£15,000-£20,000 - E46 M3 - A good choice?

[PompeyPaul]

Hi all,

Looking for my next car. Will be making the purchase within the next 3 weeks.

Practicality not an issue (2 seats are fine) but WILL be a daily and needs to be very reliable.

I want something fast, special and good looking. As long as I am circa 20MPG combined that's fine - be doing around 1,000 a month.

I have been considering things such as a Porsche 996, and then I suddenly thought... What about a mint E46 M3? What are peoples views on them these days? Do higher price ones have much further to drop value wise (without a crstal ball hard to tell I know, just thoughts)

Also the converibles if I went that way - are they well insulated?

I have read about the Z4m abd Z4C but for whatever reason they don;t seem to have the same cult following.

Any advice / thoughts from current and previous owners kindly received.

[SPORTSTER]

Wouldn’t spend 20k on a e46 m3, unless its a low mileage CS, if you have another 5k you can possibly get into CSL ownership, for that money you can get a e92 v8..

[Shaoxter]

Unless you're looking at a CS, £15-20k is really very pricey for a vanilla E46 M3 and you'd almost certainly lose a lot of money on it putting 12k miles pa on it. You can get an E92 M3 for that budget.

If you don't need the practicality I think you should consider the Z4MC - rarer, much better looking (IMO) and probably more fun.

[nitrodave]

I nearly got an e46 m3 this weekend. We've had them in the family and I really do love them, but then I went to see a real nice e92 330i M Sport and had to have it.

It's leagues ahead in refinement and really not that far off in performance. Sure, it doesn't have LSD and ultimate nimble handling, but for a daily user I prefer the e92 as it is so much better engineered and more refined.

[SPORTSTER]

nitrodave said:

I nearly got an e46 m3 this weekend. We've had them in the family and I really do love them, but then I went to see a real nice e92 330i M Sport and had to have it.

It's leagues ahead in refinement and really not that far off in performance. Sure, it doesn't have LSD and ultimate nimble handling, but for a daily user I prefer the e92 as it is so much better engineered and more refined.

Yeah the 330 sport models are lovely, I prefer them in the saloon guise, they are the perfect cruiser car on the motorway, and have to say they can keep up with a lot of modern cars.

Have had many in the e46 shape and still have my 330ci msport too

[PompeyPaul]

Thanks for the responses guys. I will check out the Z4m/c also.

[Panthro]

Unless it's a CS, don't spent £15k+ on an M3. You can pick up some extremely well cared for 2005 models for under £15k.

nitrodave said:

I nearly got an e46 m3 this weekend. We've had them in the family and I really do love them, but then I went to see a real nice e92 330i M Sport and had to have it.

It's leagues ahead in refinement and really not that far off in performance. Sure, it doesn't have LSD and ultimate nimble handling, but for a daily user I prefer the e92 as it is so much better engineered and more refined.

I went from an E46 M3 to an E92 M3 and found the E92 build quality severely lacking in the interior. So many rattles and lose bits of trim everywhere. The E46 was far more solid.

[nitrodave]

Panthro said:

Unless it's a CS, don't spent £15k+ on an M3. You can pick up some extremely well cared for 2005 models for under £15k.

nitrodave said:

I nearly got an e46 m3 this weekend. We've had them in the family and I really do love them, but then I went to see a real nice e92 330i M Sport and had to have it.

It's leagues ahead in refinement and really not that far off in performance. Sure, it doesn't have LSD and ultimate nimble handling, but for a daily user I prefer the e92 as it is so much better engineered and more refined.

I went from an E46 M3 to an E92 M3 and found the E92 build quality severely lacking in the interior. So many rattles and lose bits of trim everywhere. The E46 was far more solid.

hmmmmm i had a very different experience, although i went from an e46 convertible which made all sorts of noises. They are very well built, but after 150k miles the gearbox whined like an old austin metro and the window rubbers had perished meaning loads of road noise after 60mph.

By contrast the e92 i now have doesn't make a single sound and feels leagues ahead in build quality.

[Gruber]

PompeyPaul said:

Thanks for the responses guys. I will check out the Z4m/c also.

Having owned both a Z4MC and an e46 M3 CS, I'd choose the CS but it's a close call.

The Z feels more "special", but the CS sounded better, was more comfortable for cross-continent cruising, and was more predictable on the limit (for a cack-handed ham-fisted moron like me, anyway...).

Both were great cars though.

[John Laverick]

I wouldn't spend more than £10k on a vanilla E46 M3 personally.

[SPORTSTER]

John Laverick said:

I wouldn't spend more than £10k on a vanilla E46 M3 personally.

Yep agree, prices are still falling

Edited by SPORTSTER on Thursday 9th April 09:21

[Gruber]

SPORTSTER said:

Yep agree, prices are still falling

I'm not sure that's true of the whole market. Ropey, modified, high mileage cars are getting cheaper as they get even ropier and leggier. But low-ish mileage, unmolested cars are on the up.

I guess it depends where in the market you've set your sights.

[GregorFuk]

SPORTSTER said:

if you have another 5k you can possibly get into CSL ownership,

Possibly.....possibly. But with GT3s having gone through the roof CSLs are looking like the next best thing that the average man can get their hands on. And that can have only one effect on prices....... Move quick if you can find one at all.

[SPORTSTER]

GregorFuk said:

Possibly.....possibly. But with GT3s having gone through the roof CSLs are looking like the next best thing that the average man can get their hands on. And that can have only one effect on prices....... Move quick if you can find one at all.

haha that's why I bought mine 6 years ago

[SPORTSTER]

Gruber said:

I'm not sure that's true of the whole market. Ropey, modified, high mileage cars are getting cheaper as they get even ropier and leggier. But low-ish mileage, unmolested cars are on the up.

I guess it depends where in the market you've set your sights.

Yes I agree but the prices are all over the place, they have fallen into that bracket where people think they can afford it but realise its running costs are different from there 325ci.

The good ones are commanding strong money at present.

[stef1808]

i would assume a new engine is around 3k or so, with that said - my advice would by to buy a higher millage one for around 8k, budget for repairs (hopefully not) and enjoy the car.
also include a csl replica bootlid in carbon - too sexy

[zainster]

Have to agree with whats already been said, too much for an E46 M3.
Perhaps a low mileage CS or Z4M but I wouldn't look to spend £20k though on either.

E90/92 should be in your budget, especially manual ones and possibly DCT ones too - this would make an excellent choice imho.

[billywhizzzzzz]

I had similar brief and went down the £16750 ultra mint low mileage approved used Z4M route and haven't regretted it. I've had M3s in the past and they felt nowhere as special as the Z to drive or to own. If you do 12000 miles a year in the M3 it will depreciate fast. If you want an M3 I'd spend no more than £10000 and use it like it is supposed to be. FWIW I think Z4Ms have far more of a cult following and are definitely less likely to depreciate. For 20k or just more I'd also be looking at a 997 (not 996) but be wary of cost to run and IMS and bore scoring. £26k is going rate for a 997 with a rebuilt engine. Or for sub £20k, an immaculate late 987 Boxster S would be a good call.

[2.5pi]

I bought an E46 M3 convertible very recently from a bmw dealer , I wanted a car still under warranty/ AUC warranty as Vanos issues can be costly and I wanted a car less than 10 years old so still eligible for boot floor repairs under BMW goodwill.

Clean lowish mileage unmolested cars are selling strongly with prices on the up, I missed out on a few and only got the car I found because the dealer hadn't put it on the web and had sold the car I rang up on.

I'm delighted and think if I look after it as I would my firstborn I reckon on a 10 year view I'll be 50 percent up and a have a bllast along the way.

PS I went manual as you could get very fed up if even half the SMG sob stories are any guide

[dvshannow]

I would not buy another porsche but they are technically good... Would consider the Cayman s before the 996 if you have not already looked at that option