E46 M3 Owners
- Thread starter howler
- Start date
They're pretty robust, check for usual signs of abuse. If going for an early car (pre-June '03 IIRC) check for the required recalls.
At about 40K to 50K they will generally need a fair bit of cash: Inspection II service, brake discs, maybe shocks etc. Will cost a fair bit.
However, the most noticeable item that shows wear IMO is the rear trailing arm bushes. They wear quite heavily, but get these replaced and the car can feel like new again. If doing it, it's well worth slapping a limiter kit on there too as that will reduce wear going forward. Change other bushes regularly too. OEM are good enough IMO, depending on your use.
EDIT: Also meant to add, the M3 can suffer from the problem of snapping springs fairly regularly. I had 6 in 4 years. Also, top mounts can go too and the rear handbrake mechanism sometimes needs attention (listen for a squeak as you get out of the car as a common indicator). All easily sorted though.
At about 40K to 50K they will generally need a fair bit of cash: Inspection II service, brake discs, maybe shocks etc. Will cost a fair bit.
However, the most noticeable item that shows wear IMO is the rear trailing arm bushes. They wear quite heavily, but get these replaced and the car can feel like new again. If doing it, it's well worth slapping a limiter kit on there too as that will reduce wear going forward. Change other bushes regularly too. OEM are good enough IMO, depending on your use.
EDIT: Also meant to add, the M3 can suffer from the problem of snapping springs fairly regularly. I had 6 in 4 years. Also, top mounts can go too and the rear handbrake mechanism sometimes needs attention (listen for a squeak as you get out of the car as a common indicator). All easily sorted though.
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Rear coil springs are common but not expensive
check all recalls done
also check condition of pds, disks and tyres as replacing all these will be in region of £2k
1200 mile service being on time is essential for resale
Satnav had big impact on used prices, no one wants 18 inch wheels, avoid 19s that heve been refurbed or need doing
check where in service life it is, imminent inspection will cost a bit
check all recalls done
also check condition of pds, disks and tyres as replacing all these will be in region of £2k
1200 mile service being on time is essential for resale
Satnav had big impact on used prices, no one wants 18 inch wheels, avoid 19s that heve been refurbed or need doing
check where in service life it is, imminent inspection will cost a bit
The 1200 mile service is the run-in service, it's desirable to have a car with it done as it gives peace of mind that it's been looked after.
.Its fair to say that many drivers tend to drive them very carefully and they should have got the 330d - if you do drive the car in the way it should be driven then expect sizeable bills sooner.
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To be honest the 1200 mile service is a bit of an odd one. Everyone is hugely bothered by it even though it has no practical benefit anymore - the big deal was the warranty was void without it being done bang on time, but the the thing is, most of them are way out of warranty now.
Not really.
As has been said the M3 has a few known 'consumables' such as rear springs but in the main the expensive bits are pretty bullet proof. You need to check if it's an older car if the recall work has been carried out not least the bottom end replacement on the older cars. The 1200 miles service become less of an issue as these things age as many wont have a warranty so it's not really a big issue but I would still want to see the running in service stamp in my log book if I was buying one.
SMG can be tempremental and can cause problems but the fact is most run for well over 100K miles without anything major going wrong and the S54 engine is a very solid lump that seems to love miles without much problem.
What, like a fine from the local court?
The only reason an M3 would need discs prior to that is if it's been tracked (with harder pad compounds) or someone's riding the brakes. The discs are good for 40K+ with hard use on std set up, even with uprated fluid and hoses. Pads are not, of course.
Same with shocks, we have some of the worst roads (surface) up here and me and a few pals have seen 50k+ on std shocks (some with Eibachs and uprated ARB's) no problem at all. I can assure you, that was on cars that were driven in the manner you expected!
I would suggest that if an expensive bill on wear & tear parts came earlier in the cars life, it was probably "abused".
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