E46 M3 mileage...

[Lynx21]

Hey,
whats your opinion on an e46 m3 between 60-70k on the clock? Having a shop around at the moment because i want to get myself one after xmas. Looking at spending 20k, but having a glance at auto trade, there seems to be a few knocking about from the 15k mark which seems a bit cheap to me...


So like i sat, whats you opinion down this end of the market?


Many thanks

Kev

[housemaster]

As with any car it really depends how it has been driven. My first M3 ended up at around 130k before it needed anything major. I put the first 53K on the clock then the next owner added the rest, many of them on the tracks of Europe. As with any car buy on condition and service history, and try and get a feel for how the owner drives it from cold too, via a road test.

Edited by housemaster on Thursday 22 November 13:01

[Dave Dax builder]

Hi Kev.
have a good look around the cars (The cheaper ones especially) And make sure all the re calls have been done, the 1200 mile running in service was done on time and that then service book is fully stamped and you should be fine.
Good luck.

[petrolhead76]

Dave Dax builder said:

Hi Kev.
have a good look around the cars (The cheaper ones especially) And make sure all the re calls have been done, the 1200 mile running in service was done on time and that then service book is fully stamped and you should be fine.
Good luck.

How do you know if the recall was done and which year plates did this recall affect? Thanks

[andy43]

I'm 'looking' at buying an E46 M3 in the near-ish future - to find out a cars history, phone BMW customer services (number on their website) with the VIN or reg number(s) - they will check the car's details against their records (of all work done by all main dealers). They can't tell you what's been done, but can tell you when, and at what dealer. Very helpful, will give you the phone numbers of the dealers etc etc.

Then phone the dealers involved, and they can tell you what each visit to their service dept was for. They're limited in what they can tell you, due to data protection, but can tell you exactly what recalls have been done (and at what mileage), servicing and warranty repairs etc.
I have done the above, and it is very detailed and informative - but if a car has strayed outside the dealer network you're stuffed. Reading between the lines on some of the M3 forums suggests that the BMW 'no questions, we'll fix it' warranty is seriously useful.

Apparently you can also take the car key to a dealer, plug it into their computer, and it'll tell them what's been done as well (I haven't done this so am not speaking from experience). This won't tell you real details, eg how many times the launch control has been used on an SMG for example (I was told over 6 times and the warranty is voided?!) - for that you need to get it into the service department and onto the diagnostic machine, or so I've been told.

Edited to add - the 1200 mile service is essential as said above - don't buy one that's not had it done on time. Shows a lack of respect for a highly strung road-going racing car which I feel shouldn't be on the maintenance schedule the marketing people chose for it. If I could find one that'd had the oil changed regularly (ie every 5,000 miles or so) I'd buy it!

Stonking value at the moment tho' - find another car that can do what the M3 can for the same money

Best of luck!

Edited by andy43 on Thursday 22 November 15:21

[andy43]

...and another thing found in my research - Warranty Direct will cover an E46 M3 if you buy one that's out of the BMW extended scheme.
But you need to specifically mention Total BMW magazine to get a 10% discount on the price. Oh, and if you mention the mag they will include the Vanos in the warranty Otherwise, it ain't covered

[M3desmo]

The most likely reason that cars with over 60k miles seem cheap, is because the extended warranty almost doubles in cost to £1850/year (up from £1050/year) hence the lower demand and asking price.

If the car has no extended warranty then it's irrelevant and condition and previous maintenance is all important. The higher mileage is no problem for a car that has been properly maintained except you must remember that you are paying less because the parts are closer to the end of their service life. Things like suspension components, brakes, clutch etc could all be reasonably expected to have to be changed during your ownership so approach with your eyes open and you won't get burned.

[nutcase]

I can give you a relevant opinion (and without agenda, as it's not for sale at the moment!), as I currently own an '01 E46 M3 with 75k miles on it.

The car feels really good, no different from when I bought it at 48k miles and it's just had an inspection 1 which I think makes it feel 'fresher'!- and I took it to Vmax a couple of weekends ago and it knocked out 160mph runs effortlessly.

I totally understand why people look for low mileage cars (i'm normally the same), but I'd definitely say mine is a case in point of a higher mileage M3 but still in very good shape.

As you say, there are some really good deals out there at the moment and I don't think they're necessary 'too good to be true' at 15-16k- they're just fecking good value for money. I reckon it's probably do-able to find a 2002 car with 19's, TV/Sat Nav, 50-60k miles and maybe extended BMW warranty for about 17k ish?

Happy hunting.

[Vixpy1]

andy43 said:

...and another thing found in my research - Warranty Direct will cover an E46 M3 if you buy one that's out of the BMW extended scheme.
But you need to specifically mention Total BMW magazine to get a 10% discount on the price. Oh, and if you mention the mag they will include the Vanos in the warranty Otherwise, it ain't covered

Yes, but its a 1K limit per claim, about as much use as a chocolate teapot!

[andy43]

They told me it was a 5 teapot claim limit. Still doesn't match the BMW full 40-piece dinner service with serving dishes and silver cutlery tho'.

[Vixpy1]

andy43 said:

They told me it was a 5 teapot claim limit. Still doesn't match the BMW full 40-piece dinner service with serving dishes and silver cutlery tho'.

Yes, it is a 5K claim limit over the life of the policy, but the small print says 1K limit Per Claim.

[andy43]

Fair point! Warranty companies - don't you just love 'em

[Lynx21]

i'm only looking to keep it for a year anyway before i take off. So i was thinking if i can get one with like 50-60k on the clock, with the 19's for around 17/18k then i'll be chuffed. Oh and it's got to be black

Whats the crack with the SMG gear box?

[nutcase]

Lynx21 said:

i'm only looking to keep it for a year anyway before i take off. So i was thinking if i can get one with like 50-60k on the clock, with the 19's for around 17/18k then i'll be chuffed. Oh and it's got to be black

Whats the crack with the SMG gear box?

Well, it's a much-debated point- some like it, some don't. Personally I like manual cars and there is a certain satisfaction in nailing the perfect heel & toe downshift. But, having said that, I think the gearbox in my 500 quid Mondeo V6 was far superior and nicer to use than in my M3. The M3 tends to baulk quite a bit (they all do, too) between 1st & 2nd and generally speaking, it works better when 'pressing on'- you need to be fairly precise.

I did try an SMGII spec'd car before getting my manual, and it was good- certainly gives you the option of driving in traffic without a lot of clutch work etc.

To summarise, you really need to try both and then decide! Let us know how you get on.

Cheers,

James

[ism123]

I had an E46 M3 for 13 months, put 16K on it and thoroughly enjoyed it, in fact at times I still miss it.

However, I copped for the ragging it had had from the 3 or 4 previous owners. Whilst most of the problems were sorted on the BMW warranty (which I then felt compelled to extend) in the end I got fed up of things going wrong and moved on.

So, my advice would be to get one with at least some BMW warranty on it and ensure you have some cash aside for emergencies.