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I_MNL 
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 Topic: Looking to buy an E46 M3Posted: 20-March-2012 at 01:46 |
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Hello
It's been some time I have been entertaining the idea to buy an M3...but always worried of the horrific(?) maintenance costs...  Just browsing on autotrader and then pistonheads, I found this one! And hopefully I shall test drive it this weekend! Any advice on this car would be highly appreciated: what to look for when I get there, how I can drop the asking price etc Many thanks
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Citizen of the Earth
 Explorer of Life  Marie-Noëlle or nick name MNL. NOT Marie or Noëlle ALONE! Alpina D3 2007 E36 316 1998 |
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Andrew Rolland
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Posted: 20-March-2012 at 08:17 |
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Only thing I can offer is that as it is an Approved Used BMW then you have a bombproof warranty. No doubt that is reflected in the price though.
I would only buy an AUC BMW for that kinda money but that's just me wanting to have a bit of security for that outlay.
IMO I would go for the newer V8 one
 but that's a different ball game. |
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Sporty1
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Posted: 20-March-2012 at 09:19 |
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IMO, that car is over priced by about £5-6K.
Have a look around there are independent dealer with 2006 30-40K mile cars for £16-17K, if you buy that I hope you are planning on keeping it a very long time as if you try and trade it in in 6-12 months they'll be bidding you early teens for it, assuming you don't do many miles in it. I might be mistaken but prepared to put a virtual £10 on the front tyre in the picture not being a premium branded tyre, which I always think speaks volume about a car and it's PO. The bombproof comprehensive warranty can be purchased for any BMW that has been fully ramped and stamped, and it doesn't even need to be full bmw dealer warranty either just carried out to dealer spec. |
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Issy
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Posted: 20-March-2012 at 22:35 |
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If you are thinking of buying an E46 M3 I can highly recommend it! Its a fantastic car!!!
Yes the maintenance costs can be high but I wouldnt say they are horrific. It all depends if you use a dealer or indi for repairs. As for that car I would agree that it is overpriced and you will be paying over the odds buying it from a dealer. The thing is if you pay that for it you will be horrified how the value drops as soon as you take it home. The main thing to check when you buying an E46 is the subframe. Check the history of the car if possible. If you are looking for loads of information on buying these cars check out M3cutters you will find all the information you need on here. |
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I_MNL
Really Senior Member I
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Posted: 21-March-2012 at 23:28 |
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Thanks a lot for your replies
 I'll do well my homework now before I get there. I also spotted this again on autotrader a modified and supercharged!!! Just wondering how reliable this might be and whether I should stay away? Price far cheaper than the other one. Will try to test drive this as well and see the difference
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Citizen of the Earth
Explorer of Life Marie-Noëlle or nick name MNL. NOT Marie or Noëlle ALONE! Alpina D3 2007 E36 316 1998 |
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Andrew Rolland
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Posted: 22-March-2012 at 08:30 |
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Brakes and suspension have been upgraded to cope with the power but has the transmission? I doubt it. That's quite a power increase over stock (~33%) so you would expect the need to modify the clutch, gearbox, the diff, the driveshafts etc. They would all need beefing up to cope with the power and torque increase.
I would only entertain if it was done properly by a reputable tuning company (I don't knwo the name mentioned in the add) like LSV, they took stock E39 540is and supercharged them but did full blown tweaks including transmission modifications.
But that's just me. I'm a great believer in leaving cars as their designer intended, boring, I know. |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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Sporty1
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Posted: 22-March-2012 at 09:08 |
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Cambell
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Posted: 26-March-2012 at 22:14 |
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I'm not a fan of the E46 M3 but that has to be the best colour combination I've seen yet. I love the champagne interior and in my opinion, its worth paying a premium for. The condition of the interior would probably be a reflection of how "ragged" it has been. Its a lovely looking car. Good luck.
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I_MNL
Really Senior Member I
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Posted: 01-April-2012 at 19:09 |
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At last I managed to see the M3 of £20,850 at the BMW dealer today. Just thought to share my thoughts and ask what you think.
I am not a car mecanic...but I can say I was hugely disappointed. Reasons? Please take a seat and carry on reading... The car is a 3-owner car, with the first 2 essentially BMW and staff. So 2 actual owners. The last owner acquired the car in 2008. At the sale in 2012, there was outstanding finance, which has been cleared, but there was a tiny (printing?) mistake at the dates (year 2009 instead of 2008) First service 1,200 OK in 2006. Next service at 10,000 miles (BMW dealer) in 2008 and next in 2009 with 30,000 miles ( by a garage...not even independent). The last service in February 2012 at 38,000 miles by the selling BMW dealer. So far NOT GOOD. To me, the car has a patchy service history, there are no further receipts available to support any maintenance work... Only 2 MOTs available. I'd have expected 3! NOT GOOD Visual inspection of the car: - Small stone chip at lower zone of windscreen at the RH side rectified - The base of the LH wing mirror had been resprayed or somehow painted (BADLY) as this was clearly visible whilst sitting at the passanger's side. My guess the LH mirror must have been previously damaged. On top of that, the mirrors are not electric and were quite hard to fold up (for a moment I thought they may break) - TYRES: Front were Kumho 225/40 19 93Y and rear were Avon 255/35 19 96Y, if I remember correctly. Not the greatest brands (am I correct?!?) for a 6-year old high performance car asking to fetch nearly £21k... I am not sure about the weights indices of only 93 front.... Tread left about 5mm; again I'd expect 7-8mm for the same reason. - BRAKE PADS: looking from outside the wheels I could see the pads from outside; front looked 9-10mm (confirmed by the selling dealer, as they had replaced them with the discs) and rear about 5mm thick. Discs were rusty though. - TEST DRIVE: This is an M3! I'd expect the thing to "fly"... But no... 30-50 with 3rd gear not impressive and same for 50-70 with 6th. On downshifting, I could hear the sound, but it was kind of metallic noise. Mind you, I have never driven an M3 before, so I don't know how it should sound. To me, I was tempted to ask the dealer but I did not(!), it was as if it was running on less than 6 cylinders... Maybe it was the short test drive route... I don't know... The car was quiet with the roof on. - Finally, I asked about the checks that the service department did... this 120-point inspection and report, as I obviously wanted to see it! The reply was that whatever the car needed doing, it was done and I was shown two pages with work that indeed had been done. I also saw somewhere "inv oil leak" and the...assumption was that this was sorted out... That's it! That was my first M3 E46 convertible experience. To you now for your thoughts
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Citizen of the Earth
Explorer of Life Marie-Noëlle or nick name MNL. NOT Marie or Noëlle ALONE! Alpina D3 2007 E36 316 1998 |
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I_MNL
Really Senior Member I
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Posted: 01-April-2012 at 19:12 |
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The car has also 1-year full BMW (not dealer) warranty with Europe wide assistance. How can this be whith this service history?
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Citizen of the Earth
Explorer of Life Marie-Noëlle or nick name MNL. NOT Marie or Noëlle ALONE! Alpina D3 2007 E36 316 1998 |
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moustapha
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Posted: 25-May-2012 at 16:57 |
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I see it's still up for sale, when are you going to snap it up
 I love the mix of purple and cream leather seats, if I had the money I'd have got it by now  BMW Servicing | Car Service |
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I_MNL
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Posted: 17-June-2012 at 13:31 |
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Well, there was a change of plan...after a lot of searching
 and test driving various BMWs  such as E46 M3 convertible 135i M-sport Convertible 2011 135i M-sport Convertible 2009 F30 320d Sport and Modern manual F30 320d ED manual F30 328i Modern auto Not to mention all the BMWs I drove during the Welsh weekend, the likes of M3, M5, 640d, X3d, 320d I decided to go for a 2007 BMW Alpina D3 turbo saloon
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Citizen of the Earth
Explorer of Life Marie-Noëlle or nick name MNL. NOT Marie or Noëlle ALONE! Alpina D3 2007 E36 316 1998 |
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eastern boy
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Posted: 07-August-2012 at 21:13 |
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Shame, I have a lovely E46 M3 SMG in Silver/Grey, 55 plate 1 owner car, full history 55,000 miles, will be AUC prepared and full BMW AUC warranty, leather in nice condition, all alloys being professionally re furb'd, tyres all good £15,000. Genuine car that has been lovingly cared for.
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Looking to buy an E46 M3
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