The I bought an E92 M3 thread..

MrKnifey

MrKnifey

MrKnifey

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Sorry for another spec me thread, but rather hear everyone else's ideas out on this as well.

I had a plan, the plan was to buy an E46 M3 for £10k or under, after posting in the BMW thread I was recommended to have a look at the 135i Coupe. 306hp with plenty of tuning potential, so that got me thinking, what else am I not thinking about?

I have a MAX budget of £10, ideally id like to spend closer to £8-9k as still have a MK2 Escort to finish

The plan is to go the Nurburgring in it so I want something which is not only fast but comfortable. It will not be my daily car.

It must :

Have 300hp+
RWD
Manual

Cars I have in mind so far :

E46 M3 (Always wanted one)
135i Coupe

100% Will not enterain 350/370z as cannot stand the look of them.

So fire away suggestions :D
 

Clarkey

Clarkey

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Get the M3, a 35i with MHD tune is straight line quick but in every other measure the M car is better, especially so if you are looking for a Nurburgring machine.
 

scaza

scaza

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My 135i's cost me (well, cost BMW's Warranty) just over 3k since March.

I bought it originally for its tuning potential, but I'm just going to hold off until I can get the rest of the common failures fixed first :rolleyes: Might be worth checking the works been done prior to purchasing, in case you go that route.
 

dale1uk

dale1uk

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As mentioned above, if you're looking at track work I'd be tempted to just go with the M3. The M3s value is what it is and should hold fairly steady and possibly go up.
I'd absolutely love to add the Birds Auto B1 dynamics package (LSD, anti roll bars, and suspension) to my E87 130i, but at the cost of £3k+vat, on a car that cost me just under £4k, it just isn’t worth it no matter how much it would transform it. The same package could be fitted to a 135i and would turn it into a very capable car, but the total costs are going to be higher than an E46 M3
 

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

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Given that they didn't do a 318i as a pre LCI Coupe, no it doesn't. And like you said that argument is fairly weak when the alternative is a 1 series!
 

Gibbo

Gibbo

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An E46 M3 all day long and you should be able to get a decent honest example for 10k, but please have a few grand set aside for both maintenance and upgrades, especially if your going to track it, they eat through money very fast then!

335i know nothing about them, but a newer car, no doubt more reliable and more friendly on wallet and will of course have huge tuning potential but will never ever be regarded as a special car and will never make that glorious noise.

For me the choice is easy, E46 M3 they are glorious cars and a true classic that in right colour in clean condition have aged so well. :)
 

Gaygle

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E46 M3's are glorious, but for your budget of £10k, you're going to get a 17 year old M car. It's *obviously* going to need money spent on it.

I found, generally, part prices on the E46 M3 aren't bad at all. But specialist jobs such as head gasket changes, RACP, VANOS, rod bearings are wallet emptying. And that's just preventative stuff and if nothing has gone wrong. If you are driving one day and suddenly the gearbox starts crunching into gear, or the clutch starts slipping, or the diff grinding - these cost £x000s to put right.

Then there is servicing - you aren't going to get much change out of £500 for an Insp II, £400 for an Insp I and £150 for an oil service from a specialist (£950, £740 and £225 from a main dealer respectively). And then tyres, and not so much anymore but, brakes are expensive too.

I don't know what your background is of cars, you might already run some pretty expensive stuff so this won't be out of the ordinary for you, and if you are used to doing this stuff (and/or if you are handy with a spanner!) then it might well be ok. But if you're not, it is a fairly sizeable financial commitment. Not only are you sinking £10k into a 17 year old car, you're doing it knowing you're going to have to keep throwing money at it to keep it running as an M3 should.

Yes you could put budget or midrange tyres on it, or cheaper brakes and run non OEM/Genuine parts when they break to save some money - but if you do that, you have to question what the point of having an M3 is in the first place?
 

Dominic-Toretto

Dominic-Toretto

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135i can throw some huge bills fyi OP. The N54 is a great engine, but the ancilleries around it are crap. Ideally find a car that has had, injectors replaced, new valve cover and gasket, high pressure fuel pump replaced, oil filter housing gasket, also if possible check the engine mounts (If they are worn, they can cause the power steering pulley to bounce off the subframe, and loosen, resulting in the serpentine belt slipping off and getting sucked in to the engine through the crank, a leaking oil filter housing can also have the same result). Also listen for any waste gate rattle, ideally download MHD on to your phone aswell, take an OBD cable and plug in to any perspective car to check for codes. The N54 is a great engine, but it needs a ton of maintainance. They can make 420bhp off a stage 2+ tune with a few bolt ons, and sound great. But as I said, a lot of maintainance.....
 
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