Looking For An E 46 M 3

[neutral 3]

Been looking for a D D M 3 for myself and my partner, to releive the boredom while the Griff is in hibernation till May.
i have Viewed a quite a few over the last 2 weeks and its very obvious that few owners can afford or can be bothered to maintain them properly , all needed various jobs doing inc brakes front and rear. Which at circa £850 isn't cheap . These cars eat their discs.

Drove an SMG, but hated it, so it has to be a manual.
One neglected but honest car i quite liked but I decided that i just couldn't live with Silver and it was a low spec very high miles car with a radio cassete and without Sat Nav. The brakes were completely shot. The Boot had water in it, kiwi colored leather was worn and faded and the top end was tappety.

Ideally I would like an 02 or 03 car in Grey with Red leather, but it apears that the Grey ones only came with a black interior. I would also consider a black car.
However, I don't mind sourcing a Red interior from a breakers.

I Don't mind a car that needs work or tlc, so if anyone has one they want to sell please PM me.

[Stingercut]

Post a wanted on M3cutters, a site for enthusiasts who really look after their cars. Surely you must know that 02/03 cars may have subframe crack issues. Therefore buy one that has been checked or repaired by BMW goodwill or by a specialist. Discs last a long time 30k + miles in my experience as long as you don't track/rag it regularly.
You make some valid points, so who you buy from is as important as the car itself. Fabulous cars - Good luck

[FamilyDub]

neutral 3 said:

Ideally I would like an 02 or 03 car in Grey with Red leather, but it apears that the Grey ones only came with a black interior.

Why do you think this? ^^

If you search the PH classifieds both the 1st & 3rd result with 'grey' & 'manual' has a red leather interior...

'53 Plate

'04 Plate

[Rahul uk]

Stingercut said:

Surely you must know that 02/03 cars may have subframe crack issues.

I was under the impression that sub frame crack issues were not limited to any production year in particular.

[mmm-five]

It's not the cars that eat the discs, it's the owners driving it like they stole it

Mine (on a Z4M) last about 40k miles - including 'Ring trips.

[Babw]

Stingercut said:

Post a wanted on M3cutters, a site for enthusiasts who really look after their cars.

Great cars but beware of M3cutters. A lot of owners on there are enthusiastic but more about fitting CSL replica alloys and smoking their headlights. In your position I'd be much more inclined to buy a standard car with transparent history i.e not had a hoard of modifications and then just been put back to standard before the sale.

If you don't mind paying a premium, there're still some available at dealers or a more rare private car with a dealer warranty. The main bits are reliable but they can have quite regular niggles which on mine have all been sorted under warranty (steering rack, throttle actuator, trailing arms, power folding mirrors etc).

[F8OOL]

I have a e46 M3 vert for sale at £8500

The pads, discs and tires only have a few hundred miles put on them since I have had them fitted, all to OEM spec/parts

Inspection 2 just carried out and car is what I'd describe as near perfect.

If you want a link to the ad, here it is : (Watford, Hertfordshire)

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?p=909...

[Stingercut]

Rahul uk said:

I was under the impression that sub frame crack issues were not limited to any production year in particular.

Correct. I only flagged it up as any 02/3 cars are likely to fall outside BMWs 10yr goodwill repair window soon.

The car for sale above is mint. Whilst its true some of the cars on M3cutters have had minor mods as you mention ( yes some expensive mods put back prior to sale), the fact that members really cherish their cars and are prepared to spend maintaining them in top cond, partly due to forum peer pressure, should be a strong buy signal for any potential purchaser. Or take you chances on a car that's quite possibly been clocked, spent months on a forecourt, barely turning over and hiding expensive repairs that will likely fall due outside the dealer's warranty expiry date.

Edited by Stingercut on Wednesday 5th December 19:52

[Nedzilla]

mmm-five said:

It's not the cars that eat the discs, it's the owners driving it like they stole it

Mine (on a Z4M) last about 40k miles - including 'Ring trips.

I got over 30k miles out of a set of front pads and discs on my old E 46 M3 cab.Hardly what you'd call eating them.

[shibby!]

Everything is for sale at the right price


Check out m3cutters as has been mentioned, plenty around right now and a buyers market means you can hold out for what you REALLY want.

But then if you are as impulsive as me you might not! hahaha

I wanted 2003 Laguna Seca, not blue interior, and a manual.

I bought 2002 Black, SMG, Cream interior.


There have been some real good ones on cutters come up recenlty, although i think its quite slow right now, maybe time of year.

[neutral 3]

Thanks for all the replys, much appreciated.

I have found one at last,after a lot of searching, in my perfect color and one that i havnt seen before on an M3.
I knew as soon as i pulled up that i had found my ideal M3 and just cant wait to collect.

What upgrades are available ?
Im thinking Bilsteins, a performance exhaust, as they are a bit lacking in the noise dept compared to a TVR.
Also can the Optional Sat Nav be retro fitted ? Or is the dash different ?

[BalhamBadger]

What colour is it?

[MikeM3Power]

In regards to fitting a sat nav unit take a look at these.

Cannot not vouch for the quality but it seems good.
http://www.car-vision.co.uk/235-bmw-navi-dvd