E 46 m3

[lyricalgangster]

Hi all, fairly new to this so please bear with me...

sold my Focus RS intending to get a 370z, now thinking M3 is more practical for school run!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Seen this one for sale, dealer says it has wear on the driver side bolster, but they all get that, my question is is this wear normal on a 40,000 mile car?

It has fsh, but just want to check before i teavel 2hours to look at it!

Also, does it look good value? i want to try get him to £10k plus my 35000mile 06 Ford Ka?

any chance?

cheers

john

[RedWhiteMonkey]

No, that sort of bolster wear is not common or normal on a car that has truly only done 40k miles. The chavtastic Mpower badge on the centre console chubby hole and non-standard pedals set alarm bells ringing for me. The steering wheel looks rather shiney too, but that could just be the flash from the camera.

[lyricalgangster]

Yeah, the mpower badge inside wasnt my cup of tea either...

thanks for the heads up re the wear - i have read so much about clocking these cars, i am paranoid!

shame really, as the hard top was a bonus...

i will continue to look!

thanks again

[nottyash]

That is way way way overpriced.
I sold a better specced Coupe with 70k miles for £8000, and it didnt have a chavvy badge on the dash or worn seats.

[thegreengoblet]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

No, that sort of bolster wear is not common or normal on a car that has truly only done 40k miles.

I wouldn't agree that that's completely true? Surely it depends on how many times you get in and out of the car, your size and height vs access opening. I'm a large bloke, although reasonably tall, I'm always scuffing the bolster especially where I can't open the door enough because of tight parking spaces.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

thegreengoblet said:

RedWhiteMonkey said:

No, that sort of bolster wear is not common or normal on a car that has truly only done 40k miles.

I wouldn't agree that that's completely true? Surely it depends on how many times you get in and out of the car, your size and height vs access opening. I'm a large bloke, although reasonably tall, I'm always scuffing the bolster especially where I can't open the door enough because of tight parking spaces.

I said its not common or normal, I didn't say it was impossible. Obviously the car might have been owned by a fatty powerfully built company director who had to frequently use a tight car park.

[lyricalgangster]

nottyash said:

That is way way way overpriced.
I sold a better specced Coupe with 70k miles for £8000, and it didnt have a chavvy badge on the dash or worn seats.

I'm struggling to find any that much cheaper? i look on autotrader and pistonheads classifieds, and even approved used bmw (simply add £4k to most expensive found anywhere else)..

i thought if i spend 12 - 13k on a low mileage, full history car, it lessens the chance of wallet bashing later on?

plus i am miles from anywhere...1hour from nearest motorway :-(

[thegreengoblet]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

I said its not common or normal, I didn't say it was impossible. Obviously the car might have been owned by a fatty powerfully built company director who had to frequently use a tight car park.

[TEKNOPUG]

lyricalgangster said:

I'm struggling to find any that much cheaper? i look on autotrader and pistonheads classifieds, and even approved used bmw (simply add £4k to most expensive found anywhere else)..

i thought if i spend 12 - 13k on a low mileage, full history car, it lessens the chance of wallet bashing later on?

It's 9 years old, so you can't guarantee there won't be bills around the corner, regardless of mileage and history. Consumables wear out as much over time as they do use. I'd rather spend £9-10k with a couple of grand stashed for future expenses, than pay £12-13k and hope that nothing will go wrong.

[leeson660]

As above I think the bolster wear is really down to your size and how you get in and out of the car. I always put my hand on the sill and lift myself over the bolster - but then I'm quite sad like that

Looks very expensive to me.

No sat nav, 03 plate as well so no LED rear lights and I think the suspension was different from 04 onwards and made big improvements to the ride (but please correct me if I am wrong).

That badge as well is horrendous.

If you have the capital but are worried about bills why not check out the UAC website - all cars come with 12 months comprehensive warranty.

Cheers

[DivideBYZero]

Way overpriced. Would also be wary due to CAI, high wear for a 40k mile car and shonky eBay "///Power" badge that I've even seen on a Toyota Avensis...