Will the e46 non M3 be special?

almoststew1990

almoststew1990

almoststew1990

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That is to say, will they go up in value?

I see that prices for e36's seems to vary wildly from £1,500 to £8,000+ for top of the range albeit low miles non M3 cars. I recall an old top gear episode some years ago where they were looking at getting these cars for £1,500 or so for motorcross, so they have gone up in value quite a bit!

Right now I feel that E46 values have plateaued, or if anything are starting to creep up! Do you predict that the a 330ci with "all the kit" with a manual (let's not pretend- yes it's my car) will see similar near to 10k prices down the road?
 
Down the road, yes, how long that road will be, difficult to say, I’d guess they’ve got some more falling to do just yet.

Once the only ones left are good ones, values will go up (look at e30’s) but it’ll be a while yet, you can still pick up very tidy and usable e36’s (non M) for very little money, prices for lower mileage / few owner examples are on the up undoubtedly through rarity, the e46 is still a common sight even very good ones which can’t generally be said of the e30 & e36.
 
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A car that's immaculate will increase in value eventually when it becomes more scarce.

Or are you intending to use the car.
 
Limited run models yes with the cream of the crop no doubt been the 330ci models and limited edition runs like clubsport.

A little like E30 325i Sport, nearly bought one, wish I had worth a lot more money now.

E46 M3 in good condition are already going up in value. CS models are now all over 20k, some over 30k and CSL's worth a fortune. Other E46 M3 fetching good money are properly well sorted track cars, like my own, the Tegiwa ones and several others people have built and spent lots of money maintaining.

If its a diesel one, no one will want that, bin it. :D

P.S. Make sure its a manual!
 
As above, cars that are rust free(/repaired properly), well mechanically maintained and crucially low mileage will likely go up in value quite a bit ove time.

Whilst you may not really lose any money on a well kept 330ci with either average (and i dont mean 12kpa average) or highish miles your potential market narrows. At least until there really are only a few cars left, which will be some time away!
 
330ci Clubsports have gone up a bit since I bought mine a few years back, not sure if they'll stay that way considering they're a tarted up 330ci with a faster rack and not much else, but they're definitely getting rarer :)
 
Atari said:
330ci Clubsports have gone up a bit since I bought mine a few years back, not sure if they'll stay that way considering they're a tarted up 330ci with a faster rack and not much else, but they're definitely getting rarer :)
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They will keep going up!

A reason the run of the mill M3 went up, is because the CSL went up so much, people went looking at CS and clean standard models and are willing to pay the higher prices to get a decent example because now a good CSL is mega money.
The days of M3's for 4-5k that are category free and actually driving OK are gone, its hard to find a good one now for less than 10k unless your very lucky.

Me and a mate were M3 shopping few months ago, looked at loads of cars between 6-12k and no word of a lie most of them were tatty or drove odd like problems were being hidden, I let him borrow mine for a day so he knew exactly how one should drive. In the end he found a manual one which was stock but was tatty but he got that for around 8k, the bodywork only needed TLC and the mechanical issues were all due to be replaced, brakes suspension etc which would have cost around 6-7k to do.

As such he got another once a pheonix yellow SMG and apart from it not driving in a straight line and having wobbling mirrors it did have a BBK, CSL air box, KW suspension, all the stuff he wanted. So he purchased this one too, was about 12k. Put it back to stock, fixed it issues and sold it for around 11k. He then added all the parts to his manual one along with boot floor repair and new rod bearings as preventative maintenance as its a track car. Drives nice now apart from a hesitation which he is looking into, only does it at WOT when shifting 2-3 so its a bit odd.

But a clean M3 is not an easy find, there are a lot of expensive M3's too but price does not make it a good example, some of the expensive ones are a bit rough too. Its a reason I am holding on too mine and I've had quite a few offers on it, a couple over twenty grand but I don't want to part with it and the value is only going to go up over time anyway. :)
 
I still see a lot of standard e46s around. They just made to many of them for it to be an appreciating classic any time soon.
 
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Nasher said:
I still see a lot of standard e46s around. They just made to many of them for it to be an appreciating classic any time soon.
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Were talking generally limited run models like Clubsport and M3's and they are already on the up. :)
 
In theory anything will be special if its old and mint enough - look at the sort of money people pay for even ordinary examples of cars from the 1960's.

But a regular E46 has many years of being a crap old banger to go before it gets anywhere near that.
 
The sort of timescale you're looking for isn't just another 5 years, but 10+ years.

By the time an E46 is desirable or special enough to warrant E30 levels of coin, I fear that many garages that exist today specialising in servicing them just won't be about any more, or will charge the earth to service them. Speaking more for the M3 of course. But E46 parts in general will be ridiculously expensive as the only place you will likely be able to get OEM parts will be a main dealer who will ship the part in from a a German factory.

E46 wings have a finite lifespan before they start to rot from the inside out. That life is approx 10 years. People replace rusting wings with used non-rusted wings, so those wings have an even shorter lifespan. Wings are not cheap, some £400 now per wing!

And then there is boot lid rust, stone chips that if left untreated will result in rust... You get the idea.

I fear the examples that fetch serious money in the distant future will be ones that have barely been driven and been garaged most of their lives. If it sits on the driveway and is used year round then it's going to slowly rot away each year until you throw money at it replacing those bits. And by that point you just won't feel like selling it anyway because of all the TLC you've put into keeping it in good condition.

IMO if you have one now and it's in good condition, keep it and just enjoy driving it. Loads of people out there that aren't even car people seem to appreciate a nice example when they see them on the road.
 
Is there also a fear that hmrc will disproportionately increase VED for older petrols with with higher CO2 output come electrification ?
(my M52 2.0 >210g costs £270)
 
Mine is not a nice example particularly - badly rusted wings, drinks oil badly, many many many less serious niggles... but then again no boot lid rot or VANOS issues. Also a msport with "everything" except for the original built in sat navigation. But then it's a pre face-lift (although in my opinion looks better/classier and has aged better) ... So bit of a mixed bag!

I do enjoy driving it and it certainly isn't a low miles car but I am at a bit of a crossroads with my partner's car - do we get a medium sized car that I DD and mine is a relegated to fun car only and I can put my own time and money into it, or do we get a smaller car and mine is still my DD as it is now...
 
If you want something depreciation proof which you can "use daily", look at the 90s Jap sports cars. S2000s, Skylines, Imprezas, etc. They rust a bit but the engines and electronics are mostly bomb proof.
 
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mrk said:
The sort of timescale you're looking for isn't just another 5 years, but 10+ years.

By the time an E46 is desirable or special enough to warrant E30 levels of coin, I fear that many garages that exist today specialising in servicing them just won't be about any more, or will charge the earth to service them. Speaking more for the M3 of course. But E46 parts in general will be ridiculously expensive as the only place you will likely be able to get OEM parts will be a main dealer who will ship the part in from a a German factory.

E46 wings have a finite lifespan before they start to rot from the inside out. That life is approx 10 years. People replace rusting wings with used non-rusted wings, so those wings have an even shorter lifespan. Wings are not cheap, some £400 now per wing!

And then there is boot lid rust, stone chips that if left untreated will result in rust... You get the idea.

I fear the examples that fetch serious money in the distantIMO if you have one now and it's in good condition, keep it and just enjoy driving it. Loads of people out there that aren't even car people seem to appreciate a nice example when they see them on the road.
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The same can be said of any BMW - or whatever car - of a similar era to the e46, my e38 is no exception, despite it being a one owner garage queen in its past, now I’ve got it and it sits outside all the time it’s started to show early signs of very slight bubbling in the usual places after a winter of road salt, the arches and around the lip of the boot lid are the areas affected.
I’ve had quotes to put it right ranging from £250 for effectively a touch up through to around £1500 depending on what needs doing once it’s stripped back, I’m opting for the latter as I want it done right to prevent it arising again in the near future (although I appreciate rust prevention on an old car that’s kept outside is a losing battle) I’m happy though, I got a good one and intend to keep it that way, I’ve been offered more than I paid for it a few times (my details sourced from here so I’m told) but I’m not after a return, it’s a car I love and want to keep long term but realise throwing big money at it is par for the course.
In addition to the bodywork I want sorting it’s having an inspection II next month at BMW despite it being roughly double what an independent would charge, I’ll be dropping ballpark £2k on work I could arguably get done on the cheap for a third of the cost but, applying my man logic, the moment I do that it’ll no longer be “a good one”

Rarity is in mines favour compared to an e46 but what it is - thirsty luxo barge that’s expensive to run - goes massively against it.

If I can keep it looking as it does now and continue to get the constant comments about it then it will be well worth it to my mind, whatever it appreciates by (if anything!) is going to be offset massively by its upkeep to the standard I want it to maintain, so long as it remains one of the few good ones out there then I’ll be happy.

Whilst it would certainly make more sense to apply this “logic” to a more desirable (to some) e46, I like the e38 for my sins.

Probably bonkers, yes, I’m sure, hopefully what’s expected from someone who’s lusted after a nice e38 for years though.... :o :)
 
jpaul said:
Is there also a fear that hmrc will disproportionately increase VED for older petrols with with higher CO2 output come electrification ?
(my M52 2.0 >210g costs £270)
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No. There is no history or nor planned intention of retrospectively increasing VED by more than inflation.
 
Joe T said:
No. There is no history or nor planned intention of retrospectively increasing VED by more than inflation.
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Also no real need to ever do this, with the rate that the average "national fleet" is replaced the problem takes care of itself.
 
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