E46 M3

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Original Poster:

6,356 posts

169 months

Tuesday 27th November 2018
quotequote all
In a moment of madness i sold my facelift Carbon Black / red November 2003 manual M3 last year. I now find that i am Really missing it 🙈.
Prices really seemed to have firmed up in the 18 odd months since selling it.
Been looking at CSLs as well, but i think they are vastly over priced for what they offer.

mwstewart

7,554 posts

187 months

Tuesday 27th November 2018
quotequote all
I have for sale my manual coupe. It's at the upper end of M3 prices but it's reflective of the condition, mileage (37k), and spec. It's currently in the classifieds.

The Ferret

1,145 posts

159 months

Tuesday 27th November 2018
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The E46 M3 is in a strange territory now price wise. They rose considerably like you say 12-18 months ago but the reality is very few are selling over £20k

There's lots of E92 V8's around under £20k, and £25k will get you into a nice low mileage Comp Pack, so unless you're a collector anything above £20k for an E46 just doesn't make any real sense.

CSL's will always command good money due to their rarity. The regular M3 doesn't benefit from such exclusivity.

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Wednesday 28th November 2018
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For about 5 months I've been out of touch with E46 M3 prices? Are they really that much firmer?

I'll be honest, even with mileage out of the equation it seemed even two years ago, there were many dogs around for below £8k. The days of getting a good one for £6k as many believed were gone even then! How cheap were people thinking they would get?

While not the ideal spec to many, my mate bought and then swiftly sold his M3 for £12k ; he didn't like the feeling of fragility and gruffness about it. Oddly, he found the SMG smoothrer than he had been led to believe. I'll allude to that now. His was as follows:

-2004 Individual SMG 'vert in Velvet Blue with an Extended Leather Interior
-2 or three owner car on 91k
-Pretty much all of the toys: Sat Nav, TV Tuner, HK, heated seats, and this car came with genuine CSL wheels.
-It had alot of the big jobs done. HG, VANOS unit (entire rebuild), Clutch and flywheel, new SMG motor.

It wasn't in perfect condition but it wasn't too bad at all. It was however one of the best M3s I'd driven. Manual or SMG, Coupe or 'vert. The engine pulled well, and it didn't knock at all. Not even a hint. Sure it had some 'vert foibles (minor scuttle shake), but overall it was a lovely car. I came very close to buying it.

Here's the shots of his old car:





I flirtated with the idea of selling mine a few months back. However, I've really come back to liking it. Doing a Spa trackday in it and getting there also convinced me. I doubt mine's worth more than £7k on a good day, but meh, it's mine smile:

PS. Apologies for the crap convo:

https://youtu.be/IeE1f3q87os

https://youtu.be/EsSLMBSytbU

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Wednesday 28th November 2018
quotequote all
E46 M3 was a masss produced car
E36 M3 too but lower volumes - and yet it’s still lower in £ to buy now than E46 M3’s.



Why do people think every sodding car will appreciate even when it’s not very old and tens of thousands of them built - plus being a good car more are on the road than run of the mill cars.

andyman_2006

718 posts

189 months

Thursday 29th November 2018
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
E46 M3 was a masss produced car
E36 M3 too but lower volumes - and yet it’s still lower in £ to buy now than E46 M3’s.



Why do people think every sodding car will appreciate even when it’s not very old and tens of thousands of them built - plus being a good car more are on the road than run of the mill cars.
I think the E46 is at the end of its depreciation curve they are now nearly 17 years old (for earliest cars) and very much in the modem/classic car category. E46 has dropped in numbers hugely over the last 10 years since I've owned mine, and if your shopping for an E46 M3 now, and have any criteria at all the numbers for sale would indicate a downward trend of availability.

Using Auto trader, if you wanted a coupe, under 100K miles, in any colour, with a stick shift, you actually only have 40 cars to choose from (before omitting those SMG's listed as a manuals!) which is some way off the mass there was a number of years ago, if you care about colour (or dont want black or silver) your options reduce further. So i suspect prices will hold pretty firmly where they are, and possibly will appreciate as the BMW supply for modern M cars moves towards auto turbo nonsense. This cant do values of the E46 any harm at all. I guess time will tell wont it, i dont think we will ever see a £3K M3 like we have the E36 in the past, those days have long gone.

Gouki

352 posts

183 months

Thursday 29th November 2018
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I have to agree with the poster above, gone are the days of buying an E36 M3 Evo for £3k and an E46 M3 for £6k - I’ve done both. Also the difference between coupe non sunroof manual and convertible smg prices just widen.

It seems however that there are two distinct pricepoints, cars that have had the preventative/essential maintenance done e.g. Head gasket, shells and RACP reinforcement and those that haven’t. Those jobs are £3k in total at least.

There’s one for sale on a well known M3 forum for ~£28k, it looks perfect and the owner has spared no expense - but it’s not moving probably due to the potential overlap with F80 prices soon.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Thursday 29th November 2018
quotequote all
Gouki said:
I have to agree with the poster above, gone are the days of buying an E36 M3 Evo for £3k and an E46 M3 for £6k - I’ve done both. Also the difference between coupe non sunroof manual and convertible smg prices just widen.

It seems however that there are two distinct pricepoints, cars that have had the preventative/essential maintenance done e.g. Head gasket, shells and RACP reinforcement and those that haven’t. Those jobs are £3k in total at least.

There’s one for sale on a well known M3 forum for ~£28k, it looks perfect and the owner has spared no expense - but it’s not moving probably due to the potential overlap with F80 prices soon.
And that’s the nub of it.
If the price gets too high then current model is the alternative (a massively better modern car) so its only the die hard fans who would buy one.


£28k is cloud cookoo land but you only need to find 1 buyer so good luck to that person.

andyman_2006

718 posts

189 months

Thursday 29th November 2018
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
And that’s the nub of it.
If the price gets too high then current model is the alternative (a massively better modern car) so its only the die hard fans who would buy one.


£28k is cloud cookoo land but you only need to find 1 buyer so good luck to that person.
https://www.alexandersprestige.co.uk/stock/9080772-bmw-m3-e46-smg/

Thats cookoo - i think this is the car that Hexagon once had for sale? its rare, and possibly unrepeatable, but still insane money, i like the E46 but thats LHD 355 Ferrari money! wobble

Felix79

121 posts

64 months

Friday 30th November 2018
quotequote all
SebringMan said:
For about 5 months I've been out of touch with E46 M3 prices? Are they really that much firmer?

I'll be honest, even with mileage out of the equation it seemed even two years ago, there were many dogs around for below £8k. The days of getting a good one for £6k as many believed were gone even then! How cheap were people thinking they would get?

While not the ideal spec to many, my mate bought and then swiftly sold his M3 for £12k ; he didn't like the feeling of fragility and gruffness about it. Oddly, he found the SMG smoothrer than he had been led to believe. I'll allude to that now. His was as follows:

-2004 Individual SMG 'vert in Velvet Blue with an Extended Leather Interior
-2 or three owner car on 91k
-Pretty much all of the toys: Sat Nav, TV Tuner, HK, heated seats, and this car came with genuine CSL wheels.
-It had alot of the big jobs done. HG, VANOS unit (entire rebuild), Clutch and flywheel, new SMG motor.

It wasn't in perfect condition but it wasn't too bad at all. It was however one of the best M3s I'd driven. Manual or SMG, Coupe or 'vert. The engine pulled well, and it didn't knock at all. Not even a hint. Sure it had some 'vert foibles (minor scuttle shake), but overall it was a lovely car. I came very close to buying it.

Here's the shots of his old car:





I flirtated with the idea of selling mine a few months back. However, I've really come back to liking it. Doing a Spa trackday in it and getting there also convinced me. I doubt mine's worth more than £7k on a good day, but meh, it's mine smile:

PS. Apologies for the crap convo:

https://youtu.be/IeE1f3q87os

https://youtu.be/EsSLMBSytbU
Your friend bought that M3 from my dad earlier this summer in Oxford smile It was his pride and joy for years and he spent a lot of money getting it as sorted as it was smile

Because of that car, I ended up buying a Z4MR last weekend!

baz786

4 posts

64 months

Friday 30th November 2018
quotequote all
Felix79 said:
Your friend bought that M3 from my dad earlier this summer in Oxford smile It was his pride and joy for years and he spent a lot of money getting it as sorted as it was smile

Because of that car, I ended up buying a Z4MR last weekend!
stunning

WindsorRob

663 posts

251 months

Saturday 1st December 2018
quotequote all
I’ve just bought an E46, having wanted to get an M car again after a regretful but necessary sale of my E39 M5 a few years ago.

Anyway, I founded that I can run the E46 M3 for relatively little money as a third fun car as its on classic insurance and is lower tax.

I thought about an E90, but as a third car it would have been an expensive proposition. Hence, I think part of the E46 appeal is that future classic appeal, which means its good as purely a fun car, for the odd run out and to tinker with. I wouldn’t personally have one as a daily driver though.

Looked at some rough ones, never fails to amaze me how little effort some sellers make. Dropped on a good one from an enthusiast, private seller in the end, which is always my favoured route.

e30m3Mark

16,205 posts

172 months

Sunday 2nd December 2018
quotequote all
For a lot of people (myself included), the E46 was/is a more than a mass produced 3 series. It's a proper M car with an excellent chassis and a brilliant engine that revs out to 8K RPM! Add a supercharger and you have a car that managed a sub 7 minute BTG lap of the Nurburgring. Yes, the E92 is no slouch either and that V8 is another gem of an engine, but they're a big car and not exactly light. Maintenance costs are also a factor for a lot of people and there's no such thing as a cheap M car.


355spiderguy

1,476 posts

170 months

Monday 3rd December 2018
quotequote all
Started our M3 adventure today!

Bought an '03 E46 M3 manual convertible today for my young lad.

Good bits:

Carbon black, cream leather interior with no tares to bolsters etc, runs smooth, no warning lights, hood in great shape and working as it should.

89k miles, full service history, all mots check out mileage wise with service history and with usual failure here and there for daft stuff then immediate retest and pass.

Was registered new at local BMW dealer and stayed local all its time.

Local classic car auction £5860 inc fees which gobsmacked me.

Bad bits:

19" original alloys looking exactly their age as never refurbed, both front wings very small bubbles, scratches here and there but otherwise nice and straight; paint is tired but looks original. It seems like a daily that has been used but definitely never been a garage queen!


Between now and end of Jan we shall be replacing the wheels with gen 19" CLS wheels, replace front wings with OEM, and paint the complete car correctly...hopefully replace interior with berry red unless cream grows on no1 son.

See what other surprise pop up but looking forward giving a decent car a bit of TLC and see how it turns out...I think I am as excited as my boy for it arriving tomorrow!

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Monday 3rd December 2018
quotequote all
355spiderguy said:
Started our M3 adventure today!

Bought an '03 E46 M3 manual convertible today for my young lad.

Good bits:

Carbon black, cream leather interior with no tares to bolsters etc, runs smooth, no warning lights, hood in great shape and working as it should.

89k miles, full service history, all mots check out mileage wise with service history and with usual failure here and there for daft stuff then immediate retest and pass.

Was registered new at local BMW dealer and stayed local all its time.

Local classic car auction £5860 inc fees which gobsmacked me.

Bad bits:

19" original alloys looking exactly their age as never refurbed, both front wings very small bubbles, scratches here and there but otherwise nice and straight; paint is tired but looks original. It seems like a daily that has been used but definitely never been a garage queen!


Between now and end of Jan we shall be replacing the wheels with gen 19" CLS wheels, replace front wings with OEM, and paint the complete car correctly...hopefully replace interior with berry red unless cream grows on no1 son.

See what other surprise pop up but looking forward giving a decent car a bit of TLC and see how it turns out...I think I am as excited as my boy for it arriving tomorrow!
That is a fair gift for a young whipper snapper normally it’s 18 year old fiesta 1.0ltr

355spiderguy

1,476 posts

170 months

Monday 3rd December 2018
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
That is a fair gift for a young whipper snapper normally it’s 18 year old fiesta 1.0ltr
haha! it's no gift as he shall be paying me back!

it is his 2nd car...his 1st / current was a mk5 1.4 golf which he wanted and we did exactly the same to that car when he was 16 ( although it did kinda turn into a R32 without the engine! )...since then he has proved himself over the last 2 years by not pranging it or done by plod so helping him out for his next dream car!

glad he wants to stay the classic route and get his hands dirty.

seems reading the forums even the £12k+ E46 M3s can be a we bit rough on the body and need attention, so we can be a wee bit ahead of the game costs wise.


car is all original so no daft exhausts or suspension to replace...we do this right he should have a great M3 that shouldn't lose much cash...might even be worth a few quid more in a couple of years.

e30m3Mark

16,205 posts

172 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
quotequote all
Sounds like a great car for the money. Look forward to seeing a few pics once you've taken delivery.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
quotequote all
Is it SMg or stick shift?

e30m3Mark

16,205 posts

172 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
quotequote all
Say's it's manual I think?

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
quotequote all
So the £5k E46 M3’s certainly exist - maybe too many people are looking at asking prices and that those are optimistic/sit around for month without enquiries let alone a sale.