looking to buy e46 m3 - advice please

[torqueofthedevil]

hi everyone,

right - after years of wanting an impreza ive decided it is not the right car for me. I currently have an e46 330d and i couldnt really wish for a better car, there have been no major faults with it in 2 years (touch wood - more of that in my next thread) and it seems a shame to sell it. However, i would like something a bit faster really. also, i already have an e46 but a good m3 looks sufficiently different fo me to get over that.

so - what should i be looking for - good bits / bad bits. dont mind slightly higher milage as i know they are so well built but would like the newer 04 on model with led rear lights, have around 15k to spend. Gotta be a coupe not convertible.

id imagine maybe 04 plate, 19'' alloys, 70k ?

PLUS - what colours can you get them in? Can you get that deep plum colour that ive seen on some of the new e46's? what is that called?

[NickXX]

I made exactly the same jump as you last month. Sold my 330d Sport which had been great for 3.5years and 43,000 miles. Was reluctant to sell and didn't put much effort into it, but ended up getting a lot of interest in it. Seemed a shame to sell such a good car.

I bought a 53-plate M3 SMG and love it to bits. Perfect step up from the 330d and feels a hell of a lot quicker. As good as the 330d is/was, I was worried it would be more of the same, but it's a completely different driving experience to me - probably helped by the SMG gearbox (330d was manual) and an ACS exhaust.

My desired spec was as follows:

M3

Must have/be:
Black or Silver Grey paint
16:9 Navigation
SMG gearbox
Red/Orange/Lime green/Cream leather interior
Harmon Kardon

Should have/be:
Sunroof if coupe
Facelift (LED rear lights)
19" alloys
Under £14,000
Under 60,000 miles

Can be:
Coupe
Cabrio

I am certain I made the right choice with the SMG box, but it seems to be a love/hate thing. For me, it HAD to have it. I was lucky enough to get one with a warranty - do note however if you are aiming to renew the BMW AUC warranty (if you find one with it), there is a big price hike at 60,000 miles - and it cannot be renewed over 100,000.

I wanted a subtle colour on the outside (had to be Black or Gunmetal grey) yet a silly interior (I got red in the end which I love).

Facelift happened mid-2003 - pretty much only LED rear lights are of note from this.

Not a huge amount goes wrong with these, but when it does you're almost certainly looking at a big bill - so make sure it has been looked after.

[torqueofthedevil]

hey cheers for that. sounds exactly the same as what im looking at doing re worrying about selling a perfect car. great to hear that it was a good move. Another thing i was a bit worried about and i know its stupid, is that because ive had such a torquey car i was worried it would feel slow if i wasnt hammering it all the time, ive convinced myself that the only petrol cars that wont suffer this are turbo'd jap cars! so i take it you havent missed the low down torque?!?

never driven one! im gonna try arrange a test drive now! the spec you listed is what i want, apart from colour wise i already have dark blue, so considering imola red, the plum colour, grey or maybe black. I want black interior.

i do a lot of motorway miles so smg will prob be for me. but i dont like them when really giving a car some, wouldnt wanna go on a track in my 330d with its auto box, it wont change down if you're going a bit to fast, bit unerving when you're flying into a corner looking for 3rd and it debates it for 10 minutes then decides to stay in fourth!

[NickXX]

torqueofthedevil said:

hey cheers for that. sounds exactly the same as what im looking at doing re worrying about selling a perfect car. great to hear that it was a good move. Another thing i was a bit worried about and i know its stupid, is that because ive had such a torquey car i was worried it would feel slow if i wasnt hammering it all the time, ive convinced myself that the only petrol cars that wont suffer this are turbo'd jap cars! so i take it you havent missed the low down torque?!?

never driven one! im gonna try arrange a test drive now! the spec you listed is what i want, apart from colour wise i already have dark blue, so considering imola red, the plum colour, grey or maybe black. I want black interior.

i do a lot of motorway miles so smg will prob be for me. but i dont like them when really giving a car some, wouldnt wanna go on a track in my 330d with its auto box, it wont change down if you're going a bit to fast, bit unerving when you're flying into a corner looking for 3rd and it debates it for 10 minutes then decides to stay in fourth!

I was convinced of the same. The S54 engine is pretty torquey still though - so I don't miss it at all. It works best when pushed high up the rev range, but is still happy low down around town.

The 'fun' colours are Imola Red (gorgeous - someone on PH has one, will post a photo later), Estoril Blue (light metallic blue), Phoenix Yellow (light metallic yellow), Laguna Seca Blue (Smurf blue - will post later). My choice would be Imola Red or Estoril blue with black leather if I went for a funky exterior.

The SMG box does not change up for you, and will only change down if the engine is about to stall due to being in a high gear. You could sit on the rev limiter all day long without it changing up if you really wanted to. It is a proper manual box (in fact the same box as found in the manual car), just with a computer controlled clutch. Downshifts are fun with the rev matching .

[torqueofthedevil]

NickXX said:

[The 'fun' colours are Imola Red (gorgeous - someone on PH has one, will post a photo later), Estoril Blue (light metallic blue), Phoenix Yellow (light metallic yellow), Laguna Seca Blue (Smurf blue - will post later). My choice would be Imola Red or Estoril blue with black leather if I went for a funky exterior.

yeah if you could post pics thatd be great.

The SMG box does not change up for you, and will only change down if the engine is about to stall due to being in a high gear. You could sit on the rev limiter all day long without it changing up if you really wanted to. It is a proper manual box (in fact the same box as found in the manual car), just with a computer controlled clutch. Downshifts are fun with the rev matching .

ok - probably going to sound stupid here - but when you say its the proper manual box - when you operate it in tiptronic does that mean you aftual move the gear stick around like in a manual or just back and forth?

you got a good deal on your car - im gonna look for a good deal and try not get the first i see, milage seems to fluctuate big time. gonna try get one more around the 40k mark now for my budget.

[NickXX]

torqueofthedevil said:

ok - probably going to sound stupid here - but when you say its the proper manual box - when you operate it in tiptronic does that mean you aftual move the gear stick around like in a manual or just back and forth?

you got a good deal on your car - im gonna look for a good deal and try not get the first i see, milage seems to fluctuate big time. gonna try get one more around the 40k mark now for my budget.

The stick moves back and forth - I just use the paddles though (both do the same thing).

My advice is to write up a list of what you must have and what you would like and stick firmly to it. There are loads of M3s out there, so the right one will come along.