New M3 owner issues?

[aabbaa1980]

Hello chaps,

I was wondering if any of you new M3 owners out there have had any issues with their cars... if so what?

Are they any repeating issues with the M3?

Thanks

A.

[MrBet]

Apart from bad panel fit and orange peel, that i've seen on a few cars. Nothing has gone wrong with mine.

There was a recall for something to do with movement in the exhaust system.

I also had to have 2 new ashtrays due to them keep sticking. Hardly a major issue.

[MC99]

orange peel is a repeated offender across BMW and certainly the same with M3s. Mine's been fine apart from a blown brake light bulb. I've yet to hear of repeated issues.

[squeezebm]

Just the normal fuel consumption issues;)

[aabbaa1980]

orange peel = as in paint peel right?

what mpgs are you chaps getting?

[KENZ]

Orange peel. dimpled paintwork due to thickness of paint and the paint drying process.

Some Z4's are bad for it to. Mine was fine though. Certain colours seem to have it worse. Seen a few in Interlagos Blue with it..

Edited by KENZ on Thursday 23 July 08:37

[MrBet]

19.7mpg, haven't reset the average mpg on the display for the last 3000 miles. Thats a mixture of motorway and country roads mainly.

[130R]

MrBet said:

19.7mpg, haven't reset the average mpg on the display for the last 3000 miles. Thats a mixture of motorway and country roads mainly.

That is better than the V10

[taffyracer]

i don't see what the big deal wiht the orange peel issue is, they all have them, values aren;t affected, ok it's not great but does it really make any difference.....NO......i wash mine about once every 6weeks so it makes no odds, if you're not happy with the finish don't buy one, seems simple enough

Good car but MPG is too low for my needs really, 20.1mpg over 29,000 miles in 1 year

[MC99]

taffyracer said:

i don't see what the big deal wiht the orange peel issue is, they all have them, values aren;t affected, ok it's not great but does it really make any difference.....NO......i wash mine about once every 6weeks so it makes no odds, if you're not happy with the finish don't buy one, seems simple enough

Good car but MPG is too low for my needs really, 20.1mpg over 29,000 miles in 1 year

Agree with taffy on the orange peel front, I will change my car at 24 months of ownership, so getting it sorted when I'll see none of that money back in p/ex etc is money wasted in my view. I'm average 20.4mpg with a contradiction of driving environments either: central london v heavy traffic or long schleps up north or down to the west country.

As mine's not a daily drive the MPG isn't an issue and m/way range is good enough for me.

[aabbaa1980]

i'll look out for the orange peel!

i am looking to hold the M3 for 3 years min. Buy at £35k, sell at £20k+ after 3 years... prob get an X5 after for £25k.. to fit the growing family and dog.

just want to enjoy myself in the M3 for a few years until i have to change!

[J-P]

aabbaa1980 said:

i'll look out for the orange peel!

i am looking to hold the M3 for 3 years min. Buy at £35k, sell at £20k+ after 3 years... prob get an X5 after for £25k.. to fit the growing family and dog.

just want to enjoy myself in the M3 for a few years until i have to change!

Orange peel can be resolved by experts such as KDS Keltec if it bugs you - I got mine done and it made a huge difference to the look of the car. I'm currently averaging 22MPG combination of blatting (no holds barred) on country lanes and motorway driving - no real city driving. No problems with it at all, got a fantastic deal from BMW Park Lane back in Feb - love the thing to bits - could do with better brakes though, I reckon they'd be useless on a track, OK on the road though.

[-Z-]

Only thing to have gone wrong so far is I've got a dodgy bonnet sensor that keeps telling me the bonnet is open!

[Overhaulin]

None so far. Fuel consumpton 24-26 on motorways 12-14 around town.

Tyres will be due in around 4k miles which I'm not looking forward too.











Edit due to usual rubbish spelling.

Edited by Overhaulin on Monday 20th July 20:26

[cammy71]

Car going in tomorrow for new DSC unit and re-programming of faulty steering wheel lock sensor which tells you to 'don't stop the engine in case it won't restart.

A year ago the DSC warning light came on and the garage were instructed to 'bleed the brakes' from BMW techies. A year on, repeat and new DSC unit. I did have one of the very first M3s so maybe that has a bearing.

Other than that awesome and better than previous e46 M3

[kds keltec]

KENZ said:

Orange peel. As in a dimpled affect due to thickness of paint and the paint drying process.

Some Z4's are bad for it to. Mine was fine though. Certain colours seem to have it worse. Seen a few in Interlagos Blue with it..

I have a E93 M3 in Interlagos Blue in for orange peel removal very soon , and must say when i viewed the customers car which is only weeks old did look to be the worst case of bad finish so far .

The funny thing is colour should not make any difference to the paint finish (even thou is seems to in BMW's case) , the lighter colours and heavy metallics just dont show on any car make as much as darker colours .
White and silver have hardly any reflection to the colour so its just harder to see the orange peel , just like its harder to see swirls and marks in whites and silvers .

The carbon / jerez black show every sin .

If everyone bought a white car i would be out of business

[kds keltec]

J-P said:

aabbaa1980 said:

i'll look out for the orange peel!

i am looking to hold the M3 for 3 years min. Buy at £35k, sell at £20k+ after 3 years... prob get an X5 after for £25k.. to fit the growing family and dog.

just want to enjoy myself in the M3 for a few years until i have to change!

Orange peel can be resolved by experts such as KDS Keltec if it bugs you - I got mine done and it made a huge difference to the look of the car.

Thanks J-P

Hope your cars looks stunning again ? could not stop to talk the other day i had worked to 2:30 in the morning the night before you came down i had a few hours sleep , and running round your car first thing buffing wax on and of your car was not the best

just for people who have not seen your car

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

[aabbaa1980]

how much does that wash/detailing stuff cost?? looks extensive!

[MrBet]

-Z- said:

Only thing to have gone wrong so far is I've got a dodgy bonnet sensor that keeps telling me the bonnet is open!

I bet thats down to the bad panel fit.

[aabbaa1980]

I am not really into extended warranties for cars but its something which is well recommended if you buy 911's.. many owners do it. Is it something which should be bought for the M3?

I am looking for a solid performance car.. which does not require huge amounts of money thrown at it.. hence i stayed away from the TVR T350.. would worry the hell out of me.

i been stepping up slowly in terms of cars... moved from an AX (first car), to a Cinquecento, to a megane coupe to a honda HRV... to the 225 TT coupe... to the S2000 and hopefully now to the BMW.. was looking at the 335i vs 335d remapping but with potential turbo blowing issues i though whats the point.. might as well get the M3 if i want proper performance.

I like that the new M3 is softer then the E46 M3.. its a cruiser if you want it to be but kicks rear when needed. It meets my needs!

Edited by aabbaa1980 on Tuesday 21st July 12:00