BMW and M Power Owners

wingman said:
Requesting a sense check from Motors, please! :)

A chap I follow on Twitter is selling his facelift E46 M3, manual, silver, 96k miles, in need of some cosmetic work but mechanically sound.

What are those points roughly going to cost to sort?
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A lot. Front wings are £620 delivered, plus painting. If it needs a large service (i know he said it's had an inspection II recently, but many essential things often get forgotten, some VANOS work etc then you'll be another couple of thousand down.

Has the bootfloor had work done? If it hasn't, that's another £1000.

wingman said:
What price should this M3 be pitched at?
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Despite all of the above, if you can get it for £5k I think you'll be doing fine. Most £5k examples are on fire, so I think you'll get your money back easily if you jack it in. Buy it expecting that there will be rust in places you can't see and which the seller probably won't even know of. Give it a good look over and test drive, and if you know someone who has/does own one, take them along. It really depends on what history it's got also, and you're skill with a spanner.

For the average person, the time to own an E46 M3 has gone. They have too many issues to worry about to own one hassle free.
 
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Gaygle said:
A lot. Front wings are £620 delivered, plus painting. The rust on the rear arches/sills will be a battle you will never win unless you drop £2500 to have the rear wings changed as well. These cars love to rust, so it's also very very likely that there is a lot more rust where you can't see it.

Just clearing up rust could see £2000 easily spent. And that's before you even consider mechanicals. If it needs a large service (i know he said it's had an inspection II recently, but many essential things often get forgotten, some VANOS work etc then you'll be another couple of thousand down.

Has the bootfloor had work done? If it hasn't, that's another £1000.



Despite all of the above, if you can get it for £5k I think you'll be doing fine. Most £5k examples are on fire, so I think you'll get your money back easily if you jack it in. Buy it expecting that there will be rust in places you can't see and which the seller probably won't even know of. Give it a good look over and test drive, and if you know someone who has/does own one, take them along. It really depends on what history it's got also, and you're skill with a spanner.

For the average person, the time to own an E46 M3 has gone. They have too many issues to worry about to own one hassle free
.
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Thanks for your detailed response, I'd be inclined to agree that the car at £5k is just about worth it.

Having said that he's messaged me this morning to say that it's been sold, so there you go. I guess the right car at the right price will always sell.
 
Basher said:
With summer tyres and 19 or 20 inch wheels, I suspect xDrive will make little difference in snowy conditions. Much as I'd like to use that as an excuse to my wife to get a new 540 (please tell me I'm wrong) :)
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Didn't have a bit of bother in the snow with my 35d xDrive, you could feel it actively moving power between the two as one axle started slipping. I doubt I'd have gotten out of my street without it.
 
Liquidfox said:
Didn't have a bit of bother in the snow with my 35d xDrive, you could feel it actively moving power between the two as one axle started slipping. I doubt I'd have gotten out of my street without it.
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Winter tyres or standard tyres?

Can I use you as a reference to my wife so I can buy a 540? :p:D
 
Alibaba99 said:
That water temperature seems remarkably low. Normal temperature for water is around 80-90°c. I would suspect that the thermostat is sticking open.
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Yeah this is what I was thinking. with normal cruising mine hovers around 65c which isn't right. The thermostat is supposed to open at 79c I think but I reckon it might be stuck.

Simon said:
I’ll check mine. Got any more info on the secret menu.

Hits 52 within a few mins then seems to sit there for a while. Drove my 14miles of country roads after being in traffic and sat 75-76. Only after a bit of acceleration to overtake a few cars it hit 77c. Ambient 7-8C and oil temperature probably 85-90C

Surprising really, but it is probably overcooled due to design for track and hard driving. Could probably do with a radiator block in this weather.

I’m parked now and it’s crept up to 84c due to heat soak with the engine off
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Yeah mine is much the same - gets up to 65c quite quickly but just stays there unless I sit on my drive for 5 minutes then it just about gets to 80c. Someone on the BMW M3 V8 Facebook group posted their temps after a 15 minute drive at similar ambient temperatures, and theres was reading at around 88c iirc, which then crept up to 91c when sitting. I have a feeling this is what it is meant to be doing.

I did some reading and a failed thermostat is very common on all E9x models, characterised by mid 60's cruising temperatures. I don't think it is overcooled, this would be a huge design flaw if so. My E46 M3 consistently had water temperature between 85-90c doing the same drive to work that I do now, and in the same fashion. A cars cooling system should be able to read a steady temperature whether being spanked around the track at Defcon 1 in the the height of summer or driven to the local shops in the snow.

Simon said:
Have you posted on cutters
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Not yet, nope.

Simon said:
Couldn’t get over 82C coolant temp this morning. Can’t be right
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If the only way you're able to hit the 80's is by sitting on the spot for several minutes (as I have to do) something isn't right. I've ordered a new thermostat and it'll hopefully be here Saturday so i'll fit it then and report back. Yours might be fine but I'm sure mine isn't - the water should be getting hotter than 65c after 20 minutes of 60mph driving, inc overtakes etc. If I do cheat and get sit on the spot for 5 minutes and let it get into the 80s - as soon as I drive, it falls back down to 65-70c.
 
Picked up my 430d on Tuesday and have got to say I'm finding it a pleasure to drive when compared to the 118d it replaced!

Not quite the M135 that I had before that but with a 150 mile per day commute the 430d is an ideal compromise between pace and economy.
 
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