Elise to M3?

[markizok]

Hi chaps.

My misses is at the end of her line with the elise so im looking for a change and am now considering an m3 - My budget is £20k - £25k and i want a cabriolet. I have heard some horror stories re: servicing and running costs, can any one give me some real life expereineinces please?

From what i have heard i could actullly buy an old 993 911 and it will cost similar amounts to run!

[GTRene]

Hi Mark, a Porsche 933 is a good car and when you buy a good one that is well serviced your bills stay low and they are economic too...only with real big engine issue's the costs can be high...
Also a M3(in your case a ca-brio) can be very good and "cheap" to run if you have a fine example, but when you buy a S54 E46 M3 that was build between 2001 and 2003 be sure the engine had a update!! there were some faults in the design and setup of the engine that made them go bang when you use all the 8.000rpm a lot(oil problems) some got new engine's and some up-date's but buying a good car after 2003(factory date) you mostly have a fine car(better buy a special Z3 M coupe though, they drive better all day in and out the whole year then a Elise) have fun.
GTRene

[freedman]

For the money, an M3 is a far far better bet than a 993 (though a good 993 is a great drive and beatiful to look at)

Dont worry about the M3 engine scares there was afactory recall for this as lo0ng as the car has had it doen and the important 1200 mile running in service you'll be fine.

An M3 cabin is a nice place to be(your wife will like it), comfortable with all mod cons, a 993 in antiquated an quirky by comparion.

Oh and an M3 is quicker than a 993 as well. Though is more expensive to run and service in my experience.

You'd be better off going for an early 996 which have come down to below 993 prices if you wanted to go the Porsche route.

Edited by freedman on Sunday 25th February 11:36

[markizok]

Cheers chaps. I have been doing some research today and from what i have found as long as i get a warrenty with the M3 all should be good - its deffo an m3 im will be getting if i change my car.

Just one more question, do i have to get a car from a BMW dealer to get a BMW warrenty, also do you see the prices dropping much after the new version is released later this year (dangerous question on here im sure!?!)

[freedman]

No as long as the car is 'in warranty' you can renew it again, you dont need to buy from a BMW dealer to get it. Be aware though you cannot put a BMW warranty on a car that doesnt have an existing one. (unlike Porsche who will warranty any car up to its 9th bithday as long as it passesa 111 point check)

[markizok]

Wicked, so to clarify, if i bought privatly and it had a current BMW warrenty BMW are obliged to renew it?

If thats the case thats great, would that mean it wouldnt be worth getting the car inspected before purchase?

[freedman]

markizok said:

Wicked, so to clarify, if i bought privatly and it had a current BMW warrenty BMW are obliged to renew it?

If thats the case thats great, would that mean it wouldnt be worth getting the car inspected before purchase?

Yes if you have an existing warranty you can renew it, dont wortry they write to you, they want the money!!

Up to you regards the inspection, warranty doesnt equal no problems, but I chose not to have one on mine as it was one owner and beautifully looked after, however I still took a risk. I made sure that all the services ahd been carried out including the important 1200 mile running in service, and that any recalls had been carried out as required. This info is easy to obtain once you have the chasis number etc.

M3s are likely to have had recall/warranty work for, engine (recall) rear sping breakages (very common under warranty) and replacement mirror brackets (replaced or resprayed under warranty) a number of people have the wheels (usually 19s) replaced or refurbed under warranty.

[spy]

Is there anywhere online you cand find out about the recalls ?

I assume you have to ring BMW to ask if all recalls had been carried out on the car ?

[freedman]

spy said:

Is there anywhere online you cand find out about the recalls ?

I assume you have to ring BMW to ask if all recalls had been carried out on the car ?

I'm not sure, I rang up and checked whether there was anything outstanding on mine.

[markizok]

Thanks for that - am i correct in assuming that if the car has a warranty it will have had the 1200 mile service?

[bbigman2000]

markizok said:

Thanks for that - am i correct in assuming that if the car has a warranty it will have had the 1200 mile service?

not necessarily mate.
If the car is under 3 years old yes, some components [engine] may well not be covered even by the new car warranty if the cars not had its 1200-1800 mile run in service.

[freedman]

markizok said:

Thanks for that - am i correct in assuming that if the car has a warranty it will have had the 1200 mile service?

No, lots of cars appear to have missed it or at least not have it documented, you need to cover all the bases and dont assume the fact that a car has warranty means that everyting else will be 100%

Also if you want some detailed info on all aspects of M3 ownership try here


www.bm3w.co.uk/

Edited by freedman on Monday 26th February 09:38

[markizok]

I have just had a few quotes on the car for insurance and its proving quite high - Who do you all use?

My elsie costs £800, i just got a quote of £1500 - seems pricy!

[freedman]

markizok said:

I have just had a few quotes on the car for insurance and its proving quite high - Who do you all use?

My elsie costs £800, i just got a quote of £1500 - seems pricy!

Try confused.com at least you'll get abroad range of quotes, if you get adecent one try that insurer direct they are normally cheaper that way. Also try A Plan, they insure my M3 for 2 of us for £500 pa though that is with 9 years nc and its age dependant obviously.

[markda]

markizok said:

I have just had a few quotes on the car for insurance and its proving quite high - Who do you all use?

My elsie costs £800, i just got a quote of £1500 - seems pricy!

I changed the car half way through this policy, it's hard to get a good idea but remember thinking it wasn't as bad as expected. I was banking on £800 come renewal time, but the ABI are changing the insurance groups system, from 20 groups to 50, the convertibles (grp 43) are classified a group higher than the coupe (grp 42).

I might be in for a shock, currently insured with A-Plan. That said some of the guys on the BM3W forum said the renewals from them weren't very competitive. So they might be looking to offload the M cars?