# concidering E46 M3



## J55TTC (Apr 25, 2005)

I am concidering selling the TT and going over to an E46 M3. At the moment you can pick up quite a nice 2003 example for around the Â£22k mark. However, with the obvious and fairly imminent arrival of the E90 I wondered what peoples opinions were on how the price on these would drop.

I was thinking Â£22k examples now would be in the region of Â£16k - Â£17k in 6 months time, or am I being hopefull?

All comments welcome.


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## Leg (Jan 11, 2006)

My neighbour has just ordered an E92 and has an 03 (might be 53, it has a private plate on it so not sure) E46 M3 Coupe in Carbon Black with black interior and it has only done a genuine 8000 or so miles. Has the 19 inch polished wheels.

The man is obsessive about looking after it, Ive seen him get it out of the garage at 7am on a weekday, clean it and then because it looks like rain put it back in and go to work in his Fiesta.

If you're interested I can ask him how much he wants for it.


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## Wondermikie (Apr 14, 2006)

Can't see them dropping that much in such a short space of time TBH, the E90 won't really affect older cars that much.

Running an ///M car is an expensive business, personally I wouldn't be doing it out of warranty either, which is Â£1600 per year to extend with BMW, and some services will cost you Â£700+.

Buying it is one thing, keeping it going is something else altogether.


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## 55JWB (May 7, 2002)

Great cars, keeping the warranty is an issue though... I enjoyed mine, the performance is excellent :wink:

Jason


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## tommyt (Nov 14, 2003)

My M3 will be on the market soon for around Â£19k, just to give you a rough guide on price from a private seller. It has all the toys Sat Nav, 19s etc. Its Carbon Black with Imola red interior and has about 16k on the clock. I have seen examples at 22 or 23k privately, but they wont sell until they drop their prices.
All round they are a pretty decent car, with very few faults. Running costs are ok. I average 23mpg and its deceptively quick. Only down side for me is the price of tyres. Just replaced two fronts at Â£240 each and the rears were replaced last year and were more expensive.
Values wont take the expected hit with the arrival of the new car as the new M3 may not be as good as expected. I ve driven it and although I was impressed it is no quicker tha the E46.


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## J55TTC (Apr 25, 2005)

Thanks for the replies.

The running costs are to be expected and dont bother me too much, Im already paying similar although slightly cheaper amounts to run the TT. MPG doesnt really bother me too much either as the car will not be an everyday run about.

What appealed to me was what seems to be value for money, 340BHP, similar torques, good build quality and they seem quite reliable. Im keen to go through a dealer, you pay over the odds slightly but you can iron out any problems in the first year for free.

Oh yes and I need to get our son in the back, there doesnt seem to be many other options out there in 2 + 2's. Ill see what happens when the E92 is "out" properly.

tommyt - yours sounds like a good deal


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## PhilJ (Sep 2, 2002)

I ran an E46 M3 for just under two years. I only sold it to get a CSL.

If you are looking at M3s sold before 2003, you need to check that its had the recall work done on the engine (rod bearing shells). Any BMW service department should be able to call up the information for you, and should give you a print off confirming the works were done. It was also list any other warranty work undertaken.

Although I bought my 2002 M3 privately, it came with the balance of BMWâ€™s warranty. You can renew these, but in the last couple of years they have got more expensive. I think for cars under 60000 miles they are Â£1100, and Â£1800 for cars over 60,000 miles. Warranty Direct offer a policy through BMW Car Club for Â£900 per year.

In 20000 miles, the only issue I had was a rear spring broke (quite common apparently). This was fixed under warranty but would have only been a few hundred pounds.

I was getting about 23mpg. I got a set of Michelin PS2s for around Â£850. The servicing alternates between one oil service and one large service. Oil service around Â£200, main service Â£700 to Â£900, and you should get around 18000 miles between large services.

The only down sides are the steering, which is pretty numb, and the brakes arenâ€™t up for track work. Fantastic engine, and being rwd, itâ€™s a lot of fun. Also decent sized boot and sits 4 adults in comfort.


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## p1tse (Sep 20, 2004)

if i had the cash i would make the change

i too like these

would you go manual or smg?


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## J55TTC (Apr 25, 2005)

Thanks PhilJ, very useful input.

p1tse, manual, never really been a fan of paddles


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## p1tse (Sep 20, 2004)

but i've heard the smg is a great kit. the csl has it!

takes getting you to. it's got different settings etc. so unlike the dsg


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## JAAYDE (Aug 15, 2006)

I went down this road many a time..

The E46 M3 is nice, probably the nicest shape 3 series they have ever made  .. CSL is even nicer

The apperance of the E46 is cool the rest of the car is just dull(excluding the performance) and the TT interior and craftsmenship does it for me. BM's are not like they used to be the build quality is just not as good IMO.

Test drive one and see what you think but look past the preformance and you may see what i'm getting at..


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Leg said:


> My neighbour has just ordered an E92 and has an 03 (might be 53, it has a private plate on it so not sure) E46 M3 Coupe in Carbon Black with black interior and it has only done a genuine 8000 or so miles. Has the 19 inch polished wheels.
> 
> The man is obsessive about looking after it, Ive seen him get it out of the garage at 7am on a weekday, clean it and then because it looks like rain put it back in and go to work in his Fiesta.
> 
> If you're interested I can ask him how much he wants for it.


That is the sort of car to go for - owned by a fussy type.

Find out his trade-in offer for it against the E92. :idea:


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## p1tse (Sep 20, 2004)

been in many of e46s, not sure what you mean about build quality. do agree on other than performane.

main thing it's subtle, say not like a mitsi evo.
and the main thing for it, bit more space than the TT


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## JAAYDE (Aug 15, 2006)

p1tse said:


> been in many of e46s, not sure what you mean about build quality. do agree on other than performane.
> 
> main thing it's subtle, say not like a mitsi evo.
> and the main thing for it, bit more space than the TT


I hava also, test drove around 10 and a friend also has one.

When i say build quality i mean interior fixtures, my friend has had his door card fall off, his xenon auto adjuster failed twice just little things but mind you so does the TT at least things don't fall off in the TT .

The sound is very nice with a racing exhaust









I did find it a bit of a wolf in sheeps clothing, I didn't think it would be as quick as it is.


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## p1tse (Sep 20, 2004)

> did find it a bit of a wolf in sheeps clothing, I didn't think it would be as quick as it is.


that's a great quote, from you, as i feel you have high expectations.

been on youtube and seen supercharged m3's and yikes :twisted:


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## JAAYDE (Aug 15, 2006)

p1tse said:


> > did find it a bit of a wolf in sheeps clothing, I didn't think it would be as quick as it is.
> 
> 
> that's a great quote, from you, as i feel you have high expectations.
> ...


If the kit wasn't 10k i would have gone with the M3 and done this





 enjoy :wink:


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