Looking to buy E46 M3.

[Ed FM]

For the past week or so I have been on the hunt for an E46 M3. I am quite picky on the spec I am after and am not having a great deal of luck in the classifieds and autotrader. Are there any BMW specific forums that I should be visiting?
I have been ignoring the SMG models but on reading some of the posts on here I will give it a chance and try and test drive one this weekend. I would ideally like to buy one of a private seller and not a garage. I always prefer to meet and speak to the last owner.
My final worry is the current prices compared to what they were fetching maybe 12 months ago. Perhaps it was more a case of them being artificially low then and not being artificially high at present? Any thoughts or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Ed.

[MattOz]

Ed,

What's your budget and preferred colour/spec/age etc. Would be a good starting point. Coupe or Cab?

Matt

[Ed FM]

Ok here goes;

53 plate or later, facelift model
65k miles or less
Manual (but as mentioned above i've not tried the SMG box yet)
FSH ideally with inspection 2 carried out already
Prefer black or silver grey but am open to considering other colours except Yellow
19" wheels
HK stereo upgrade.
Coupe preferred but wouldn't totally rule out cabriolet especially if it comes with hardtop

ETA Budget up to 15k

Edited by Ed FM on Thursday 5th November 18:34

[jbaddeley]

That spec should be easily achievable with that budget. Ensure you buy a quality warranty though with BMW, Warranty Direct unless your pockets are big. Try mtorque and m3cutters for enthusiast owned cars. Good luck.

[gmarks1]

Ed - I wouldn't be too concerned about HK audio - I have it fitted in my 330Ci, and whilst it is quite good, it does not approach the quality of some good quality component speakers, and is complicated to upgrade due to the amplifier/speaker specifications (i.e. you cannt jusy replace the speakers as with a normal upgrade.

I'm sure the right car is out there - good luck with the search.

Regards, Gary

[gmarks1]

...and regarding prices, all car prices have strengthened over the past six months, due to supply/demand for second hand cars, and perhaps a little more optimism in the used car market. At least your current car should fetch a little more!

Gary

[hamzamian]

Ed FM said:

Ok here goes;

53 plate or later, facelift model
65k miles or less
Manual (but as mentioned above i've not tried the SMG box yet)
FSH ideally with inspection 2 carried out already
Prefer black or silver grey but am open to considering other colours except Yellow
19" wheels
HK stereo upgrade.
Coupe preferred but wouldn't totally rule out cabriolet especially if it comes with hardtop

ETA Budget up to 15k

Edited by Ed FM on Thursday 5th November 18:34

I have an SMG Mora Metallic cabriolet that exceeds your spec and includes a hardtop that I'm going to put up for sale imminently. Drop me an email through here if you're interested?

[Ed FM]

Cheers for the replies. My current car is going on Saturday hence the need to get sorted fairly soon. I thought the HK audio would be spot on as I have it in the Mini that is leaving Saturday and it sounds really good. There is one for sale that meets my requirements but it's a long way away and I haven't looked at any others yet. The last thing I wanted to do was travel four hours to see it and feel pressured to make a decision due to making the effort of driving all the way there. Also I haven't tried an SMG yet.

[krisdelta]

You are right - car prices were artifically low for around 6 months (you could get a brand new M3 from BMW for less than 40k!!) You should be able to get what you want for around your budget - it took me 3 months to find my perfect M3 with the spec I wanted - so don't rush yourself.

Don't compromise on service history, it is a race car engine and the downside of the value they represent now is that some of them fall into the hands of people who can't afford to run them properly (IMHO). However get a nice one and you will never look back.

SMG takes a long old test drive to begin to appreciate - so don't write it off immediately, lots of people swear by it. (I do drive a 6MT though!).

HK is not too bad, although the BMW HiFi upgrade in my Z4 sounded a lot better. If you are an audiophile prepare to be disappointed!

Happy shopping!

[MattOz]

Ed,

A good mate of mine is selling this one. I can vouch 100% for the car. Not sure if it's what you want, but it's a fantastic example.

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1329558.htm

Matt

[Ed FM]

Thanks for the replies. The above car does look nice but i'm going to see how I get on with the local one I have found. See my nice but no roof last post.

Cheers,

Ed

[Johnyanorak]

Ed FM said:

Cheers for the replies. My current car is going on Saturday hence the need to get sorted fairly soon. I thought the HK audio would be spot on as I have it in the Mini that is leaving Saturday and it sounds really good. There is one for sale that meets my requirements but it's a long way away and I haven't looked at any others yet. The last thing I wanted to do was travel four hours to see it and feel pressured to make a decision due to making the effort of driving all the way there. Also I haven't tried an SMG yet.

IMHO i've had beemers without the HK and with it here goes -
Without i ripped sterio out and sold it on ebay put my alpine set in with a box which ruined the idea of a bmw

With harmon hardon i had it on full volume all day long playing drum and bass and loved it ,didnt as much fart once ... if your having a new m3 its got to have harmon kardon or you will look like a right turnip..its and m3 at the end of day and i've looked on ebay and theres a few on there for your price range that you may like.

[Flaco]

i bought one about 6weeks ago from an independent dealer - 2003, 40k miles, FBMWSH, Silver with black leather, 19in rims. all in perfect condition. paid £15,500 incl a 12m warranty.

£15-16k seemed to be the going price for 2002/3 models but the day i bought mine it was the only one left, of 7 advertised, through dealers on autotrader. seems they go pretty quickly so when you see a nice one just buy it

[Ed FM]

I will find out Saturday if I will get my hands on the local car. It is a 53 black smg, 23k miles with 19's and all extras except nav. He is going to take it to a dealers to find out how much they will give him px. He is putting it in against a new shape M3. If the 15k I have offered works out a lot better than their price I will get it. I just hope the dealers give him a crappy deal with px. I have never had any experience with px with main dealers so am not sure how I will get on. I think they will need to offer 13k or less for me to get it. He seems really set on doing it all through the main dealer for some reason!