Bmw e46 m3
- Thread starter mark35
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From what he said in his previous threads I doubt a £4k car is disposable.
*Any* higher end car will have comparable costs with this. What did you expect? Tyres are always at least £200/corner for any remotely large rims, etc etc.
interesting thread, I'm currently thinking about getting a M3 early next year, where would be the best place to look? I have to admit to being a little nervous at spending 15k+ on a car from a private seller, but then I'm sure BMW dealers are a total rip off as well. Any advice welcome!
Tyres are pricey but you're not going to be changing all 4 at once normally, back 2 first while the front 2 have lots of life still left in them.
As above though prices for servicing can vary quite a lot. Down here at Snows BMW they have a 6+ scheme so if your BMW is 6yrs old (eg from late 2003) for example then you receive a pretty good discount on labour, fluids and parts which puts prices in line with most independent specialists.
I guess it's similar to the alloy wheel cracking debate, BMW will just say don't drive over pot holes
My rear right coil spring cracked last year and was spotted during MOT, this year last week the opposite one was cracked. I don't know they're quite fragile I guess ¬_¬
As above though prices for servicing can vary quite a lot. Down here at Snows BMW they have a 6+ scheme so if your BMW is 6yrs old (eg from late 2003) for example then you receive a pretty good discount on labour, fluids and parts which puts prices in line with most independent specialists.
I guess it's similar to the alloy wheel cracking debate, BMW will just say don't drive over pot holes
My rear right coil spring cracked last year and was spotted during MOT, this year last week the opposite one was cracked. I don't know they're quite fragile I guess ¬_¬
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Pistonheads is always my first port of call for sussing out prices on decent cars owned by decent car owners, although of course it's pretty well known so you still have to be careful. Then there's always autotrader.co.uk of course. It's a sliding scale downwards in terms of both price and likely quality of car from BMW Used Approved -> Pistonheads -> Autotrader.
Two years ago when I was buying mine the difference was about 2k between AT and PH and then 5k between PH and BMW, for similar age/spec cars, although back then they didn't go as long as £15k at all. If you are only looking to spend that I'd expect to see the 'same car' for £15k private and £18k BMW, and, for my money, the extra peace of mind of used approved is (and was) well worth it.
Associate
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Don't get a SMG one as my sister in law has one and had nothing but trouble with it. Had the software reset a few times and now has another fault thats going to be £2k to fix.
Both springs weren't changed at the same time? I'd do this on a hack let alone a decent car.
Another point to consider when looking at m3's is that insurance is very high compared to cars of similar or even higher performance.
More to the point the SMG system just doesn't feel that good, or rather, feels totally different to just driving a normal manual. You have to learn to drive to it, which may not be your cup of tea. Wasn't mine!
I guess not, I asked them if they should change both but was said it's not essential since the other one was still in good condition.
Ah well.
Don't go to BMW main dealer? :O
Wear over the course of the year? my daily commute is over rough road so it was no surprise for that one to go since there's no record of coil spring replacements in the entire service history.
Wear over the course of the year? my daily commute is over rough road so it was no surprise for that one to go since there's no record of coil spring replacements in the entire service history.
Soldato
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I didn't know what to expect, hence the question. I have never owned a car in my life- always had company cars.
The missus has a 325i and her front brakes/pads were under two ton so this was a little bit more than I "expected".
What do you mean? Not sure if you're saying that it cost almost £2,000 to replace front disks/pads on a 325. If so, your missus was well and truly had.
Set of OEM disks and pads for the M3 would cost half that, even if fitted by a BMW stealer.
In cash terms, a ton is one hundred, not a thousand. So they cost £200 to replace, not £2k
Ah, OK.
Sounds like a good price then!