opinions on a E46 M3

[bss325i]

I terms of modern BMW's a grey E46 CSL is a work of art.







Wish they did a manual!

[blingsta]

thanks for all the info guys...

i think ive made up my mind.. i'll be going for a estoril blue convertible and manual...

will make sure to check its history and try to arrange for the car to go on a ramp to check the floor pan

[tomski]

There is a nice blue one for sale on the m3cutters site at the moment has a hardtop to go with it too.

[capri_rob]

I think they're awesome cars but they have a terrible image problem - most of the ones I see around have been got at by the innit brigade. Convertibles in particular seem to attract a very special underclass of vermin

[blingsta]

There is a nice blue one for sale on the m3cutters site at the moment has a hardtop to go with it too.

just seen it
looks nice.. just what im after

[bss325i]

Convertibles in particular seem to attract a very special underclass of vermin

Phoenix yellow SMG cabrio FTCW!

[capri_rob]

Convertibles in particular seem to attract a very special underclass of vermin

Phoenix yellow SMG cabrio FTCW!

Phat ! gotta have the cabby so every1 can see me rollin wi ma bitches innit bruv

Headrest screens wit a bangin ICE install yagetme

Give it 10 years - the sh1t ones will have been crashed and/or used as engine donors, the bruvs will have moved onto something else and the ones that have been bought by people who can afford to run and maintain them properly will be worth seeking out

[bss325i]

Convertibles in particular seem to attract a very special underclass of vermin

Phoenix yellow SMG cabrio FTCW!

Phat ! gotta have the cabby so every1 can see me rollin wi ma bitches innit bruv

Headrest screens wit a bangin ICE install yagetme

Give it 10 years - the sh1t ones will have been crashed and/or used as engine donors, the bruvs will have moved onto something else and the ones that have been bought by people who can afford to run and maintain them properly will be worth seeking out

Its where E36 M3's are at now. Almost.

[Rodderz]

If I sold my C2 cab I would probably look into buying one.

I wouldn't buy one unless I had had in inspected though.

[Blitz]

Has anyone noticed there are much less E9X M3's compared to when E46 M3's were about?

[bss325i]

We get plenty through the doors at work, suprisingly a lot of salloons.

[harry_p]

i'd love an e90 m3 saloon. black with black leather, manual on the 18s please.

re e46, if you cant get it somewhere with a ramp, try and park it with one side up a curb and take a blanket, it should be high enough to shimmy under with a torch, any cracks in the floor around the mounts should be pretty easy to spot.

i still go through phases of wanting an e46 m3, especially now you can pick up a half decent one for what i paid for my e30 5 years ago as said though, they have a pretty shocking image at the moment, and there's a lot of crap out there.

ive also got old and find having 4 doors bloody usefull so may well end up skipping the e46 all together. the dream would be a csl with a manual conversion. just keep all the smg bits safe to put back on in 10 years when the crap gets fragged and values climb

[pony]

I have just seen this post.

All i can say is go through the service history with a VERY FINE COMB.

Get it professionally inspected on a ramp.

With respect to Manual/SMGII i actually would choose a Manual just for the enjoyment of improving gear changes up/down however the SMGII (from past experience) is a tremendous amount of fun and very simple to use. Alot of people complain it is harsh and maybe it is compared to DCT but i never driven a DCT so i dont know. I think it is something like if the "Launch Control" which is only available on SMGII has been used more than X times BMW invalidates the warranty if it has one. I could not comment on the reliability of SMGII as i do not know.

There are quite a few buyers guides out there familiarise yourself with those if you are serious.


Lol i think Pheonix Yellow is a cool colour. I have seen someone drive about in a Laguana Seca Blue one a few times i think it is Cabroilet. Very rare colour. However, i dont like the colour.

[lyricalnut02]

i love these cars and will defo be investing in one soon, grey for me they just look awesome, and manual all day everyday.

[bss325i]

One of the best condition E46 M3's i have seen was Laguna seca blue with matching Laguna seca blue leather!

It was an 02 reg SMG car and had 19's but other than that has no other options, not even a front arm rest!

It had done only 17000 miles and was like a new car, it was sold for £14k as an approved used car when i worked at Chandlers Hailsham back in '10.

I think a white E46 M3 with Laguna seca blue leather would look stunning but both white paint and Laguna seca blue leather are incredibly rare!

[anothere21323i]

I think the running service was important to keep the original warranty, but know most cars are out of warranty I dont think its that big an issue.
Andrew

Do NOT buy a car that isn't covered by the BMW Warranty. Unless you are super rich, running one is expensive enough as it is (tyres, fuel economy) but if something fails it will cripple you to fix.

I ran a 2005 M3 CS for about a year and was glad to see the back of it TBH.

[bennydotc]

I've had mine for about 3 months now. It's an '02, black on black, 114K miles, manual, FBMWSH, 2 owners, Insp I due in 12K miles, HK (no nav) and lovely 18's - won't be changing them Recently had new disks/pads, rear springs, RTAB, FCAB.......and all this for £1,800 less than a new KIA Picanto.

Not planning on changing anything other than the clubsport shorter gear knob and I'll need to replace my door card pull handles as they've cracked/blistered. I've fitted a Connects2 ipod adapter, a new front indicator, new badges and that'll do me for now. Maybe I'll treat it to clear indicator bulbs it it's lucky.

I've had quicker, better looking and more comfy cars, but not one that does everything so well in one package. It's a great daily driver.


Completely standard M3 lovelyness...

[e30topless]

that Looks really nice Ben

[bennydotc]

Cheers Steve. Bit more comfortable than the truck was but not half as cool

[kieran325]

Nice Ben

I fancy that myself

[bennydotc]

Cheap as chips at the moment mate. Very OEM as you like 'em but nowhere near tidy enough for your standards

[mabz]

Cheap as chips at the moment mate. Very OEM as you like 'em but nowhere near tidy enough for your standards

they certainly are,some over on the m3 forum im on are pulling there hair out at the prices they are selling for at the minute,especially the folk that payed strong money 6 months ago.its best to just bite the bullet and enjoy

[e30s50b30]

guys what can i expect to pay for one of these realistically ? the ones i have seen have over inflated prices on piston heads !

[old_skool]

I had an E46 M3 in around 2003 if I recall. It was a 2002 model with SMG. I opted for the SMG because I found the clutch incredibly heavy on the manual. I have a V12 with a manual box now, and it's nowhere near as heavy or awkward as that was - so go figure. Plus at the time flappy paddles were new and cool.

I actually grew to really like the SMG, especially the launch control feature, and the ability to alter the speed of the gear change to make it less ferocious. I think a big put off with SMG is that a lot of people simply didn't get it, and didn't get used to easing off whilst the gears changed - instead driving it like an automatic. When driven well the SMG could be very comfortable and was quite fun. I would urge anyone to drive one first before ruling it out.

Regarding running-in; when I sold my E60 M5, the dealers were mainly interested in the running-in service before they would talk about the rest of the car. It's obviously a big deal - I'm assuming this is pretty much warranty related and would not only effect the manufacturers warranty but also cause issues with adding a BMW extended warranty.

[bss325i]

Crikey! Hello stranger!

[E30BeemerLad]

err what's this V12 manual fodder the Damo? Not an Aston?

[old_skool]

Crikey! Hello stranger!

Hi Barry, how's it going?

err what's this V12 manual fodder the Damo? Not an Aston?

Hi Lee, I would never play you at Cluedo - spot on old chap

[bennydotc]

I opted for the SMG because I found the clutch incredibly heavy on the manual.

I find that quite surprising. I don't think it's much heavier than the other E46's that I've driven really (318, 325, 330) and I use mine every day.

guys what can i expect to pay for one of these realistically ? the ones i have seen have over inflated prices on piston heads !

It's a bit of a generalisation but you've got to be looking at at least 10% of asking prices at the moment. It really is a buyers market when it comes to E46 M3's at the moment.

[ricey46]

I bought a Laguna Seca M3 about 18months ago, I love it!! Although I done what you always shouldn't, buy the first one you see.. but it had everything i was looking for, matching leather, Harman kardon were the important ones.





It had the famous floorpan cracks, but I fought with bmw for about 4months and got them fixed with them paying the cost in its entirety. A little like this...








Also just before going to Gaydon last year it developed a very slight misfire of which led to this...







But with all that sorted now, its running like a wee sweetie, Cant wait to get it back on the road end of April time, between now and then i'm going to get the rear subframe shotblasted and powder coated and all new bushes, but that's another story.

Even after all that I'm addicted to it!

So if you do go and buy one watch out for,
-floor pan cracks
-slight misfire or pinking, Head gasket, mainly higher mileage cars
-knocking from the diff
-sticking front calipers
-Constant Pressure valve leaking at the back of the block, Oil leak
-be aware of the cam bolts problem and noisy Vanos
-broken rear springs
-corroded 19" wheels
-and Rust is starting to take hold of them now

But dont let that scare you off they're great!!lol.

[bss325i]

I'm going to be doing a head gasket on one next week as a PJ. I have invested in the various Cam and vanos tools to do this job as this is starting to become an issue with some higher mileage cars especially ones that have been continually run on 95 ron petrol.

Its always seems to happen between 5 and 6 like yours. Was your head ok? There is no tolerance for skimming S54 heads and can erode like yours has started to.

AJ singh said his dealer did one where the customer opted to have the head repaired else where and they put it back together despite no being recommended to.

How's the tech 1 resto BTW?

[ricey46]

I bought the cam timing tool from Coopers for about 75quid, worked a treat, i done a slight modification as you can see, I wanted both cams locked so screwriver cam in handy.lol.



The head was fine, just a very slight groove between chambers on the head, a light skim, valve stem seals changed and reground valves, an acid dip and pressure test for 240quid, well chuffed with that. It came out perfect..



I've heard of gaskets going in two or three places, i've gotten off lightly.

Well the sport resto, lol. Its sitting stripped at my unit waiting to go to the body shop, plan is to get it there about August time. Just recently out my time as a spark so I had to wait till that was done as money was crap as an apprentice. Technically i'm talking bollocks as I bought an M3, but hey it'll be done when its done!
It's still sitting like this..


Not for long though!!