E46 M3 prices....increasing
Discussion
Ruskie said:
Some dreamers out there selling M3's. Just seen a 120k silver car with a cracked boot floor and all 4 wheels needing refurbishing advertised. Just short of £8k. Always makes me wonder who would buy a car like that?
4 wheel refurb is what £250-300How much is it to repair the boot floor? Given it's a design flaw every E46 will at some point fail.
What the rest of the car like?
Welshbeef said:
Ruskie said:
Some dreamers out there selling M3's. Just seen a 120k silver car with a cracked boot floor and all 4 wheels needing refurbishing advertised. Just short of £8k. Always makes me wonder who would buy a car like that?
4 wheel refurb is what £250-300How much is it to repair the boot floor? Given it's a design flaw every E46 will at some point fail.
What the rest of the car like?
Buyers are generally scared off by anything showing over 100k on these though, so I suppose that's more of a sticking point with this one (they get a bit twitchy about bottom end rebuilds/vanos/subframe etc.)
Mine has just ticked over 145000 and is running absolutely fine. I have the rear subframe inspected every time it has any work done, and it always gets the all clear.
I used to be paranoid as hell about all this when I first bought it five years ago, but I've learned to relax and enjoy it since (no track work though, which could possibly change things).
Mine has just ticked over 145000 and is running absolutely fine. I have the rear subframe inspected every time it has any work done, and it always gets the all clear.
I used to be paranoid as hell about all this when I first bought it five years ago, but I've learned to relax and enjoy it since (no track work though, which could possibly change things).
Front bottom said:
Buyers are generally scared off by anything showing over 100k on these though, so I suppose that's more of a sticking point with this one (they get a bit twitchy about bottom end rebuilds/vanos/subframe etc.)
Mine has just ticked over 145000 and is running absolutely fine. I have the rear subframe inspected every time it has any work done, and it always gets the all clear.
I used to be paranoid as hell about all this when I first bought it five years ago, but I've learned to relax and enjoy it since (no track work though, which could possibly change things).
But let's be frank the E46 M3 oldest is a Y ref that's 18 years ago this Sept. it was a good value new sports coupe and countless were used as daily drivers (it was less than £40k when the saragis was £50k). Mine has just ticked over 145000 and is running absolutely fine. I have the rear subframe inspected every time it has any work done, and it always gets the all clear.
I used to be paranoid as hell about all this when I first bought it five years ago, but I've learned to relax and enjoy it since (no track work though, which could possibly change things).
To be fair if miles were say less than 60k then you've got to be worried from the short trip problem ie engine never gets up to speed.
Welshbeef said:
But let's be frank the E46 M3 oldest is a Y ref that's 18 years ago this Sept. it was a good value new sports coupe and countless were used as daily drivers (it was less than £40k when the saragis was £50k).
To be fair if miles were say less than 60k then you've got to be worried from the short trip problem ie engine never gets up to speed.
Which is one of the reasons I purposely bought a higher mileage example. My (probably flawed) logic was that any problems would have been sorted by the time I bought it whilst showing 126000.To be fair if miles were say less than 60k then you've got to be worried from the short trip problem ie engine never gets up to speed.
Have I been lucky? I don't know, but it's been a great car.
The newest E46 M3 is a 55 reg which is 12 years old the oldest 18 years.
At these ages
Engine mounds
Brake hoses
Brake pipes
Brake master cylinder
Air con condenser
Radiator
Wheel bearings
Trackrod ends
All bushes
Shock absorbers
Springs
Likely OEM exhaust and manifold and downpipes are towards end of life
Clutch certainly
At these ages
Engine mounds
Brake hoses
Brake pipes
Brake master cylinder
Air con condenser
Radiator
Wheel bearings
Trackrod ends
All bushes
Shock absorbers
Springs
Likely OEM exhaust and manifold and downpipes are towards end of life
Clutch certainly
Front bottom said:
Mine is an 03. Rear brake pipes need doing and the air con doesn't hold its charge, so probably the condenser at fault there.
Changes all the pipework and seals plus condenser on our old Honda Accord well over £1k to do. But it was a must do. It was bitterly cold once done perfect. Front bottom said:
Clutches are very strong. I've heard of 200k milers on healthy original clutches.
All down to the owner.On a Mondeo V6 and a 1.8 I managed to get one to 212k and 312k respecitively. On both the clutches were fine but the concentric slave cylinders failed.
Front bottom said:
Which is one of the reasons I purposely bought a higher mileage example. My (probably flawed) logic was that any problems would have been sorted by the time I bought it whilst showing 126000.
Have I been lucky? I don't know, but it's been a great car.
I went with a similar logic. My car hasn't been smooth sailing but it's been OK. In short I've done:Have I been lucky? I don't know, but it's been a great car.
RACP (Preventative) with Poly bushes
Oil cooler (it went porous)
Tyres all round
Alternator & aux belt with pulleys
Exhaust mounts
Viscous fan ; it had been changed before but it had gone bad/tight
That and TBH clocked cars are rife for this reason. I won't say much but I know of a few people who give lease cars haircuts etc.
Ruskie said:
Some dreamers out there selling M3's. Just seen a 120k silver car with a cracked boot floor and all 4 wheels needing refurbishing advertised. Just short of £8k. Always makes me wonder who would buy a car like that?
Have you actually seen any £8k cars or gone off the seller's word? I have. Many are s
t heaps below that money. What do you expect?If you have time read my experience. That was a year ago. I very almost gave up buying an M3 and upped my budget. Mileage means nothing on these cars now as said:
https://theleylandlegends.wordpress.com/2017/03/11...
https://theleylandlegends.wordpress.com/2017/03/15...
An MOT failure of an M3 that needs discs and pads along with tyres can be :
-£600 on tyres
-£1k on brakes. ECP pads are not correct for these ; you can get M-Spec pads outside of the dealer but they are not alot cheaper, Many people sell 330i pads instead.
Welshbeef said:
4 wheel refurb is what £250-300
How much is it to repair the boot floor? Given it's a design flaw every E46 will at some point fail.
What the rest of the car like?
That's fair I'd say How much is it to repair the boot floor? Given it's a design flaw every E46 will at some point fail.
What the rest of the car like?
.The wheels depend on the finish you want. For plain silver or black you can get it done for less. Shadow Chrome wheels are closer to your price (it's how i plan to do mine ; yes I kerbed them). For diamond cut wheels/Polished you looking at £400+ on the assumption the wheels have not been cut too many times
ETA can do the boot floor for £700. They don't go to town like Redish do (i.e detail it etc.) but generally are pretty decent with many PHers using them. Redish however do seem to be creme de la creme.
Edited by SebringMan on Tuesday 11th July 13:53
Welshbeef said:
For owners on the E46 M3 can you confirm what Roma is 70mph in 3rd gear? I've a sneaking suspicion that you'll only ever to be able to access max power in 1st and 2nd. Actually even if you risk it in 3rd the remaining 3gears you will not get the benefit /would be interesting to know the max power you can achieve in 4th.
Nipping down to 1st for the extra acceleration.
What? Re-read your post and post again (in English this time - LOL).Nipping down to 1st for the extra acceleration.
Shezbo said:
Welshbeef said:
For owners on the E46 M3 can you confirm what Roma is 70mph in 3rd gear? I've a sneaking suspicion that you'll only ever to be able to access max power in 1st and 2nd. Actually even if you risk it in 3rd the remaining 3gears you will not get the benefit /would be interesting to know the max power you can achieve in 4th.
Nipping down to 1st for the extra acceleration.
What? Re-read your post and post again (in English this time - LOL).Nipping down to 1st for the extra acceleration.
Roma = rpm
The rest is RTFQ.
Shezbo said:
OK so Roma = rpm (don't know why and I have never heard of that??) what does the rest of your post actually mean...i.e. what are you saying?
Referring to 4th and 1st gears means what, in what context???
What is the max power within UK motorway speed limits can you hit in each gear basically. Referring to 4th and 1st gears means what, in what context???
1st full power 343bhp
2nd full power 343bhp
3rd 260bhp?
4th 200bhp?
5th 160bhp
6th 120bhp?
Does anyone know what rpm @70mph in 3/4/5/6th gear is and what that rpm delivers in power.
When I next drive out I'll check 3rd onwards. Oddly the M3 has not been driven for a couple of days ; I've been showing a mate the Mondeo 2.5T I'm trying to get rid of in addition to having the keys to a newish Fiesta ST.
IIRC 6th is about 2800rpm. I think the ratios are the same between the SMG and the Manual.
IIRC 6th is about 2800rpm. I think the ratios are the same between the SMG and the Manual.
SebringMan said:
When I next drive out I'll check 3rd onwards. Oddly the M3 has not been driven for a couple of days ; I've been showing a mate the Mondeo 2.5T I'm trying to get rid of in addition to having the keys to a newish Fiesta ST.
IIRC 6th is about 2800rpm. I think the ratios are the same between the SMG and the Manual.
2,800rpm is c110bhp looking at the dump plots. IIRC 6th is about 2800rpm. I think the ratios are the same between the SMG and the Manual.
You do not want to be flooring an E46 M3 in 6th at 70mph unless against weak opposition.
Welshbeef said:
SebringMan said:
When I next drive out I'll check 3rd onwards. Oddly the M3 has not been driven for a couple of days ; I've been showing a mate the Mondeo 2.5T I'm trying to get rid of in addition to having the keys to a newish Fiesta ST.
IIRC 6th is about 2800rpm. I think the ratios are the same between the SMG and the Manual.
2,800rpm is c110bhp looking at the dump plots. IIRC 6th is about 2800rpm. I think the ratios are the same between the SMG and the Manual.
You do not want to be flooring an E46 M3 in 6th at 70mph unless against weak opposition.
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