E46 M3 recalls and service schedule

[andy43]

Couple of quick questions if I may - do the following mileages sound correct for an E46 M3? 1300 mls, 12500 mls, 22800 mls, 30700 mls and an insp 2 at 42600mls.
Can't get the dealer to release the reg number or chassis number to me over the phone for checking with BMW - fair enough, I could be after cloning it - I know about the recall on the main bearings, anything else major recall-wise I should know about?
TIA

[ian in lancs]

depnding on how its been driven it would go as shown below (this example is an average of 23mpg) with anything from 10k miles (18mpg) to 15k miles (27mpg) between any services - avoid ones with shorter intervals they've been driven hard...

1200 running in
12500 oil
25000 insp 1
37500 oil
50000 insp 2

What I like about BMW's on condition service regime is you can detmine how hard its been driven...

so for your car just divide the mileage by 550UK galls (BMW's service interval figure is 2500 litres)

this up to insp 1 23mpg, next service 14.36mpg?! and last one 21.63mpg. So maybe a hardish life!

My Z4M R averages 25mpg

Edited by ian in lancs on Wednesday 31st October 20:37

Edited by ian in lancs on Wednesday 31st October 20:42

[andy43]

Aha, so this ones has it's bottie spanked a few times then. Insp 2 at 42k instead of your 50k is a big difference.
Anyone know how it works out when it needs tlc - is it just down to how often it's been nailed, or is it worked out per journey or cold start etc?

[ian in lancs]

andy43 said:

Aha, so this ones has it's bottie spanked a few times then. Insp 2 at 42k instead of your 50k is a big difference.
Anyone know how it works out when it needs tlc - is it just down to how often it's been nailed, or is it worked out per journey or cold start etc?

I've shown how its calculated. As cold starts and heavy right foot use more fuel and wear then shorter intervals vs motorway cruising

I tink for BMW AUC if a service is close they have to do it before sale so if thats the current mileage thats the reason. I'd be more concerned about the 20-30k miles useage.

Edited by ian in lancs on Wednesday 31st October 20:41

Edited by ian in lancs on Wednesday 31st October 20:44

[andy43]

Cheers for that, very useful bit of info - I might give this one a miss.

[mikem7709]

It`s not as clear cut as that, so don`t be put off what might be a good car.

If the car is sold by a dealer and its within 4K of a service it has to be done early under the AUC terms. Mine was 4.5K short of an inspection when I bought it but they did it for me FOC as it was so close to the AUC`s 4K guideline.

[Donut]

Just make sure that the car has had the running in service before 2,000 miles.

Your warranty is invalid if it hasn't.

[MitchT]

... And make sure the big end bearing shells have been done. It wasn't quite a recall - people had to know about the need to have the work done and ask for it, so make sure it has been. I believe the BMW history will refer to it as an 'enhancement'. BMW claim that it only affected 'early' cars, so if you're looking at a later car it might not have had the work done and they might argue that it doesn't need doing. I've heard of at least one car, the owner of which was told by BMW didn't need the work, that subsequently had the big end bearing shells fail, though he fortunately had a BMW warranty to protect him from the £14k that a new engine would have cost, but it's enough to make me feel incined to go for an earlier car that's had it done, rather than a later car that might need it, but BMW argue doesn't, just to be safe.