Discussion
I'm about to purchase a 2004 E46 M3. This has been my dream car for as long as I remember & I'm now in a position to buy one.
I've found the car, it's an 04 SMG Coupe that's in fantastic condition with 38000 on the clock, a full service history & only 2 previous owners. The asking price is £15000
Just wanted some opinions from other M3 owners, is this a lot of money to spend on a ten year old car? I've been told by a few friends to go for a newer, obviously more expensive E90 M3?
I've found the car, it's an 04 SMG Coupe that's in fantastic condition with 38000 on the clock, a full service history & only 2 previous owners. The asking price is £15000
Just wanted some opinions from other M3 owners, is this a lot of money to spend on a ten year old car? I've been told by a few friends to go for a newer, obviously more expensive E90 M3?
I'm pretty sure Nick Johnson comes with a good rep for M3's but they do tend to be pricy, might be worth a post on M3 cutters
Also, mine was advertised at £14999 but got them down to £13k
Is it the blue with champagne? interior, if so looks nice but that interior will be a nightmare to keep clean, I speak from experience
Also, mine was advertised at £14999 but got them down to £13k
Is it the blue with champagne? interior, if so looks nice but that interior will be a nightmare to keep clean, I speak from experience
Edited by Stone Cold on Thursday 29th May 20:21
MarkJT82 said:
No, mate. The car I've seen is at a traders called Nick Johnson motor co. There's an optional bmw backed warranty available with the M3. Would you advise against buying from a trader?
This one?http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/classifieds/used-cars...
Looks lovely! Having had a look the price seems OK.
Nice car.
Yes mate, that's the one. I fell in love with it & the low mileage really peaked my interest. It's going to be a 2nd car, weekends mainly as I have a Discovery for work. So hopefully it won't get too dirty inside.
I did go to a main dealership, Sytner in Solihull West Midlands. But to be honest they weren't very helpful. The dealer kept telling me to put my trust in them & never to buy from a trader. He never even gave me a ring back to say whether or not he'd found an e46 m3 after he promised he would.
I did go to a main dealership, Sytner in Solihull West Midlands. But to be honest they weren't very helpful. The dealer kept telling me to put my trust in them & never to buy from a trader. He never even gave me a ring back to say whether or not he'd found an e46 m3 after he promised he would.
Waaaay too expensive. I paid a fraction of that for a 2004. And i would go for a manual car too. Thats CS money.
And yes, there are some very good independent dealers out there, not all are cowboys.
Get yourself on M3 Cutters, some very nice well look after cars on there and someone all ways needs to sell.
And yes, there are some very good independent dealers out there, not all are cowboys.
Get yourself on M3 Cutters, some very nice well look after cars on there and someone all ways needs to sell.
As above, that's a bit pricy.
For that money I'd expect it to have just had an Inspection 2 service, have new tyres & discs / pads all round and have had the subframe panel replaced or reinforced at the least.
I note they're making a big deal of the paint colour in the ad, probaly to justify the price. It may be an individual but it doesn't look that far away from mine which is Mystic Blue (pic in profile) which is fairly common.
As a point of reference have a look at the ad below:
http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102...
For that money I'd expect it to have just had an Inspection 2 service, have new tyres & discs / pads all round and have had the subframe panel replaced or reinforced at the least.
I note they're making a big deal of the paint colour in the ad, probaly to justify the price. It may be an individual but it doesn't look that far away from mine which is Mystic Blue (pic in profile) which is fairly common.
As a point of reference have a look at the ad below:
http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102...
Edited by HerrSchnell on Thursday 29th May 21:10
I've had a quick scout on the PH classifieds and it doesn't look to bad price wise for 38k miles, the thing that sells it to me is the interior looks stunning.
Go drive it and try and haggle at a price your happy with as that's all that matters, M3's can have pretty boring interiors so I can understand why one with low miles and a lovely interior would be more expensive.
Go drive it and try and haggle at a price your happy with as that's all that matters, M3's can have pretty boring interiors so I can understand why one with low miles and a lovely interior would be more expensive.
HerrSchnell said:
As above, that's a bit pricy.
For that money I'd expect it to have just had an Inspection 2 service, have new tyres & discs / pads all round and have had the subframe panel replaced or reinforced at the least.
I note they're making a big deal of the paint colour in the ad, probaly to justify the price. It may be an individual but it doesn't look that far away from mine which is Mystic Blue (pic in profile) which is fairly common.
As a point of reference have a look at the ad below:
http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102...
Pre face lift model, 30% more miles, 1-2 years older (52 vs. 54 plate) 18" wheels + private sale for just 3k less with the usual boring black interior. For that money I'd expect it to have just had an Inspection 2 service, have new tyres & discs / pads all round and have had the subframe panel replaced or reinforced at the least.
I note they're making a big deal of the paint colour in the ad, probaly to justify the price. It may be an individual but it doesn't look that far away from mine which is Mystic Blue (pic in profile) which is fairly common.
As a point of reference have a look at the ad below:
http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102...
Edited by HerrSchnell on Thursday 29th May 21:10
I think that makes the Nick Johnson car look right price wise.
Individual BMW's hold their money better as time goes on as well.
Edited by Wills2 on Thursday 29th May 21:32
I've bought a car from Nick and he was great to do business with, very fair trader.
You may find that the inspection 2 service was done by Oxford BMW at Nicks request so you may be alright there.
Check the running in service was done at the correct time is my only advice.
You may find that the inspection 2 service was done by Oxford BMW at Nicks request so you may be alright there.
Check the running in service was done at the correct time is my only advice.
Edited by thatsprettyshady on Thursday 29th May 21:34
thatsprettyshady said:
I've bought a car from nice and he was great to do business with, very fair trader.
You may find that the inspection 2 service was done by Oxford BMW at Nicks request so you may be alright there.
Check the running in service was done at the correct time is my only advice.
Thanks mate. That's made me feel more at ease. I've had a few people tell me Nick Johnson is a fair bloke.You may find that the inspection 2 service was done by Oxford BMW at Nicks request so you may be alright there.
Check the running in service was done at the correct time is my only advice.
I think it's priced about right if you want an Smg.
The extended leather is rare and it lifts the interior.
I sold my 53 plate manual car in January privately for 11k. It sold within a week.
It was original and mint with full dealer history in silver grey with heated black leather, sunroof, nav TV and I'd just had the boot floor replaced under warranty.
I'd say this is worth the extra for the spec, low miles and that it's at a respected dealer.
This car has been discussed on another thread recently somewhere else but I forget where...
As I say IF you want an SMG then I think it's a lovely car.
I'd be checking what the build date was and getting the boot floor checked ASAP though. It's probably fine with that low a mileage but if it's more than 10 years old you will have a harder time getting BMW to do it under 'goodwill'...
The extended leather is rare and it lifts the interior.
I sold my 53 plate manual car in January privately for 11k. It sold within a week.
It was original and mint with full dealer history in silver grey with heated black leather, sunroof, nav TV and I'd just had the boot floor replaced under warranty.
I'd say this is worth the extra for the spec, low miles and that it's at a respected dealer.
This car has been discussed on another thread recently somewhere else but I forget where...
As I say IF you want an SMG then I think it's a lovely car.
I'd be checking what the build date was and getting the boot floor checked ASAP though. It's probably fine with that low a mileage but if it's more than 10 years old you will have a harder time getting BMW to do it under 'goodwill'...
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