Thinking of buying e46 m3 with little/no history

[mi1ne]

been looking at a pistonheads quite alot and thinking of getting one.

this one is near me but has missing service history which is meant to be a big no no with these.
http://pistonheads.com/sales/1334308.htm

its putting me off tho i do like the car and think it would be ok.

what do you think?

[mat205125]

Expensive for a car without history IMO.

CSL rims are not magnesium, however it has had a fair amount of money spent on it over the years on the mods.

If you are buying it to enjoy, to track, and enjoy for many years then it might be worth considering. If you are buying it to only keep for a couple of years, then that money will buy you a nice genuine standard car with a full folder of documents. The latter car will be infinitely easier to move on when you come to sell - the market for zero history modified cars is a very specialised (i.e. limited) one.

If this were being knocked out for closer to 10k it would be an awesome base for a trackday car.

[Great Pretender]

This car is local to me.

I think it's fair to say that whenever I see it, it's being driven 'enthusiastically'.

Personally I'd walk. I'm sure the seller is genuine, but a car like this without history is not something I'd be comfortable with. If there is any car out there for which religious maintenance is a must, I'd say the E46 M3 is a definite candidate. Also, if that car is making 360bhp without significant head work, I'll be amazed.

Buy a nice standard example for the same money and then upgrade it as you see fit over time.

[mi1ne]

thanks for the input lads, well thats what i was thinking with the history tbh.

i kinda knew the answer i was going to get before i asked the question lol. still wanted to hear it anyway.

on that note, any1 know of a decent example sub 13k or under near aberdeen area?

[Johnyanorak]

IMO sounds like a nice buy , when / if you buy it service it to death , he sounds like hes thrashed it around a track ect with audi rs4s , and you have to stress them cars to keep up with RS4'S as they are beasts.

[Great Pretender]

mi1ne said:

thanks for the input lads, well thats what i was thinking with the history tbh.

i kinda knew the answer i was going to get before i asked the question lol. still wanted to hear it anyway.

on that note, any1 know of a decent example sub 13k or under near aberdeen area?

Milne,

Don't get so hung up on sourcing a local car. I gave up with that ideal a long time ago.

A flight to London from Aberdeen is £30 remember; do a nationwide search and the car you want for the budget you have will be out there.

[Great Pretender]

Johnyanorak said:

IMO sounds like a nice buy , when / if you buy it service it to death , he sounds like hes thrashed it around a track ect with audi rs4s , and you have to stress them cars to keep up with RS4'S as they are beasts.

Is that the school bell...?

[krisdelta]

Great Pretender said:

Milne,

Don't get so hung up on sourcing a local car. I gave up with that ideal a long time ago.

A flight to London from Aberdeen is £30 remember; do a nationwide search and the car you want for the budget you have will be out there.

+ 1, when I was looking lots of the nice cars were in Scotland and Cornwall!! I found mine in Dorset (250 mile roundtrip) eventually so don't just wait for the right car to pop up locally, well worth the travel to get a nice one.

[mi1ne]

cheers again lads, was looking at the glasses guide, it says m3 with no sat nav are worth 2 grand less! that seems like a massive drop and isnt reflected in the prices on pistonheads or autotrader.

[Zod]

98% have sunroofs. 100% have aircon, so the claim that the combination is rare is bollokcs.

[mat205125]

Great Pretender said:

Don't get so hung up on sourcing a local car. I gave up with that ideal a long time ago.

A few tanks of fuel, and beers for mates that run you around, is a massively preferably option over limiting your search to cars that happen to come up in your area.

Zod said:

98% have sunroofs. 100% have aircon, so the claim that the combination is rare is bollokcs.

Everything these days has aircon, but make sure you are 100% sure that it works.

Whilst sunroofs are more common than the ad makes out, my research still lead me to conclude that it was quite a rare option, and certainly nowhere near 50%, let alone 98%. I really wanted a sunroof as it can be really nice at night in the summer, but a savage factory option premium makes it quite a rare prize. I'd say it makes next to no difference to the value of the car, but is worth hunting out if you can find one with one.

[NickXX]

Sunroofs are pretty rare on the e46 M3. A/C was standard.

Anyway, you should be able to get the bulk of the service history off BMW. The fact that he got an Insp 2 done at BMW is promising.

To me that price seems about right assuming the SH isn't too patchy after you get in touch with BMW.

[3ftandclean]

I'd agree with all the above comments about shopping around and waiting until you find the right one. I've had three E46 m3's and each time I waited until the right one turned up. Ultimately it's a case of knowing what you want and being patient. There are lots around.

[justin220]

That car is just round the corner from me. Walked passed it quite a few times and it looks like a nice example.

[mi1ne]

well im going to see it on thurs, guys not keen on coming down on price at all.

will see what happens. lol. not fussed if i have to travel to get a good one.

cheers 4 advice again ppl's

[outnumbered]

mi1ne said:

cheers again lads, was looking at the glasses guide, it says m3 with no sat nav are worth 2 grand less! that seems like a massive drop and isnt reflected in the prices on pistonheads or autotrader.

2 grand hit for no satnav might have been true 3-4 years ago, but isn't true any longer. Condition is more becoming much important when some of the cars are 8 years old. It may still be true that Satnav makes it easier to sell.

[foz01]

It's been for sale for ages, which means when you move it on you will also massively struggle, it's not hard to buy a new service book and send it to the dealeships or whatever Indy is said to have worked on the car......

[M3 HUG]

yeah i had to do exactly the same thing with mine-just ring that premium BMW service number and they will tell you everything that it has had-just send the book off to the dealers and they will stamp it for you

[0836whimper]

I specifically looked for a sun-roof, it's one of the options I would not compromise on.

The fresh air on a spring day is great, but the main reason is to hear the soundtrack, it's worth it for that alone.

[TUCKER T]

Thats been for sale for a while, i remember it being 15k too




Im in the market my self for one but i got put off that one for the same reason you are worried, no history is a no no for me


Be patiant and bide your time and the perfect car for you will come around




Well thats what i keep telling my self lol