spent on it, had a head de-coke, skim and pressure test while off, Vanos was checked and all fine.

Worth doing if your keeping the car in my opinion.

Andy

[pidsy]

couldn't agree more.

[The Stiglet]

Guys, wondering if you could suggest a price for a friend's M3 to sell privately please? It's in very good condition. Spec:

E46 BMW M3 3.2l SMG2.0 Coupe - Grey
Registered Mar 2006
BMW FSH
48000 miles
5 owners
Taxed 12 months
MOT 6 months
19” Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels with 4 newish tyres (Front 235 Rear 265)
Red Leather Nappa Leather interior
Anthracite linings and finishes
Harmon Kardon speakers
Pro Sat Nav with TV

[andyman_2006]

The Stiglet said:

Guys, wondering if you could suggest a price for a friend's M3 to sell privately please? It's in very good condition. Spec:

E46 BMW M3 3.2l SMG2.0 Coupe - Grey
Registered Mar 2006
BMW FSH
48000 miles
5 owners
Taxed 12 months
MOT 6 months
19” Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels with 4 newish tyres (Front 235 Rear 265)
Red Leather Nappa Leather interior
Anthracite linings and finishes
Harmon Kardon speakers
Pro Sat Nav with TV

I guess it depends on how quick he/she needs to sell, but has to be worth £15K assuming the wheels are mint, and its in overall good condition, and has had the correct services done. Dealers are asking between £16-20K for a car of this age/mileage/spec. and I'm guessing a trade in would be very poor value with most dealers. Def private sale. Get it on here and Autotrader or car and classic (free)

any pics?

I do have a mate looking for one, but he is wanting to pay around the £10-12K mark.

If you message me the pics of the car I'll email them over to him and see what he thinks.

Personally I'd keep it, as its low mileage, and a nice colour combo, and values are going up not down.

Andy

[whatleytom]

£15k for an SMG is punchy I'd say, seen similar spec'd and mileage manuals for around that. SMG's seem to be c.£2k less from what I've seen.

[andyman_2006]

whatleytom said:

£15k for an SMG is punchy I'd say, seen similar spec'd and mileage manuals for around that. SMG's seem to be c.£2k less from what I've seen.

Well not sure on that.....as there are only 11 cars of this mileage on Autotrader, one private is £16500 so £15K would undercut that easily, and cheapest is £14999.

Sytner has a 53 plate SMG in silver and are asking £17K (granted with a warranty) but still.

Agree a manual would be my choice, but with only 8 manual cars of this mileage for sale on trader, supply and demand will drive the prices one way I'd guess.

You only need look at current asking prices of low mileage E36's both Manual and SMG...


Andy