E46 M3 good car?

China Man

China Man

China Man

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Joined
22 Oct 2002
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Dream comes true :)

Sold my Supra 3 weeks ago and bought one of these :) what a lovely machine!

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I got a really good price for it, it is a 02 plate and 110k miles but it was well taken care of.

Hi,

I currently selling my Supra Twin turbo, once that is sold I am looking to buy another car.

I do have a Honda Jazz for school/nursery run (my child is 1 years old) and my supra tends to do less than 1000 miles a year in the last 2-3 years. as much as I like the noise and thrill of driving the supra to the limit I think I am too old for that now, even getting in and out of the car seems a hassle....

How do people rate the E46 M3? on paper its similar power to the Supra and similar weight but with more moden tech and luxury?
 
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One of the greatest sports saloons on the planet to this very day. Buy with knowledge and account for running and it will be fabulous.
 
Also what he said.

Buy a nice one. Spend £13-16k. Ignore the dross at the bottom of the market owned by people who cant afford to run it.
 
[TW]Fox;18499569 said:
Enormous money pit.
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Agreed. My brother bought one about 3 or 4 months ago but is now selling as its too expensive to run. He can afford to run it, but doesnt leave a lot of money left for other things. If you do get one, make sure you are fully prepared for the running costs.
 
Puppetmaster said:
Agreed. My brother bought one about 3 or 4 months ago but is now selling as its too expensive to run. He can afford to run it, but doesnt leave a lot of money left for other things. If you do get one, make sure you are fully prepared for the running costs.
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I hear klaxons and people running to keyboards.
 
Nick will be along soon to explain how his E46 M3:

a) Costs 20p to run (Because he hardly ever drives it)
b) Makes any petrol BMW that isnt an M car 'pointless'

:D
 
Fast cars don't cost any more to run than run of the mill ones. I read it on OcUK so it must be true.
 
I dare they that running costs will be a considerable step up from even a Supra. I don't find that all that 'luxurious' either, but still brilliant cars with an engine note that won't fail to send a shiver down your spine :).

[TW]Fox;18499598 said:
Buy a nice one. Spend £13-16k. Ignore the dross at the bottom of the market owned by people who cant afford to run it.
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Isn't £13k-£16k a little bit rich? I knew of a brilliantly maintained 03 that wouldn't move for £12.5k, and that was a few months ago before the prices seemingly collapsed in on themselves.
 
[TW]Fox;18499632 said:
8 year old M3, no thanks. My point stands.
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Err, even the £13K-£16K budget you mentioned doesn't really seem to buy anything much newer? Looks like it'll cop you a 6 year one at the very best.

Edit: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2387617.htm :eek:

That's effectively ~£6k once you've punted the APs. I know, it's got 6 figure mileage and is 10 years old, but still!
 
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I think if you get a bad example the running cost will always be high, I had a friend who bought a 307 and the amount of money he spent on repair was a lot more then my ownership with the Supra.

Any high power car need maintance and we don't wait until things go wrong before service. I change oil and sparks yearly regardless of mileage and Supra never gave me any problems.

What cost were people talking about regarding running cost? My Supra give me 12-19MPG depends on how I drive it around so I am used to high fuel bill and I don't drive it enough to notice it
 
24.3mpg in 2 M3's and around 100,000 miles from new. But I did lots of long journeys but I think this is a sensible number and both my M3's showed the same average after a few 1000 miles. Nick can answer running costs today as I had mine when new in 2002 and 2004.
 
Just trying to compare running cost, it could be any car. If you don't look after it then repair bill will be high and ownership will be expensive
 
Seriously, it isn't a matter of buying a Good or bad one that is going to potentially hurt the wallet. Your bread and butter stuff like General servicing, pads, discs and oil are going to be more expensive.

Like I was trying to explain to people a few nights ago, Supras have it pretty good when it comes to running costs.
 
monkey_boy said:
IDGI. Why did you post that car? Genuinely confused as to what point you were making.
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Me? I was just using it as a bit of an 'example' of how the bottom has fallen out of the M3 market and perhaps why the '13k-16k' ball park fox mentioned earlier might be a little off.

I'd have agreed with it maybe 6 months ago but it just doesn't seem to be the case anymore unless you are holding out for a late car.

I'm not implying that a ~£6k E46 is a remotely good Idea, so leave that bone alone.
 
I am used to more expensive parts, it is like ford parts is cheaper compare to MR2 and Supra is more expensive compare to Mr2 etc

I think the full BMW service history is the expensive part. Supra is a 1995 car and although it was ahead of its time I feel it is dated and therefore looking for change and update.

I did have E36 320 before the supra and I feel the E46 M3 would be the natural progression and sticking to the six cylinder car.
 
Sigh, here we go again.

I gave that amount because I feel thats what you'd want to pay to obtain an immaculate mint example with the best possible chance of non-ruinous running costs.

I don't give a stuff what somebody who fits Linglong tyres to his car thinks you can get one for.
 
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