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

Can't get the car booked in for the o2 sensor replacement until 10th Sept, not an issue as it's only the post cat ones so will be fine until then. Labour quote came to under £100 inc VAT, seems fair to do both sensors.

I'll be getting them to eyeball the engine,diff and gearbox mounts and alignment checked at the same time. Anything else I should get a check done on, bearing in mind there's an inspection 2 due in 4600 miles?
 
Where are you located? You could post a good specialist request on the relaxant FB groups/m3cutters forum and see what people recommend.

If you're in or around London/Kent, then ETA Motorsport for anything M3 related, if you're down the South Coast, then Alexander Autos in Portsmouth. A full inspection 2 will run a little over £600 there.

Also name and shame the dealer? Skipping a required item (a very important one at that) off a service checklist is totally not on.
 
I want to know who did that leather re-upholstering. Looks like a top job. Although the steering wheel doesn't appear to have been retrimmed.

No mention of the damage and repair leads me to believe the current owner bought it on record, so probably doesn't have details about that. Which is not a good sign at first thought.
 
You forgot one crucial step at the very end, to get a new alignment done. Any suspension work should always be followed by a new alignment!

Solid guide though, and thanks for the suplex recommendation. My springs so far are still good, and I'm confident they'll remain so until the next service which is due in 4000 miles. I'll have those changed if they do end up cracking, as well as the post-cat o2 sensors still.

Do you have a link to the place you got them from? Obviously I need the ones for convertible.

If the additional labour for springs isn't too much, then I'll get the garage to do them, otherwise I'm nore than happy to do wheel stuff DIY :cool:
 
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panthro said:
I've not watched the video, but my opinion is that they might shoot up in value, but only for low mileage pristine examples. Servicing costs and general running costs will continue to be high and I don't believe that with the exception of a few models, anyone will ever break even or make money on a car if running costs are taken into account.
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It's more to do with not being able to find a decent one in a few years, as it's rather hard right now as it is. The barry scene over in the States is just as rife as it is here, and people slapping all manner of stick on tat and wheels that rub the arches etc doesn't I spire hope!
 
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Broke down today!

Was joining the motorway off a short sliproad in lane 2, lorry in lane 1 so needed to haul arse before motorway traffic caught up. Doing good, nice progress, move into lane 3 as traffic ahead and just as I'm about to pass them the throttle cuts out! I'm now costing :eek:

Managed to coast the car to the hard shoulder through the traffic and attempt to start it back up. Engine fires up but within a second cuts out again. Applying throttle during startup yields no throttle response either, so immediately I'm thinking the engine isn't fuelling correctly or something along those lines.

I've had the post cat o2 sensor replacement booked for a while now so that is still yet to be done.

I ring RAC, man arrives within 45mins, I take some clown mask selfies in the meantime to keep spirits high.

RAC man does some things, tells me to stay safe. I stay safe.

I hear M3 come to life, he applies some throttle, I hear the exhaust blow me some RASPberries. Nice.

Turns out the MAF has died. by unplugging the MAF connector, the engine fires up fine, obviously running in reset/lean mode. Normally unplugging the MAF would cause the engine to cut out within seconds, not the other way round.

I now also believe my post cat o2 sensors are most likely fine, and it was the failing MAF skewing the other sensor readings. I'll pick up a Bosch MAF tomorrow and monitor and check to see if the o2 sensor ECU flag pops back up.
 
Cheers Gibbo, appreciate the offer! Although I've already ordered a new MAF which will be ready for collection tomorrow! At least this way one sensor at a time, they are all going to be new.

Next on the (low priority!) agenda? PDC loom.
 
No immediate symptoms other than suddenly cutting out!

Over the last 4 months I have had the odd startup issue which I thought was the o2 sensor related whereby the car would need two key turns to start on the odd cold start here and there. I seareched online and found people mentioning mostly fuelling and air fuel mixture as the culprit. Whilst many owners had dirty fuel filters, I knew mine was good as it was changed during my ownership anyway so can't have been that.

I also ran diagnostics that only turned up the air flow flags which again I thought was o2 sensor.

MAF issues were mentioned all too often so I figured I'd replace the MAF on the next service as it had been fine for the last 2 months.

A faulty MAF now makes sense given all of the above.

Lots of people recommend cleaning it every so often, I've never cleaned mine as it's never something I've thought about. It is on the original one too, and typically people have been getting around 80k miles out of them.
 
Aloha N is no good for regular driving as it's pretty rough. It also means I'd need to ditch the MAF and go MAP/IAT. So additional expense.

If I had SMG then I'd maybe consider the CSL software upgrade, but again way more expense than just what I have (Eventuri).

I'm actually really happy with it like this. The sound and feel is really amazing. I'd love more induction sound still, but the only solution for that costs nearly £3000 :p
 
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Yeah that's what I mean, I'd have to have the extra expense to get the CSL or CSL style airbox, and then the Alpha N or CSL software and accompanying things to go with. Not really a viable option for a car with a manual gearbox mind.

I've tried starting the car just now with and without the MAF connected.

Connected = Car starts but cuts out within 2 seconds of idling at cold start rpms.
Disconnected = Car starts perfectly, and with a silky smooth idle.

My MAF is almost definitely dead!

I'll use daylight tomorrow to also check the intake boots between the plenum and eventuri, as the rubber on those can perish over time and cause vacuum leaks, might be worth just undoing the clamps on them too and check to make sure it's all seated correctly underneath.
 
Gaygle said:
You had a drive with the new MAF installed yet?
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I gave it an Italian tune-up on the way in this morning. I’ve had the car nearly 3 years now and got it at around 62k mileage, it’s now on 99k. The new MAF has immediately improved engine response at lower rpms. Throttle inputs react quicker in this range now, and it’s more how I remember the car feeling thinking back when I first got it. So obviously during the ownership period the original MAF had slowly started to get worse and worse until it died.

As mentioned, I didn’t notice anything out the ordinary until it died, but now that I’ve driven the with the new MAF, I can confirm low down throttle response and general engine “eagerness” below 4000rpm is noticeably better. Above 4krpm the MAF plays a lesser role so this makes sense.

I'll also be cleaning the MAF once or twice a year, as when using the stock airbox, people recommend once a year cleaning using MAF cleaner. The EVenturi lets more air in, so could allow more microscopic particles to accumulate over time.

This has all been a new learning experience :cool:
 
Good news,

I think I mentioned here or another thread that my Eventuri had a perished rubber washer and foam o-ring around the carbon cone itself. I contacted Evolve about it and they've offered to replace the items under warranty They also offered me a revised filter for £30 (normal price is £62), so I've gone for that too.

They say:

The construction of the material has changed to provide more filtration without compromising air flow.
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Neat :cool:
 
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