BMW M3 (E46): You Know You Want To
As E46s continue to appreciate, is now the time to nab a cheap one?
£6,999, to be exact. And if you're reasonably well-versed on M3 prices, you're probably thinking that for that sort of figure, it has to be an SMG-equipped car, or a convertible. Well, you're wrong, because it's neither. This is the cheapest manual M3 coupe for sale at the moment. And no, it doesn't have the sort of gopping interior or exterior colour scheme you might expect.
What it does have is a full service history, according to the seller - something almost non-existent at this price point with all of the above boxes ticked. This, then, sounds like a bit of a bargain.
There is, of course, a catch, and it's the mileage. Mind you, this M3's 150,000 miles are not preposterous - indeed, were you to apply the old 10,000-mile-a-year rule, it'd be below average.
Of course, the same would apply to pretty much every M3 out there, so let's not kid ourselves: this is a bit of a leggy M3. There's more, too: the advert wording isn't exactly of the sort that inspires confidence in the fastidiousness of the owner.
But perhaps you're prepared to give the benefit of the doubt. After all, of course, sloppy spelling and photography do not a lemon make. That being the case, the only bugbear is the mileage - and of what concern is that? BMWs of this era are known for their ability to rack up big miles, and while the S54 engine is more highly strung than most, there's no reason why that shouldn't still apply.
And with what looks like a big wodge of history featured in one of the photos, there's all the more reason to imagine it'll be fine. Especially if that history contains evidence of the sort of work these cars need with respect to VANOS and so forth. The advert already makes the point that the subframes have already been reinforced; the pictorial evidence shows a job that looks more toward the DIY end of the spectrum, but that doesn't alter the fact the work's been done. What's more, there's a brand new exhaust, freshly refurbed wheels, four new tyres and a long MoT.
In short, then, this is probably not the best E46 M3 in the world, but at this price, it's still worth taking a punt on. Chances are it won't be a keeper, but if you really want to scratch the M3 itch for a year or two and money's tight, it's not a bad shout. Let's face it: prices are only going up, which means this might be your last chance to buy a manual M3 coupe with a full history for £7,000. All of which makes this particular cheapest-of-the-cheap example look a cannier buy than most.
BMW M3 (E46)
Price: £6,999
Why you should: It costs peanuts and ticks all the right boxes...
Why you shouldn't: ...except the one marked 'mileage'.
See the original advert here.
It's still alot of car for the money. It's just the cost of parts with added M tax on them, getting them serviced and fixing any repairs and getting them tip-top which seems to be the main drain on the old wallet. Actually physically buying these cars seems to be the easiest part of ownership.
If you're happy DIYing your car these can be run for a tenth of that price, yes there is an element of M-tax but it's not too bad.
I remember reading in Car or Evo a couple of decades ago, something that said along the lines of, If you can't afford to buy a £40k BMW, you can't afford a £25k Ferrari (referring to the running costs). I guess the same is now true of VW Golf 2.0 vs BMW M3.
Mine is a 2003 manual coupe. Carbon Schwartz with red leather, and has done 145k, with a full service history.
I was weighing up values recently in an 'if I had to sell it' kind of way, and £7k was the figure i arrived at.
The subframe hasn't been strengthened though, but it does pass every inspection. No problems found.
I used mine like this for a while, then took it for a track day, which led to me selling my Clio 172 and modifying the M3 to be a track car I didn't have to trailer, like the Clio. I can't believe how well it does this, its quite raw with the rear striped out, but not so much its off putting to take out for a blast, or to pop to the shops in.
I have owned it just over a year, spent the purchase price again on modifications, but very little has actually gone wrong, couple of bits of trim, headlight ballast and the alternator has just gone. I have covered over 10k miles, its now on 110k. Several trackdays and 2 trips to the Ring, including laps and time on the GP circuit, A trip to SPA for the F1 and Le Mans for the 24hr. I've stayed on top of servicing and changed the oil often.
If you happy with the running costs its the best thing you can buy for the money imho, just don't buy one if you don't have a bit more than the purchase price in the bank!
Tired bushes, suspension and other steering components will make most M3's feels sloppy now. They also like to rust from the inside out, especially on the arches. I'd only personally have the Vanos overhauled, not just for piece of mind, but I think they feel better for it too.
Parts are a mixture of good and bad. Genuine OE Discs and pads can be had for £550 which isn't bad, given the car. Decent tyres aren't far out either.
If i was to buy another one, i'd hold off and find an enthusiast who has done all the big jobs. These don't appear very that often, but when they do they usually sell, quickly.
I remember reading in Car or Evo a couple of decades ago, something that said along the lines of, If you can't afford to buy a £40k BMW, you can't afford a £25k Ferrari (referring to the running costs). I guess the same is now true of VW Golf 2.0 vs BMW M3.
I can, in no way, afford an M3. A 330ci has been considered multiple times but it's just keeping them in decent working condition.
At the end of the day, the M3 is a 40k car with running costs to match. Just because they can be had much cheaper than that now doesn't affect the maintenance and running costs.
I'm rebuilding the Vanos on mine just now, slowly, and missing driving it hugely!
When a car is a 40k new M3 then at the point in it's life cycle when it is worth that much you have to use dealers at dealer service rates and prices and end up paying high parts prices to keep the warranty and so on.
As cars get older, more and more non OE parts become available for them, especially the most common ones, to fix known issues. The cost of the parts themselves also tend to reduce over time, as more and more manufacturers make them and push the price lower.
Specialists are then able to take care of them at lower labour rates, and sometimes work out better ways to do the jobs more cost effectively, on some cars whereas a dealer may say that's an engine out job etc, specialists know ways to do it without.
So, although I accept the running costs for a 40k car at 10 years old may be higher than a 20k car at 10 years old, you should still be paying much less for service and parts on a 10 year old M3 than a nearly new one at dealer prices.
I think the E46 M3 really only makes sense on a track to fully enjoy the top end of the rev range. Then you end up wanting to reduce the weight and spend more money upgrading, so a car at the cheaper end of the market works well.
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