e46 M3 mileage (120,000)

[NickXX]

Hi all,

I'm after an e46 M3 SMG and a 2005 model with 120k on the clock has caught my eye. I've driven an e46 330d for the last 3 and a half years taking the mileage from 97-140k with no issues whatsoever, so I'm confident in the e46 generally. How well does the S54 and the SMG2 transmission cope with high mileage?

Many thanks,

Nick

[mat205125]

That is a huge mileage to cover in such a short amount of time for an M car.

If the car has been a company MD car, and maintained fully by a main dealer it might be a good buy.

Bare in mind that in x years, and y thousand more miles the car may be difficult to shift on, and the price must reflect this.

M

[M3RMS]

There's a couple of guys on mtorque.co.uk with some right high milers.

One of the guys (IanM3) definitely passed the ton but I think his engine then blew up (albeit he'd done some work to it from memory)! Have a look on their boards and get some feedback.

Cheers
RS

[oola]

I don't think you will have too many issues with a car of that age. In 4 years, its a lot of miles but as above, if serviced and maintained then should be fine. Its probably been sat on the motorway at constant speeds rather than up and down the gearbox and revs all the time which must be better for engine and gearbox.

[djohnson]

Whilst I don't think you'd have many issues with it given that there are loads of E46 M3s available for not much money why bother with one that's got massive miles on it?

[gizlaroc]

I agree.

I would buy a 2002 with 60k over a 2005 with 120k miles.

2 years down the road that is going to be a 160k mile M3 and worth nothing, maybe £4-5k? So it would have to be around £9-10k now for it to make any sense at all imho, and that is if it has SMG, 19s and nav.

There has been some nice 2003 cars with the options and 60k on them for £12k, far more sense.

The M3 is one of the few cars where condition and mileage matter far more than year.

[NickXX]

Thanks guys, I'll go back to my 53 plate, 50-60k, £13-14k idea. With regards to warranties, is Warranty Direct still a good choice here?

[Mitch72]

Hello mate,not long had my M3 & my research told me to steer clear of SMG,that was advice off a pal at BMW

[f13ldy]

NickXX said:

Thanks guys, I'll go back to my 53 plate, 50-60k, £13-14k idea. With regards to warranties, is Warranty Direct still a good choice here?

Email me via my profile, I may have something you are looking for...

[sjj84]

Mitch72 said:

Hello mate,not long had my M3 & my research told me to steer clear of SMG,that was advice off a pal at BMW

What were the reasons for this?

[AngryApples]

sjj84 said:

Mitch72 said:

Hello mate,not long had my M3 & my research told me to steer clear of SMG,that was advice off a pal at BMW

Horses for courses, there is no reason on gods green earth purely on reliability etc not to go for SMG over manual

If you look at the mechanics of the system you will understand it all better

I also did months of research on this subject and having witnessed a 5 year old, 168,000 mile SMG that had never skipped a beat and also had a ex BMW (now indy) Master Tech tell me theres nothing to worry about I went for SMG

[gizlaroc]

There is one more part to go wrong with the SMG really, the smg pump, make of that what you will.

Worse case an indy will replace it for a few hundred quid.

No way I would want a manual to save the 'might' go wrong situation.

Also you are more likely to need a new clutch at some point with a manual, which costs as much or more.

[djohnson]

I doubt the risk of big bills is that much more significant with the SMG.

The choice between manual and SMG on a E46 M3 comes down to whether you like the SMG or not it's a bit of an acquired taste.