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

Just got back. What a machine. Seriously.

It's an August 2004, Librarian Grey with Accountant black nappa leather.

- 93,000miles
- 2 previous owners, first one had it from 2004 until 2014, when the last owner had it for a year.
- FSH and just had an oil service done at a local BMW specialist with Mobil 10w60 oil. Then only Insp 1 next.
- Heated seats, nav, TV, bluetooth, Harmon/Kardon.
- Subframe and boot floor replaced by Dick Lovett Bristol in June 2014.
- 4 x good Continental ContiSport M3 tyres.
- Leather is in what can only be described as immaculate condition, which I'm hugely shocked about. No cracks, shininess, nothing.
- Managed to get it for £8250 in the end.

Needs a couple of bits doing to it to get it to where i want it. Namely needs new front brakes and needs, what I hope to be, just a thermostat as the water temp isn't getting up to the dead centre (and a coolant change at the same time). Also needs a valve cover gasket and valve clearances done as I'm not convinced they have been done. Also, some twonk has put the M3 badge on the back far too high up and it's making me feel embarrassed to drive it - that's tomorrow's job!

Also, in classic fashion, the OEM 19" alloys are corroding a bit so could do with a refurb or a CSL makeover.

I'm not going to lie, I haven't pushed it because I'm scared too! I've had a few times of giving it beans in 3rd or 4th gear, but 2nd gear and foot to the floor is just mental. And this is coming from someone who has owned 2 330i's and 1 335i!

All in all, I'm absolutely thrilled. I'm going to try my hardest to not be an E46 M3 owner who just talks about it constantly, but I'm only human so I may fail.

Now I didn't think selling that 335i made sense when you first explained it, now you've spent the saving on an M3 I really don't get it :D
 
Just got back. What a machine. Seriously.

It's an August 2004, Librarian Grey with Accountant black nappa leather.

- 93,000miles
- 2 previous owners, first one had it from 2004 until 2014, when the last owner had it for a year.
- FSH and just had an oil service done at a local BMW specialist with Mobil 10w60 oil. Then only Insp 1 next.
- Heated seats, nav, TV, bluetooth, Harmon/Kardon.
- Subframe and boot floor replaced by Dick Lovett Bristol in June 2014.
- 4 x good Continental ContiSport M3 tyres.
- Leather is in what can only be described as immaculate condition, which I'm hugely shocked about. No cracks, shininess, nothing.
- Managed to get it for £8250 in the end.

Needs a couple of bits doing to it to get it to where i want it. Namely needs new front brakes and needs, what I hope to be, just a thermostat as the water temp isn't getting up to the dead centre (and a coolant change at the same time). Also needs a valve cover gasket and valve clearances done as I'm not convinced they have been done. Also, some twonk has put the M3 badge on the back far too high up and it's making me feel embarrassed to drive it - that's tomorrow's job!

Also, in classic fashion, the OEM 19" alloys are corroding a bit so could do with a refurb or a CSL makeover.

I'm not going to lie, I haven't pushed it because I'm scared too! I've had a few times of giving it beans in 3rd or 4th gear, but 2nd gear and foot to the floor is just mental. And this is coming from someone who has owned 2 330i's and 1 335i!

All in all, I'm absolutely thrilled. I'm going to try my hardest to not be an E46 M3 owner who just talks about it constantly, but I'm only human so I may fail.


Imagine what mine is like then, 250kg lighter, 40BHP more power and soon about to get more power and new final gearing. :D

I can tell you its mental! :D
 
Yea, he should so have picked orange with blue seats.

Unfortunately when you buy used older cars you don't get the level of choice of interior and exterior colour combo as you do when you buy new or nearly new. You prioritise condition and provenance over whether people on the internet think the interior colour choice is exciting :p
 
[TW]Fox;27549034 said:
Yea, he should so have picked orange with blue seats.

Unfortunately when you buy used older cars you don't get the level of choice of interior and exterior colour combo as you do when you buy new or nearly new. You prioritise condition and provenance over whether people on the internet think the interior colour choice is exciting :p

Fox, you misunderstand. I don't mean the colours themselves, but the names of the colours. Grey & Black, fine, perfectly fine, I like it...but, Accountant Black? Librarian Grey?

It's like having Janitor Brown, or Realist Beige...
 
Fox, you misunderstand. I don't mean the colours themselves, but the names of the colours. Grey & Black, fine, perfectly fine, I like it...but, Accountant Black? Librarian Grey?

It's like having Janitor Brown, or Realist Beige...

Errr... you realise he picked those words deliberately as a joke?. His car will be Silver Grey with Black Dakota Leather.

BMW didn't really call it Librarian Grey :p
 
Great stuff! The coolant needle might not always be dead centre even though we always read online etc that it should be. From what I read after reading multiple owners club posts mid last year, there is a buffer to the needle so it may sit slightly under on some cars. You can check fairly easily the actual temp of the water though by going into the cluster hidden menu. Hold down the left stick button on the cluster and turn key to position 2.

Let go and quickly keep pressing the right cluster button until you hit number 19, after a second the menu will unlock, go to position 7. IIRC the first reading is the water temp, pressing the button cycles the other temps/.readings. Someone put up a key to which number tab refers to what.

I may have read completely wrong but it makes a bit of sense if your thermostat is fine :p

When you're in 4th gear pull to redline, you'll feel the strength in that gear on the motorway good and proper :D

Yeh that sounds like a plan. I've got the proper BMW software so i'll hook it up with my laptop and have a look at the temperatures. IIRC the M3 doesn't have the buffer. I've always been of the opinion that the needle should be in the middle - if it isn't, there is something wrong.

I have solved the TPMS issue already though! I was only resetting the error, but not recalibrating so it just kept coming back!

The torque it has low down is great, far more than I thought it would. And it just keeps going.

[TW]Fox;27548869 said:
Now I didn't think selling that 335i made sense when you first explained it, now you've spent the saving on an M3 I really don't get it :D

My 335i was my pride and joy. I shoved so much money into that car, and everything was run without compromise. It had the best tyres, comprehensive BMW warranty, all Genuine parts. It also cost £500 a year to tax, which really hurt after a while. I sold it to help fund my house as I found the perfect house but was £8-9K short on the deposit, so the 335i went to fund this. It was a necessary evil as buying my house was the most important thing and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I've had chance to earn some more money in the 9 months since I bought my house, working muchos overtime, so where else better to put it than an E46 M3? And I've always wanted one, I had enough money to buy one and not be crippled, so I bought it :)

C'mon, tell me any car enthusiast that wouldn't ;) I still think you should buy an E39 M5! Real shame you haven't as I'm sure you would have loved it, even thought it may have not made complete logical, calculated sense.

Imagine what mine is like then, 250kg lighter, 40BHP more power and soon about to get more power and new final gearing. :D

I can tell you its mental! :D

I simply cannot. I know it sounds very overdramatic and I know we're not dealing with McLaren P1's or whatever, but I am certain that I will never need more power. In any situation. Ever.

[TW]Fox;27549034 said:
Yea, he should so have picked orange with blue seats.

Unfortunately when you buy used older cars you don't get the level of choice of interior and exterior colour combo as you do when you buy new or nearly new. You prioritise condition and provenance over whether people on the internet think the interior colour choice is exciting :p

This is exactly it. I saw an Estoril Blue with grey interior, completely specced out with every option (folding mirrors/rear blind/HK/heated seats/nav etc). I almost wet myself. However, it had more owners, was £1750 more to buy, more miles, poor tyres and wasn't in as good condition (apparently - never got to see it as it had sold by the time I called up). Also I don't know if it had it's subframe done.

I love blue cars - they look the best out of all the colours and I almost was not going to even call up about the one I bought due to the colour combo, but I realised I was being stupid and condition was far more important and with M3's at this price bracket, age and mileage, quite simply, beggars can't be choosers.

Fox, you misunderstand. I don't mean the colours themselves, but the names of the colours. Grey & Black, fine, perfectly fine, I like it...but, Accountant Black? Librarian Grey?

It's like having Janitor Brown, or Realist Beige...

Literally dying. :D
 
Last edited:
Finding a decent OEM looking head unit that isn't a Chinese clone one of the big name ones (Dynavin/Ownice/Andrive etc) is a nightmare.

I'm still waiting on the Parrot Asteroid Smart RNB6 but the £350~ of the current model is very tempting.

DIY modding the existing BMW CD head unit harness seems simple enough in conjunction with the aftermarket double din fascia. It should end up looking like this:

smarte46.jpg


As you can see, from the guy's pic, the sides are quite empty, how this looks does seem to depend on the trim and cabin colours. Luckily my dash is black with dark grey trim anyway so it should look alright.

I can wait, I will see how long the Android Auto unit takes to be released and how much, else I'll go with the Smart. installation sounds like a mixed bag, some saying the wires supplied will simply work whereas others saying re-wiring is required - I'm really not so sure.

Naturally I'd prefer an OEM looking one so if by that time Andrive's unit is back in stock I may give them a 2nd chance...
 
DIY modding the existing BMW CD head unit harness seems simple enough in conjunction with the aftermarket double din fascia. It should end up looking like this:

http://robbiekhan.co.uk/root/temp/smarte46.jpg[img]

As you can see, from the guy's pic, the sides are quite empty, how this looks does seem to depend on the trim and cabin colours. Luckily my dash is black with dark grey trim anyway so it should look alright.[/QUOTE]

Be patient and wait for an OEM looking one tbh, nothing ruins the interior of the E46 like a double DIN headunit that doesn't properly fit and I can see it bugging you over time.
 
True, I've come across the Avin 2, similar to the Andrive, different UI and supports up to 128GB of storage as well as mirrorlink (wired+wireless).

https://avinusa.com/bmw-e46-avant2-full-android-multimedia-navigation-system.html

They have a comprehensive install guide too and looks like they have spent some time putting thought into what to put in it. Free UK shipping too.

I'll wait 2 weeks and if no Andrive stock arrives I'll order that.
 
Finding a decent OEM looking head unit that isn't a Chinese clone one of the big name ones (Dynavin/Ownice/Andrive etc) is a nightmare.

I'm still waiting on the Parrot Asteroid Smart RNB6 but the £350~ of the current model is very tempting.

DIY modding the existing BMW CD head unit harness seems simple enough in conjunction with the aftermarket double din fascia. It should end up looking like this:

[ig]http://robbiekhan.co.uk/root/temp/smarte46.jpg[/img]

As you can see, from the guy's pic, the sides are quite empty, how this looks does seem to depend on the trim and cabin colours. Luckily my dash is black with dark grey trim anyway so it should look alright.

I can wait, I will see how long the Android Auto unit takes to be released and how much, else I'll go with the Smart. installation sounds like a mixed bag, some saying the wires supplied will simply work whereas others saying re-wiring is required - I'm really not so sure.

Naturally I'd prefer an OEM looking one so if by that time Andrive's unit is back in stock I may give them a 2nd chance...


That honestly looks fine! Unless it seriously did look completely gash (I'm talking some flip out screen thing of which the above looks infinitely better than, or maybe a single DIN unit sitting amongst a sea of cheap fascia adaptor plastics), then I'd prioritise sound quality, functionality, reliability, and ergonomics over the fact it doesn't quite perhaps look as 110% OEM as a cheap Chinese POS. :p



PMK, do a writeup/thread on your car change please :p
 
That honestly looks fine! Unless it seriously did look completely gash (I'm talking some flip out screen thing of which the above looks infinitely better than, or maybe a single DIN unit sitting amongst a sea of cheap fascia adaptor plastics), then I'd prioritise sound quality, functionality, reliability, and ergonomics over the fact it doesn't quite perhaps look as 110% OEM as a cheap Chinese POS. :p



PMK, do a writeup/thread on your car change please :p

Tell me about it!

The Parrot one has higher quality components, a decent Mosfet amp and higher quality Bluetooth standard too, as well as a higher quality dual external mic but the Avin-2 has discreet external GPS dongle that tucks just under the heater vents and magnetically attaches to the pipework behind them and receives perfect reception there - The upshot of this is no visible cabling/aerials on the dash.

The Parrot is actively updated and is easily rooted too.

Swings and roundabouts :S
 
Back
Top Bottom