Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

I just Googled "Chav E46 M3", and look what came up 3rd :o

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The first result is in relation to this thread, which is also quite funny.
 
Which version though :p The E36 ones are the most replicated by actual chavs! I'm a huge huge fan of the E46 M3 mirrors. They are subtly different to the E39 M5 ones, and the side profile is so sleek, so right.

Shame that regulations dictate cars will never have mirrors styled like this ever again :(
 
If someone was considering buying a M3 Convertible as a weekend toy and was going to look at a couple tomorrow what should he look out for/ask about apart from the rear subframe?

I'm thinking a relatively low mileage example, say 70-80k shouldn't depreciate too much, servicing with a specialist shouldn't be too silly, pre-2006 is only £290/tax so as long as nothing really expensive goes bang it shouldn't be too expensive to run for 4-5k miles/year.

I may be deluding myself with man maths.
 
On the contrary servicing, even with a specialist, is very silly. Arguably excessively silly for the type of car it is. Those specialists that offer non-silly pricing tend to do so by not bothering to do the expensive bit in the inspection services. Greeeaaaatt.

The E39 M5 noticeable cheaper for scheduled servicing, to give you an idea.
 
So my understanding is that the schedule is Oil Service / Inspection 1 / Oil Service / Inspection 2 or ~ £150 / £550 / £150 / £900 with service every 12-15k or 2 years? Would depend on where the car is in the service schedule but even a Inspection 2 at £900 isn't too bad if it lasts me 2 years.
 
Inspection 2 at a dealer is £900, at a reputable specialist is between 500 and 700 typically. My indy is Alexander Autos BMW soecialist in Portsmouth. All the BMW guys at work use them too. Nice and convenient to me, as I can leave early to drop it off, then hop on the train to the harbour for work which take about 10 mins :cool:

Both Inspection 1 and 2 require valve clearance checks to be done, and adjustments made if necessary. Shims probably won't readily be in stock depending on the level of adjustment needed, and typically it is a 2 day job as the car needs to cool down over night before they clearance checks can be done.

That is ultimately why the services cost so much, the time consumed doing valve clearance is quite high. None of the other M power engines require this (for better or for worse)**. (**The E36 M3 Evo also requires valve clearance adjustments)
I've had mine a bit over 1.5 years, and have already done an oil service and an Inspection 2.
 
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Del Lardo said:
So my understanding is that the schedule is Oil Service / Inspection 1 / Oil Service / Inspection 2 or ~ £150 / £550 / £150 / £900 with service every 12-15k or 2 years? Would depend on where the car is in the service schedule but even a Inspection 2 at £900 isn't too bad if it lasts me 2 years.
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As mrk says, decent Indy's are usually the first thing to find, looking at receipts £120 for the oil service, and £600 for the Insp 2. Fox is right, some Indy's are cheaping out by not doing certain things, but a good specialist will just offer better VFM.

In terms of things to check,
1. Brakes - these are relatively expensive, so look at disc condition / pad condition if you dont want an immediate £500+ bill for a pair of discs/pads
2. Suspension items - there are many bushes/joints that wear, so it is good if you can get it on ramps to get it inspected, nothing is that expensive, but it can add up, looking at my receipts, it's quite eye-watering.
3. Clutch/DMF - these last around 100K miles, but can suffer from having a hard life, the DMF might be a bit grumbly, and it's around £800 for a clutch/dmf change
4. Paintwork - Front Wings/ Rear Arches often go, I'd probably prefer something already sorted unless my intention was to get it done to my own standards, then I'd want something unmolested.
5.General sensors etc - there are lots of things like MAFs/Coil Packs/Plugs/TPS/Lambda sensors that can go, nothing too wallet busting, but again they start showing signs of deterioration around 80k miles.
6. Vanos - can be largely rebuilt etc, but as long as no EML, and it runs well/pulls strong doesn't overly have massive hesitations all the time, it's probably OK
7. SMG - Bit of a minefield, the pumps go quite often, and new ones are prohibitiively expensive now, but there are a few refurb options that people tend to try first, If getting SMG, get it hot and abuse it a little, try to really give it a good workout, a few people tend to sell at the first yellow cog of doom lights, so stressing a little will at least help determine if it's borderline.

Other than that, just the usual car things..
If your aim is to buy something passable with a little bit of wear to items, and only do a few miles selling it on with only slightly more wear, you might be able to run it cheaply..
My problem (and I suspect a lot on here), you start refreshing things since it feels quite a 'special' car, and whilst I love doing this, it's not 'cheap'..
 
If anyone is undecided about choosing one of the 16 E36 M3s vs the few hundred E46 M3s on sale in the UK at the moment, then maybe this will help make your decision easier :p



 
I genuinely do like SMG. If I did it all over again and got an SMG car, I'd have to put the CSL software on it of course, and replace the pump as a preventative measure. I'd also replace the paddles with those longer metal ones that have a bit of heft to them. Personally any car with paddles that I drive, I always prefer leaving the gearbox in manual and using the paddles.
 
I had a look around a couple on Saturday and had a short drive of a manual. A few random thoughts/musings

Cars have really moved on in the last 15 years for better and for worse.
E46 styling has aged really well
Wow! My bum seems to be scraping the floor
The engine noise :)
The engine noise going through a short tunnel under motorway :eek::D
Surprisingly wind free with roof down and windows up at 70mph
You have to actually PRESS the brake pedal rather than tickling it
Gears are easy, I must be brilliant (not driven a manual in 18+ months)
2nd->3rd crunch, maybe I'm not so brilliant.
2nd->3rd crunch, OK it's not me, synchromesh is not doing its job
The engine noise going through a short tunnel under motorway @7k RPM :D:D:D:D

The dealer said the car hadn't been through workshop yet and he had noticed a couple of crunches so would get it sorted prior to sale. I didn't have time to test the SMG so will try and pop back this week but on that car the seats were very worn for a car with 80k miles and the interior generally was not in great condition which was rather bothersome for a car advertised at £12k.

I spent a bit of time on Pistonheads and Autotrader last night and there does seem to be quite a bit of variation on price for 2004-2006 cars with ~80k on the clock from £8k-£12k though strangely they are all in 'great condition', 'maintained regardless of cost', 'not the usual rubbish', 'excellent SMG/preferable manual gearbox' ;) :rolleyes:

Interest is certainly peaked but not sure if I want to spend that much on a toy that seems to have such wide variation in price and condition, the potential to get it wrong seems pretty big.
 
Del Lardo said:
I had a look around a couple on Saturday and had a short drive of a manual. A few random thoughts/musings

Cars have really moved on in the last 15 years for better and for worse.
E46 styling has aged really well
Wow! My bum seems to be scraping the floor
The engine noise :)
The engine noise going through a short tunnel under motorway :eek::D
Surprisingly wind free with roof down and windows up at 70mph
You have to actually PRESS the brake pedal rather than tickling it
Gears are easy, I must be brilliant (not driven a manual in 18+ months)
2nd->3rd crunch, maybe I'm not so brilliant.
2nd->3rd crunch, OK it's not me, synchromesh is not doing its job
The engine noise going through a short tunnel under motorway @7k RPM :D:D:D:D

The dealer said the car hadn't been through workshop yet and he had noticed a couple of crunches so would get it sorted prior to sale. I didn't have time to test the SMG so will try and pop back this week but on that car the seats were very worn for a car with 80k miles and the interior generally was not in great condition which was rather bothersome for a car advertised at £12k.

I spent a bit of time on Pistonheads and Autotrader last night and there does seem to be quite a bit of variation on price for 2004-2006 cars with ~80k on the clock from £8k-£12k though strangely they are all in 'great condition', 'maintained regardless of cost', 'not the usual rubbish', 'excellent SMG/preferable manual gearbox' ;) :rolleyes:

Interest is certainly peaked but not sure if I want to spend that much on a toy that seems to have such wide variation in price and condition, the potential to get it wrong seems pretty big.
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That is the issue with the E46 M3, there is so many of them for sale and unfortunately a lot of them are dogs.

Try to buy a 2004 car or at least a car with the updated rear lights and MK60 DSC module (flashes to CSL M-track then). Also any E46 you buy make sure the boot floor is repaired as they all crack, YES ALL of them will crack with time.

They can easily leak oil too, so thoroughly check for oil leaks, CPV valve, head gasket, rocker gasket, crank area can all be areas these cars leak from.

They are a great car, but there is a lot of junk out there too and they still have M3 running cost which is why so many of them are in not so great condition.
 
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