Search for E46 M3 SMG

[Muska]

I'm searching all the usual places, here, eBay, auto trader & M3 cutters.

I'm really struggling to find what I want having come into a position to buy just after a couple that were spot on have sold.

I'm after a 2003/4 coupe
Circa 80k
Sat Nav
Bluetooth
Heated leather
Tracker fitted
Excellent/good service history
Good make tyres

The above are musts and allow me up to £10.5k for the right car. I have no preference on colour but any extra options are a bonus and I could be swayed to a touch more cash for something great.

I thought someone might see one on their travels on another forum or perhaps point me to somewhere I've missed, or even considering selling themselves.

Thanks to the great advice on here I tried an smg coupe and knew it was for me and my immaculate Z4 is now sold, hence looking to buy ASAP.

Thanks in advance,

[Crusoe]

Unless you really need it I wouldn't worry about a tracker. Mine was only £25 a year more expensive to insure come renewal without one and saved the yearly fee, drain on the battery etc. so had mine deactivated. Should be plenty out there so just wait for the right one.

[Muska]

It seems I do as quotes without a tracker were coming out at neary double! I begrudge paying that at 30years of ago, 5yrs NCD, good postcode, garaged & 10k a year.

I can wait for the right car (or I'll never be happy!) I'm just trying another approach to unite me with it a little quicker.

[BalhamBadger]

Tracker made no difference whatsoever to mine, and I wasn't as good a proposition as you in terms of ncb etc. I did only go through confused.com though.

As someone said, don't rush into buying. Bide your time and wait for that cherished fully loaded example to come up, then move fast to secure it (I gave ht eseller of mine £500 deposit over the phone..). Worked for me anyway. You should be able to get a really nice one for your budget.

[Muska]

Thanks, it's reassuring to know I'm not aiming too low budget wise.

I've never been good at biding my time with cars, especially with the mrs on my back about using hers but I guess there is no better time to learn.

[BalhamBadger]

Not sure if it's on your list of criteria but you might want to look for one with less than 60k miles as you can take out the comprehensive warranty for ~£70/month at this point. Anything over 60k will cost you ~£170/month and even the comprehensive cover has more exclusions.

[TEKNOPUG]

Buy on condition, not mileage. You'll have a far wider choice of cars.

[Nedzilla]

BalhamBadger said:

Not sure if it's on your list of criteria but you might want to look for one with less than 60k miles as you can take out the comprehensive warranty for ~£70/month at this point. Anything over 60k will cost you ~£170/month and even the comprehensive cover has more exclusions.

£70 a month for a warranty on a car that you are only paying £10k for seems like a waste of money IMO.

[Muska]

Thanks, I would consider mileage higher if the price and service history are both good.

I won't be looking to take out the BMW warranty though.

I had a chat with the owner of a nice looking 2005 CS from auto trader, the car and price look good but the service history is too many oil services, first inspection 2 done 20k late because of this, then more oil services so no inspection 1 and out of sync for an inspection 2 now.

[BalhamBadger]

Nedzilla said:

£70 a month for a warranty on a car that you are only paying £10k for seems like a waste of money IMO.

Obviously it's dependent on how much risk you're comfortable with, but I'd be interested to know the thinking behind your opinion.

You're quite right that it's just a 10k car, and laying out the equivalent of ~10% of the value each year "just in case" might not be the best use of funds but with what is quite a highly-strung engine and stressed drivetrain I'm happy to have the peace of mind.

[Nedzilla]

BalhamBadger said:

Nedzilla said:

£70 a month for a warranty on a car that you are only paying £10k for seems like a waste of money IMO.

Obviously it's dependent on how much risk you're comfortable with, but I'd be interested to know the thinking behind your opinion.

You're quite right that it's just a 10k car, and laying out the equivalent of ~10% of the value each year "just in case" might not be the best use of funds but with what is quite a highly-strung engine and stressed drivetrain I'm happy to have the peace of mind.

Ive never been a fan of warrantys TBH as I always get the impression they will try and wriggle their way out of a claim if they can.Secondly,and this is just from my own personal experience,I owned an E 46 M3 convertible for 5 years and 38k miles and other than wear and tear items I never had a single problem with it.
£70 a month over 5 years wouldve been a fair chunk of dosh on a car that was pretty expensive to run(just over £1 per mile,£39k in total to run the car!) in the first place.



Im not sure exactly what a warranty would cover on one of these but im sure it wouldn't be ware&tear items and as far as I am aware engine,gearbox and diff failures are pretty rare.

The main concerns now they are getting old are headgaskets,smg problems and cracks in the boot floor.The first two,if not covered could each be fixed for the price of a years warranty and as for the latter,despite the scaremongering,according to the indy I used for 5 yrs youve got more chance of finding unicorn st in the boot of your car!

I bought mine At £25k and didn't bother with a warranty then and im glad I didnt as it wouldve been a lot of money wasted.

Great cars and unbelievable value for money right now.Buy a good one and save the money you would spend on a warranty 'just in case'.Chances are you will never have to use it.

Others may think differently,but thats my 'thinking behind the option'.

[IATM]

don't pass by a good car for the sake of a tracker, your budget for type of car is very reasonable.

just get a tracker fitted -

http://www.stolencartracking.co.uk/sctcat/index.ph...

160 cost inc instal
99 quid for subscription

I did on my ML and insurance company etc were more than happy with the docs etc.

[BalhamBadger]

Nedzilla said:

Ive never been a fan of warrantys TBH as I always get the impression they will try and wriggle their way out of a claim if they can.Secondly,and this is just from my own personal experience,I owned an E 46 M3 convertible for 5 years and 38k miles and other than wear and tear items I never had a single problem with it.
£70 a month over 5 years wouldve been a fair chunk of dosh on a car that was pretty expensive to run(just over £1 per mile,£39k in total to run the car!) in the first place.



Im not sure exactly what a warranty would cover on one of these but im sure it wouldn't be ware&tear items and as far as I am aware engine,gearbox and diff failures are pretty rare.

The main concerns now they are getting old are headgaskets,smg problems and cracks in the boot floor.The first two,if not covered could each be fixed for the price of a years warranty and as for the latter,despite the scaremongering,according to the indy I used for 5 yrs youve got more chance of finding unicorn st in the boot of your car!

I bought mine At £25k and didn't bother with a warranty then and im glad I didnt as it wouldve been a lot of money wasted.

Great cars and unbelievable value for money right now.Buy a good one and save the money you would spend on a warranty 'just in case'.Chances are you will never have to use it.

Others may think differently,but thats my 'thinking behind the option'.

Thanks, lots of food for thought there.

[donz29]

I might be interested in selling mine - Sept 04, silver grey, bought last year with 78k, now showing 97k - fsh (bmw until insp 2 last month done at specialist), spec same as you're looking for - pm me through prof if you'd like more info.

[Muska]

Hi,

I've had a couple of good offers I'm looking into at te minute, rather than take another on I'll follow these up and if none end up fitting the bill I'll be in touch.

Thanks to all who have emailed me, very much appreciated.

The cars offered on here are by far the best examples I have seen out there at the minute.

[donz29]

No worries. If nothing comes to fruition feel free to drop me a line .

[DennisCooper]

H, Muska,

Firstly, good luck with your search and 'hopefully' a car with all you want does come up shortly and for the right price etc.

There's also a good chance that car won't turn up!

I'm just taking the view that some of the 'musts' when looked at logically perhaps aren't as 'important' as you (and others) make themm out to be.

Circa 80k - So, looking for a low mileage car, they do exist of course, but ask yourself why are the miles low and that means the car has stood around unused for various periods. Are all the perishable items in good condition as a result? have they been changed etc? if not, you are potentially looking at those items needing replacing soon, probably at considerable cost, seals, rubbers, oily bits etc etc.
Sat Nav - These systems back in 2001'ish were way ahead of their time. Now they're way behind the time. The overwhelming reason enthusiasts want this setup is for the 'oem' looks in the dash. When working, the GPS is ok, many people upgrade to the Mk4 GPS computer as it has faster processing power, you are looking at £400 or so for one of those. Bluetooth, found mainly on later cars and can be retrofitted I believe, perhaps £275 ish for everything? (plus fitting charges if you don't have DIY skills) issue here is, the Bluetooth electronics are from 5+ years ago, and it 'could' be possible that future handsets just won't connect properly with the unit. Cassette as a format is dead, some E46 monitors do have a CD player, but that's also a dying format as more people move to digital files and the popular ipod. If you want an OEM to iPod adaptor solution, then perhaps £275 + any fitting charges (get the Intravee 2 setup as it also has many more functions ) - on top of all that, various modules are failing more often, requiring substantial money to repair or replace with similarly aged equipment.
Bluetooth - as per above
Heated leather - Good quality heated seat kits can be retrofitted by reputable quality automotive re-trim specialists. The current kits are more efficient as well.
Tracker fitted - As per prior post, easily fitted by an alarm and security specialist.
Excellent/good service history - The most important bit out of all your 'must haves'! the condition of the potential car is where you need to place the most attention and requirements
Good make tyres - Easily changed at any tyre centre.

In short, I'd say look for a well maintained example, one with evidence it's been looked after and presents less of a risk to go wrong after you purchase it. All the toys can be fitted later as funds allow and it'd be ludicrous to reject a potential excellent car because it hasn't got a tracker or the GPS system fitted.

Good luck once again!

Cheers, Dennis!

[SPORTSTER]

You didnt say whether u wanted Manual or SMG, EDIT - just seen it now.

At 10.5 you will be able to find that spec, more id say in SMG guise.
There loads of SMGs out there compared to manuals

Be lucky...

[jazzdude]

Sorry, off topic

A kit was mentioned above for heated seats, do you have any more details about where to get them?

I know you can get the loom and switches but the heating elements?

[jazzdude]

Sorry, off topic

A kit was mentioned above for heated seats, do you have any more details about where to get them?

I know you can get the loom and switches but the heating elements?