Just dropped a deposit on some M Power - Trackday Project Car

Gaygle · 31 Dec 2013 at 12:40

Gibbo said:
A guy I know sold an E46 M3 recently, FSH, Inspection 2 done, new brakes done, new SMG pump done, new suspension, CSL styled, everything replaced that can break.

Bad part 126,000 miles, but he sold it for like £5100 and is was spotless and no reason why it not do 50k trouble free as suspension, brakes etc. were all new.

Have the money ready, because out of every 10 cars sub 6k, 8-9 will be dogs and there will always be a real steal.

One of the best bargains by far now, if you buy right.

Having been reading lots about them for the past few months i can see how much they've come down in price and should you get one which has been looked after by a proper enthusiasts, i would have no (well, not as many) worries. That said, even on M3cutters, there are a lot of M3's with...er..."questionable" mods on them. I'm looking for standard or nearly standard as it will be a road car only. Would also definitely want one with floorpan work done, suspension replaced and possibly HG replaced as well.

I have the money ready at the moment (looking around £7-8k), unfortunately that would mean 2 300bhp+ cars sitting on the driveway for a while, which i can't really afford! Not to mention that i've just spent nearly £500 taxing my 335i, and £400 for the warranty on it and £375 for two new rear tyres so i would like to get some use out of my £1300 before i moved it on.

Probably will seriously look in July/August time so i can sell my car with a few months of warranty on it and a few months of tax on it to entice people.

Matt82 · 31 Dec 2013 at 12:47

Gibbo said:
A guy I know sold an E46 M3 recently, FSH, Inspection 2 done, new brakes done, new SMG pump done, new suspension, CSL styled, everything replaced that can break.

Bad part 126,000 miles, but he sold it for like £5100 and is was spotless and no reason why it not do 50k trouble free as suspension, brakes etc. were all new.

Have the money ready, because out of every 10 cars sub 6k, 8-9 will be dogs and there will always be a real steal.

One of the best bargains by far now, if you buy right.

Ive not looked at E46 adverts in ages, but do the adverts typically mention colour (paint and interior) how much service history it has, whether it has lowering springs and absolutely nothing about important maintenance/preventative maintenance work that has been done?

Gaygle · 31 Dec 2013 at 12:51

Matt82 said:
Ive not looked at E46 adverts in ages, but do the adverts typically mention colour (paint and interior) how much service history it has, whether it has lowering springs and absolutely nothing about important maintenance/preventative maintenance work that has been done?

Most do, yes. But the good ones have all the preventative stuff detailed too and are few and far between.

Just makes it even easier to find the diamonds in the rough i guess

Matt82 · 31 Dec 2013 at 13:04

Gaygle said:
Most do, yes. But the good ones have all the preventative stuff detailed too and are few and far between.

Just makes it even easier to find the diamonds in the rough i guess

The E36 adverts are a joke. Theyll tell you how long it had full dealer history for (ie up to 10 years ago) and nothing else.

Most will say if the wheels have been refurbed or if there is any rust.

Every couple months youll have a car come up where there has been any restoration/preventative maintenacne

If i was to put up an ad for mine i could fill a whole page just on the parts upgraded/replaced/renewed

Gaygle · 31 Dec 2013 at 13:09

Yeah - i agree completely.

If i was buying an M3 when it was 2 years old, the service history and the standard things may suffice, but when you're buying a 10 year old M3, you'd surely want to know more than what, let's face it, you can often see in the photos for yourself!

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 13:12

Uncle_Gravy said:
Oh for god sake Gibbo, i'm looking at M3s now, Just had a quick browse, and there are quite a few going, imo cheap, this one on sensible mileage, convert estoril blue and he wants £7,750 Link

Can you tell me why that, and other examples like that on PH are going for that price?

That's just their value now.

A 2006 sub 50k miles, CS model in absolute perfect condition are around 13-16k price wise.

So of course older cars with higher mileage of worth less. Yes some are bargains for sure, main thing to look out for is cars which have good service history and if they are high milers then check to see if the things prone to failing have being sorted, like SMG pumps, springs, dampers, brakes refreshed, inspection 2 service etc.

Its still an expensive car to run, 15-20mpg typically and a max of 30mpg on a long run on the motorway if your lucky.

The only good thing is now there is so many of them so if something does break the parts are now cheaper and re-conditioned or second hand parts can be picked up for very little.

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 13:17

Gaygle said:
Most do, yes. But the good ones have all the preventative stuff detailed too and are few and far between.

Just makes it even easier to find the diamonds in the rough i guess

If I was to sell mine, it would go along lines off:-
CPV valve changed, Inspection II done - Absolutely zero oil leaks.
Rear diff pinion seal replaced - Absolutely zero oil leaks.
New brake disc & pads all round.
Inspection II service done along with oil changes every 5000 miles in between.
New coil over suspension all round.
Evolve Remap, resulting in 367BHP.
BMC Panel filter
Complete performance exhaust system with Milltek cats
All vanos bolts, hub, exhaust updated with newer bolts as preventative.

Etc. etc. etc.

People who know them, care for them would have carried out preventative maintenance etc. making them a very good buy, of course it could still blow up the next day but unlikely.

I paid £6995 for mine with a lot of track focused items on the car, seats, full exhaust system, two-piece PF disc along with oil changes every 3k miles documentated along with all fluids changed throughout car within last 10000 miles. It was a track car and was maintained to a very high level, so driven with care and used as intended.

Ask for the VIN, check for recalls, ensure rod-bearing recall was done amongst any others.

Mine has not put a foot wrong, the work I've done is purely preventative work ensuring it is in tip top condition and hopefully ready for a year of trouble free track driving, barr tyres, brakes and oil.

They are great cars and there is some real bargains to be had, but there is some absolute dogs out there which will be a disaster if you buy wrong.

Uncle_Gravy · 31 Dec 2013 at 13:24

Gibbo said:
That's just their value now.

A 2006 sub 50k miles, CS model in absolute perfect condition are around 13-16k price wise.

So of course older cars with higher mileage of worth less. Yes some are bargains for sure, main thing to look out for is cars which have good service history and if they are high milers then check to see if the things prone to failing have being sorted, like SMG pumps, springs, dampers, brakes refreshed, inspection 2 service etc.

Its still an expensive car to run, 15-20mpg typically and a max of 30mpg on a long run on the motorway if your lucky.

The only good thing is now there is so many of them so if something does break the parts are now cheaper and re-conditioned or second hand parts can be picked up for very little.

Its nuts how cheap these cars have gotten, i'm thinking of these now instead of a Z4.

I'll have an everyday car anyway for work, this is something i'd take out now and then, or if I fancied showing off, it can accompany me to work one day.

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 14:00

Uncle_Gravy said:
Its nuts how cheap these cars have gotten, i'm thinking of these now instead of a Z4.

I'll have an everyday car anyway for work, this is something i'd take out now and then, or if I fancied showing off, it can accompany me to work one day.

The M3 is an everyday car, unless your gonna do what I've done.

The Z4 / Z4M is more special and more of an occasion but I always felt the M3 seemed faster and seemed to handle a lot better on the road. Made no sense as the Z4 is lighter and smaller.....

Uncle_Gravy · 31 Dec 2013 at 14:48

Gibbo said:
The M3 is an everyday car, unless your gonna do what I've done.

The Z4 / Z4M is more special and more of an occasion but I always felt the M3 seemed faster and seemed to handle a lot better on the road. Made no sense as the Z4 is lighter and smaller.....

I would have thought a 3.0 Z4 would have been a better everyday car, not a 3.2 340bhp gas guzzler

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 14:50

Uncle_Gravy said:
I would have thought a 3.0 Z4 would have been a better everyday car, not a 3.2 340bhp gas guzzler

Depends on your needs I suppose, the M3 has more mod-cons I think, more roomy interior, room for people in back and a bigger boot, which is where I am coming from on more practical front.

Plus convertible can be a tad annoying in the colder months when you have to have the roof up, simply not the same as a coupe.

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 16:24

Hi there

Just double checked ride heights:-

Front Driver: 332mm (330mm target)
Front Passenger: 331mm (330mm target)

Rear Driver: 325mm (325mm target)
Rear Passenger: 324mm (325mm target)

Within 1mm of optimal ride heights for handling and function. Good enough for me. When it is re-corner weighted I shall tell them to make the adjustments if required to aim for the targets.

A couple of images from side profile as requested:-

The handling with these ride heights is literally night and day, impressive considering current slippy road conditions, the rear has so much more traction now with far greater corner speeds, to the point, the car pushes at first which is actually nice understeer as turning it to oversteer is controlled via throttle input.

Very happy!

bledd · 31 Dec 2013 at 16:36

Looks sublime

Housey · 31 Dec 2013 at 16:38

Looking good Gibbo, wouldn't mind a run in this at some point, see how it compares to the normal car.

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 16:51

Housey said:
Looking good Gibbo, wouldn't mind a run in this at some point, see how it compares to the normal car.

Its a more hardcore and rawer experience than a CSL, but more comfortable if that makes sense due to the more accommodating seats and better quality suspension.

The only thing I might change after another track day or two, is to swap out the M3 anti-roll bars for the CSL versions if I feel it needs it, but the car is pretty flat to be honest, so seem to work quite well.

But in short over the moon with it, such an insanely quick car in the dry at everything, I think now 30-100mph is as quick or marginally quicker than 911, though of course beyond 130mph I think 911 would be ahead.

Still the S54 revving out to 8300rpm is S6 CSL gear shifts is a thing of joy, it is just the closest thing ever to a full blown sequential box, which has the option of being all slushy and lazy should you wish it.

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 17:22

Just being informed by another guy doing a similar project the before June 2002 cars with the older DSC system like mine actually have three modes, one is hidden.

1. DSC on
2. DSC off (traction / stability)
3. DSC / ABS off (Everything OFF - Only switchable back on with ignition cycled).

Now those with track cars or track driving will no ABS cut/trigger is nothing but a pain in the backside, especially in the wet on track, so finding out I can completely disable ABS at the press of a button (long press - 15s) is a great bonus.

Clarkey · 31 Dec 2013 at 17:28

All DSC e46 have 3 modes. Certainly a non-M car has
On
Off (just the skid light on), traction off, stability etc on.
Full off (skid and brakes lights on), everything off except ABS.

[TW]Fox · 31 Dec 2013 at 17:38

Yea, that's what I thought. Pretty sure there is no switchable ABS?

Gibbo · 31 Dec 2013 at 17:43

[TW]Fox;25575750 said:
Yea, that's what I thought. Pretty sure there is no switchable ABS?

I shall have to test it, supposedly the DSC model on my car has ABS disable function, shall try it in the car park later as I can trigger ABS so easy in wet, so very easy to tell if its on or off.

Gaygle · 31 Dec 2013 at 17:43

I too don't think ABS is switchable. Just what clarkey said.